Psalms 142:2

2 Before him I pour out my complaint, before him I tell my trouble.

Psalms 142:2 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 142:2

I poured out my complaint before him
Not a complaint of the Lord and of his providences, but of himself; of his sins, and particularly his unbelief; and also of them that persecuted and afflicted him; which he "poured" out from the abundance of his heart, and in the bitterness of his soul; denoting the fulness of his prayer, his freedom in it, the power and fervency of it, and which he left before the Lord, and submitted to his will; see ( Psalms 102:1 ) , title;

I showed before him my trouble;
the present trouble he was in, being pursued and surrounded by Saul and his army; not as if the Lord was ignorant of it, and did not see and observe it, but to affect his own soul with it, to exercise grace under it, and ease his burdened and distressed mind; the best of men have their troubles both within and without, and the way to be rid of them is to carry them to the Lord.

Psalms 142:2 In-Context

1 A maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A prayer: With my voice I cry to ADONAI, with my voice I plead to ADONAI for mercy.

2 Before him I pour out my complaint, before him I tell my trouble.

3 When my spirit faints within me, you watch over my path. By the road that I am walking they have hidden a snare for me.

4 Look to my right, and see that no one recognizes me. I have no way of escape; nobody cares for me.

5 I cried out to you, ADONAI; I said, "You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living."