THE PROGESSION
Psalm 13:1-6 NKJV
1 How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
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?
3 Consider and hear me, O Lord my God;
Enlighten my eyes,
Lest I sleep the sleep of death;
4 Lest my enemy say,
"I have prevailed against him";
Lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
5 But I have trusted in Your mercy;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.
This is a short psalm that starts with David expressing his pain in the middle of a difficult time. It seems as if God has forgotten him. Of course, God has not forgotten David, but to him, it must feel that way.
And because David is not making a connection with the Lord, he is taking counsel in his soul. In other words, his counsel does not come from the Lord or his word but from a place of sorrow within him. Whenever we are only receiving counsel from the sorrow in our soul, then nothing appears good. To David, it seems as if his enemies have the upper hand. David is not in a good place, but he doesn't stay there.
He does keep talking to the Lord. David continues to pray and ask God to hear him and to give him insight. to enlighten his eyes so that he can come out of this death situation. David is praying for God's light so that his enemy cannotot say that he has prevailed over him. With God's light on his ways, David knows that he will not be moved and the voice of his enemies will be silenced.
At first glance, it seems David is in a desperate place. He feels forgotten and forsaken, but he has the wisdom to not forsake God. David faced a great amount of adversity in his life. He dealt with dark nights of the soul. But somehow, David pulls out of the dark place, and we see his exit in verses five and six.
But. That's a big word. All this negative stuff is going on, but. But I have trusted in Your mercy. David's perspective of God is that God is good and God is merciful. David made mistakes but learned to trust more in God's mercy than in his mishaps. David believed that God's mercy would be there for him, and so his heart rejoices in the salvation that God and only God can provide. So David has moved away from his feelings of despair and defeat to a place of rejoicing.
And he is not only rejoicing, he is singing to the Lord. The Lord has not forgotten David; instead, the Lord has dealt bountifully with David. The Lord has been good to David in a difficult time.
APPLICATION
Here is the progression of this psalm. Negative feelings and sorrow. Continual prayer for help. The decision to trust in God's mercy and rejoice. And the belief that the Lord's dealings will be bountiful meaning the Lord will be good.
Because all of us have faced similar situations and feelings, we can take a page from David and make that same progression. Feeling sad and alone. Refusing to abandon God and calling on Him for His wisdom and help. A firm trust in the mercy of God that is bigger than our weaknesses. Rejoicing in the Lord's saving power and the belief that His dealings with us personally will be good.
That's a great progression. After all, it's not where we start. It's where we finish.
PRAYER
Lord, I trust that You will give me light. I trust in Your mercy and rejoice in Your saving and delivering power. When all is said and done, I know You are being good to me.