1I cried unto the Lord with my voice; with my voice unto the Lord did I make my supplication.
2I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble.
3When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me.
4I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.
5I cried unto thee, O Lord: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.
6Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.
7Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.
📖 Chapter study
Summary
A desperate prayer from someone hiding in a cave, feeling completely alone and without refuge, crying out to God as his only portion and asking to be brought out of the 'prison' of his distress.
Explanation
The Hebrew title of this psalm links it directly to the period when David hid from Saul in a cave (likely Adullam or En-gedi, recorded in 1 Samuel 22 or 24), one of the most vulnerable moments of his life before becoming king. The statement 'no man cared for my soul' (v. 4) expresses radical loneliness, making it all the more significant that, even in this total isolation, the psalmist still chooses to cry out to God as his refuge. The application for today is that feeling completely alone does not mean actually being abandoned — even in the deepest solitude, it is possible to turn to God as a secure portion.