Although my spirit grows faint within me, You know my way. Along the path I travel they have hidden a snare for me.
When Saul cornered David in that cave, the man might have panicked or done something rash, as desperate people do. Instead this Psalm shows David kept his composure, held fast to God in assured confidence, and gave himself to prayer rather than taking any step God had not warranted. That is the mark of true faith.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 142:1-7
When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. The bravest spirit is sometimes sorely put to it. A heavy fog settles down upon the mind, and the man seems drowned and smothered in it; covered with a cloud, crushed with a load, confused with difficulties, conquered by impossibilities.
Whether it was in the cave of Adullam, or that of Engedi, that David prayed this prayer, is not material; it is plain that he was in distress. It was a great disgrace to so great a soldier, so great a courtier, to be put to such shifts for his own safety, and a great terror to be so hotly pursued and every moment in...
Commenting on Psalm 142:1-3