The fall of mankind into sin makes it impossible to avoid sin and its consequences, no matter who we are, believers or unbelievers. "Death has passed upon all men, for all have sinned." "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Believers in our Lord Jesus Christ are not exempt from trouble in life. Some of that comes from without and is caused by those who have never experienced the blessings of the grace of God in their own lives. Some troubles come from within ourselves when we look at ourselves instead of turning our "eyes upon Jesus." It is then, "The things of earth grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace."
The time frame of human thought is normally focused on right now. We can become agitated when something bad happens and is not dealt with or taken away quickly. So, the repeated phrase, "How Long?" in this psalm indicates the impatience and concern David had. We, too, can yield to that attitude if God doesn't answer our prayers as quickly as we think He should. We know "God is still on His throne, and He will remember His own," nor does He forsake His own, and yet relief often seems so long in coming. We know the eyes of the Lord are in every place, and He is not unmindful of what we need. We know that if we only take counsel from ourselves, we will be sad and disappointed. We know, "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world."
The practice of prayer gives us an opportunity to express our feelings to God without criticism. Complaints are often best dealt with when we express them openly and audibly to One who we know listens. It is then, and to Him, that we can express the deepest concerns we have and not be ashamed of the agony of our souls. One of the greatest results of open, trusting prayer is that things are able to be put into proper perspective, and we can find inner peace in the middle of turmoil. "Why worry when you can pray?" Open expressions of faith in God give understanding and help us to look beyond the present distress with calm assurance that everything is under His control. Others may seek to criticize or create a situation to agitate us, and hope we respond in the way they want. Then they can say, "Look there! That's a Christian for you! He's no different than the rest of us!"
David in his prayer, openly declares his trust in the mercy of the Lord. His faith in God at the end of this psalm makes it clear that by "unloading his heart" before the Lord, he has lifted his mind and heart to the One who can always be trusted to bring justice to the ungodly and peace to those "whose mind is stayed on Thee." Anyone who puts their trust unreservedly in the mercy of God can rejoice with confidence in God's salvation. In looking back, our faith in Christ as personal Savior assures us that we are God's children "by faith in Jesus Christ." We have experienced salvation from the punishment of sin forever. To trust Him for daily living and all the pressures that involve saving us from the practice and power of sin when all around us sin and evil seem to reign. In looking ahead into the future by faith, we know that "nothing that defileth shall enter there," where we will be saved from the presence of sin. When we are under tension from something over which we have no control, we need to turn with confidence instead of impatience to our Lord. It is then, and there we will find our peace in the assurance that God's love never fails, even though the difficulties continue.
To one who puts whole-hearted trust in God and is faithful to Him, the weight of the pressures and problems of life, and the testing of faith that seems hard, is lifted because we know our God. He deals with such things with amazing grace, assuring peace and ultimately with abundant blessings. The problems are such that one time caused us to say, "How long?" may not be taken away. But when God is personally and deliberately brought to the forefront of our situation, then the right perspective can be recognized. Then we can sing to the Lord even though "I'm a pilgrim and a stranger, rough and thorny is the road." God's provision for us in trials is all we need to praise Him for because we know He meets our needs both physically and spiritually. That gives us relief and a restful, quiet, and, hopefully, humble spirit. If we give public expression to our faith in such times, that is one of the most effective ways for a Christian’s testimony to be obvious to those who know us.
PSALM 13. A prayer for Help in trouble. We can relate to the Psalms because they express our feelings. We all face troubles as did those who wrote the psalms. David often told God his complaints in the first few verses. Then he realizes God’s presence and knows the odds against him are meaningless. The writers poured out their thoughts and feelings to God. When they felt abandoned and impatient with God, they told Him so. They recognized the difference between themselves and God, so they seemed to be free to be men and be honest with their Creator. That is why so many psalms start in the dark and end up in the light – they realized to whom they were speaking! Even though we have much in common with the writers, we might not tell God what we are feeling and consequently don’t recognize who is really listening to our prayers. The keywords are “How long?” Sometimes, all we need to do is talk over a problem with a friend to help put it in perspective. He is pursued, perhaps by the enemy. v. 1-2. If he died, his enemies would gloat in triumph, but he is confident that the Lord will deliver him. By prayer, we are able to express our feelings and talk out our problems with God. He helps us regain the right perspective, and this gives us peace. David, at times, claimed that God was slow to act on his behalf. We often have this same impatience when evil and suffering go unchecked, and we wonder when God is going to stop them. David had steadfast faith in God’s unfailing love, and we need to keep this same perspective. v. 3-4. David had four burdens that were crushing him. [1] He felt as if God had forgotten him. [2] He considered himself cut off from the Lord’s favor. [3] He experienced deep depression in his soul. [3] He suffered the constant humiliation of being on the losing side. v. 5-6. There was no doubt as to the outcome. He knows help is on the way. He knows he will live to celebrate deliverance from his adversary. In anticipation, he sings praises to the Lord for His loving kindness. This psalm is like many of God’s tests: they begin with a sigh and end with a song.