Psalm 13
A Plea for Deliverance
For the choir director. A psalm of David.
1 How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me? t
2 How long will I store up anxious concerns within me,
agony in my mind every day?
How long will my enemy dominate me? u
3 Consider me and answer, LORD my God.
Restore brightness to my eyes; v
otherwise, I will sleep in death.
4 My enemy will say, “I have triumphed over him,”
and my foes will rejoice because I am shaken. w
5 But I have trusted in your faithful love; x
my heart will rejoice in your deliverance. y
6 I will sing to the LORD
because he has treated me generously. z
Psalm 13. 13:1–2. Manifested in a fourfold cry to the Lord—“how long?”—David’s emotional stress exposes four agonized concerns: (1) that he may have become “invisible” to God, that is, that God will no longer act on his behalf; (2) that God is angry with him, intentionally turning away from him; (3) that his frustrations and personal suffering may never end; and (4) that he will not find relief from enemy oppression.
13:3–6. David pleads for answers—his life and happiness depend on what God does or does not do (13:3). If God does not help him, the enemy wins and rejoices over him (13:4). If God helps him, he triumphs and rejoices in God’s deliverance (13:5–6).