Well, you can turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 13. Psalm 13, we'll begin reading at verse 1. To the chief musician, a psalm of David, How long, O Lord, will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?
How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and hear, O Lord my God. Enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death.
Lest my enemies say, I have prevailed against him. Lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved. but I have trusted in your mercy. My heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord because he has dealt bountifully with me.
Amen. Well, let us pray.
Opening Prayer
O Lord our God, we are thankful for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who is our sure and steady anchor in shifting times. And we're thankful that we can put our faith and trust in Him. We can put our faith and trust in You, our God, especially in times when it seems that You are absent, in times when it seems like You are not near. And we know, O Lord, that Your promises are true, whether we feel like it or not.
And so we're thankful, Lord, we can rely upon your promises as you're the God who does not change. We're thankful that you've promised to never leave us nor forsake us. And you've promised to be with your church even to the end of the age. And so we ask and pray that tonight that we would know that promise and that you'd be with us this night as we come and consider your word once again.
We pray that you give your spirit, send forth your spirit to enlighten our eyes, to see the things we need to see tonight. We pray, O Lord, if we need comfort, please comfort. If we need some rebuke, please rebuke. And we pray, O Lord, that you would edify your saints, that you would be pleased to save sinners, and in all things you would be glorified.
So help us now, we pray, in the name of Christ. Amen.
Introduction
Well, I appreciate how our Heavenly Father knows our frame. And this is evident in his word, because he doesn't always sugarcoat the realities of life that we're going to deal with. He promises mercy, grace and abundance. He promises protection.
But we're still going to go through tribulation in this lower world. And so
Why God May Seem Absent
there are going to be times when it seems like God is near. There are going to be times when it seems like God is not close. There are going to be times when it seems like God's countenance has been withdrawn. Now, we shouldn't be surprised by those moments.
But yet, even in those moments, and even when perhaps those trials are very long, we might cry out like the psalmist and we might say, how long? And so I really like the Psalms because they're books, certainly, Psalms that point to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, but there's a lot of lament, there's a lot of crying out, there's a lot of trial that we see in the Psalter. Even when it seems like our trials are never-ending, Psalm 13 is very instructive for us. It affirms the loneliness God's people face, even seemingly from God, but it directs us to just keep praying and to just keep looking to His promises.
And as we consider the Psalter as a whole, I do believe there is some order and there is some flow as we read through it. Certainly, the main message and main purpose comes in Psalms 1 and 2. Psalm 1 is the purpose. Psalm 2 is the message.
The way of happiness is found in the king. The way of happiness is found in the one who is the anointed one. And then we start book one, which is where our psalm is. And that is called, as Dr.
Godfrey says, the king's confidence in the Lord. As you read the opening psalms, there's a lot of struggle. There's a lot of trial. There's a lot of doubt.
There's a lot of crying out in these psalms. And so even though Psalm 13 is an example of that, it is an individual lament. Yet nonetheless, often the psalms turn to trust. They cry out, the psalmist has a plight, he has an issue, but they always turn to trust, not always, but most of them turn to trust in the one true God.
Because the problem that we can see in Psalm 13 is the problem of when the Lord is seemingly absent from the people of God. that sensible absence of the Lord when it seems like God is not with us, which is something many of God's people go through. Now, God has his reasons, and he may evidence itself in various ways in time and space. Perhaps we're overcome with some melancholy over our sins. We may question the grace of God because of that.
Maybe God's chastising us for a particular sin, or maybe we are just so alone that it seems like the enemy is winning. All those things are very clear in Psalm 13. And so in Psalm 13, we do see that the Lord affirms our questions, but he also provides the hope we need in the midst of those questions. And so we're going to look at this psalm as we consider the questions we have under two headings.
Questions in the Lord's Absence
First of all, we're going to see our questions in the Lord's absence in verses one through four. Our questions in the Lord's absence in verses one through four. And then we're going to see our faith in the Lord's mercy in verses five and six. So the questions we have and the faith we have.
So let's first look at our questions in the Lord's absence in verses one through four.
