Psalm 13 - How Long Oh Lord

I have sorrow in my heart. How long will my enemy triumph over me?

Look on me and answer, O Lord my God. Give light to my eyes or I will sleep in death.

My enemy will say, I have overcome him, and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

But I trust in your unfailing love. My heart rejoices in your salvation.

I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me.

Amen.

Thanks, Chris. Well, let's pray and ask for God's help as we look at his words together.

We come as a people before a great and mighty God.

A God who cares. A God who loves.

A God who understands exactly how we feel.

A God who understands us better than we understand our own emotions and thoughts.

And so, Father, we ask that you would speak into our lives today.

Would you please enable us and cause us, in the midst of our life, to trust in you alone.

And that you would teach us what all that brings to us.

We ask for your help as we look at your word together.

In Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

How long.

How long must I put up with this constant, unrelenting pain?

How long must I face false accusations and lies?

How long, O Lord, do I have to go through bitter disappointment?

How long, O Lord, will it be until this darkness that consumes me passes?

Our journey through life is marked with all kinds of struggles.

And that's the experience of David in Psalm 13.

Let's read the beginning of Psalm 13.

Don't forget the little note, the beginning, for the director of music.

So, this is something that should be sung and proclaimed and announced.

It's a psalm of David.

How long, O Lord?

David was, of course, God's chosen king.

And he has experienced something that is causing him great difficulty.

It could be that he is facing opposition.

If you look at the end of verse 2, he cries out,

How long will my enemy triumph over me?

It could be that he's experienced some kind of ill health.

So, look at the end of verse 3.

Give light to my eyes or I will sleep in death.

Whatever the reason of his pain, it is a very real experience.

How long, O Lord?

You see, we all live in a broken world where suffering is the normal experience of life.

Apartment towers burn down.

Terror attacks happen.

Loved ones are taken from us.

Cancer strikes.

Injustice goes unchecked.

If we live long enough in this world, we will suffer in some way.

And if God's king, King David, was not immune from suffering, then neither are we.

So, what do we learn from this personal experience of suffering?

Well, first, a cry of despair.

Look at verse 1 again.

How long, O Lord?

This is a cry deep from the heart.

Life has become unbearable.

There's no hope.

No escape.

And that's how we can feel when we struggle.

There's an isolation, a rejection.

And what's worse, the God that we thought we could trust,

the one who is supposed to be all-powerful and all-loving,

seems to be completely absent.

Like David, we feel God has forgotten me.

Verse 1,

How long, O Lord, will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

It's the cry like that of a child whose father has walked out on him,

left to fend for himself without support.

The father who is supposed to be there in times of trouble has just gone.

And that's sometimes how we can feel God is treating us.

Did I do something wrong?

Is God punishing me?

Does he not love me?

How long will you hide your face from me?

Rejected, abandoned, forgotten by the God who is supposed to care.

Do you ever feel like that?

And in these times of despair,

we think,

not only has he forgotten me,

but God will not answer me.

Look at verse 2.

How long must I wrestle with my thoughts,

and every day have sorrow in my heart.

We call out to our Father God,

but it's like he just doesn't want to listen.

God's not interested.

He's too busy.

It seems God is unconcerned.

My suffering is not bad enough to get God's attention.

And what's worse,

we know God is there,

we know he's in,

but he refuses to answer the door.

How long must I wrestle with my thoughts?

We're left in the darkness to carry our own problems.

And as verse 2 tells us,

it is unending sorrow.

Every day we cry out,

but the response is just the same.

Earth-shattering silence.

And our only conclusion

is that God can't help me.

Look at the end of verse 2.

How long will my enemy triumph over me?

It's as if suffering is the strong arm

and it has the upper hand.

Everything is piling and pushing up against us.

Have you ever thought,

why is it that when we most need our health,

that's when we get sick?

Or why is it that when we're going through a difficult time,

something worse happens?

Or we're financially under pressure

and then we lose our job?

Does God not see what is going on in my life?

Either God can't help

or he won't help.

We come to the conclusion

that God has forgotten me.

God won't answer me.

And God can't help me.

Is that your cry of despair?

Have you ever cried out like that to him?

You see, look where this cry is directed.

How long, O Lord?

This isn't a cry into the abyss,

into the emptiness.

This is directed to the Lord.

You see, who do we go to

when God is not doing his job?

Who are we going to shout and give off to

when everything collapses around us?

At the very least,

this psalm is telling us

that we have a God who is big enough

to handle all our cries.

He is not going to be put off

by our shouts at him.

We can get angry with him.

