Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 13:1

Clarke's Commentary

PSALM XIII

This Psalm contains the sentiments of an afflicted soul that

earnestly desires succour from the Lord. The psalmist complains

of delay, 1-3;

prays for light and comfort, because he finds himself on the

brink of death, 3;

dreads the revilings of his enemies, 4;

anticipates a favourable answer, and promises thanksgiving,

5, 6.

NOTES ON PSALM XIII

There is nothing particular in the inscription. The Psalm is supposed to have been written during the captivity, and to contain the prayers and supplications of the distressed Israelites, worn out with their long and oppressive bondage.

Verse Psalms 13:1. How long wilt thou forget me — The words עד אנה ad anah, to what length, to what time, translated here how long? are four times repeated in the two first verses, and point out at once great dejection and extreme earnestness of soul.

Hide thy face from me? — How long shall I be destitute of a clear sense of thy approbation?

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 11-13 Persevere . . . or give in?

There came a time when David became tired of his continual flight from Saul, not just because it was wearying, but because it was cutting him off from the public worship places of God’s people (1 Samuel 26:19). His spiritual life was weakened and he gave in to the temptation to leave his own country for the safety of enemy Philistia (1 Samuel 27:1). This is the sort of temptation that David considers in Psalms 11:0, the temptation to go along with wrongdoing instead of resisting it.

If people act solely according to common sense, their suggestion in such a crisis will probably be to do what creates least hardship. After all (so the argument runs), if there is no law and order in the community, and if people in positions of power have set themselves to do evil, what can a righteous person gain by trying to resist (11:1-3)? David replies that such action really shows a lack of understanding of God’s holiness and no respect for his authority. God sees and understands all. He will pour out his wrath on the wicked, but he will comfort the faithful with the security of his presence (4-7).

The theme of Psalms 10:0 and 11 continues in Psalms 12:0, and indeed right through to Psalms 17:0. Ungodly people hold all the positions of power and pay no attention to the opinions of those who walk in God’s ways. They maintain their authority and influence only by twisting, ignoring or withholding the truth (12:1-4). But God sees and knows. He promises to protect the godly, and his promises can be trusted (5-6). His people know that their only hope is in him (7-8).

Continual persecution can be hard to bear. It tries the psalmist’s patience to the limit, causing him to cry out to God, almost in despair, asking when will God deliver him from his troubles (13:1-2). If he dies, his enemies will think they have won the battle against him (3-4). However, the very act of crying out to God lightens his burden. It reminds him that the one to whom he cries has bound himself to his people with a covenant love, and he will not fail (5-6).

God’s steadfast love

Frequently the psalmists rejoice in a characteristic of God that RSV translates as ‘steadfast love’, GNB translates as ‘constant love’, and other versions translate as ‘loyalty’, ‘love’, ‘mercy’, ‘kindness’ and ‘loving kindness’. These are all translations of the Hebrew word chesed, which has the meaning of covenant loyalty or faithfulness.

A covenant was an agreement between two parties that carried with it obligations and blessings. Chesed was a particularly strong form of love, which bound a person to be faithful and loyal to the other party in the covenant. In the Psalms the word is used frequently to denote the loyal love and covenant faithfulness that God exercises towards his people through all their trials and joys (e.g Psalms 13:5; Psalms 25:7).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

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.F. Delitzsch, The Old Testament, Vol. 5 (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), p. 199. The title we have selected is taken from Leupold.H. C. Leupold, The Psalms (Baker Book House, 1959), p. 134.

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

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

THE FIVE LINES OF LAMENT

"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.W. L. Watkinson, On the Psalms, Vol. 1 (New York: Funk and Wagnalls), p. 50. 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."Leslie S. McCaw, The New Bible Commentary, Revised (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1970), p. 458.

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.Alexander Maclaren, The Psalms, Vol. I (New York: Eaton and Mains, 1892), p. 118.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? - literally, “until when.” The psalmist breaks out into this cry “in the midst” of his troubles. He had apparently borne them as long as he could. It seemed as if they would never come to an end. We may presume that he had been patient and uncomplaining; that he had borne his trials long with the hope and belief that they would soon terminate; that he had waited patiently for deliverance, uttering no words of complaint; but now he begins to despair. He feels that his troubles will never end. He sees no prospect of deliverance; no signs or tokens that God would interpose; and he breaks out, therefore, in this language of tender complaint, as if he was utterly forsaken, and would be forever. The mind, even of a good man, is not unfrequently in this condition. He is borne down with troubles. He has no disposition to murmur or complain. He bears all patiently and long. He hopes for relief. He looks for it. But relief does not come; and it seems now that his troubles never will terminate. The darkness deepens; his mind is overwhelmed; he goes to God, and asks - not with complaining or murmuring, but with feelings bordering on despair - whether these troubles never will cease; whether he may never hope for deliverance.

