Loneliness
Psalm 142
"He wants
not friends that hath Thy love” —Richard Baxter
According to
the superscription, David wrote Psalm 142 "in the cave" (of Adullum),
making it a companion piece to Psalm 52 (Cf., 1 Samuel 22:1,2). David
had fled the Philistine camp in which he mistakenly thought he would find a
home. Forced out, he found himself on the run again, friendless and alone.
Look on my
right hand and see,
For there is
no one who wants to know me;
No place of
refuge;
No one asks
about me (142:4).
I think of
those that have reached "length of days" and are unloved and uncared
for. Friends and family have forgotten them.
I see them
everywhere—in retirement communities, in homeless shelters, on buses and park
benches—"silent sentinels of neglect," as someone has said. My heart
goes out to them in their loneliness and despair. Three Dog Night was right:
"One is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do."
Here in this
poem, David turns from his loneliness to one who cares for him like no other.
One who listens; one to whom he can pour out his soul.
"I cry to
you, O LORD; I say, “You (and you alone) are my refuge, my portion in
the land of the living" (142:5). He finds that God is all he needs for as
long as he lives. He is there for you as well.
"What a
friend we have in Jesus..."
David Roper
2.20.17
