Psa 13:2 | KingComments | STEP | In Psalm 11 and Psalm 12, the psalmist has put his trust in God and His words in the midst of severe tribulation. Yet, as the tribulation begins to grow long, doubt begins to gnaw at his heart. Psalm 13 shows us the inner struggle of the believing remnant when the tribulation lasts (too) long in their experience. Four times we hear the desperate cry: How long? It is comparable to the doubt of John the baptist in prison ( ), and the doubt of Elijah when Jezebel threatens to kill him ( ). Thus, in the great tribulation, the believing remnant will struggle with the failure of God’s intervention. Yet the result of this struggle is not despair, but renewed trust in God on the basis of His covenant faithfulness ( ). The word “lovingkindness” – Hebrew Adonai – means the covenant faithfulness of the LORD. We see in the letter to the Hebrews that His covenantal faithfulness is based on the accomplished work of the Mediator of the new covenant on the cross of Calvary. The Mediator brought the blood of the new covenant into the inner sanctuary. Psalm 13 can be divided into three sections: 1. A desperate cry for help: four times “how long?” ( ). 2. A threefold prayer: consider, answer, enlighten my eyes! ( ). 3. Finally, a song of confidence ( ), similar to the singing of Jehoshaphat and the people while facing a multitude of enemies ( ), and of Paul and Silas while thrown into prison ( ). For “for the choir director” ( ) see at Psalm 4:1. For “a Psalm of David” see at Psalm 3:1. Four times in these two verses, David asks the question, “how long?” ( ). The questions come from a soul that is in great distress and has been in it for quite some time, when there seems to be no end. He yearns for salvation, for the end of his misery. It is therefore not just asking a question, but wrestling in doubt, almost despair, with a question (cf. ). The depth of the distress is expressed in the four repetitions of the word ‘how long’. His question is not “why”, but “how long”. He holds that another era will come. But how long will this era be delayed? Can he hold on for so long? The first “how long” question ( ) is not about his enemies. Those he mentions last. He begins with God as the cause of the distress in which he finds himself. It is with him as with Job, who also does not say that satan has taken, but “the LORD has given and the LORD has taken” ( ). His worst struggle is that God has forgotten him, or at least that is the way he experiences it. How long will He do that? And, he exclaims, will God do that “forever”, constantly, will He never think of him again? God does not seem to think of him anymore (cf. ). This is the greatest distress that can torment a believer. When you are forgotten, when no one asks about you, the thought occurs to you that you are not of interest, that you do not count. This is already true when people don’t notice you. It’s completely the case when you have the feeling that God doesn’t care about you anymore. The second “how long” question David asks because God has disappeared from his field of vision. He knows God exists, but God does not show Himself. God may have forgotten him, but he has not forgotten God. Then he discovers to his dismay that God is untraceable. David is desperately searching for Him, but He has hidden Himself. This increases his loneliness and despair. That God hides His face, that is, Himself, in a time of need, is the curse of the covenant (cf. ). It is the reverse of the priestly blessing in Numbers 6 ( ). It is a question of how God can withhold His covenant faithfulness, His lovingkindness, from him. David speaks here as the voice of the remnant. He makes all kinds of plans in his soul, he deliberates how to get through his misery now that he apparently cannot appeal to God ( ). He pains his thoughts about it how long he will endure, while God is the great Absent One and he can discover nothing of Him. It causes an incessant sorrow in his heart, deep inside, that he feels “all the day”, or day in, day out. And then there are his enemies who exalt themselves over him. They are at the edge of his existence, constantly surrounding him. Now that God, Who is in the center of his existence, has withdrawn from him, the enemies press on him all the more strongly. As already noted, it is only now that he speaks of his enemies, after first expressing his greatest concern that God does not show Himself.