Forever? - He had been forgotten so long, and there appeared to be so little prospect of deliverance, that it seemed as if God never would return and visit him with mercy. The expression denotes a state of mind on the verge of despair.

How long - Referring to a second aspect or phase of his troubles. The first was, that he seemed to be “forgotten.” The second referred to here is, that God seemed to hide his face from him, and he asked how long this was to continue.

Wilt thou hide thy face from me - Favour - friendship - is shown by turning the face benignantly toward one; by smiling upon him; in Scriptural language, by “lifting up the light of the countenance” upon one. See the note at Psalms 4:6. Aversion, hatred, displeasure, are shown by turning away the countenance. God seemed to the psalmist thus to show marks of displeasure toward him, and he earnestly asks how long this was to continue.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

1.How long, O Jehovah. It is very true that David was so greatly hated by the generality of people, on account of the calumnies and false reports which had been circulated against him, that almost all men judged that God was not less hostile to him than Saul ⁽²⁷⁰⁾ and his other enemies were. But here he speaks not so much according to the opinion of others, as according to the feeling of his own mind, when he complains of being neglected by God. Not that the persuasion of the truth of God’s promises was extinguished in his heart, or that he did not repose himself on his grace; but when we are for a long time weighed down by calamities, and when we do not perceive any sign of divine aid, this thought unavoidably forces itself upon us, that God has forgotten us. To acknowledge in the midst of our afflictions that God has really a care about us, is not the usual way with men, or what the feelings of nature would prompt; but by faith we apprehend his invisible providence. Thus, it seemed to David, so far as could be judged from beholding the actual state of his affairs, that he was forsaken of God. At the same time, however, the eyes of his mind, guided by the light of faith, penetrated even to the grace of God, although it was hidden in darkness. When he saw not a single ray of good hope to whatever quarter he turned, so far as human reason could judge, constrained by grief, he cries out that God did not regard him; and yet by this very complaint he gives evidence that faith enabled him to rise higher, and to conclude, contrary to the judgment of the flesh, that his welfare was secure in the hand of God. Had it been otherwise, how could he direct his groanings and prayers to him? Following this example, we must so wrestle against temptations as to be assured by faith, even in the very midst of the conflict, that the calamities which urge us to despair must be overcome; just as we see that the infirmity of the flesh could not hinder David from seeking God, and having recourse to him: and thus he has united in his exercise, very beautifully, affections which are apparently contrary to each other. The words, How long, for ever? are a defective form of expression; but they are much more emphatic than if he had put the question according to the usual mode of speaking, Why for so long a time? By speaking thus, he gives us to understand, that for the purpose of cherishing his hope, and encouraging himself in the exercise of patience, he extended his view to a distance, and that, therefore, he does not complain of a calamity of a few days’ duration, as the effeminate and the cowardly are accustomed to do, who see only what is before their feet, and immediately succumb at the first assault. He teaches us, therefore, by his example, to stretch our view as far as possible into the future, that our present grief may not entirely deprive us of hope.

(270) It was the opinion of Theodoret that this psalm was composed by David, not during his persecution by Saul, but when Absalom conspired against him; and the reason which he assigns for this opinion is, “that the trouble which Saul gave him was before his great sin, and so he was full of confidence; but that of Absalom was after it, which made him cry out in this doleful manner.” — Bishop Patrick’s Paraphrase on the Book of Psalms.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Psalms 13:1-6

The thirteenth psalm, to the chief musician. Psalm of David.

How long will thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long will thou hide your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall my enemy be exalted over me? ( Psalms 13:1-2 )

The cry, "O Lord, how long do I go on in this trial? How long, Lord, before You deliver?"

Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death; Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved. But I have trusted in thy mercy; and my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation ( Psalms 13:3-5 ).

Comes on strong at the end. He speaks of the confidence of the victory that shall be his.

I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me ( Psalms 13:6 ).

"

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

1. Lament over prolonged suffering 13:1-2

Rhetorical questions expressed David’s frustration and sought to move God to action (cf. Psalms 6:3). God had apparently forgotten His servant or was hiding from him (cf. Exodus 2:24-25). Having no word from the Lord, David had to listen to his own reasoning that he regarded as a poor substitute. In the meantime, his enemy continued to enjoy the upper hand.

