Singing in the Midst of Sorrow (Psalm 13)

Singing in the Midst of Sorrow

Psalm 13

Sunday, May 10, 2026 — Land O’ Lakes Bible Church

Introduction

Please take out your Bibles and open in them with me to Psalm 13. If you do not have a Bible, friend there is a Red Bible there in your seat and you can grab that Bible and open to Psalm 13 in it, finding it on page #534.

We continue this morning working our way through the Psalms. And a recurring theme has been running through these Psalms of recent, here in Psalm 10-14. That theme is that these Psalms are set in the minor key of suffering.

Suffering is not something pleasant and enjoyable. Yet, as we stop and think about it, how gracious is our God in that he has given us these Psalms set in the minor key of suffering to strengthen our weary souls.

Psalms that teach us that we are not alone in our suffering, as well as how to counsel our souls through the suffering.

And how beautiful the counsel this morning of Psalm 13. For in Psalm 13, we are taught how to lament.  “Lament”, to borrow from Mark Vroegop, “is the honest cry of a hurting heart wrestling with the paradox of pain and the promise of God’s goodness.”[1]

Lament starts with making known our complaint, then moves to petition, but it does not end there. Lament ends and is rooted in the hope of the goodness of our God and his promises!

And so, with much of life lived in the minor key of sorrow, we as Christians need to learn to lament well.

Now, full disclosure, I have preached Psalm 13 before at this very church, from this very pulpit.

And at first, I was hesitant to preach it again and thought about moving on to Psalm 14.

However, though Psalm 13 has been preached before, it is needed again. For the word of the LORD continues to be active. And here in Psalm 13, we need the active and living word of the LORD to continue to work in us as we are reminded that even in the darkness of our sorrows there is hope that enables us to sing in the midst of those sorrows.

For here in Psalm 13, we learn like David to move from cries of sorrow to songs of rejoicing. And so, it is my prayer this morning, that as we come to Psalm 13 again, that the LORD encourage our hearts. That the Lord would encourage the hearts of those sorrowful through the pain of sickness. That the LORD would encourage the hearts of those sorrowful as strife and conflict roll in various relationships. That the LORD would encourage the hearts of those sorrowful by the blows of life. And through that encouragement lead us to rejoicing in the salvation of our God and singing songs of rejoicing to Him!

Let us then hear the word of the LORD from Psalm 13…

Main Idea: The steadfast love of the Lord enables us to rejoice and sing through our sorrows, therefore let us run to the loving arms of our God.

1. The Distress of Sorrow (V.1-2)

2. The Plea for Deliverance (V.3-4)

3. The Song of Trust (V.5-6)

1. The Distress of Sorrow (Psalm 13:1-2)

As the distress of sorrow fills David’s soul, he begins here in Psalm 13 by making his complaint known unto the LORD here in the first two verses. For we read (V.1-2)…

Did you notice the four how long questions there that David asked? In these four questions, he focuses on three categories that will be carried through the process of lament. First, David focused on Yahweh. Second, he focused on the believer and their inner struggle. And third, he focused on the enemies of the righteous. So, we take these in turn.

First, David in his first two how long questions deals in with his proximity to God there in verse 1. For David feels as if Yahweh has hidden himself from David, along with his loving care toward him. For this is why David asks how long the LORD will hide his face. For David knows the promise of God in the Torah:

Numbers 6:25 (ESV)

25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;

When Yahweh’s face shines upon his people, his grace is poured out. But here in David’s situation, the face of Yahweh feels hidden as his suffering continues on and the promises of Psalm 1 and Psalm 2feel as if they are in jeopardy. For the wicked are not withering and their mocking only increases rather than diminishing.

And so, David cries out with these two how long questions to Yahweh, how long will Yahweh forget and continue to not shine his face upon his people.

But then David moves to a secondcategory with his how long questions there in the start of verse 2. For sorrow has filled David’s heart as he feels forgotten by Yahweh. And because of this, sorrow has filled his heart day in and day out. This forcing David to counsel his own soul to keep from utterly being crushed from the grief of sorrow. He is forced to wrestle with how to keep going.

David here finds himself much like Christian in John Bunyan’s Pilgrim Progress when he fell into the pond of despond. The sorrow of David kept him sinking further and further into this pond of despond, and he was left to counsel his soul, but the more he tried, the more he was sinking with none seemingly there to help him out as they did Christian in that great allegory story of the Christian life.

And so, David cries out, how long must I take such counsel, how long unto help should arrive to relieve me of this despond.

The third section then of David’s complaint turns to that of his enemies there at the end of verse 2. Here David is concerned about how his enemies are being exalted over him. And in turn, how God’s glory is at stake in this.

To borrow from Christopher Ash, this is the climax of the how long questions. He writes,

Will the King lose, his people be subjugated, the devil win, temptation succeed, death triumph, the wicked prosper, and Psalm 1 be proved false?[2]

Psalm 1 and 2 have promised victory belongs to the LORD and his Anointed, the Blessed Man who delights in the law of the LORD. But if such wicked prevail, how can this be true? And so, for David, he being God’s chosen king over Israel, is concerned with how God’s glory is at stake if his enemies prevail over him. How the wicked will be those prevailing and not Yahweh.

