The believer’s desires often turn to impatience,
for days seem long when the soul is cast down,
but because God’s face is hidden, it does not follow that His heart has forgotten.
If we hold to God by faith,
we will at the same time be assured that victory is coming and that, after all, God has dealt bountifully with us.
Psalm 1
1 How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?
2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?
3 Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;
4 Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
5 But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.
6 I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.
Psalm 1 – J. Vernon McGee
Psalm 13 – The Bounty of God and the Folly of Men
Psalm 13 evidently dates from the Sauline persecutions, I Samuel 19:1. Four times the persecuted soul cries, How long! The psalm begins in deepest dejection, but clears as it proceeds. Prayer often proves to be the ladder from the deepest dungeon to the more radiant day. We find here depression, Psalm 13:1-2; supplication, Psalm 13:3-4; assurance, Psalm 13:5-6. Do not carry your anxieties in your heart. Remember that Christ is by your side, and leading you through all to the Kingdom. Faith begins praise for victory before the fight has reached its worst. —Through the Bible Day by Day
Psalm 13:6—I will sing unto the LORD, because He hath dealt bountifully with me.
Here is the man who had sorrow in his heart all the day breaking into song! We do not find that his troubles were any less. The enemy was still exalted over him, and boasted of having prevailed; it seemed indeed as though he must soon sleep the sleep of death. But he never let go his trust. Whatever were his outward discomforts and trials, he clung to his God and waited patiently for Him; with the result that out of his stormy griefs he built a Bethel, and in the midst of his anguish broke out into song.
When we are sitting under the shadow of severe trial, God can wrap us about with the garment of praise, and fill our mouths with singing. Although the fig-tree does not blossom, and there is no fruit in the vines, yet the soul may rejoice in the Lord, and joy in the God of salvation. You cannot starve a man who is feeding on God’s promises; and you cannot make that man or woman wretched who has a clean conscience, the smile of God, and the love of Jesus in the soul.
When brave old Thomas Halyburton lost his much-loved son, he made this record: “This day has been a day to be remembered. O my soul never forget what this day I reached. My soul had smiles that almost wasted nature. Oh, what a sweet day! About half-an-hour after the Sabbath, my child, after a sharp conflict, slept pleasantly in Jesus, to whom pleasantly he was so often given… Jesus came to me in the third watch of the night, walking upon the waters… He stilled the tempest in my soul, and lo! there was a great calm.” When God is bereaving us of all else, He may so fill us with Himself that we shall magnify his bountifulness. —Our Daily Homily