Psalms 13

Psalms 13:1-6

the Bounty of God and the Folly of Men Psalms 13:1-6; Psalms 14:1-7 The first of these psalms evidently dates from the Sauline persecutions, 1 Samuel 19:1. Four times the persecuted soul cries, How long! The psalm begins in deepest dejection, but clears as it proceeds. Prayer often proves to be the ladder from the deepest dungeon to the more radiant day. We find here depression, Psalms 13:1-2; supplication, Psalms 13:3-4; assurance, Psalms 13:5-6. Do not carry your anxieties in your heart. Remember that Christ is by your side, and leading you through all to the Kingdom. Faith begins praise for victory before the fight has reached its worst. The creed, character, and doom of the atheist are set forth in the next psalm, and the psalm is so important as to demand repetition. See Psalms 53:1-6. The root of atheism is in the heart, Romans 1:21. Its effect on character, speech, and action is disastrous, and it ends in great fear, Psalms 14:5. The best answer to atheism is the light and liberty of the children of God, Psalms 14:7; Hebrews 9:28; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10.

How long, O Lord?This Psalm evidently dates from the time of the Sauline persecutions. Four times the afflicted Psalmist cried, How long? The Psalm begins in the deepest dejection, but it clears as it proceeds; and the soul, lark-like, rises above the lower current of east wind, till it revels in the heaven of God’s love. Pray on, troubled believer: it is marvelous how certainly prayer proves to be a ladder from the deepest dungeon into the most radiant day.

Psalms 13:1-2 Depression. Saul’s persecutions probably lasted for eight or nine years; and no hope of termination appeared (1 Samuel 27:1). David was a man who spends five hundred days passing through a forest: the tangled over-growth hides the sun; and he begins to despair of ever emerging. Some say that this Psalm is the cry of the Church (Revelation 6:10).

Psalms 13:3-4 Supplication. How wise to hand over all worries and anxieties to God. If we make them all instantly known to Him, we will live more blessed and peaceful lives (Philippians 4:6-7). He had bemoaned four evils: he now entreats three blessings (Psalms 13:3). Oh for the enlightened eyes! (Ephesians 1:18). The holy soul is as eager for God’s honor, as for its own vindication (Psalms 13:4). Psalms 13:5-6 Assurance.It is delightful when we can sing, because certain of coming deliverance. Faith praises for the victory, before the fight has even reached its worst. After lying for some time in the Bishop of London’s coalhouse, Mr. John Philpot was rebuked for singing hymns in prison, and he answered: “I have so much joy that I cannot lament; but day and night I never was so merry before.”