"How long, O Lord?" (Psalm 13)

"HOW LONG?" (Ps 13)ⁱ

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Dr. Paul Manuel—1999

People react in various ways when they face a difficult situation. Some hide, hoping the storm will pass by them. Others ignore the problem, hoping it will go away. Still others cry out for help, hoping someone will lend them a hand.

A public-safety communications operator on the graveyard shift received a call from a very frightened and intoxicated citizen. He and some friends had been out celebrating all night. As they left the party for their respective homes, he wandered off in the wrong direction. All he could get across to the operator was that he was alone and lost somewhere near a large body of water. "Are there any houses nearby?" she asked. "Yes," he replied. "Good," she answered. "Go and stand in front of the nearest one and sing very loudly.... A police officer will be along shortly." He did, and there was. (Adapted from A.D. Lawson's contribution to "All In a Day's Work")

Our natural inclination in difficult situations is not to break forth in song, yet that may be just the thing to do, as David suggests in Ps 13.

This psalm falls neatly into three sections.ⁱⁱ Following the superscription, which English versions generally print in small type, the poet opens with a series of complaints in Ps 13:1-2, each of which he begins with the same formulaic question: "How long?" Next, in Ps 13:3-4, the psalmist presents his petition, including the consequences he faces if God does not intervene. He closes, though, in Ps 13:5-6 by expressing confidence in God's unblemished record of deliverance, asserting that he will yet testify of that divine goodness in his own situation, as we see in...

I. The Psalmist's Complaint (Ps 13:1-2)

At some point in our pilgrimage, we will encounter difficulty that will tax our spiritual resources to the limit.

• It may be the frustration of years of planning as we see the results of careful preparation and hard work crumble before us,
• It may be a prolonged illness with no foreseeable end in view.
• It may be an unresolved dispute with a friend, a coworker, or a family member that has begun to hinder our ability to cope in other areas.

The worst part, though, is when our turning to God elicits little or no relief, as if heaven has shut itself to our petition. At such times, we cry out like this psalmist:

A. How long will You neglect my situation? (Ps 13:1)

The psalmist's primary concern, and the one he voices first, is spiritual because it pertains to his relationship with God.

Ps 13:1 How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?

It is one thing to endure some trial when we have a sense of God's concern and support, an assurance of His presence. Our troubles may be no less difficult, but they are more bearable knowing that God is with us. It is quite another thing, however, to endure some trial with uncertainty as to God's disposition toward us. At such a time, David's two questions come naturally to mind:

1. Have You forgotten me?—or—
2. Are You ignoring me?

Does God ever forget His people? Does He ever turn away from those who cry out to Him? When life is going well, we would probably say, "No, of course not." When life in not going well, however, our answer may be less certain, as it was for several psalm authors.ⁱⁱⁱ

• David pleads in...

Ps 27:9a Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away...

• Korah asks in...

Ps 42:9 ...Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?

• Asaph wonders in...

Ps 77:9a Has God forgotten to be merciful?

• Heman cries out in...

Ps 88:14 Why, O LORD, do you reject me and hide your face from me?

There are moments when it may appear as if God is ignoring us. Moreover, our troubles are compounded when the cause of His inattention is unknown.

There is no confession or statement of sin to suggest that the trial [here] was a judgment deserved; the urgency of the psalmist's plea springs from a sense of profound anxiety, not penitence. (Craige 1983:142)

In a similar situation, we too would begin to wonder: "Why must I suffer this? What have I done that God should abandon me?" If we ponder long enough, we may even ask: "Was He ever really there, or have I merely imagined Him all this time?" That seems the psalmist's cry in v. 2.

B. How long must I endure my situation? (Ps 13:2)

In v. 1, David's concern was spiritual. Here, in v. 2, his concern is emotional, because it pertains to his state of mind.

Ps 13:2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?

