A Study in Psalms - Vol. II; No. 8

A Study in Psalms - Psalm 13

Psalm 13

For the director of music.

A psalm of David.

¹How long, O LORD? Will You forget me for ever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
²How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and every day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?

³Look on me and answer, O LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;
⁴my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

⁵But I trust in Your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in Your salvation.
⁶I will sing to the LORD, for He has been good to me.

Psalm 13 is yet another psalm concerning David in the midst of trouble. Given the amount of trouble that David had in his life, he was a perfect person to write the psalms. The wide variety of feelings he experienced during his many troubles was documented in the psalms such that, no matter what the nature of our trouble is, we can find a psalm that speaks to it.

In this psalm, David struggles with waiting on the Lord's deliverance. In the first section of the psalm, David verbalizes his faltering faith in a complaint to God (v. 1-2); then he offers up a prayer concerning his situation (v. 3-4); finally, David's prayer is answered and his faith restored (v. 5-6).

David's Complaint

David begins this psalm by expressing his despair in waiting for the Lord's deliverance. Four times he asks the Lord, "How long?" It is difficult for even the best of God's children to wait upon the Lord, especially in times of trouble. Abraham found it difficult, Job found it difficult, and here David despairs in waiting on the Lord. "The Lord's children in their resolution for faith and patience, set to themselves a shorter period usually than the Lord doth, for making them have their perfect work."[Footnote #16] We have our time schedule for when the Lord should get things done, but God rarely follows it. His timing, unlike ours, is perfect. As we look back on the times that we have had to wait upon the Lord, invariably, in hindsight we realize that God's timing was, indeed, much better than ours.

To David's credit, implicit in the question, "how long?", is the fact that God will eventually deliver him. David knew, in faith, that God would be there for him, he just didn't know when. We remember David's reign and his triumphs as king, but we often forget how long he waited to be king and how much affliction he experienced while he was waiting. As mentioned previously in these pages, trouble is no stranger to the child of God. "Trouble outward and inward, of body and spirit, fightings without, and terrors within, vexations from heaven fall upon a child of God at one time, and continue for a time long enough."[Footnote #17] "Such is the school, where the saints are often disciplined for usefulness and even for glory."[Footnote #18] Peter tells us: "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you" (I Peter 4:12).

David, in his trial, was near his faith's end, but instead of disparaging God before men for His tarrying, David turned to God with his complaint. It is good to bring everything to God, even our complaints. Job, Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah and David (to name a few) certainly did. Often as we vent our anger with God to Him, He will speak to our hearts and bring us to a prayerful disposition. This the Lord does with David here (as we shall see).

David's four questions in vv. 1 and 2 reflect four aspects of his situation. The first question, "Will you forget me forever?", reflects how the situation seemed to David in his despair. God, of course, had not forgotten His anointed king David, but it seemed to David as if He had. David's second "how long?" more accurately describes the situation with respect to God: "How long will You hide Your face from me?" God had stopped acting visibly in David's situation and manifesting Himself to David. This is what David meant by God's "hiding His face." David's third "how long?" describes the situation as it affected David: "How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart?" David's question: "How long must I wrestle with my thoughts?" is more clearly translated (as in KJV): "How long must I take counsel in my soul?" David was tired of coming up with his own plans and solutions to his problems. In fleeing Saul, David sought refuge in caves (I Sam. 22:1), with the Moabites (I Sam. 22:3), in desert hills (I Sam. 23:14), even with the Philistines (I Sam. 27:1). David knew that his own plans were getting him nowhere. He wanted to hear daily from the Lord. Finally, David's fourth "how long?" describes David's situation with respect to his foes: "How long will my enemy triumph over me?"

David's Prayer

³Look on me and answer, O LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;
⁴my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

David complained, but then he prayed. When we do not understand the workings of God, it is best that we turn to Him for the answer. It is a comfort in the midst of our despair to be able to turn to God in prayer. In fact, one benefit of trials is that they always bring us closer to God. "It is better to be praying in the whale's belly than asleep in the ship."[Footnote #19] Note that, even though David had a complaint against God, he still addressed Him as "LORD, my God." He is still our Lord in times of trouble.

Notice that David, in these verses, had four requests, which corresponded to his four complaints (his four "how longs"). Corresponding to "how long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever?", David prayed that God would "Look on [him]". David was praying that God would work in the situation, even if God's work was unseen by David. God often "looks on" and acts through a situation when we are not aware of His actions. Later, we look back and realize that, indeed, God was working through the situation, even though we thought that He had forgotten us.

Corresponding to his complaint "how long will You hide Your face from me?", David prayed that God would "answer" his prayer. David was asking for a renewed awareness of God's presence, so that his faith would be strengthened and he may persevere through his trial.

Corresponding to "how long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart?", David prayed that God would "give light to [his] eyes". David was asking for some understanding as to why he was forced to endure affliction. We can endure our afflictions more easily if we know why we are enduring them. David's need for understanding was great, for he prayed, "Give light...or I will sleep in death." David was agonizing over the fact that he did not understand the reason for his affliction. Interestingly, David did not ask to be delivered from his affliction, just that he may understand it.

Corresponding to his complaint "how long will my enemy triumph over me?", David did not even make a request, but rather pointed out to God that his "enemy will say `I have overcome him'" and his foes "will rejoice when [he] falls." David knew that God is a righteous and just God, and that God does not desire that the wicked triumph. So David, rather than making an explicit request concerning his enemies, simply pointed out to God that the wicked are about to triumph. David, appropriately, was appealing to an attribute of God: His righteousness. It is always necessary to make requests to God that are consistent with His character.

David is Answered

⁵But I trust in Your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in Your salvation.
⁶I will sing to the LORD, for He has been good to me.

Here we see that David's prayer was answered, even though he was not delivered from his affliction. Rather, he received from God the "light" that he asked for in verse 3. This exemplifies the purpose of prayer: not that we would change God's mind, but that we would understand it.

David received by the Holy Spirit a renewed faith. He said, "But" (that is, in spite of the external circumstances) "I trust in Your unfailing love." Nothing immediate to his troubling situation caused David's change of heart, only his remembrance of God's work in the past, God's "unfailing love." Remembrance of God's work in the past also caused David to "rejoice in [the Lord's] salvation." David rejoiced in the Lord's salvation, even before it had physically come, because he knew that salvation is from the Lord.

Finally, David resolved to worship the Lord, even in his affliction, by saying: "I will sing to the LORD, for He has been good to me." Notice the change of heart that David had experienced, from the beginning to the end of this psalm. The first few verses were complaints to God, the last verse, a resolution to worship the Lord. This is the work of faith, a faith strengthened by a remembrance of God's past work. God has never failed us, why would He start now? We would do well, in times of trouble, to reflect on God's past goodness. Experience is a great aid to perseverance. To be able to rejoice through affliction is a valuable thing. In the end, David's faith conquered his despair. If we live by faith, we can get through many a trial.

So, Father, help us to live by faith. Help us to count on Your unfailing love, and not to be fooled by external circumstances. Help us to remember Your faithfulness in the past to get us through troubles of the present. Help us, by Your Spirit, to be able to sing praises to You through affliction. In the name of Your Son, who was no stranger to affliction, we pray these things, Amen.

Footnotes

16. David Dickson, A Commentary on the Psalms, pg. 55.

17. Ibid.

18. Plumer, Studies in the Book of Psalms, pg. 188.

19. Ibid.