Hope Is Just A Prayer Away Series

In Kentucky, there’s a cave called “Mammoth Cave”, and on one of their tours, the guide stopped and turned to the crowd. He said: “Do you want to see what a real cave looks like?” And of course, everyone said yes. And, without another word - he SHUT OFF ALL THE LIGHTS.

Now, that’s what a REAL cave looks like. Real caves can be mighty dark places when you turn the lights out. And there are people who won’t even go into caves because they don’t like the darkness, and that darkness can make them feel depressed and trapped.

The psalm we’re dealing with this morning is unique because it’s one of the few Psalms that tells us where David was at when he wrote it. Where was David at? He’s in a cave. That’s what the opening line in the psalm tells us.

It’s probably a cavern known as the Cave of Adullam – not too far from Bethlehem. It’s had several rooms… and it was a good place to hide. But it was also a dark and depressing place for David. You can almost hear David’s dark mood as you read the Psalm.

Now, what’s David doing hiding in this cave? Well, he’s hiding from King Saul, and he’s hiding from the King because Saul became aware that David was a threat to him, and that David would soon replace him as King of Israel. So Saul decided it was time to get rid of the competition. David had to die!

Just a little background: God had had the prophet Samuel anoint David to be the next king of Israel because King Saul had disobeyed a direct command from God and God told Saul that (because of his disobedience) he would be replaced by a man after GOD’S own heart. That man was David.

But initially, King Saul didn’t know that. He didn’t realize David was his replacement. And so David started out… being WELCOMED by Saul. Saul hired David to come to his palace and sing for him. Saul sent David out to meet Goliath. And then Saul sent David to fight the Philistines - and David was victorious every time.

I Samuel 18:5-9 tells us “David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him, so that Saul set him over the men of war. And this was good in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants. As they were coming home, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments. And the women sang to one another as they celebrated, "Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands." And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, "They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?" And Saul eyed David from that day on.

Saul became jealous of David, and soon he realized this young man was probably the person God had chosen to replace him. And so he sought to kill David and began to seek his life. Now David’s on the run. Later, other men come and join with him, but right now, it seems he’s all alone. But Saul has an army of 3000 men searching for him and if Saul ever catches David… it’s all over.

And now David’s hiding in the cave of Adullam, and his thoughts are as dark as the cave he lives in. Just a few short days before this, David had everything: He lived in the palace; He was a man of prominence; He'd been a man who loved by the people of Israel; And he had a future. He was supposed to be next king.

But now, that’s all gone. He’s running for his life, and Psalm 142 tells us that David’s going to die… and nobody seems to care. “There is none who takes notice of me; no refuge remains to me; no one cares for my soul.” Psalm 142:4

NO ONE CARES! Everything is gone. And David is trapped and alone. All David had left… was God.

How do you deal with life When the world caves in on you? When it seems like no one cares. when it seems you’ve lost everything or MAY lose everything you’ve held dear?

Well, what David did was… he prayed. a lot of people don’t do that… they just end up complaining to the people around them. Of course, David complained too - but he complained to God in prayer. “I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him. Psalm 142:2