"How Long, O LORD?" Psalm 13-14 Feb 01 2026
Notes
Transcript
Intro & Scripture Read
Intro & Scripture Read
Good morning, friends
We continue our series, The Heart of Psalms in Ps 13 and 14
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,” lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.
(Pray...)
How Long, O LORD?
How Long, O LORD?
Andrew Bonar, the pastor of Free Church of Scotland, wrote in his diary for October 15, 1864, of his grievous “wound”; Isabella, his wife of seventeen years, died, apparently of complications following childbirth.
He wrote that on the day of her death he had, according to his custom, been meditating on a Scripture text between dinner and tea.
On that day it had been in the book of Nahum 1:7—“The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him” (RSV).
Bonar adds, “Little did I think how I would need it half an hour after.”
Bonar never forgot Isabella’s death; again and again he mentions it in his mid-October entries.
He never forgot Nahum 1:7. But why did he mention it in his diary along with his wife’s death? Because he was strengthening himself in Yahweh his God. It was that promise of God’s word, that affirmation of God’s character, that was keeping him on his feet.
[Dale Ralph Davis, 1 Samuel: Looking on the Heart, Focus on the Bible Commentary (Scotland: Christian Focus Publications, 2000), 314.]
There is no historical anchor - of which we are aware - to Ps 13 and Ps 14 - and the scripture I read earlier in 1 Sam
1 Sam 30 is not historically related to either of those psalms
What I am saying - is that there is a spiritual link between 1 Sam saying, “But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.”
And when Ps 13 says, “How long must I take counsel in my soul...”
I think verse 1 of Ps 13 is the gold standard of all biblical laments
There’s not a Christian alive - who has been a Christian for a few seasons of their life - who does not feel it when David says,
How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?
That hits us deep - and I’m going out on a limb, here - if you’ve walked with the Lord for a number of years, you can relate
It’s not out of a lack of faith that David said that
It’s being real
It’s trusting God and saying to him, “This is how I feel!”
How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
Suffering
Suffering
I stole that story I read earlier from a pastor and OT scholar, Dale Ralph Davis
He once said this,
“God may be delighted in you, and yet you suffer intensely.”
If you seek refuge in the Lord, if you are trusting him, then the problems in your life do not reflect God’s judgment against you
The Psalms do not teach us to gauge our pain as God’s verdict against us
Just because you are going through trials - doesn’t mean God is punishing you
David expressed his pain, but always in a faithful way to the Lord
Remember, a lament is not complaining about God
A lament is bringing your sorrows and concerns to the Lord
A lament remains faithful to the Lord because you are turning to him in your distress
Ps 13 is very short - only 6 verses
I want you to notice how many times David referred to himself with the pronouns “me” “my” and “I” in this psalm
He doesn’t do it to be self-important
David refers to himself like this to emphasize his personal relationship with the Lord
Will you forget me forever? [v.1]
How long will you hide your face from me? [v.1]
Consider and answer me, O LORD my God [v.3]
Light up my eyes [v.3]
But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. [v.5]
I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me. [v.6]
He’s saying, “I’m suffering. I’m going through it. But I believe you are near me, Lord”
Having a close walk with the Lord doesn’t mean all is running smoothly in your life
And it certainly doesn’t give you the right to judge others just because they are going through a rough time
Strengthen Yourself in the Lord, Your God
Strengthen Yourself in the Lord, Your God
There are times - when it’s appropriate to strengthen yourself in the Lord, as David did in 1 Sam
We’re told that right before David did this, the Amalekites did a kidnapping raid and took many Israelites, including both of David’s wives
And it says that David was “greatly distressed” because the people were talking about stoning him
Now, I’ve never been through all of that
I’ve never known that people wanted to stone me
And I’ve never had both my wives kidnapped - but I love what verse 6 says:
But David strengthened himself in the Lord...his God.
Did you catch that?
The careful wording here reveals David’s relationship with the Lord - that it was close and personal
“He is my God - my Yahweh”
Now, am I saying that David is strengthening himself in his God, here in Psalm 13?
I actually don’t think it’s saying that
The verse says:
How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
That’s a different tone than from 1 Sam
I think this is a moment before he fully turns his face back to the Lord
Because later, he says
But...I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I was reading commentary on Ps 13 earlier this week - and it was trying to say that God had removed his covenantal mercy on David
Where does it say that here in this psalm?
And what kind of lesson is that to us?
Where in the Bible does it say that in our new covenant - the covenant provided by the blood of Jesus Christ -
where does it say that God will remove his mercy from us because we’re not acting right?
Or for some other reason?
The Bible doesn’t say that
Ps 13 is part of God’s Word - it is a biblical lament
It’s not meant for us to look at it as a result of David’s bad actions
Look at the last verse
I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.
That sounds like it was written from a man who was walking closely with God
What I’m saying is that when it says, “How long must I take counsel in my soul,” we are left hanging because David must have been in great distress
I’m saying that 1 Sam 30:6
But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.
I’m saying this becomes a fuller picture for us
It takes our distress, our lament, our problems we are facing,
And it forces our attention on the Lord
Let me give you something practical for when you are going through a tough time
Tell the Lord! Be honest - tell him what you are going through
Ask for his help
David said in verse 3, “Consider and answer me, O LORD my God”
Notice he made it personal - “my God”
Here’s another practical step
Preach the Gospel to yourself
What do I mean?
Remind yourself of the Gospel - remind yourself what Christ did for you and how God loves you
Want it even more practical?
When you are going through a tough time, meditate on the Bible passages that bring you comfort
Here’s a few of my comfort passages -
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace
What Bible passages bring comfort to your heart?
The Fool Says, There is no God
The Fool Says, There is no God
Then we come to Ps 14 - a stark contrast coming from Ps 13
Ps 13 shows a faithful man who is struggling and wondering - but never losing faith
He wonders where God is, but he still turns to the Lord
Ps 14 is quite the opposite - it describes natural man, who denies God, and does not seek after him
Let me read the first few verses
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.
Part of this psalm is where Paul gets portions of Rom 3, where he says
None is righteous, no not one
Paul is saying that no one naturally does good - and no one naturally seeks after God
We don’t start off as righteous - and then God responds because he’s so impressed with us
God doesn’t love us because we chose him - he loves us because he chose us to love
This actually gives us hope
Our value comes solely from God, who chose us and assigned value in us
In other words, he redeemed us
God’s demonstration of his love for us is that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us
He wasn’t compelled to die for us because we showed him how righteous we were
That’s the message of the Gospel
God extends grace to us - he extends forgiveness and redemption and eternal life
And it’s our faith which unlocks all
Turn to God
Cry out to him
Take refuge in the Lord
Trust in Jesus
But Ps 14 shows us an utter lack of faith
The people in this psalm are not saying
Consider and answer me, O LORD my God
Light up my eyes
But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me.
They are not even acknowledging God
[Bring in Ps 145:18]
The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