"Psalms 13 is indeed a speech of disorientation. Something is terribly wrong in the life of the speaker, and in the life of the speaker with God." [Note: Brueggemann, p. 58.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 13

Like several of the preceding psalms, this one is also a prayer that the psalmist offered in the midst of affliction. David rested in confidence in the Lord even though he saw no immediate relief from his predicament, possibly illness. This individual lament psalm designed for community use begins with sobbing and ends with singing.

"The Psalm consists of . . . three groups of decreasing magnitude. A long deep sigh is followed, as from a relieved breast, by an already much more gentle and half calm prayer; and this again by the believing joy which anticipates the certainty of being answered. This song as it were casts up constantly lessening waves, until it becomes still as the sea when smooth as a mirror, and the only motion discernible at last is that of the joyous ripple of calm repose." [Note: Delitzsch, 1:199.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? for ever?.... When God does not immediately deliver his people from their enemies, or help them out of an affliction; when he does not discover his love, communicate his grace, apply the blessings and promises of his covenant as usual; and when he does not visit them in his usual manner, and so frequently as he has formerly done, they are ready to conclude he has forgotten them; and sometimes this continues long, and then they fear they are forgotten for ever; and this they cannot bear, and therefore expostulate with God in a querulous manner, as the psalmist does here; but this is to be understood not in reality, but in their own apprehension, and in the opinion of their enemies; God never does nor can forget his people; oblivion does not fall upon him with respect to common persons and things; and much less with respect to his own dear children, for whom a special book of remembrance is written;

:-;

how long wilt thou hide thy face from me? his love, and the manifestation of it, from his person; his gracious presence, the light of his smiling countenance, which sometimes God hides or withdraws from his people by way of resentment of their unbecoming carriage to him; and which is very distressing to them, for they are apt to imagine it is in wrath and hot displeasure, when he still loves them, and will with everlasting kindness have mercy on them; see Isaiah 8:17. The Targum renders it, "the glory of thy face".

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

To the chief musician. A psalm of David.

      1 How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?   2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?   3 Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;   4 Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.   5 But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.   6 I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

      David, in affliction, is here pouring out his soul before God; his address is short, but the method is very observable, and of use for direction and encouragement.

      I. His troubles extort complaints (Psalms 13:1; Psalms 13:2); and the afflicted have liberty to pour out their complaint before the Lord,Psalms 102:1 title. It is some ease to a troubled spirit to give vent to its griefs, especially to give vent to them at the throne of grace, where we are sure to find one who is afflicted in the afflictions of his people and is troubled with the feeling of their infirmities; thither we have boldness of access by faith, and there we have parresia--freedom of speech. Observe here,

      1. What David complains of. (1.) God's unkindness; so he construed it, and it was his infirmity. He thought God had forgotten him, had forgotten his promises to him, his covenant with him, his former lovingkindness which he had shown him and which he took to be an earnest of further mercy, had forgotten that there was such a man in the world, who needed and expected relief and succour from him. Thus Zion said, My God has forgotten me (Isaiah 49:14), Israel said, My way is hidden from the Lord,Isaiah 40:27. Not that any good man can doubt the omniscience, goodness, and faithfulness of God; but it is a peevish expression of prevailing fear, which yet, when it arises from a high esteem and earnest desire of God's favour, though it be indecent and culpable, shall be passed by and pardoned, for the second thought will retract it and repent of it. God hid his face from him, so that he wanted that inward comfort in God which he used to have, and herein was a type of Christ upon the cross, crying out, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? God sometimes hides his face from his own children, and leaves them in the dark concerning their interest in him; and this they lay to heart more than any outward trouble whatsoever. (2.) His own uneasiness. [1.] He was racked with care, which filled his head: I take counsel in my soul; "I am at a loss, and am inops consilii--without a friend to advise with that I can put any confidence in, and therefore am myself continually projecting what to do to help myself; but none of my projects are likely to take effect, so that I am at my wits' end, and in a continual agitation." Anxious cares are heavy burdens with which good people often load themselves more than they need. [2.] He was overwhelmed with sorrow, which filled his heart: I have sorrow in my heart daily. He had a constant disposition to sorrow and it preyed upon his spirits, not only in the night, when he was silent and solitary, but by day too, when lighter griefs are diverted and dissipated by conversation and business; nay, every day brought with it fresh occasions of grief; the clouds returned after the rain. The bread of sorrow is sometimes the saint's daily bread. Our Master himself was a man of sorrows. (3.) His enemies' insolence, which added to his grief. Saul his great enemy, and others under him, were exalted over him, triumphed in his distress, pleased themselves with his grief, and promised themselves a complete victory over him. This he complained of as reflecting dishonour upon God, and his power and promise.

