Psalms 142:1
in Psalms 142I cry aloud to the LORD; I lift my voice to the LORD for mercy.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I cry with my voice unto Jehovah; With my voice unto Jehovah do I make supplication.
KJV
I cried unto the Lord with my voice; with my voice unto the Lord did I make my supplication.
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This verse in Psalms 142
Commentary
10 notes on this verseThe intelligence of David when he was in the cave, a prayer. This title is prescribed according to history, indeed, when David was fleeing from the face of Saul in the desert of Engaddi, hidden in a cave; and Saul entered, unaware, as if on his own account. But since it has in its heading "The intelligence of David," we ought to understand the psalm spiritually.
This site's exposition
I cry aloud to the LORD
on Psalms 142:1-2
Verse 1 says my voice to the LORD twice, once as a cry and once as a plea for mercy. Verse 2 pours out complaint and trouble in front of Him, and Spurgeon noted David took care where he poured it. Henry read the record as David owning his fright.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
..."With my voice have I cried unto the Lord" (ver. 1). It were enough to say, "with voice:" not for nothing perhaps has "my" been added. For many cry unto the Lord, not with their own voice, but with the voice of their body. Let the "inner man" then, in whom "Christ" hath begun to "dwell by faith," cry unto the Lord, not with the din of his lips, but with the affection of his heart. God heareth not, where man heareth: unless thou criest with the voice of lungs and side and tongue, man heareth thee not: thy thought is thy cry to the Lord. "With my voice have I prayed unto the Lord." What he meant by, "I have cried," he explained when he said, "I have prayed." For they too who blaspheme, cry unto the Lord. In the former part he set down his crying, in the latter he explained what it was. As though it were demanded, With what cry hast thou cried unto the Lord? Unto the Lord, saith he, I have prayed. My cry is my prayer, not reviling, not murmuring, not blaspheming.
The Reformation1 voice
I cried to Jehovah, etc. It showed singular presence of mind in David that he was not paralyzed with fear, or that he did not in a paroxysm of fury take vengeance upon his enemy, as he easily might have done; and that he was not actuated by despair to take away his life, but composedly addressed himself to the exercise of prayer.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
When the danger was over he was not ashamed to own (as great spirits sometimes are) the fright he had been in and the application he had made to God. Let no men of the first rank think it any diminution or disparagement to them, when they are in affliction, to cry to God, and to cry like children to their parents when any thing frightens them.
I cried unto the Lord with my voice,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
I cried unto the Lord with my voice. It was a cry of such anguish that he remembers it long after, and makes a record of it. In the loneliness of the cave he could use his voice as much as he pleased; and therefore he made its gloomy vaults echo with his appeals to heaven. When there was no soul in the cavern seeking his blood, David with all his soul was engaged in seeking his God. He felt it a relief to his heart to use his voice in his pleadings with Jehovah.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
I cried unto the Lord with my voice. It was a cry of such anguish that he remembers it long after, and makes a record of it. In the loneliness of the cave he could use his voice as much as he pleased; and therefore he made its gloomy vaults echo with his appeals to heaven. When there was no soul in the cavern seeking his blood, David with all his soul was engaged in seeking his God. He felt it a relief to his heart to use his voice in his pleadings with Jehovah. There was a voice in his prayer when he used his voice for prayer: it was not vox et praeterea nihil. It was a prayer vivo corde as well as vivâ voce. With my voice unto the Lord did I make my supplication. He dwells upon the fact that he spoke aloud in prayer; it was evidently well impressed upon his memory, hence he doubles the word and says, "with my voice; with my voice." It is well when our supplications are such that we find pleasure in looking back upon them. He that is cheered by the memory of his prayers will pray again. See how the good man's appeal was to Jehovah only: he did not go round about to men, but he ran straight forward to Jehovah, his God. What true wisdom is here! Consider how the Psalmist's prayer grew into shape as he proceeded with it. Its first poured out his natural longings, —"I cried"; and then he gathered up all his wits and arranged his thoughts, —"I made supplication." True prayers may differ in their diction, but not in their direction: an impromptu cry and a preconceived supplication must alike ascend towards the one prayer hearing God, and he will accept each of them with equal readiness. The intense personality of the prayer is noteworthy: no doubt the Psalmist was glad of the prayers of others, but he was not content to be silent himself. See how everything is in the first person, —" I cried with my voice; with my voice did I make my supplication."
I cried unto the Lord - See on Psa 141:1 (note).
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
I cried unto the Lord with my voice - See the notes at Psa 3:4, where the language is the same. He uttered a loud and audible prayer, though he was alone. It was not a mental ejaculation, but he gave expression to his desires. With my voice unto the Lord did I make my supplication - See Psa 30:8. The Hebrew word rendered “did make my supplication,” means to implore favor or mercy. It denotes the language of petition and entreaty, not the language of claim.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ק֭וֹלִי | koli | voice my | H6963 → | 506 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶזְעָ֑ק | ʾezak | I cry out | H2199 → | 73 times |
| ק֝וֹלִ֗י | koli | voice my | H6963 → | 506 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶתְחַנָּֽן׃ | ʾetchanan | I seek favor | H2603 → | 78 times |
ק֭וֹלִיvoice my
koliH6963 →506 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶזְעָ֑קI cry out
ʾezakH2199 →73 times
ק֝וֹלִ֗יvoice my
koliH6963 →506 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יְהוָ֥הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶתְחַנָּֽן׃I seek favor
ʾetchananH2603 →78 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 57:1Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy, for in You my soul takes refuge. In the shadow of Your wings I will take shelter until the danger has passed.
it leads to
- Psalms 91:4
He will cover you with His feathers; under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and rampart.
- Psalms 17:7–8
Show the wonders of Your loving devotion, You who save by Your right hand those who seek refuge from their foes.
- Psalms 36:7
How precious is Your loving devotion, O God, that the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings!
- Psalms 9:10
Those who know Your name trust in You, for You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.
- Psalms 63:7
For You are my help; I will sing for joy in the shadow of Your wings.
- Psalms 91:4
Through
Psalms 141:1I call upon You, O LORD; come quickly to me. Hear my voice when I call to You.
it leads to
- Psalms 70:5
But I am poor and needy; hurry to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay.
- Psalms 40:13
Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me; hurry, O LORD, to help me.
- Psalms 70:5
Through
Psalms 30:8To You, O LORD, I called, and I begged my Lord for mercy:
it leads to
- Philippians 4:6–7
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
- Philippians 4:6–7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Psalms
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 142; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 7; Jerome, Homily 52, on Psalm 141; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.