Psalms Chapter 142
Psalm 142 (141)

Prayer during trials. The prayer of someone in the most dire poverty. This psalm is applicable to the passion of Christ and St. Francis of Assisi prayed it when he was dying.

2 I cry aloud to the Lord,
in a loud voice I beseech the Lord.

3 Before him I pour out my sorrows,
before him I lay bare my troubles

4 and my spirit grows faint.
But you know my path.
Along the way I walk
they have hidden a trap for me.

5 Look to my right and see:
no one recognizes me.
I have lost all means of escape;
no one wants to help me.

6 I cry to you, O Lord;
I say, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”

7 Listen to my groaning,
for I am in deep despair.
Rescue me from my pursuers,
for they are too strong for me.

8 O, set me free from captivity,
that I may praise your name!
Then the righteous will gather about me
when they see that you took care of me.