Devotional Short Note to Psalm 142: Someone has pointed out that the psalmist David is praying in the cave to the Lord for serious help but he interrupts himself with a short note “that he is not telling God of it for His information; He is aware of it all, but his troubled heart is eased when he thus unburdens it” (A. Cohen 1950: 460). The sitting in a cave experience of David is not the same as that of Dough Batchelor for the last sat in a cave to find himself since he was lost in identity with himself and with God. David was full of God but had to hide from his enemy, Saul. The worst enemies for David in his life did not come from outside of Israel and inside and sometimes inside his family.

He is making sounds but he is saying that he is using sounds as a tool to “cry unto the Lord” (142:2).

David then gave a purpose statement to the imaginary audience saying: “I pour out my complaint before Him I declare before Him my trouble” (142:3). He is doing this because his spirit is very weak, he says, that God knows everything “You know my path” (142:4b).

Dirty people have laid a snare in this path of David for him (142:4d). There are forces in humans that design the downfall of others so that they can be stepping stones on which they can elevate themselves for selfish gain and opportunism. They work with “Fake News” designs and “gossip scenarios” and our time is doing this by other countries interfering in the politics and society fabric bringing transformation through these shocking news revelations that catches the ordinary public by surprise since they have brought themselves into the habit of believing the TV and Newspaper news more than the Word of God. The rest of the country like sheep runs after the news as if it is gospel but not David. He ran to the cave. The time will come when all God’s people will run to the Wilderness because of “Fake accusations against the remnant”.

David asked the Lord to look on his right side since there is no support for him (142:5). No-one wants to know him, since the one who smells are ostracized and the smell is provided with false information disseminating from gossiping tongues. He cannot flee anywhere and no human can take care of his soul by listening to what he has to say (142:5).

To the Lord he can talk. To him he can take refuge (142:6).

His prayer to God is simple: “Listen please, I am in trouble, save me, the onslaught is too strong” (142:7).

He wants his soul to be brought out of this prison of circumstances (142:8). If things change he can give thanks to the Lord. He says that if these happen, the righteous people will crown themselves because of his experience since they will hear it and be impressed by God.

Self-crowning can be seen in a cartoon-like sketch made by Jacques ben David the artist of Napoleon Bonaparte around 1803. Instead of putting the crown of Josephine in the coronation scene in front of the pope on a throne with a heavy-laden face due to the 1798 wounding of the Holy Roman Empire by the upcoming new World order started with France, Napoleon in a side sketch of this artist puts the crown on himself. Megalomania. Ben David also drew the pope on the chair naked in one of his sketches. A taboo-breaking that signifies that the papacy has really lost all his power since naked pictures of the papacy do not exist. It was a taboo. The self-crowning of the righteous (142:8c) is not with the same motives as Napoleon in mind. It is a putting up of crowns by millions of those who are going to be saved one day at the Second Advent. Christ said His remnant will reign like kings probably meaning that as they visit planet to planet to tell the old-old story of Jesus and His love, the arrival scene is like a king and queen and they are wearing crowns that they put up before appearing before the populist audiences?