Context and Setting of Psalm 13
And Psalm 13 does not have a superscript, so we do not know the historical setting, yet perhaps there is some inference and we can glean something from the superscript of Psalm 13. In Psalm 13 we read, A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son. And we know that with the situation with Absalom, God is judging David for his sins. Yet, nonetheless, David still goes to God for help, he still goes to God for aid, he still cries out to Him.
He is a father who disciplines, but he's also the father that his son can call upon. And there's been a lot of loneliness, there's been a lot of perplexity in the Psalms that lead up to Psalm 13. We see that God, we see enemies seem to increase. Friends have bad advice.
There's no one who is godly, no, not one. And there is the proud who seem to flatter themselves. Is God going to deal with them? What can give us hope when many use their own words to flatter themselves?
Well, we do see in Psalm 12 that our hope is the word of God. And we see that the words of the Lord are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. You shall keep them, O Lord, you shall preserve them from this generation forever, even when the wicked prowl on every side. We can look to God's word, we can look to his promises, even when the proud are lifting up their own words against God and for themselves.
And so these questions continue in Psalm 13. His plight is still real, and we see that his plight seems to have gone on for quite a long time. And so
The Fourfold 'How Long'
we see the questions in verses 1 and 2, and really there's four questions, and they all start off with, how long? How long? How long? How long?
How long? And it highlights the anguish. It highlights the plight. It highlights that he's been in this situation for quite some time.
He doesn't know if he can continue in it. He doesn't know if he can keep going in the midst of his trials and his struggles. So we see his anguish as he cries out. Now, brethren, often we want to find some relief from our suffering, and we want to find that relief right away.
And God in many ways and many times is pleased to relieve us of that suffering, but there are many times where He doesn't. And it seems like that suffering is just going on so long, we might think about caving in. We've prayed. We've come to church.
We've done all these things. But brethren, we have to just keep going. We have to just keep praying. We have to keep coming to the house of the Lord, because there is nowhere else for us to go.
Because that's exactly where David goes. In his plight, he still goes to his God. In his plight, he still says, How long, O Lord? And so the first problem really has to do with God and how God seems absent.
How long, oh Lord, verse one, will you forget me forever? How long, oh Lord, will you hide your face from me? We want the shining countenance of God. We want God's face directed towards us.
We want God's blessings. We want those things. We certainly see that Aaronic blessing in number six, that countenance. That was what was prayed for in Psalm 4, verse 6.
There are many who say, who will show us any good? Lord, lift up the light of your countenance upon us. You have put gladness in my heart. But now we have Psalm 13.
Lord, where are you? Where is your face? Where is your goodness? Where is your goodness? nearness.
And remember, this is David. This is the one who was promised a kingdom. This is the one who was promised a dynasty. And things are not going very well.
He might be questioning the promise of God. We have to understand that the Davidic Covenant undergirds the entire Psalter. And even too, when we get to Psalm 89, which talks about that Davidic Covenant, the psalmist there cries out again, Oh Lord, what is going on? Why is this happening?
When the people of Israel, when they go into captivity, they would be questioning, oh Lord, why is this happening? Is there going to be the shoot who's going to come? And thanks be to God, he gives his people promises before they go into captivity, there's going to be the shoot who's going to come. One day Emmanuel is going to come and all the other prophecies that point ahead to Jesus.
So when they're going into captivity, there is the promise that they can lean upon as they do that. But even then, God's people would still question the promises of God. Even John the Baptist even asked Jesus, are you the one? Are we to look for another because of where he was sitting?
And so David is questioning all these things, yet he still goes to his God and he asks, oh Lord, how long will you forget me? How long will you hide your face from me? So God seems to be absent. God doesn't seem to be near.
God seems to have hidden his face from him. Then we also see David tries to take counsel in his own mind. He tries to reason and try to get out of his situation in verse 2. How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily?
He has anxiety in himself. He has anxiety in his own plans. He lays out all these plans in his head about how to get out of this situation, but they haven't worked. He wants help, but he can't seem to get it from anywhere, it seems.