      2. How he expostulates with God hereupon: "How long shall it be thus?" And, "Shall it be thus for ever?" Long afflictions try our patience and often tire it. It is a common temptation, when trouble lasts long, to think it will last always; despondency then turns into despair, and those that have long been without joy begin, at last, to be without hope. "Lord, tell me how long thou wilt hide thy face, and assure me that it shall not be for ever, but that thou wilt return at length in mercy to me, and then I shall the more easily bear my present troubles."

      II. His complaints stir up his prayers, Psalms 13:3; Psalms 13:4. We should never allow ourselves to make any complaints but what are fit to be offered up to God and what drive us to our knees. Observe here,

      1. What his petitions are: Consider my case, hear my complaints, and enlighten my eyes, that is, (1.) "Strengthen my faith;" for faith is the eye of the soul, with which it sees above, and sees through, the things of sense. "Lord, enable me to look beyond my present troubles and to foresee a happy issue of them." (2.) "Guide my way; enable me to look about me, that I may avoid the snares which are laid for me." (3.) "Refresh my soul with the joy of thy salvation." That which revives the drooping spirits is said to enlighten the eyes,1 Samuel 14:27; Ezra 9:8. "Lord, scatter the cloud of melancholy which darkens my eyes, and let my countenance be made pleasant."

      2. What his pleas are. He mentions his relation to God and interest in him (O Lord my God!) and insists upon the greatness of the peril, which called for speedy relief and succour. If his eyes were not enlightened quickly, (1.) He concludes that he must perish: "I shall sleep the sleep of death; I cannot live under the weight of all this care and grief." Nothing is more killing to a soul then the want of God's favour, nothing more reviving than the return of it. (2.) That then his enemies would triumph: "Lest my enemy say, So would I have it; lest Saul, lest Satan, be gratified in my fall." It would gratify the pride of his enemy: He will say, "I have prevailed, I have gotten the day, and been too hard for him and his God." It would gratify the malice of his enemies: They will rejoice when I am moved. And will it be for God's honour to suffer them thus to trample upon all that is sacred both in heaven and earth?

      III. His prayers are soon turned into praises (Psalms 13:5; Psalms 13:6): But my heart shall rejoice and I will sing to the Lord. What a surprising change is here in a few lines! In the beginning of the psalm we have him drooping, trembling, and ready to sink into melancholy and despair; but, in the close of it, rejoicing in God, and elevated and enlarged in his praises. See the power of faith, the power of prayer, and how good it is to draw near to God. If we bring our cares and griefs to the throne of grace, and leave them there, we may go away like Hannah, and our countenance will be no more sad,1 Samuel 1:18. And here observe the method of his comfort. 1. God's mercy is the support of his faith. "My case is bad enough, and I am ready to think it deplorable, till I consider the infinite goodness of God; but, finding I have that to trust to, I am comforted, though I have no merit of my own. In former distresses I have trusted in the mercy of God, and I never found that it failed me; his mercy has in due time relieved me and my confidence in it has in the mean time supported me. Even in the depth of this distress, when God hid his face from me, when without were fightings and within were fears, yet I trusted in the mercy of God and that was as an anchor in a storm, by the help of which, though I was tossed, I was not overset." And still I do trust in thy mercy; so some read it. "I refer myself to that, with an assurance that it will do well for me at last." This he pleads with God, knowing what pleasure he takes in those that hope in his mercy,Psalms 147:11. 2. His faith in God's mercy filled his heart with joy in his salvation; for joy and peace come by believing,Romans 15:13. Believing, you rejoice,1 Peter 1:8. Having put his trust in the mercy of God, he is fully assured of salvation, and that his heart, which was now daily grieving, should rejoice in that salvation. Though weeping endure long, joy will return. 3. His joy in God's salvation would fill his mouth with songs of praise (Psalms 13:6; Psalms 13:6): "I will sing unto the Lord, sing in remembrance of what he has done formerly; though I should never recover the peace I have had, I will die blessing God that ever I had it. He has dealt bountifully with me formerly, and he shall have the glory of that, however he is pleased to deal with me now. I will sing in hope of what he will do for me at last, being confident that all will end well, will end everlastingly well." But he speaks of it as a thing past (He has dealt bountifully with me), because by faith he had received the earnest of the salvation and he was as confident of it as if it had been done already.

      In singing this psalm and praying it over, if we have not the same complaints to make that David had, we must thank God that we have not, dread and deprecate his withdrawings, sympathize with those that are troubled in mind, and encourage ourselves in our most holy faith and joy.