‏ Psalms 13:2

Introduction

In Psalm 11 and Psalm 12, the psalmist has put his trust in God and His words in the midst of severe tribulation. Yet, as the tribulation begins to grow long, doubt begins to gnaw at his heart. Psalm 13 shows us the inner struggle of the believing remnant when the tribulation lasts (too) long in their experience. Four times we hear the desperate cry: How long? It is comparable to the doubt of John the baptist in prison (Mt 11:2-3), and the doubt of Elijah when Jezebel threatens to kill him (1Kgs 19:1-4). Thus, in the great tribulation, the believing remnant will struggle with the failure of God’s intervention.

Yet the result of this struggle is not despair, but renewed trust in God on the basis of His covenant faithfulness (Psa 13:5). The word “lovingkindness” – Hebrew Adonai – means the covenant faithfulness of the LORD. We see in the letter to the Hebrews that His covenantal faithfulness is based on the accomplished work of the Mediator of the new covenant on the cross of Calvary. The Mediator brought the blood of the new covenant into the inner sanctuary.

Psalm 13 can be divided into three sections:

1. A desperate cry for help: four times “how long?” (Psa 13:1b-2).

2. A threefold prayer: consider, answer, enlighten my eyes! (Psa 13:3-4).

3. Finally, a song of confidence (Psa 13:5-6), similar to the singing of Jehoshaphat and the people while facing a multitude of enemies (2Chr 20:22), and of Paul and Silas while thrown into prison (Acts 16:25).

Complaint: How long?

For “for the choir director” (Psa 13:1a) see at Psalm 4:1.

For “a Psalm of David” see at Psalm 3:1.

Four times in these two verses, David asks the question, “how long?” (Psa 13:1b). The questions come from a soul that is in great distress and has been in it for quite some time, when there seems to be no end. He yearns for salvation, for the end of his misery. It is therefore not just asking a question, but wrestling in doubt, almost despair, with a question (cf. Mt 11:2-3).

The depth of the distress is expressed in the four repetitions of the word ‘how long’. His question is not “why”, but “how long”. He holds that another era will come. But how long will this era be delayed? Can he hold on for so long?

The first “how long” question (Psa 13:1b) is not about his enemies. Those he mentions last. He begins with God as the cause of the distress in which he finds himself. It is with him as with Job, who also does not say that satan has taken, but “the LORD has given and the LORD has taken” (Job 1:21b). His worst struggle is that God has forgotten him, or at least that is the way he experiences it. How long will He do that? And, he exclaims, will God do that “forever”, constantly, will He never think of him again?

God does not seem to think of him anymore (cf. Isa 49:14). This is the greatest distress that can torment a believer. When you are forgotten, when no one asks about you, the thought occurs to you that you are not of interest, that you do not count. This is already true when people don’t notice you. It’s completely the case when you have the feeling that God doesn’t care about you anymore.

The second “how long” question David asks because God has disappeared from his field of vision. He knows God exists, but God does not show Himself. God may have forgotten him, but he has not forgotten God. Then he discovers to his dismay that God is untraceable. David is desperately searching for Him, but He has hidden Himself. This increases his loneliness and despair.

That God hides His face, that is, Himself, in a time of need, is the curse of the covenant (cf. Psa 10:1 ; Psa 22:1). It is the reverse of the priestly blessing in Numbers 6 (Num 6:24-26). It is a question of how God can withhold His covenant faithfulness, His lovingkindness, from him. David speaks here as the voice of the remnant.

He makes all kinds of plans in his soul, he deliberates how to get through his misery now that he apparently cannot appeal to God (Psa 13:2). He pains his thoughts about it how long he will endure, while God is the great Absent One and he can discover nothing of Him. It causes an incessant sorrow in his heart, deep inside, that he feels “all the day”, or day in, day out.

And then there are his enemies who exalt themselves over him. They are at the edge of his existence, constantly surrounding him. Now that God, Who is in the center of his existence, has withdrawn from him, the enemies press on him all the more strongly. As already noted, it is only now that he speaks of his enemies, after first expressing his greatest concern that God does not show Himself.