We can voice our complaint to him.

We can cry out,

how long must I put up with this?

Sometimes we just need to be real with God

and tell him exactly how we feel.

Because in our cry of despair

comes a cry of hope.

You see, in the midst of our pain,

as we wrestle with God,

as we do battle with God,

we do have hope.

God is personal.

Look at verse 3.

Look on me and answer,

O Lord my God.

Even though this prayer begins with despair

and disappointment and doubt,

how long, O Lord?

There is in the midst of it

a sure and certain hope

that God is not distant.

He is not removed from us.

God is personally involved in our lives.

Look how he cries out, verse 3.

O Lord my God.

This is personal and relational.

And we have the assurance of God's personal commitment to us.

Again, look at the beginning of verse 3.

He says,

Look on me and answer,

O Lord my God.

Have you ever wondered and noticed

why Lord is in capitals?

It's not that when they were typing

they forgot to turn off caps lock.

Lord is the personal name

that God gave to his people.

By giving of his name to his people,

God is committing himself to them.

He is binding himself to them.

It's his covenant name.

I am yours and you are mine.

I belong to you and you belong to me.

I am the promise maker

and the promise keeper.

So as we cry out to God,

we are calling upon one

who will never abandon his people.

He is faithful and loyal and committed.

God has not forgotten you.

God will answer you.

God will help you.

God will help you.

God will help you.

So why is it,

if that is true,

why is it that God seems so silent at times?

Why is it that God just seems distant

and uninvolved?

God will help you.

God will help you.

Well, as he cries out to this personal God,

look how he prays.

Look at verse 3.

Look on me and answer,

O Lord my God.

Give light to my eyes

or I will sleep in death.

You see, the request is not what we would expect.

It's not like how we pray.

He doesn't pray,

Lord, change my situation.

He doesn't pray,

Lord, put an end to all of my suffering.

He doesn't ask,

make my life easier.

No.

Do you see what he prays?

Give light to my eyes.

It's a prayer to see life

from God's perspective.

Just have a quick look at Psalm 19,

just a couple of pages on.

Psalm 19 and verse 8.

We get the same phrase

in this Psalm.

Verse 8.

It says,

The precepts,

talking about the word of God,

the precepts of the Lord are right,

giving joy to the heart.

The commands of the Lord are radiant,

giving light to the eyes.

You see, as we meditate,

as we think upon God's word,

his commands,

his precepts,

we begin to view and see life

from God's perspective.

So when we are asking,

as this Psalm does in Psalm 13, verse 3,

Psalms 13:3

give light to my eyes,

we are asking,

Lord, change not my circumstances,

but change me.

We're asking,

Lord, it's not I want this thing

or this person in my life,

but I want you in my life.

So often as we come,

we're wanting God to change our situations,

to end our struggles.

We ask for more time,

more money,

better health,

better success.

But do we ever stop and ask,

Lord, I want more of you in my life.

Prayer is not asking God to fit into my plans,

but prayer is essentially asking God to shape me

so that I fit in with his plans.

It's not my will,

but your will.

You see,

if we don't have this perspective of life,

if we constantly look at life through our eyes,

we will become disappointed and disillusioned with God.

We will be overcome by our circumstances.

It will be like a living death.

Look how the rest of verse 3 goes.

Give light to my eyes,

or I will sleep in death.

My enemy will say,

I have overcome him,

and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

So in your despair,

in your wrestle with God,

cry out to him,

and ask,

Give light to my eyes.

Change me.

I want to know you.

Through this experience,

I want to know you more.

Help me see life from your perspective.

Enable me to walk life as you have willed.

And from this cry of despair

comes a cry of hope,

and ultimately,

a cry of joy.

Now let's be clear about this

as we come to the end of the psalm.

The struggle is not yet resolved.

The suffering has not been taken away.

There is still this wrestling going on.

However,

despair

gives way to joy.

There's two kinds of joy we see.

There is a present joy.

Look at verse 5.

But I trust

in your unfailing love.

love.

My heart rejoices

in your salvation.

In our struggles,

and that's going to be different

for each and every person here this morning,

in your suffering,

you can experience joy.

Here's how.

Do you see what it says,

the beginning of verse 5?

I trust

in your unfailing love.

The unfailing love of God

is that steadfast,

loyal,

and committed

love of God.

It's that love of God

that we read about

when God proclaims

or tells people

what he is like.

Faithful,

loyal,

steadfast.

the love that endures

when we fail and fall.

It's a love that persists

when we doubt and despair.

It's a love that pursues us

and chases after us

when we walk away.

