Psalm 142:4

Psalm142:4

No one cares about me!

We’ve discussed, in earlier Psalms, the relevance of the right hand and what it means to have support and protection from a “right-hand man or woman.” Indeed Psalm 16:8, which was also written by David, tells us that it is even possible to have the Lord Himself at our right hand. “I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With Him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” The image here overlaps with the idea of a shield bearer who would stand to the right of a soldier and parry the sword thrusts or arrows that might come their way. To imagine that the Lord Himself will stand at our right hand and deflect the enemy’s attacks is mind-boggling. But He does! He defends His people. He sees the danger long before we do. He puts up defences in advance and very often the fiery darts of the evil one are deflected long before they arrive at their destination. We would never survive if we had to defend ourselves, we simply don’t see the attacks coming – but He does and He turns them away.

In the light of the above we must sympathise with David in his hour of woe for as he writes he has no one to protect him, he is isolated and alone, no one cares, no one shows concern for his vulnerable and isolated state. David is as low as he can be, he believes that no one cares about him. We might say that it is self-pity that makes him write these words but sometimes the truth is equally frightening, some of us may have been in a state of complete isolation and been overcome with anxiety and fear because we know that there is no help available. It is remarkable that so many of David’s Psalms take us to the very depths of his suffering and his fears. This great King, so revered by Israel and all Bible readers over the centuries, was in fact an extremely vulnerable man. It is his willingness to throw himself on the Lord in times of danger and anxiety that raises him up above us all. David’s greatness was not borne out of his own strength or courage or ingenuity; it was founded wholly in His dependence on the Lord His God. In this, he is a huge example to us all.

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