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?
3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
4 lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
4 lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
5 But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.
- Psalm 13
My favorite Psalm is Psalm 13. I love it because of the incredible, glorious turn it takes at the end. The first 4 verse find the Psalmist in complete despair. He feels persecuted on all sides. He feels like God has abandoned him. He feels like the world is beating him down, to the point of death. He is crying out to God in pain and despair.
And if the Psalm ended here, it would be a very depressing Psalm. But it doesn't. It doesn't end there, it goes on to verse 5, and verse 5 offers hope. In the midst of his struggles, in the midst of his pain, the Psalmist still trusts in the love of God. He trusts that God will save him, that he will not be left alone by God, even though it feels like he is sometimes. God's promises and his sovereignty can be trusted.
And if the Psalm ended here, it would offer some hope. It would be dark, but with a light at the end of the tunnel. But it doesn't end there. It goes on to verse 6, and verse 6 is glorious. The Psalmist declares that the will sing to the LORD because God HAS dealt bountifully with him. Not because God WILL deal bountifully with him, but because God HAS. Even in the midst of pain, even in the midst of persecution, God STILL is dealing bountifully with him. What a phrase! "He has dealt bountifully with me". Amazing. God hasn't just provided, he has been abundantly good to the Psalmist, even in suffering.
There is hardship and suffering in a broken world. There is heartbreak, there is pain. Sin has devastated the world. All of us experience it, in various degrees at various times. Sometimes it seems, as the Psalmist says, like it will overwhelm us, that God has hidden his face and we have sorrow in our hearts all the day. And yet, even in these times, the mighty lord of the universe is good to us. It is not only in the good times that God provides, but in the bad times as well. In the midst of hardship, he deals bountifully with us. What a wonderful God.