God is not near, God doesn't seem to be close, and his own plans continue to be foiled and continue to be shot down. How long shall I take counsel in my own soul, having sorrow in my heart? But not only that, God is absent, his plans don't work, the enemy seems to be increasing. That's one of the problems we've seen in Psalms 9 and 10.
They seem to increase. They seem to continue to get away with things. They seem to be able to crush the poor and nobody's saying anything. They seem to be getting away with injustice.
Where is the justice of God? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? How long will my enemy be able to remove me and take me out and seemingly winning the battle at this time? How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
Those are questions I'm sure we've all had in one shape or form or another. How long, O Lord? And
Prayer to the Seemingly Absent God
notice what David continues to do in verses three and four. He cries out, he asks these questions, but notice his request to the absent God, to his seemingly absent God in verse three. Consider and hear. Lord, consider and hear.
Lord, you've forgotten me. Lord, you haven't been near to me. But notice he continues to pray. He is at his wits end, but he continues to pray.
Lord, you're not looking, so look. Lord, you're not considering, so consider. He keeps going to his God and crying out to him. You haven't looked in a long time, oh Lord, it seems, but look.
Consider and hear. Listen to what I have to say. Listen to my plight. Listen to my words.
Lord, please see. Consider and hear me, O Lord, my God, and also enlighten my eyes. He wants some understanding, but he also wants some sort of revival in his own soul and revival in his own heart. He is in anguish, but he wants some sort of refreshment.
And so that is not a wrong thing to ask sometimes. It's not necessarily wrong to ask that the Lord lifts us out of our plight. He's certainly doing that. We must trust the Lord if he doesn't do it in the timing that we would like him to do it.
But we can still ask. Consider, Lord, and hear. Enlighten my eyes.
Reasoning with God in Prayer
And then he goes on to give the reasons why. Isn't the psalmist helpful when it comes to praying? We can give these petitions to God, we can bring our petitions, but we can reason with God based upon his promises and what he says. What is prayer?
It's praying the promises of God back to him. It's praying the word of God back to him. And that's exactly what David is doing here. He says, consider and hear.
He's using his mind and he is using his emotions. They are both present in this psalm. The intellect and the will are working in tandem as really the faculties of the soul. We just split it up.
But in reality, everything functions as we know, as the intellect knows, so the will And that is very present here, and we have to be careful that we don't remove both reason and emotion. Davis says, sometimes in our Christian or church culture, we get pushed one way or the other. Some urging us, if we think of extremes, to swing and sway to the beat and bounce of Roup Didou's songs of praise, and others to furrow our brows and get into brain cell Christianity. But the psalm implies that, especially in prayer, you must hold both emotion and reason together.
In a true knowledge of God, they combine. At the throne of grace, tears fall from your eyes and arguments from your lips. The psalmist also does this in Psalm 12. The petition is one word, help.
That's all it is in Psalm 12, help. That's all sometimes we can say sometimes to God, help. But then he lays out the reasons. The godly man ceases, the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
Help, here's why. Lord, consider, here's why. And he lays out his reasons why in verses 3 and 4. Lest I die.
Lord, if I die, lest I sleep the sleep of death, as I'm in the face of death and my enemy is coming, lest I die, Lord, consider and hear, consider your anointed one. Lest my enemies say in verse four, I have prevailed against him. Lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved. Lord, what of the Lord's anointed?
What of your promises to me? What of your promise to have a line? Will you bring shame upon yourself according to what you've said and not do it? He's laying out these reasons before God.
Consider and hear, O Lord my God. Enlighten, lest I sleep, lest my enemies say, lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved. He cries out, how long, but he also continues to keep praying. And that is the clear application that we need to take away.
The prayers, we just need to keep praying. Sometimes we view prayer as some sort of, if I do this, if I pray this, I'm going to get this. Now, God is pleased to answer our prayers. God is pleased to help us in our prayers, as we're going to see, sometimes changing our demeanor in the midst of that prayer.
