“Maschil of David; A Prayer when he was in the cave. I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication.” Psalms 142:1. Consider this, that one of the psalms that comforts weary saints was first composed in the depths of a cave. David looked beyond the cave to the God of mercy, and with confidence declared that the Lord would yet “deal bountifully” with him, verse 7. What a testimony, when everything outwardly pressed him down, he still expected only goodness from the hand of God. Outwardly, David was a fugitive; inwardly, he was a worshiper. Psalm 34:1. In the company of many who were distressed like himself, David’s spirit still felt overwhelmed; yet in that place his confidence was that the Lord knew his path. Not only did the Lord know his way in general, but He knew David’s path in particular, every turn, every hiding place, every breath of fear. And more than this, the LORD sustained that path particularly, upholding His servant step by step until the day of deliverance.
The same God that David called out to whilst overcome with untold sorrows is the same Lord God whom we may now approach in Christ, our great High Priest; and through His unchanging priesthood, our access is secure. His priesthood does not waver with our weakness nor expire with time. Hebrews 7:24-25. Where David found refuge in shadows, we come by a new and living way, where grace and mercy are ever open to us in Christ Jesus, and through His unchanging priesthood, our access is secure, for the same High Priest who opened the way for His people as a body also remembers each one by name; even as the high priest of old wore the names of Israel upon his breastplate, so Christ remembers His own, one by one, in the presence of God. The hidden burdens we carry, the sighs too faint for others to notice, the silent fears, and the needs never spoken, &c., are all remembered by Christ in His intercession before the Father. “He calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.” John 10:3. His priesthood is not a blanket covering alone, but a personal intercession that regards every child with particular remembrance and unfailing love. “Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.” Isaiah 49:16. MPJ