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Psalm 142:5-7
New Catholic Bible
Psalm 142:5-7
New Catholic Bible
5 I look to my right,
but there is no friend who knows me.
There is no refuge available to me;
no one cares whether I live or perish.[a]
6 [b]I cry out to you, O Lord;
I say, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”[c]
7 Listen to my plea for help,
for I am in desperate straits.
Rescue me from those who seek to persecute me,
for they are too strong for me.[d]
Footnotes
- Psalm 142:5 No one cares whether I live or perish: the psalmist is like an outcast for whom no one cares and whom no one comes forward to protect. He is alone and extremely vulnerable.
- Psalm 142:6 The psalmist reiterates his distress and his plea for deliverance, confessing that the Lord is his refuge (see Ps 91:2; Jer 17:17) and his hope (my portion in the land of the living: see Pss 16:5; 73:26; 119:57; Lam 3:24). In turn, he will give thanks for his deliverance (see note on Ps 7:18), and the righteous will rejoice in the Lord with him (see Pss 22:25; 34:3; 64:10; 107:42).
- Psalm 142:6 Hence, the psalmist cries out to the Lord for help. The Lord is his Covenant God; he most of all should be solicitous for his servant. In the land of the living: i.e., here below, during his earthly life (see Ps 27:13).
- Psalm 142:7 The enemies of the psalmist are too strong for him. Unless the Lord comes to his aid, the afflicted man is lost. There is no one else who can save him.
