Psalm 13 “How Long?”

Psalm 13:1a, 3-4 

How long, O Lord? (4x)… 

Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
    light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
    lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

Comments:

What is the subject of this psalm? If I was to state it in the form of a question it would be, “How long do I have to wait for an answer from the Lord?” Sometimes we really wonder how long it will take God to answer us and how long we will have to endure seemingly high and dry like a beached boat.

While growing up in an orphanage in El Salvador, Hannah told me that when the kids in the van asked “How much longer?” The standard answer was always, “20 more minutes”—no matter how many times they asked. Didn’t our parents all do something like that? As a result, I have called this either the “Are we there yet?” or the "Kids-on-a-road-trip” psalm since the psalmist asks the Lord “How long…?” four times in rapid succession (v.1-2). But perhaps my semi-flippant title is making light of the deep pain of the psalmist’s lament. Yet the lament is common to the human experience. I know I have asked the Lord the same question more than once in the last couple of weeks. So I in no way want to minimize to the depth of the psalmist’s trauma…this is no impatient passenger but a person facing death and unjust accusations.

In verses 4-5, our focus today, he states why he really needs to know the answer. After the “How long” lament, he again presents his request,

Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
    light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
    lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

He neither wants to die nor desires his enemies to get the last word! I am encouraged that he didn't stop presenting his needs to the Lord. Then in the last two verses (v.5-6), he states what he has done in the past "trusted" and what he will do in the future "rejoice."

Why this sudden change of heart on the psalmist’s part? What is it that lights up his eyes? Like a bit of honey on the tongue of a famished warrior (1 Samuel 14:27), he finds something that renews his hope and strength to persevere. This is a fairly common occurrence in the psalms.

·         Have his circumstances changed? No.

·         Has his perspective changed? Yes.

He has stated his need clearly to the Lord and seems to pause to remember how God has dealt with him in the past bountifully in steadfast love and salvation.

Clocks on Canary Warf, London

So has the psalmist come to realize that the answer to his repeated “How long?” lament is “As long as it takes”? Or, perhaps, has he come to see that the question has already been answered, even before he called? Because of what God has done in the past he knows that his future is also secure.

Of course, the long-term future view of the Day of the Lord addresses his concerns as well, for Isaiah prophesied,

He will swallow up death forever;
and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
    and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
    for the Lord has spoken.
It will be said on that day,
    “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.
    This is the Lord; we have waited for him;
    let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” (Isaiah 25:8-9)

Woman Waiting

The mouths of our enemies will not get the last laugh.
We are not like that boat beached in the dunes by chance and time. God has a plan to continue to show his steadfast love to us. He will bring his purposes to pass.

So what do we do with our “How longs?”
May the Lord brighten your eyes today!

P.S. I know some of you might have been asking “How long until Greg posts another Psalms blog?” Well, you too now have an answer!

Psalm 12 "Longing for Safety"

Psalm 12:1, 5 

Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone;
    for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man…

 “Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan,
    I will now arise,” says the Lord;
    “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”

Comments:

This psalm is an individual lament as we can see in verse one’s prayerful request, “Save, O Lord”. It also contains a bit of imprecatory (v. 3) and a pinch of wisdom (v.6).

The larger context of the psalm indicates that when David wrote this, he was frustrated by the lying and treacherous words of his generation. It seemed like everyone had become corrupt in their speech. It is not much different today…check the comment thread on any sports or political post you find on the internet. People still use their power and wealth to oppress and disrespect others based on race, class, religion, and culture covering their actions with lying words. And many who have no power would treat others just as oppressively if they did.

Yet here in v, 5 we have the answer to David’s cry for help (v.1). The Lord rises up to deliver and save the poor/needy who are groaning because of the plundering that they are suffering. In the Old Testament “the poor” is the godly person who trusts in the Lord instead of in himself and worldly power structures. These were the “have-nots” of society that what little they had was being taken by those with more. They were being terrorized in a very real way.

Is it satisfying to see the Lord’s answer? He will move and “place” the poor/needy one who is trusting in Him “in the safety for which he longs.” I think so.

This was a verse that I got to share with my son as he headed off for a military deployment as a combat medic. This verse instructs me that I need to have a tender heart towards the oppressed wherever I may find them. Why? Because this is the very heart of God! Our military men and women can be self-serving just like anyone else, but they can also do some very brave and sacrificial things in an effort to protect others. Our government may make decisions that are not in the best interest of the poor and needy, but there are many who lay down their lives in sacrificial service to bring them to “the safety for which he longs.”  When they do this for others, they reflect something of the character of God as revealed in Jesus Christ. 

Our calling as Christ followers, is to come alongside those in need, show kindness, build relationship, and walk with them. It may be that we can help them to safety, or that in our risking something for others that we can be helped by what we learn from them. Some in terrible danger long for true safety, others merely loiter in it risking nothing for others. 

In any event, Gods heart is compassionate and responsive to his people, and his words are always true and dependable. So, even when I risk an investment of trust in the Lord he is my Deliverer and I really have risked nothing for he is the one who died for me and even now gives the harvest!

[Note: This psalm marks a memorial stone of sorts. It was on this psalm in January 2010 that in response to requests from readers (like Janet Miller) I began adding short commentary to the verses that I posted on Facebook. Then about a year ago, those comments moved into a more developed blog.]

Psalm 11 "Refuge or Fleeing?"

Psalm for Today = 11:1-4

"In the Lord I take refuge;

     how can you say to my soul,

"Flee like a bird to your mountain,

     for behold, the wicked bend the bow;

they have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart;

     if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?"

    The Lord is in his holy temple;

     the Lord’s throne is in heaven

Comments:

This is a psalm of profound trust in the Lord. We need to see that our “refuge” is the place of our greatest trust, our ultimate hope for protection and deliverance from our enemies. In this case the refuge referred to is not a generally trustworthy place like Helm’s Deep (that could be overrun by a powerful enemy) but a faithful, loving, all-powerful, and ever-present person—the Lord himself!

I get the sense that the psalmist was shocked that someone thought that just because it was dangerous he should disengage and flee much the way the U.S. Secret Service agents spirit the American President and Vice President away in the face of imminent threats.

God’s people of both Testaments has been threatened and persecuted many times throughout history, but God has faithfully preserved a faithful remnant. It would seem that having the Lord as his refuge enables/empowers/emboldens the psalmist to stay in right where he was, doing what he had been doing—trusting the Lord.

But what about the fight over "the foundations?" It was not the psalmist that was concerned about the imminent collapse of “the foundations”, but the fearful. There have always been those that think that the best way to deal with the corruption that is in the world today is to retreat from the world and carve out some kind of insular community that would be safe from temptation, pollution, or attack. There are others who think that the best defense is a strong offense and tend to take the lead in any culture war that breaks out. They feel that if they don’t defend “the foundations” that surely they will be destroyed. But our foundation is none other than Christ himself (Psalm 118:22) and he doesn't need our protection. I don’t want to be like Uzzah and think that just because the ox-cart stumbles doesn't mean God is dependent upon us to catch the Ark (2 Samuel 6)!

The psalmist was neither of these extremes.

He felt no need to flee to his “mountain” for he was already actively trusting/taking refuge in the Lord right there where he was...in the midst of the community, doing what was right in the face of opposition. Neither did he feel the anxiety to protect the foundations for ultimately the true foundation cannot be destroyed because God is in His temple ruling the universe! This surely makes it easier for us to love those who are not like us.

I am siding with David and actively taking refuge in the Lord...right where I am. Will you join me?