Psalm 13:1 Ulasan

This psalm is the deserted soul's case and cure. Whether it was penned upon any particular occasion does not appear, but in general, I. David sadly complains that God had long withdrawn from him and delayed to relieve him (Psa 13:1, Psa 13:2). II. He earnestly prays to God to consider his case and comfort him (Psa 13:3, Psa 13:4). III. He assures himself of an answer of peace, and therefore concludes the psalm with joy and triumph, because he concludes his deliverance to be as good as wrought (Psa 13:5, Psa 13:6). To the chief musician. A psalm of David.

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 (Psa 13:1, Psa 13:2); and the afflicted have liberty to pour out their complaint before the Lord, Ps. 102 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 parrēsia - 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 (Isa 49:14), Israel said, My way is hidden from the Lord, Isa 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, Psa 13:3, Psa 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, Sa1 14:27; Ezr 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 (Psa 13:5, Psa 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, Sa1 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, Psa 147:11. 2. His faith in God's mercy filled his heart with joy in his salvation; for joy and peace come by believing, Rom 15:13. Believing, you rejoice, Pe1 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 (Psa 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.

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 13 To the chief Musician, a Psalm of David. According to Theodoret this psalm was written by David, not when he fled from Saul, but from Absalom; and gives this reason for it, what happened to him from Saul was before his sin, and therefore he could speak with great boldness; but what befell him from Absalom was after it, and therefore mourning and groans were mixed with his words.

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; See Gill on Psa 9:18; 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 Isa 8:17. The Targum renders it, "the glory of thy face".

Whence comes his knowledge that God had forgotten him, does the text say? Since he knew also when he remembered him, and he was wise enough to know what forgetting meant and what remembering. Not like the majority of people, who, when they are wealthy, when they enjoy a good reputation with people, when everything goes favorably for them, when they better their foes, then think God remembers them. Hence neither do they understand when it is God forgets them. They do not recognize the sign of God’s remembering, you see, nor do they grasp the sign of his forgetting.… Nothing, after all, brings remembrance by God so much as doing good, being sober and watchful, practicing virtue; likewise, nothing prompts forgetting so much as living in sin and giving oneself to greed and rapacity. So for your part, dearly beloved, when you are in trouble, do not say, “God has forgotten me,” but when you are living in sin and everything is going favorably for you. After all, if you knew this, you would quickly abandon evil things.

"For Christ is the end of the law to every one that believes." [Romans 10:4] "How long, O Lord, will You forget me unto the end?" [Psalm 13:1] that is, put me off as to spiritually understanding Christ, who is the Wisdom of God, and the true end of all the aim of the soul. "How long will You turn away Your face from me?" As God does not forget, so neither does He turn His face away: but Scripture speaks after our manner. Now God is said to turn away His face, when He does not give to the soul, which as yet has not the pure eye of the mind, the knowledge of Himself.

The psalm’s theme, in fact, is clear: it is uttered on the part of David himself when he suffered the effects of the sin with Bathsheba. On falling foul of every harsh, grievous and painful incident on that account, remember, he then identified the sin as the cause, especially on hearing that “the Lord has taken away your sin.” You see, while he received the gift as coming from a loving Lord, he thought it behooved him not to forget the sin but instead to advance in virtue with the degree of determination he required to be preserved from committing such a sin against so good a lord. But on being caught up in the events involving Absalom in particular, he believed the outcome was God’s abandoning him and realized the sin was most of all to blame. He therefore asks God to be completely reconciled to him and not forsake him but to lift the weight of misfortune that was proving too heavy for the strength of the sufferer.

The forgetfulness of God [would be] a very serious thing, even temporarily. It would mean death, the loss of immortality.

He asks for the appearance of Christ whom he already foresaw. For his face is what was capable of being seen with the eyes of the body, which that holy man with this general longing rightly desired to look upon. Such a face deemed it right to save the world by his heavenly appearance.

