Psalm 13

Sorrow and joy—There is no information regarding the background circumstances of this psalm, but David is in distress again, and apparently because of some enemy that is troubling him (v. 2). As always, the Lord is close and functioning in David’s life; or at least, he attributes all to God. When things aren’t well with him, then the question is “How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?” (v. 1). He wanted/needed God’s help, but the Lord was slow to answer; we’ve all been there. In this case, his enemy was “exalted” over him (v. 2). David asks God to “consider and hear me” (v. 3); he was possibly near death—“lest I sleep the sleep of death” (v. 3), and “lest my enemy say, ‘I have prevailed against him’” (v. 4). Did the Lord answer David? These is no specific information in the psalm that He did, but verses 5-6 seem to imply that He came to David’s rescue. Notice again David’s relationship with God: “I have trusted in your mercy; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation” (v. 5). When troubled, God had forsaken him; when saved, it was the Lord who had done it. To David, God is active and deeply involved in his life. Thus, he “will sing to the Lord because He has dealt bountifully with me” (v. 6). From God forgetting him to dealing bountifully with him—it’s a perfect description of the life of everyone who is trying to serve the Lord. And it makes the psalms very practical to us, because we realize that even the great people of Bible dealt with the day to day trials that we do.