It is no wonder then that David cries out, how long will they be exulted. Both for his sake and the glory of the LORD!

But I wonder how many of us at present find ourselves in the midst of such sorrow like David, wondering how long?

Maybe you are like David in wondering if Yahweh has forgotten you or hidden his face from you?

You wonder this because your time with the LORD seems cold and dry and more of a struggle than joy filled. And so, you find yourself wanting to cry, how long Yahweh will you feel distant to me.

Or maybe like David, you find yourself struggling all the day to counsel your soul as it feels the weight of such crushing sorrow. And you are left crying, how long, Yahweh? How long will such sorrow endure?

Or further, you find yourself like David in the midst of sorrow, because your enemies are being exalted over you and threatening the glory of the LORD. And you are left to cry, how long Yahweh? How long will the wicked prevail? How long will those who seek to destroy your church by slander and gossip prevail rather than unity? How long will those who seek to malign your integrity get away with their verbal assaults.

Sorrow comes in all shapes and sizes. For even now, I know many in our midst are struggling with various sorrows. There are those in our midst, struggling with sorrow as disease ravages family life. There are those in our midst, struggling with sorrow due to various trials that continuously press against them one after another. There are those in our midst who struggle with the sorrow of anxiety and depression. There are even those in our midst struggling with the sorrow of those near to them not walking with Jesus. And so sorrow grieves their souls.

Beloved, whatever the cause of sorrow that fills your hearts, see that we are invited to make our complaints known unto the LORD and cry out to him. That even to cry out and ask how long is not a sign of weakness, but of faith.

For David does not ask if Yahweh will even arise or capable. He asks, how long with still the expectation and hope that he indeed will arise because of who the LORD is. And this is the cry of complaint we are invited to cry out in, asking how long until the goodness and glory of the LORD comes as the LORD arises.

But there are some in our midst who feel as if Yahweh has forgotten you and has hidden his face from you who need to consider this from a different perspective. Friends, there are some of you who make this complaint of David that the LORD feels distant and that you cannot find his face because it seems hidden.

You need to consider that the reason for such is because of your clinging to your sin. For you love your sin, you love to be your own authority, and so it is not that Yahweh is hidden, it is that your sin has left you blind and spiritually dead. And so, as you cry out, how long, friend I ask you how long will you love your sin and keep it hidden in the dark? How long until you bring your sin to the light, humbling yourself and running to the arms of God’s Anointed King, King Jesus?

Sin will keep us distant from the LORD and add to our sorrows. So, if that be the case, confess sin and run to Jesus!

That is point #1, the distress of sorrow.

2. The Plea for Deliverance (Psalm 13:3-4)

David quickly moves from his complaints in the distress of sorrow to the next step of lament, making his bold requests in pleas for deliverance. And with these pleas, he continues his three-fold pattern of focusing on Yahweh, on the believer, and on the enemy.

First, David makes a petition to Yahweh concerning Yahweh. Verse 3a…

David here asks for Yahweh to consider or to look at him and answer. A plea that asks Yahweh to turn his face back towards David rather than away. And recognizes that this is the root cause of his sorrows and suffering, the face of Yahweh being turned away.

May such thought of the face of the LORD being turned away from any of us cause us such sorrow.

But notice what David adds here in asking Yahweh to consider him and answer him. He declares, Yahweh my God! David here making a declaration of belonging to Yahweh, in both being untied to him as his and having his allegiance given to Yahweh.

Following this, David makes a second petition to Yahweh concerning the believer. We see this in the second half of Verse 3….

The eyes are the barometer of vitality. David had used this language back in Psalm 6.

Psalm 6:7 (ESV)

7 My eye wastes away because of grief; it grows weak because of all my foes.

The eye and vigor, strength, and hope are tied together. And so, David pleads with Yahweh to light up his eyes to sustain him, to strengthen him so that he does not perish from the crushing weight of his sorrow which he fears will bring him to death itself.

Third, David makes a petition to Yahweh regarding his enemies. Previously, two questions were put to Yahweh concerning Yahweh, but in David’s plea, two requests are now made concerning the enemy. Verse 4…

David pleads with Yahweh here to consider and answer so that his enemies do not prevail. Such a request could be seen as shameful and self-serving. And if we were to apply this carelessly in our own days to our own situations it would be a shameful and a wrong application of this plea.

But here, David pleas with Yahweh to arise and act against his enemies not for his own selfish gain of power and conquering. David makes this plea that his enemies would not prevail over him in light of the promise of Yahweh in Psalm 1. A promise that the those who delight on the law of God will be blessed and flourish and stand in the court of righteousness, but the wicked will not stand for they will wither away.

David’s prayer therefore is tied to the glory of God and the fulfilling of his Word.

Charles Spurgeon adds this,

We make use of our arch-enemy for once, and compel him, like Samson, to grind in our will while we use his cruel arrogance as an argument in prayer. It is not the Lord’s will that the great enemy of our souls should overcome his children. This would dishonour God, and cause the evil one to boast. It is well for us that our salvation and God’s honour are so intimately connected, that they stand or fall together.[3]

Beloved, this is why we can go to God boldly and confidently in prayers of lament, in both expressing our sorrows and asking boldly for Yahweh to act. For his honor and our salvation are so deeply connected!