In the preceding Psalm the Psalmist set forth the stratagems of his adversaries; here he asks a remedy against them from God. The title: "unto the end, a Psalm of David." This has been explained above. This Psalm is divided into three parts. In the first, a complaint is set forth; in the second, a petition, at "look upon me and hear me"; in the third, the hearing of the prayer, at "but I have trusted in your mercy." The complaint contains three things. He marvels at God's seeming indifference; he confesses his own weakness; and he complains about the power of his adversaries. The second, at "how long"; the third, at "how long shall my enemy be exalted." One who overlooks injuries done to someone does so either because he does not remember him, or because he does not wish to provide a remedy. And so he says: Lord, I am burdened by adversaries, and you do not provide a remedy? "How long will you forget me unto the end?" -- that is, it seems as though you wish finally to shun me. Is. 49: "Zion said, the Lord has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me." Hab. 1: "Why do you not look upon those who act unjustly, and are silent when the wicked devours one more just than himself?" "How long do you turn your face from me?" One turns one's face when one does not provide a remedy. Ps. 43: "Why do you turn away your face? Do you forget our need and our tribulation?" This accords with the history of David, who was long persecuted by Saul. Allegorically, it is said of the fathers of the Old Testament, who continually awaited Christ, and God, as though forgetful of them, delayed in providing a remedy; and they say, "how long, O Lord," etc. "How long do you turn your face from me?" -- that is, the presence of your Son from us. Or, let it be the complaint of modern just persons about the delay of the second coming: "How long, O Lord, will you forget me? Will this be until the end," that is, on the day of judgment, or until death? "And how long do you turn your face from me?" -- that is, the face of your glory, so that I may see you face to face. Ex. 33: "Show me your face." Ps. 79: "Show your face, and we shall be saved." Yet many reasons can also be assigned for why the ancient fathers so greatly desired the coming of Christ in the flesh. The first, on account of the exaltation of human nature, in whose person it is said in Lam. 1: "Look, O Lord, for I have become vile." But it was exalted through the incarnation. Ps. 72: "With glory you have received me," that is, I have been made glorious, as a lowborn woman is elevated if she contracts marriage with a nobleman. Hence it is that every sin after the coming of the Savior is graver than it was before -- just as if a noble woman or man were to commit some shameful act, it would be more disgraceful than if a peasant did so. The second reason is so that the captives might be freed from the prison of Hell or Limbo. Job 17: "Into the deepest Hell shall my bones descend; do you think that at least there shall be rest for me there?" As if to say: no; but through Christ we have been freed from it. Zech. 9: "You also, by the blood of your covenant, have sent forth the prisoner out of the pit in which there was no water." Third, on account of the casting down of the Devil. Ps. 88: "You have humbled the proud one as one who is wounded," that is, you have diminished his power. Fourth, because through the coming of Christ, God has been reconciled to us. Eph. 2: "The cornerstone who makes both one." Fifth, on account of the delight they hoped to have with Christ, by seeing, hearing, and conversing with Him. Mt. 13: "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see," etc. But the moderns desire the second coming. First, because then we shall be exalted. Wis. 3: "The saints shall judge nations and shall rule over peoples." And again, Wis. 5: "They are counted among the children of God." Second, because we shall be freed from every punishment. Is. 25: "The Lord shall wipe away every tear from every face," that is, the cause of weeping, or punishment. Third, because we shall be freed from every sin. Is. 25: "The Lord shall take away the reproach of His people from the whole earth." Fourth, because then we shall be snatched from the power of the Devil. Is. 11: "They shall not hurt nor kill in all my holy mountain." Fifth, because we shall be freed from the servitude of the body. Ps. 141: "Bring my soul out of prison." Rom. 8: "The creature itself shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption." Sixth, because we shall see God face to face. 1 Jn. 3: "We know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is." Jer. 31: "All shall know me, from the least even to the greatest." Or it can be the complaint of any just person oppressed by adversity or by the corruption of sin and concupiscence.

On title, see Introduction. The Psalmist, mourning God's absence and the triumph of his enemies, prays for relief before he is totally destroyed, and is encouraged to hope his trust will not be in vain. (Psa 13:1-6) The forms of expression and figure here used are frequent (compare Psa 9:12, Psa 9:18; Psa 10:11-12). How long . . . for ever--Shall it be for ever?

(Heb.: 13:2-3) The complicated question: till when, how long...for ever (as in Psa 74:10; Psa 79:5; Psa 89:47), is the expression of a complicated condition of soul, in which, as Luther briefly and forcibly describes it, amidst the feeling of anguish under divine wrath "hope itself despairs and despair nevertheless begins to hope." The self-contradiction of the question is to be explained by the conflict which is going on within between the flesh and the spirit. The dejected heart thinks: God has forgotten me for ever. But the spirit, which thrusts away this thought, changes it into a question which sets upon it the mark of a mere appearance not a reality: how long shall it seem as though Thou forgettest me for ever? It is in the nature of the divine wrath, that the feeling of it is always accompanied by an impression that it will last for ever; and consequently it becomes a foretaste of hell itself. But faith holds fast the love that is behind the wrath; it sees in the display of anger only a self-masking of the loving countenance of the God of love, and longs for the time when this loving countenance shall be again unveiled to it. Thrice does David send forth this cry of faith out of the inmost depths of his spirit. To place or set up contrivances, plans, or proposals in his soul, viz., as to the means by which he may be able to escape from this painful condition, is equivalent to, to make the soul the place of such thoughts, or the place where such thoughts are fabricated (cf. Pro 26:24). One such עצה chases the other in his soul, because he recognises the vanity of one after another as soon as they spring up. With respect to the יומם which follows, we must think of these cares as taking possession of his soul in the night time; for the night leaves a man alone with his affliction and makes it doubly felt by him. It cannot be proved from Eze 30:16 (cf. Zep 2:4 בּצּהרים), that יומם like יום (Jer 7:25, short for יום יום) may mean "daily" (Ew. 313, a). יומם does not mean this here, but is the antithesis to לילה which is to be supplied in thought in Psa 13:3. By night he proposes plan after plan, each one as worthless as the other; and by day, or all the day through, when he sees his distress with open eyes, sorrow (יגון) is in his heart, as it were, as the feeling the night leaves behind it and as the direct reflex of his helpless and hopeless condition. He is persecuted, and his foe is in the ascendant. רוּם is both to be exalted and to rise, raise one's self, i.e., to rise to position and arrogantly to assume dignity to one's self (sich brsten). The strophe closes with ‛ad-āna which is used for the fourth time.