If God is not present, the psalmist has only what personal resources he can muster and, thus far, those resources have proven insufficient. The situation is out of David's control. He cannot resolve it, it is not getting any better, and this sense of helplessness is taking a heavy toll on his well-being. The uncertainty of God's attitude toward him coupled with the persistent pressure both internal and external is pushing him to despair of any resolution or relief. The only question is what will finally break him in the end.

1. Will my doubts destroy me from the inside?—or—
2. Will my enemy destroy me from the outside?

The psalmist's turmoil derives from at least two sources. He is in trouble; what kind of trouble, he does not say. This is, after all, a prayer not an autobiography. We hear only of an enemy who will take pleasure in his failure. What causes him even greater anxiety, though, is that God is absent.

It is this kind of prolonged and debilitating struggle that pushes our faith to its limits. Short tests—pop quizzes—we can often handle: the sudden temptation or a chance opportunity to speak a word for God. Even if we do not acquit ourselves in an exemplary manner, at least it is over relatively quickly. The major exams—the prelims of life—are quite different.

For those of you who do not know what prelims are...be grateful. To a doctoral student, prelims (preliminary examinations prior to the receiving of your degree) are a fate worse than death. This battery of tests often takes days to complete and covers everything you have ever learned as well as material you have never learned. Your entire academic future depends on passing. Should you fail, it would spell the end of all you have worked to achieve, for you would leave the hallowed halls of academia without your degree, and you will have to get...a real job.

Life also has its prelims, experiences that test the limits of your faith. They seem to go on forever, deliberately designed to search for weak points, to probe areas for which you are not prepared. Such testing will either make you stronger or will break you, as we see in...

II. The Psalmist's Petition (Ps 13:3-4)

Notice that, despite the seeming hopelessness of his situation, David does not give up. However unrelenting the pressures are upon him, equally unrelenting is his perseverance before God. His request is a not-so-subtle appeal that includes the dire consequences if God does not act. He says in v. 3...

A. Neglect will hasten my demise.

Ps 13:3 Look at me and answer, O LORD my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death.

This part of the petition is two-fold.

1. Heed my cry!—and—
2. Help my cause!

The plea to be heard—"Look at me and answer"—and the plea to be helped—"Give light to my eyes"—are not really separate requests. Any word from God is sure to be of help, and any help from God is proof that He has heard us. Divine hearing and helping are but two sides of the same coin. Notice, also, that the psalmist makes a subtle assumption by his use of the phrase "my God." He "dares to believe that [his] life and [his] weakness matter to God" (Mays 1980:280) and that he has some claim to the Omnipotent's attention. On what basis can he presume such a thing? . . . We will come back to that in a moment.
God's inaction will not just affect the psalmist. There is another consequence in v.4...

B. Neglect will embolden my detractors.

Ps 13:4 My enemy will say, "I have overcome him," and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

As we identify with the psalmist, we find ourselves all alone, and the prospects are not very encouraging. We either continue our struggle or we surrender. If we continue, we still might lose; and if we surrender, we are sure to lose. Great choice.

• If we abandon hope as our work is repeatedly frustrated,
• If we give up our will to live as the illness drags on,
• If we write off that relationship as irreconcilable,

We lose; and who will care, who will even notice? That is David's lament in v. 4. The ones who will take notice are his opponents.

1. They will boast about their victory.—and—
2. They will celebrate my defeat.

Keep in mind, however, that the psalmist is still praying. He is not talking to himself here but makes this dire prediction part of his petition. "God, they will interpret my failure as their success, and that's not right!"

David is not timid. He lays his petition before the LORD, appealing not only to his relationship with God in v. 3 but to the justice of God in v. 4.

When you are in a particularly tough situation, you pray, yet how do you pray? The psalmist has had this problem—whatever it is—for quite some time, and he has not received any encouragement from God that relief is on its way. Nevertheless, he does not give up but perseveres in storming the gates of heaven. Moreover, he does more than reiterate his request for divine aid. He gives reasons why God should answer.

