Psalms 13:1

PSALM 13

YEARNING FOR HELP FROM GOD (FOR THE CHIEF MUSICIAN; A PSALM OF DAVID).

The social situation reflected in this psalm is apparently the same as it was in Psalms 12. In fact, Delitzsch suggested that fact as the reason why the two psalms appear side by side in the Psalter.[1] The title we have selected is taken from Leupold.[2]

What we have here is five lines of lament (Psalms 13:1-2), four lines of prayer (Psalms 13:3-5a), and three lines of rejoicing (Psalms 13:5b-6).

THE FIVE LINES OF LAMENT

Psalms 13:1-2

"How long, O Jehovah? wilt thou forget me forever?

How long wilt thou hide thy face from me?

How long shall I take counsel in my soul,

Having sorrow in my heart all the day?

How long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?"

Four times the cry, "How long?" rises from the plaintive lines, the evident distress of the psalmist deriving from his impression that God has forsaken him, hiding his face from him, and that somehow God's favor at the moment does not rest upon him. This consciousness of separation from God has indeed brought an agony of near-despair to the psalmist.

The reasons for the psalmist's distress are not far to seek. (1) God is the source of all happiness; (2) he is the source of all wisdom; (3) he is the source of all strength; and (4) he is the source of life itself.[3] Because the psalmist feels separated from God, he has (1) sorrow, (2) feels the need of counsel (Psalms 13:2), (3) is weak before his enemy (Psalms 13:2), and (4) has a fear of death itself (Psalms 13:3).

It is strange indeed that children of God are not exempt from such feelings of abandonment and despair, and we are left in wondering as to why it should be so. Perhaps the Lord wishes to drive us to our knees repeatedly that we should ever rely upon Him and not upon ourselves.

One of the most discerning lines we have seen in connection this psalm is the following:

"Prayer is not only the proper reaction of the godly to trouble, it is also the effective medicine against depression in the face of it."[4]

In the same vein of thought are these words accredited to Martin Luther:

"Hope itself despairs, and despair yet hopes, and only that unspeakable groaning is audible with which the Holy Spirit, who moves over the waters covered with darkness, intercedes for us.[5]