We're going to see that in verses 5 and 6. But the reality is, in this present world in which we live, there are going to be times when it seems like God is absent from His people. It doesn't mean He is, but there might be times where we fall under His fatherly displeasure, and He might be chastising. We see that in the book of Hebrews.
There might be times when we can grieve the Holy Spirit. Maybe that's another reason, perhaps. Maybe God is trying to wean us from the world. Maybe He's teaching us our dependence upon Him.
Maybe He is exposing some sort of sin, and that we might kill it in Christ and by the power of the Spirit. Maybe He is teaching us that we are under His fatherly displeasure. And so we must keep praying to God Most High as we go through bouts of melancholy or sorrow. And we shouldn't think we're so odd if we go through bouts of melancholy or sorrow.
Christians aren't always bubbly or uppity all the time. We don't, as Davis says, always sing Roop-dee-doo songs of praise. Sometimes we need dirges. Sometimes we are in deep.
Sometimes we need Psalm 13. How long, O Lord, will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? And what makes this even more blessed?
Remember, if the situation with Psalm 3 is inferred, and even if it's not, the reality is we can go to our God even when it's our fault. We can go to our Father, even when we've sinned against Him, and we can cry out, how long, O Lord, consider, hear, and listen. What else can we do, brethren? What else are we gonna do?
Stop praying, stop coming to church, stop trusting. Are we gonna stop? We must continue to look to Him, continue to look to our God, even if it is our fault. And thankfully, He is the one we can always go to. boldly approach the throne of grace through Jesus Christ, our High Priest.
So those are our questions that we have in the Lord's absence.
Faith in the Lord's Mercy
Let's then look secondly at our faith in the Lord's mercy in verses 5 and 6. And notice our faith in God's promises.
Demeanor Changed, Circumstances Unchanged
Notice David changes, but the situation doesn't. He is still perhaps being chased by Absalom, but things with respect to his demeanor and after having a holy conversation with himself and with God, notice his demeanor changes. But I have trusted in your mercy. My heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
He directs his attention not to himself, but he directs his attention to God. And God is pleased to help him in the midst of his plight. and in the midst of his prayer. We must continually go to our God who has promised, and thanks be to God, our God is a God who does not change. And so when it seems like God is not near, we need to hear Joshua.
I will never leave you nor forsake you. We need to hear the Great Commission. I know it's for the church, but it's for God's people. I am with you to the end of the age.
We need to hear those things and be encouraged by those things and uplifted by those things because this is our covenant-keeping God.
Faith as Trust, Not Feeling
Davis tells the story of Spurgeon and a lady Spurgeon called Mrs. Much Afraid. It was a lady who had very little assurance. She didn't have a whole lot of hope.
But she always attended the meetings. She always attended the house of God. And Spurgeon asked her many different questions. And one time he said, well, maybe you should stop coming.
And she's like, I can't. I cannot stay away from the house of the Lord. Then Spurgeon says, well, why don't you sell me your hope? And she's like, but I cannot sell you my hope.
I would not sell it for 1,000 worlds. But she struggled, and yet she wouldn't sell her hope for 1,000 worlds. You see, faith is not a fuzzy feeling, is it? Now, we want assurance.
We want to have that persuasion in our hearts in that way. But brethren, faith is trust in the promises of God. And that is where our hope lies. Not in the feelings we feel about it, but the hope we have and trust in what God has said, and we can always go to him when we're struggling.
I remember this past week, I was just saying just out loud in front of my family, I said, you know, this has been a bit of a week that's been a bit of a struggle for me. And my daughter says, Dad, you can always pray to God when you're struggling. And brethren, isn't that the truth? We can always pray to God when we're struggling.
It's a James 5.13 sort of application, isn't it? When we're suffering, what do we do? We pray to God. When we're cheerful, what do we do?
We sing songs to God. We're not always cheerful, and we're not always suffering, and we're not always in a melancholy state, but God directs us in what we ought to do in those states. And thanks be to God, he can turn our melancholy into rejoicing. As we see that with David, I have trusted in your mercy.
