Monday Devo
Scripture:
Psalm 13
1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 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?
1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 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?
Commentary:
13:1–2 How Long? The psalm begins with the question, “How long?” (repeated four times). The question is not asking for information but expressing the feeling of being unable to endure any longer. The questions move from God’s apparent indifference (v. 1) to the singer’s circumstances of anguish.
13:1 For God to forget and to hide his face from someone is to deliberately abandon that person, to withhold his loving care; it is not a description of God’s own mental state. If psalms were theological treatises, they would affirm that God will not forget his people (cf. 9:12) and that the abandonment described here is only apparent. But a song, whose goal is to describe feelings, does not need the same level of precision and detachment as a treatise.
13:2 The enemy is typically one who hates. Often in the Psalter, the hatred leads the enemy to want to do violence to the singer; in other places, as here, it leads the enemy to gloat over the singer’s misfortunes. Since the Psalms presuppose that their singers are faithful to the covenant, readers may safely assume that the enemy hates the singer’s faithfulness.
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 953–954.
13:1 For God to forget and to hide his face from someone is to deliberately abandon that person, to withhold his loving care; it is not a description of God’s own mental state. If psalms were theological treatises, they would affirm that God will not forget his people (cf. 9:12) and that the abandonment described here is only apparent. But a song, whose goal is to describe feelings, does not need the same level of precision and detachment as a treatise.
13:2 The enemy is typically one who hates. Often in the Psalter, the hatred leads the enemy to want to do violence to the singer; in other places, as here, it leads the enemy to gloat over the singer’s misfortunes. Since the Psalms presuppose that their singers are faithful to the covenant, readers may safely assume that the enemy hates the singer’s faithfulness.
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 953–954.
Questions:
- Psalm 13 is what is known as a "lament" psalm. A lament is a passionate, honest expression of deep grief, sorrow or pain. In the first couple of verses of Psalm 13, David is lamenting to God about pain in his life. Four times David SHOUTS the PAIN... How long, Lord?! Recall a time in your life when you cried out to God in pain. What were the circumstances? How did you respond? What did it do to your relationship with God?
- One thing we look for when we are hurting is a timeline. Like, how much longer do I have to endure this? But most of the time, there is no end date in sight. Philippians 4:6 says that we should make our requests known to God. We should come to him with supplication (asking for something earnestly). Our God is big enough for us to shout at Him. He would rather you shout at Him than walk away from Him. What is your tenancy when you're in pain? Do you internalize and distance yourself from the Lord? Or do you run to Him and cry out for His help?
Prayer Topics:
- That you would learn to lament in the midst of pain.
- That you would run TO God and not FROM Him.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
4. Can a person be good enough to go to heaven? No. Because Jesus rose from the dead, proving He is God, I believe a person is saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
(John 1:12, 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 4:1-25, 5:1-2, 6-11, 6:23, 10:1-4, 10:9; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 2:1-9; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Titus 3:4-7)
(John 1:12, 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 4:1-25, 5:1-2, 6-11, 6:23, 10:1-4, 10:9; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 2:1-9; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Titus 3:4-7)
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