Light for the Eyes: Help For the Despairing (Psalm 13)

Read Psalm 13:

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

¹ How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? ² How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

³ Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, ⁴ lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,” lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

⁵ But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. ⁶ I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me.

Understand Psalm 13:

Lament reminds us that we all suffer in this fallen world, but that God has made a way of escape. In Psalm 13, David models three soul-transforming acts of faith for despairing people.

I. Pour Out Your Soul’s Despair (vv. 1-2)

Four times, David pleads in prayer, “How long?” as he pours out his honest feelings about God, himself, and others. He feels like God has forgotten him and has abandoned his covenant promises (v. 1). So David tries to “take counsel” with himself and ends up wrestling with indecision (v. 2a). Ultimately, he cries out to God in the midst of his affliction (v. 2b).

We must remain honest before the Lord in our despair. Then as we pray, let us remember:

1. We have a “high priest who is [able] to sympathize with our weaknesses, . . . one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb 4:15).
2. We have a Savior who humbled himself to become a man and also lamented during his earthly ministry: “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you?” (Mark 9:19).
3. We have a Redeemer who cried out from the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt 27:46; see Ps 22:1).
4. We have a Conquering King who knows our suffering intimately and listens to our soul’s despair: “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb 4:16).

II. Pray For God’s Deliverance (vv. 3-4)

Lament is futile unless it leads you to the God who answers prayer. David feels like God isn’t there, yet still he prays to Yahweh, his covenant God, and addresses him personally. Like a child taking his father’s face in his hands, he pleads, “Look at me. See my suffering. Answer my questions. Address my prayers.“

We too must pray with tenacious faith, for Jesus promised, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened” (Matt 7:7-8). Likewise, in the words of James, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you” (Jas 4:8a). The most important reason we pray is not for God to give us stuff, but to give to us himself. For our Lord often delivers not by changing our circumstances, but by being present with us in our suffering.

III. Proclaim Your Heart’s Delight (vv. 5-6)

David’s praise pivots on the promises of God as verse 5 reveals his change in thinking: “But I have trusted in your steadfast love.” God’s hesed love speaks of “loyal commitment” and “enduring allegiance,” for God promised to remain faithful even when his people did not. Thus, David clings to God’s covenant faithfulness: “My heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me” (vv. 5b-6). David rejoices not in his change of circumstances, but in the salvation of the Lord.

In the midst of our despair we too can sing by faith, for “all true songs of worship are born in the wilderness of suffering.”[1] Singing is an active trust-filled waiting on the Lord. Therefore, we sing with David, “I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.” Then as we sing, we see how the darkness of the sixth hour led to dawn on the third day. We learn how our Savior’s life of lament led to salvation and eternal life. We trust that nothing can ever separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom 8:35, 37-39), for he pours out generosity day-after-day. His mercies are new every morning (Lam 3:22-23) and his grace overflows our meager souls. Psalm 13 leads us onward into the unfailing love of Christ.

Apply Psalm 13:

1. When you pray, “How long, O Lord?” what personal or global suffering causes you to lament? Pour out your soul’s despair about your relationship with God, self, and others.
2. In what ways does God show his unfailing love even when he does not change your circumstances? (e.g., Matt 26:38-39).
3. Idolatry turns a good desire into an ultimate desire. Has anything or anyone captured your heart, mind, and affections more than God?
4. How will you rejoice as a child of the King? What blessings does God offer you both now and in eternity? Sing or listen to the lyrics of a cherished song of praise.
5. For further study, read Bob Somerville’s book, If I’m a Christian, Why am I Depressed? or Mark Vroegop’s, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy.
6. Walk through David’s prayer in Psalm 13: Pour out your despair, pray for God’s deliverance, then proclaim your heart’s delight.

Pray Psalm 13:

1. Lord, have you forgotten me? How long must I endure my trial? (vv. 1-2).
2. Grant me relief from my suffering (v. 3).
3. Vindicate your name by restoring my strength (v. 4).
4. Teach me to wholly trust in you (v. 5a).
5. I will rejoice in your salvation and sing of your goodness (vv. 5b-6).

Counsel Psalm 13:

Every person living in a fallen world encounters suffering which may sometimes spiral into despair. Psalm 13 is a prayer guide to help lead lamenters from despair into praise.

[1] Michael Card, A Sacred Sorrow: Reaching Out to God in the Lost Language of Lament (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2005), 63.