So let us then make our bold requests unto Yahweh to arise and act for the sake of his glory and our good! To act in accordance to his good character, to fulfill his promises!

Us boldly asking Yahweh to lighten our eyes when we are spiritually dry and feeling malnourished. To boldly ask that Yahweh relieve our sorrow when we feel its weight crushing us under it. To boldly ask that if Yahweh will not remove the burden of our sorrows, that he may strengthen us under that weight so that we will be sustained.

It is even good to boldly ask Yahweh to look at us as we cry out to him for mercy and grace as we confess our sins!

Our God invites such bold petitions to be made to Him! Such bold requests are rooted in faith! That is point #2.

3. The Song of Trust (Psalm 13:5-6)

Lament is not merely a making known our complaints or making our pleas known. Lament is rooted in trust in the LORD. And that is what we see from David in verses 5-6…

David’s song of sorrow is able to turn to a song of rejoicing as he remembers through this sorrowful prayer who Yahweh is and what he has promised!

The steadfast, faithful, covenant love of Yahweh is what anchors David’s hope amid the sorrows. It moves his heart from sorrow to rejoicing in the salvation of Yahweh.

I love what John Calvin says here. He writes:

he makes use of this hope as a shield to repel those temptations with the terror of which he might be greatly distressed.[4]

For David, salvation has not yet come. He still remains in the midst of his sorrows. But as he recalls who Yahweh is, he is strengthened and sustained as he can now more patiently wait on Yahweh to act and to accomplish all that he has promised! A rejoicing that trusts Yahweh to deal bountifully with those who belong to him!

Consider though with me this trust of David in Yahweh and his steadfast love that would accomplish his salvation. David saw but a shadow of this salvation. But we, we have seen the fullness of such salvation that has come, of such blessing flow.

For David saw the promise of Yahweh’s Anointed King, we have seen the fulfillment! Even here in Psalm 13, we see this fulfilled. Not in David, but in King Jesus!

Like David, Jesus suffered. He was left to take counsel in his own heart to the point of sweating blood that night in Gethsemane. His enemies exalted over him as he was hung on the cross and pierced with nails. And while he hung there on that cursed tree, his enemies wagged their heads at him and mocked him as one who was defeated.  

Furthermore, on that cross, the face of the Father was turned away from him and Jesus was forgotten, if even only momentarily. For why else does Jesus cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

And in this moment of forsakenness, Jesus’s eyes are dimmed as the fullness of God’s wrath is poured upon him as the sinless one becomes sin as an offering on behalf of the guilty. And he was then shaken and slept the sleep of death and was buried.

But, the grave could not hold him! Jesus who was forsaken on the cross has his eyes lightened as he arises from the dead! For though he drank the fullness of the Father’s wrath against sin, death had no claim over Jesus! For he truly was guiltless, leaving the grave with no claim on him!

Following such a resurrection, Jesus ascended to glory as the father restored his place of prominence with Him! And now, all who come and are united to Jesus by faith join in on that bountiful blessing in Jesus! They are able to rejoicing in His salvation. A salvation that has come not by man’s work, but the finished work of Jesus!

Beloved, this is the steadfast love of Yahweh that has prevailed in Christ to bring such a salvation that enables us to sin through the sorrow, because of the hope we have in Jesus!

But maybe you are hearing this and you are not a Christian. Friend, hear me out. That sorrow you find yourself in the midst of and feeling overwhelmed by. That sorrow that causes you to feel hopeless, because everything you have tried has failed to bring you relief. Friend, let me point you to one who turns sorrows to rejoicing in our great redeemer, Jesus!

For it is in him and him alone all the sad things of this world will be overturned and undone! Even as we are left wondering how long, and crying out to Yahweh, his character and his works of old assure us that he is always faithful to his promises and patient with us along the way!

So, friend, come to this very good God who has not even withheld his own Son from the suffering of sorrow, so that you may have life in him! Come and believe in Jesus today! And know that I would love nothing more than to talk with you after about this more!

Conclusion

Our lives are filled with sorrows. And we like David find ourselves wondering how long these things must last? But we have been given the prayer of lament for such occasions. And in lament, we are encouraged to make our complaints known, to ask Yahweh to act boldly, but let our hearts be strengthened as we remember the hope we have in Jesus!

Hear these words from Peter:

2 Peter 3:11–13 (ESV)

11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Even in sorrow, we can wait for this promise because of the goodness of our God who gave it!

Let’s pray!

Endnotes

[1]Mark Vroegop. Dark Clouds Deep Mercy. (Wheaton, IL, Crossway, 2019) 26.

[2]Christopher Ash. Volume 2: The Psalms: A Christ-Centered Commentary. (Wheaton, IL, Crossway, 2024) 146.

[3]C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David: Psalms 1-26, vol. 1 (London; Edinburgh; New York: Marshall Brothers, n.d.), 152.

[4]John Calvin and James Anderson, Commentary on the Book of Psalms, vol. 1 (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010), 186.