• First, O God, I am one of your people, they are not; so this situation reflects on Your ability and desire to care for your own.
• Second, what they are doing is wrong; so this situation also reflects on Your willingness to tolerate evil and to allow opposition to Your plan.

This approach may seem like an attempt to force or shame God into action and, indeed, the wrong attitude can turn a petition into a demand, which is guaranteed not to get the kind of attention from God you want. With the right attitude, however, a humble appeal in which your interest is for God's glory as well as for your own relief, you demonstrate to Him that you understand your role in the larger scope of His plan. ...After the psalmist petition, we note...

III. The Psalmist's Confidence (Ps 13:5-6)

Although we do not know the precise setting of this psalm, it is clear that in the sequence of events, David is writing in the midst of his problem and not after the problem has passed. What is also clear, especially from the last two verses, is his certainty of God's concern. As he asserts in v. 5...

A. God will resolve my present crisis.

Ps 13:5 But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.

It is one thing to have faith; it is quite another to have faith transform our emotions, yet that is precisely what the psalmist does. In the previous verses, we saw that his dire situation had pushed him to the point of despair. God is not responding, and his enemies appear to be winning. Yet here, the author takes hold of a particular aspect of God's character and uses it like a lifeline to pull him from the depths of his despondency.

1. I have faith in Your love.—therefore—
2. I will celebrate my deliverance.

This is not just the power of positive thinking that, no matter how bleak my circumstance, I will force myself out of trouble by having only happy thoughts. The psalmist has good reason for this change of heart and one that offers a partial answer the question I raised earlier: On what basis does the psalmist call the LORD "my God" (v. 3a)? The reason in v. 5 is the word (NIV "unfailing love"; KJV "lovingkindness"). Some translators render it "covenant love," because of its association with the contract God made with Israel. It denotes the favorable disposition of God toward His people. As He said to Moses,

Exod 20:5b "I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing...those who hate me, 6 but showing [unfailing] love to...those who love me and keep my commandments."

In v. 5 the psalmist is counting on God's trustworthiness to keep His promise and, for that reason, anticipates His deliverance. The psalmist is also drawing on more than just faith here. As he asserts in v. 6...

B. God has resolved my previous crises.

Ps 13:6 I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me.

The second reason for David's calling the LORD "my God" lies in the experience of the poet, which is proof that he does indeed have a relationship with the living God.

Somewhere, sometime, [perhaps often,] the psalmist has encountered the graciousness of God, and confidence in that grace has become the ground and support of [his] life. (Mays 1980:280)

It is this knowledge of the past that enables him to deal with the present. Here, the psalmist lays hold of another of divine attribute and makes it a catalyst for worship, as we have been doing this morning.

1. I will sing to the LORD, for
2. He has been good to me.

The psalmist's attitude in these final verses is not the result of a change in his circumstances. He is still in trouble, but he counters the present threat to his physical welfare by rehearsing the past, and gains hope—even joy—for the future.

Like academic prelims, the exams of life are not just stress tests, designed to see how much pressure we can take before we crack. They gauge our ability to apply all that we have learned. When God seems to have given up on us, will we give up on Him? Or will we remember the times in the past when He demonstrated His presence and His care? And, based on what we have learned about Him, will we voice our praise? In other words, when you are in trouble, even as you wonder How Long it will last, you should still be able to sing about the goodness of God.

Why bother including a poem like this in the Psalter. After all, except for the last couple of verses, it is pretty depressing. Apparently, the early believing community found value in this author's expression, and you can as well.^iv Ps 13 illustrates three principles of biblical prayer in difficult situations:

• First, do not hesitate to voice your complaint to God, even if He does not seem to be listening.
• Second, make your petition address both the consequences for yourself and for the kingdom.
• Third, take hold of the unchanging character of God and recall His goodness to you in the past, so that you can sing His praise, even in the midst of your struggle.

For a pdf including Bibliography and Endnotes see here.