It's a love that will hold us

and keep us.

It's the kind of love

we encounter in Romans 8,

Romans 8:38

verse 38.

For I am convinced

that neither death

nor life,

neither angels

or demons,

neither the present

or the future

or any powers,

neither height

nor depth,

nor anything

in all creation,

nothing,

no matter what

you experience

in your life,

no matter what

you may be going through now,

nothing

will be able

to separate us

from the love of God

that is in Christ Jesus

our Lord.

You see,

to trust

in the unfailing

love of God

is not trusting

in our ability

to understand

or comprehend

or to battle through

or get through.

Our trust

is in God's ability

to hold us

in the suffering.

God's love

is unfailing.

He does not

give up

or let go.

It is an everlasting

grip upon us.

Therefore,

my heart

rejoices

in your salvation.

Here is a God

who has you

in the palm

of his hand

and has a grip

upon you

that will not

let you go,

even though

we despair

and doubt.

In this

we can rejoice.

But not only

do we have

a present joy,

we have a future joy.

Look at verse 6.

He cries out,

I will

sing to the Lord.

Here is a confidence

that looks forward

in time

and says,

I despair

right now,

I struggle

right now,

but I will

sing to the Lord.

You see,

a heart

that cries out

in pain

can also

at the same time

cry out in joy.

How is that possible?

Well,

look at verse 6.

I will

sing to the Lord

because

he has

been good

to me.

Well,

where is

God's goodness?

How has

God been

good to me?

When we're

in the thick

of it,

it's hard

to see

God's goodness.

But that's

why we are

directed here

not only

to think

forward

and say,

I will

sing to the

Lord.

We will

sing to the

Lord because

he has

been

past tense

being good

to me.

So here

he is saying,

look back

over the

course of

your life

and do

not stop

looking

until you

come to

the cross

because

there you

will see

the goodness

of God

for you

and for

me.

You see,

the words

of Psalm

13

are not

just the

experience

of King

David.

It is

the experience

of our

true and

ultimate

King,

the Lord

Jesus

Christ.

As we

read

Psalm

13,

it echoes

what Jesus

cried out

on the

cross as

he hung

there for

you and

for me.

He cried

out,

my God,

my God,

why have

you forsaken

me?

In the

depths of

his agony

he is

crying out,

how long

oh Lord

will you hide

your face

from me?

Will you

forget me

forever?

You see,

Jesus knows

what it is

to be in

despair,

to go

through that

struggle,

to go

through that

suffering.

But it's

so much

more than

just an

example.

Because as

Jesus dies

on the

cross for

you and

for me,

he is

taking my

place and

your place.

for as

Jesus dies,

he is

taking upon

us the

greatest

despair,

sin and

death.

He takes

it on

himself and

he suffers

instead of

you.

And as

Jesus cries

out to the

Father in

the darkness,

there is

no answer,

there is

no help.

It is

earth-shattering

silence.

Jesus dies

alone,

rejected and

abandoned.

He dies

our death

so we

don't have

to.

Jesus was

shut out

from the

presence of

God so

that we

would never

ever be

removed from

his presence.

So look

back and

keep looking

back till

you come to

the cross and

you will see

the goodness

of God on

display.

here we

see a

God who

loves you

so much

that he

suffered for

you.

A God

who cares

for you so

much that

he would

die for

you.

Here we

have a

God who

will never

reject you,

never abandon

you, never

forget you.

He has

promised that

he will walk

with you in

your pain and

he understands

your pain.

And he

hears your

every cry.

before we

can even

voice it to

him.

His

unfailing

love will

not let

you go.

So look

to our

true king,

the Lord

Jesus Christ.

Look to

him on the

cross and in

the midst of

our despair

and wrestle

and struggle,

trust his

unfailing

love.

Experience

a joy

today

and

experience

a joy

to come

where we

will say

I will

sing to

the Lord

for he

has been

good

to me.

to

love.

Let's

just

take a

moment

right now

to bring

our cries

and our

prayers

to him.

Let's do

that now.

in this moment

cry out to the Lord

whatever it is that is upon our hearts

maybe something we go through or somebody else

how long oh Lord

Father

give light to our eyes

help us to see

life to see things through your perspective

change me

give us more of yourself

Father we trust in your

unfailing

steadfast

loyal

love

thank you that we can say

that I will sing to the Lord

for he has been good to me

Father help us to be real where we need to be

and give us that confidence that we might trust in you

and you alone

Amen

we're going to sing together

which helps us to

reflect a little bit of what this psalm is

calling us to do when

you