Psalms 13

General context

The speaker asks the Lord how long he will forget him, whether for ever, and how long he will hide his face. He asks how long he must take counsel in his soul with daily sorrow in his heart, and how long his enemy will be exalted over him. He asks the Lord his God to consider and hear him and to lighten his eyes, lest he sleep the sleep of death, lest his enemy say he has prevailed against him, and lest those who trouble him rejoice when he is moved. He then says that he has trusted in God's mercy and that his heart will rejoice in God's salvation, and he closes by saying he will sing to the Lord because the Lord has dealt bountifully with him.

Cited passages: Psalms 13:1, Psalms 13:2, Psalms 13:3, Psalms 13:4, Psalms 13:5, Psalms 13:6

Psalms 13 (KJV)

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Historical context

The text as printed carries no heading, so no author, instrument or occasion is stated in this source. The speaker is a single "I" and addresses the Lord throughout. One enemy is spoken of in the singular in verses 2 and 4, and a plural group, "those that trouble me", in verse 4; neither is named, and the text does not say what the enemy has done beyond being "exalted over" the speaker. "The sleep of death" is named as the feared outcome, but the psalm does not say whether the danger is sickness, violence or something else. The last verse says the Lord "hath dealt bountifully" in the past tense, while verses 1-4 describe an unrelieved present; the text gives no event between them. The psalm has no Selah, and it is among the shortest in this stretch of the book, six verses.

Cited passages: Psalms 13:1, Psalms 13:2, Psalms 13:4, Psalms 13:3, Psalms 13:6

Literary context

The psalm is in three steps of two verses each. Verses 1-2 ask "how long" four times, moving from God's forgetting and hidden face, to the speaker's inward counsel and daily sorrow, to the enemy's exaltation; the order runs from God to self to enemy. Verses 3-4 are the petition, three verbs (consider, hear, lighten) followed by three "lest" clauses that give the stakes: death, the enemy's boast, the troublers' joy. Verses 5-6 turn with "But I have trusted" and end in song. Rejoicing changes hands: in verse 4 the troublers would rejoice if the speaker were moved, in verse 5 the speaker's own heart will rejoice. The hidden face of verse 1 and the darkened eyes of verse 3 are the poem's two images of losing sight, and the plea to "lighten mine eyes" answers both. No reason is given for the change of tone; the trust is simply stated.

Cited passages: Psalms 13:1, Psalms 13:2, Psalms 13:3, Psalms 13:4, Psalms 13:5, Psalms 13:6

Key moments

1. How long, O Lord? (Psalms 13:1). The speaker asks how long the Lord will forget him and hide his face.
2. Sorrow daily, enemy exalted (Psalms 13:2). He asks how long he must take counsel in his soul while the enemy is exalted.
3. Lighten mine eyes (Psalms 13:3). He asks the Lord to consider, hear, and lighten his eyes lest he sleep in death.
4. Lest the enemy boast (Psalms 13:4). He fears the enemy will say he has prevailed and the troublers will rejoice.
5. But I have trusted (Psalms 13:5). He turns to trust in God's mercy and rejoices in his salvation.
6. A song for bounty (Psalms 13:6). He will sing to the Lord who has dealt bountifully with him.

For reflection

Four questions of how long are followed by trust and song without any answer being reported; what does the psalm suggest about whether the questions and the trust can be spoken in the same breath?

People in this chapter

• David