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Psalm Thirteen
New King James Version (NKJV)
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.
Psalm 13:1 How
long, O Lord?
Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
YLT
1To the Overseer. -- A Psalm
of David. Till when, O Jehovah, Dost Thou forget me? -- for ever? Till when
dost Thou hide Thy face from me?
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 Psalm 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 Isaiah 8:17. The Targum renders it,
"the glory of thy face".
Psalm 13:2 2 How long shall I take
counsel in my soul, Having sorrow in my heart daily? How long will my
enemy be exalted over me?
YLT
2Till when do I set counsels
in my soul? Sorrow inn my heart daily? Till when is mine enemy exalted over me?
How long shall I take counsel in my soul,.... Or
"put it"F19אשית
"ponam", Pagninus, Montanus, Munster, Vatablus. ; to take counsel of
good men and faithful friends, in matters of moment and difficulty, is safe and
right; and it is best of all to take counsel of God, who is wonderful in it,
and guides his people with it; but nothing is worse than for a man to take
counsel of his own heart, or only to consult himself; for such counsel often
casts a man down, and he is ashamed of it sooner or later: but this seems not
to be the sense here; the phrase denotes the distressing circumstances and
anxiety of mind the psalmist was in; he was at his wits' end, and cast about in
his mind, and had various devises and counsels formed there; and yet knew not
what way to take, what course to steer;
having sorrow in my
heart daily; by reason of God's hiding his face from him; on account of sin
that dwelt in him, or was committed by him; because of his distance from the
house of God, and the worship and ordinances of it; and by reason of his many
enemies that surrounded him on every side: this sorrow was an heart sorrow, and
what continually attended him day by day; or was in the daytime, when men are
generally amused with business or diversions, as well as in the night, as
Kimchi observes;
how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me? even the
vilest of men, Psalm 12:8; this may be understood either
of temporal enemies, and was true of David when he was obliged not only to
leave his own house and family, but the land of Judea, and flee to the
Philistines; and when he fled from Absalom his son, lest he should be taken and
slain by him; or of spiritual enemies, and is true of saints when sin prevails
and leads captive, and when the temptations of Satan succeed; as when he
prevailed upon David to number the people, Peter to deny his master, &c.
The Jewish writersF20Jarchi, Midrash in Kimchi, & Abendana in
Miclol Yophi in loc. observe that here are four "how longs",
answerable to the four monarchies, Babylonian, Persian, Grecian, and Roman, and
their captivities under them.
Psalm 13:3 3 Consider and hear
me, O Lord
my God; Enlighten my eyes, Lest I sleep the sleep of death;
YLT
3Look attentively; Answer
me, O Jehovah, my God, Enlighten mine eyes, lest I sleep in death,
Consider and hear me, O Lord my God,.... The
psalmist amidst all his distresses rightly applies to God by prayer, claims his
interest in him as his covenant God, which still continued notwithstanding all
his darkness, desertions, and afflictions; and entreats him to
"consider" his affliction and trouble, and deliver him out of it; to
consider his enemies, how many and mighty they were; and his own weakness his
frame, that he was but dust, and unable to stand against them: or to "look"F21הביטה "intuere", Junius & Tremellius,
Piscator; "aspice", Pagninus, Montanus, Cocceius. upon his
affliction, and upon him under it, with an eye of pity and compassion; to have
respect to him and to his prayers, and to turn unto him, and lift up the light
of his countenance upon him: and so this petition is opposed to the complaint
in Psalm 13:1; and he further requests that he
would "hear" him; that is, so as to answer him, and that immediately,
and thereby show that he had not forgotten him, but was mindful of him, of his
love to him, and covenant with him;
lighten mine eyes: meaning either the eyes of his body, which
might be dim and dull through a failure of the animal spirits, by reason of
inward grief, outward afflictions, or for want of bodily food; which when
obtained refreshes nature, cheers the animal spirits, enlightens or gives a
briskness to the eyes; see 1 Samuel 14:27; or else the eyes of his
understanding, Ephesians 1:18; that he might behold
wondrous things in the law of God, know the things which were freely given to
him of God, see more clearly his interest in him, and in the covenant of his
grace, and have his soul refreshed and comforted with the light of God's
countenance; and he be better able to discern his enemies, and guard against
them; and be directed to take the best method to be delivered and secured from
them. The people of God are sometimes in the dark, and see no light; especially
when benighted, and in sleepy frames; and it is God's work to enlighten and
quicken them;
lest I sleep the sleep of death; a natural deathF23 χαλκεον υπνον, Homer. Iliad.