I have trusted in your promises. I have trusted in your salvation. and my heart shall rejoice in these things." The salvation that he has is what brings him joy. He was ruminating on his plight, but then he directs his attention to God and what happens. It changes him.
It is not good for anyone to ruminate on their sadness for very long periods of time. And thankfully for the Christian, we can always go to our God and direct our attention to him and his mercy, and he will answer us, brethren. He will provide for us. Sometimes we just need to get out of our own heads, don't we?
And set our mind upon the things that are above. It's similar to what Asaph says in Psalm 73. Remember, he's struggling with how the wicked seem to prosper. He's struggling with what's going on all around him.
And then what does he say? I went to the house of the Lord. Ah, and then I understood. Then I understood.
He had an issue. He had a plight. He had a situation that was bothering him. He comes to the house of the Lord and his attention is directed to God Most High.
And he understands God is sovereign. There is something that's going to happen. The wicked are going to be dealt with at a time. But he had a trial and an issue and a struggle and directed his attention to God.
Now, the answering with which God might answer might not always be deliverance, but thanks be to God, we're not always going to cave in our plight. I mean, there's the perseverance of the saints. We are the ones who persevere as the subjects who persevere. But in reality, who is the one who keeps us and protects us from stumbling?
It's God Almighty who does, and all his people will be kept and preserved until the end. And we certainly desire some consolation. We desire that sensible assurance. We desire that sensible beatitude.
But Roger says, sensible consolation is a very desirable thing. It is like the dew of heaven, like manna coming from there, like honey or the honeycomb, very pleasant to the taste. But dependence and trust in God when he is withdrawn is one of the most glorious acts of faith. And we saw that with Mrs.
Muchafraid. She still went to her God. That is faith, dear brethren, isn't it? Always going to God, even when we have to cry out, how long?
And so David did cry out how long, but his attention is directed to God's mercy. his kindness, his goodness, his salvation. My heart shall rejoice in your salvation. And then we do see it turns from suffering into singing following that James 5.13 instruction. Verse six, I will sing to the Lord because he has dealt bountifully with He sings because of the goodness of God.
Sometimes we just need to be reminded of the goodness of God in the situation in which we are in. In the midst of sadness, we need to be reminded of how gracious and how kind and how benevolent our God is. He provides for us temporally. Everything we have is a gift of God.
We don't deserve any of it. He's provided for us spiritually. If He saved our souls, He protects us, and He guides us. He is a faithful God.
Now a good example of this is found in Lamentations 3.
Lamentations 3: Hope in Judgment
You can turn to Lamentations 3. Lamentations is all about the judgment of God upon Israel and the end of Jerusalem. And we see in verse 16, he's broken my teeth with with gravel and covered me with ashes. You have moved my soul far from peace.
I have forgotten prosperity. And I said my strength and my hope have perished from the Lord. But then verse 19, remember my affliction and roaming the wormwood and the gall. My soul still remembers and sinks within me.
This I recall to mind. Therefore, I have hope. And then we get to verse 22 and 23. And we know these words well.
Through the Lord's mercies, we are not consumed. because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, says my soul.
Therefore, I hope in him." Even in the midst of judgment, God is good. Even in the midst of judgment, God is faithful. And even in the midst of judgment, we can have a reason to sing to God most high, because we were not consumed. Rogers again says, oh, how pleasant are the smiles of God when we have long lain under the terror of his frowns.
How pleasant it is to indeed find him to be our friend when we have long thought him to be our enemy. And thanks be to God that we have real hope and real answers to our questions, the goodness and promises of God. We pray to this God, we look to our God, but we can rely upon His promises and rely upon His goodness and rely upon that promise that He is near, even if it does not feel like He is near. And again, notice what gives him joy.
It's not the feelings he feels. Even though the situation has not changed, it's the knowledge of God's promises, the knowledge of God's salvation that turns his heart to singing. Again, see how we sometimes we need to have a holy conversation with ourselves. We need to pray to God, ask him for help.
Then we need to chat with ourselves as well. God is good. God has promised. God has said.
And really the best way to get out of our own heads is to come to the house of the Lord and to hear whatever the preacher, whatever God has for that day. And most of the time, hopefully, our attention is directed to God. The situation is directed to God. Our minds are directed to God.
And hopefully we're reminded of the promises of God as we go through suffering in this lower world. So we have real answers to our questions. And
The Promise That Sorrows Will End
thanks be to God that there is a promise that our sorrows really will end. There's going to be a time where we no longer have to cry out how long. There's going to be a time where all our tears are going to be wiped away. And God is the one who in his timing will bring that about.
One of my favorite hymns is the Sands of Time, and all four stanzas are fantastic, but one thing I learned pretty recently is there's actually 19. Anne Cousins arranged the poems of Samuel Rutherford, so they're really by him, and some of the other ones are quite lovely, so much so I don't cry a whole lot. I have to say I did cry quite a bit through these ones, but I liked stanza 14 quite a lot, as it applies, I think, to the fact that our sorrows are going to end. He says, soon shall the cup of glory wash down earth's bitterest woes.
Soon shall the desert briar break into Eden's rose. The curse shall change to blessing. The name on earth that's banned be graven on the white stone in Emmanuel's land. Brethren, we can cry out how long, but one day the briar will break into Eden's rose.
One day we shall be in Emmanuel's land. And thanks be to God, as we have that hope, there is someone that we can look to always in this world. And that is Christ Jesus, who is our sure and steady anchor in shifting times. He is the author and perfecter of our faith. as we press on in this lower world.
Because what else can we do? Where else can we go when we need to cry out, how long? Where else can we go when we need to cry out to our God and ask perhaps four times, how long, oh Lord, will you forget me? Well, let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Our good and gracious God, we are thankful for your promises that you give in the scriptures, that tell us about your mercy, that tell us about your salvation. And we confess, O Lord, so often we are forgetful of those promises. So often, in times when it feels like you are not near, so often we are so focused upon the situation, focused on our plight, rather than bringing it to you. And we are thankful, O Lord, that we can, even if we've fallen under your fatherly displeasure, that we have such a great high priest who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and that there is mercy and that there is forgiveness with you.
And so we ask and pray, O Lord, that as we go through suffering, and if there are times when it feels like we're going to cave in, we ask, O Lord, that you would preserve us by your Spirit, that you would help us to keep praying, help us to keep looking to your promises, help us to keep coming to your house, because there really is nowhere else for us to go. And we are so grateful for your so great salvation for such undeserving people like us. And we're thankful that your promises are sure and true, even in the fulfillment of David's greater son, who has come. Thank that he is the one who fulfills that Davidic promise.
And he is the one who reigns now supreme. And he shall come again to judge the living and the dead. He is the one who shall take that briar and Eden's rose shall bloom. And we are very grateful for that promise and for that hope that we have of the new heavens and the new earth, O Lord.
Whatever we go through in this world, whatever bitterness we might endure in this world, help us to understand that the suffering we go through does not compare to the eternal weight of glory that awaits us in Christ Jesus our Lord. So Christ, our sure and steady anchor, be with us, help us, never leave us nor forsake us. And we ask that you would be with us all as we go out into this present evil age. Give us that strength that we need, give us that help that we need, give us the hope that we need, and help us to direct our attention to you.
And we pray, if there are any here today who do not know you, we pray, O Lord, that you would save their souls. We're thankful, Lord, that you are pleased to save sinners, and you are pleased to be our help and our aid throughout all of this lower world. And that is something that an unbeliever cannot say. And we pray, O Lord, that you would save.
We pray, O Lord, that you would work. And we pray, O Lord, that there were to be many who can call upon the name of the Lord and rejoice in the salvation that you bring. So thank you for all that you do. Thank you for your provision, and we ask, O Lord, that you would consider, that you would hear our prayers, and that we would rejoice in your salvation.
So be with us now, we pray, in the name of Christ. Amen. We'll close in