11. v. 241. "ferreus somnus", Virgil. Aeneid. 10. v. 745, & 12.
v. 309. , which is comparable to sleep, and often expressed by it; and which
sense agrees with lightening the eyes of his body, as before explained; or
rather the sense is, lift up the light of thy countenance, revive thy work in
the midst of the years; let me see thy goodness in the land of the living, that
I may not faint and sink and die away. Or it may be an eternal death is
designed; for though true believers shall never die this death, yet they may be
in such circumstances, as through unbelief to fear they shall. The Targum
paraphrases the word thus;
"enlighten
mine eyes in thy law, lest I sin, and sleep with those who are guilty of
death.'
Psalm 13:4 4 Lest my enemy say, “I have
prevailed against him”; Lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am
moved.
YLT
4Lest mine enemy say, `I
overcame him,' Mine adversaries joy when I am moved.
Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him,.... Which is
an argument God takes notice of; and for which reason he does not give up his
people into the hands of their enemies; see Deuteronomy 32:27. The Chaldee paraphrase
interprets this of the evil imagination or corruption of nature, and represents
it as a person, as the Apostle Paul does in Romans 7:15; and which may be said to
prevail, when it pushes on to sin, and hinders doing good, and carries captive;
and it may be applied to Satan, the great enemy of God's people, who triumphs
over them, when he succeeds in his temptations;
and those that trouble me
rejoice when I am moved; meaning from his house and family, from his country and kingdom,
from a prosperous state and condition to a distressed one; at which the
troublers of David's peace would rejoice. They that trouble the saints are sin,
Satan, and the world; and the two last rejoice when they are in an
uncomfortable and afflicted condition; and especially Satan rejoices when he
gains his point, if it is but to move them from any degree of steadfastness, of
faith and hope, or from the ways of God in any respect: the Targum adds,
"from thy ways"; for to be moved so as to perish eternally they
cannot, being built upon the Rock of ages, and surrounded by the power and
grace of God.
Psalm 13: 5 5 But I have trusted in Your
mercy; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
YLT
5And I, in Thy kindness I
have trusted, Rejoice doth my heart in Thy salvation.
But I have trusted in thy mercy,.... The faith, hope, and
comfort of the psalmist grew and increased by prayer; from complaining he goes
to praying, from praying to believing; he trusted not in himself, not in his
own heart, nor in his own righteousness and merits, but in the mercy of God;
and not in the bare absolute mercy of God, but in the grace and goodness of
God, as the wordF24בחסדך "in bonitate
tua", Vatablus; "in benignitate tua", Junius & Tremellius,
Piscator; "in benignissima voluntate tua", Gejerus. here used
signifies, as it is displayed in the plenteous redemption which is by Christ;
which is a sufficient ground of faith and hope; see Psalm 130:7;
my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation; which God is
the contriver, author, and giver of, and in which the glory of his perfections
is so greatly displayed: and a true believer rejoices more on account that God
is glorified by it than because of his own interest in it; and this joy is an
inward one, it is joy in the heart, and is real and unfeigned, and is what
continues, and will be felt and expressed both here and hereafter.
Psalm 13:6 6 I will sing to the Lord, Because He
has dealt bountifully with me.
YLT
6I do sing to Jehovah, For
He hath conferred benefits upon me!
I will sing unto the Lord,.... In prayer faith is
encouraged, through believing the heart is filled with joy; and this joy is
expressed by the lips, in songs of praise to the Lord, ascribing the glory of
salvation to him, and giving him thanks for every mercy and blessing of life;
because he hath dealt bountifully with me; both in a way
of providence and grace, granting life and preserving it, and supporting with
the comforts of it; blessing with spiritual blessings, and crowning with loving
kindness and tender mercies; all which is generous and bountiful dealing, and
affords a just occasion of praise and thanksgiving; see Psalm 116:7.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》