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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>P S A L M S</B></FONT>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>PSALM XIII.</FONT>
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This psalm is the deserted soul's case and cure. Whether it was penned
upon any particular occasion does not appear, but in general,
I. David sadly complains that God had long withdrawn from him and
delayed to relieve him,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+13:1,2">ver. 1, 2</A>.
II. He earnestly prays to God to consider his case and comfort him,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+13:3,4">ver. 3, 4</A>.
III. He assures himself of an answer of peace, and therefore concludes
the psalm with joy and triumph, because he concludes his deliverance to
be as good as wrought,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+13:5,6">ver. 5, 6</A>.</P>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>David's Complaints and Prayers Turned into Praises.</I></FONT></TD>
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<P>To the chief musician. A psalm of David.</P>
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<P>
<FONT SIZE=+1>1 How long wilt
thou forget me, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy
face from me?
2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul, <I>having</I> sorrow in
my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?
3 Consider <I>and</I> hear me, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> my God: lighten mine eyes,
lest I sleep the <I>sleep of</I> death;
4 Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; <I>and</I>
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 L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, because he hath dealt bountifully
with me.
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<P>
David, in affliction, is here pouring out his soul before God; his
address is short, but the method is very observable, and of use for
direction and encouragement.</P>
<P>
I. His troubles extort complaints
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+13:1,2"><I>v.</I> 1, 2</A>);
and the afflicted have liberty to <I>pour out their complaint before
the Lord,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+102:1">Ps. cii.</A>
<I>title.</I> It is some ease to a troubled spirit to give vent to its
griefs, especially to give vent to them at the throne of grace, where
we are sure to find one who is afflicted in the afflictions of his
people and is troubled with the feeling of their infirmities; thither
we have boldness of access by faith, and there we have
<B><I>parresia</I></B>--<I>freedom of speech.</I> Observe here,</P>
<P>
1. What David complains of.
(1.) God's unkindness; so he construed it, and it was his infirmity. He
thought God had forgotten him, had forgotten his promises to him, his
covenant with him, his former lovingkindness which he had shown him and
which he took to be an earnest of further mercy, had forgotten that
there was such a man in the world, who needed and expected relief and
succour from him. Thus Zion said, <I>My God has forgotten me</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:14">Isa. xlix. 14</A>),
Israel said, <I>My way is hidden from the Lord,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+40:27">Isa. xl. 27</A>.
Not that any good man can doubt the omniscience, goodness, and
faithfulness of God; but it is a peevish expression of prevailing fear,
which yet, when it arises from a high esteem and earnest desire of
God's favour, though it be indecent and culpable, shall be passed by
and pardoned, for the second thought will retract it and repent of it.
God hid his face from him, so that he wanted that inward comfort in God
which he used to have, and herein was a type of Christ upon the cross,
crying out, <I>My God, why hast thou forsaken me?</I> God sometimes
hides his face from his own children, and leaves them in the dark
concerning their interest in him; and this they lay to heart more than
any outward trouble whatsoever.
(2.) His own uneasiness.
[1.] He was racked with care, which filled his head: <I>I take counsel
in my soul;</I> "I am at a loss, and am <I>inops
consilii--without a friend to advise with</I> that I can put any
confidence in, and therefore am myself continually projecting what to
do to help myself; but none of my projects are likely to take effect,
so that I am at my wits' end, and in a continual agitation." Anxious
cares are heavy burdens with which good people often load themselves
more than they need.
[2.] He was overwhelmed with sorrow, which filled his heart: <I>I have
sorrow in my heart daily.</I> He had a constant disposition to sorrow
and it preyed upon his spirits, not only in the night, when he was
silent and solitary, but by day too, when lighter griefs are diverted
and dissipated by conversation and business; nay, every day brought
with it fresh occasions of grief; <I>the clouds returned after the
rain.</I> The bread of sorrow is sometimes the saint's daily bread. Our
Master himself was a man of sorrows.
(3.) His enemies' insolence, which added to his grief. Saul his great
enemy, and others under him, were exalted over him, triumphed in his
distress, pleased themselves with his grief, and promised themselves a
complete victory over him. This he complained of as reflecting
dishonour upon God, and his power and promise.</P>
<P>
2. How he expostulates with God hereupon: "<I>How long</I> shall it be
thus?" And, "Shall it be thus <I>for ever?</I>" Long afflictions try
our patience and often tire it. It is a common temptation, when trouble
lasts long, to think it will last always; despondency then turns into
despair, and those that have long been without joy begin, at last, to
be without hope. "Lord, tell me how long thou wilt hide thy face, and
assure me that it shall not be for ever, but that thou wilt return at
length in mercy to me, and then I shall the more easily bear my present
troubles."</P>
<P>
II. His complaints stir up his prayers,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+13:3,4"><I>v.</I> 3, 4</A>.
We should never allow ourselves to make any complaints but what are fit
to be offered up to God and what drive us to our knees. Observe
here,</P>
<P>
1. What his petitions are: <I>Consider</I> my case, <I>hear</I> my
complaints, and <I>enlighten my eyes,</I> that is,
(1.) "Strengthen my faith;" for faith is the eye of the soul, with
which it sees above, and sees through, the things of sense. "Lord,
enable me to look beyond my present troubles and to foresee a happy
issue of them."
(2.) "Guide my way; enable me to look about me, that I may avoid the
snares which are laid for me."
(3.) "Refresh my soul with the joy of thy salvation." That which
revives the drooping spirits is said to <I>enlighten the eyes,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+14:27,Ezr+9:8">1 Sam. xiv. 27; Ezra ix. 8</A>.
"Lord, scatter the cloud of melancholy which darkens my eyes, and let
my countenance be made pleasant."</P>
<P>
2. What his pleas are. He mentions his relation to God and interest in
him (<I>O Lord my God!</I>) and insists upon the greatness of the
peril, which called for speedy relief and succour. If his eyes were not
enlightened quickly,
(1.) He concludes that he must perish: "I shall <I>sleep the sleep of
death;</I> I cannot live under the weight of all this care and grief."
Nothing is more killing to a soul then the want of God's favour,
nothing more reviving than the return of it.
(2.) That then his enemies would triumph: "<I>Lest my enemy say,</I> So
would I have it; lest Saul, lest Satan, be gratified in my fall." It
would gratify the pride of his enemy: He will say, "<I>I have
prevailed,</I> I have gotten the day, and been too hard for him and his
God." It would gratify the malice of his enemies: They will <I>rejoice
when I am moved.</I> And will it be for God's honour to suffer them
thus to trample upon all that is sacred both in heaven and earth?</P>
<P>
III. His prayers are soon turned into praises
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+13:5,6"><I>v.</I> 5, 6</A>):
But <I>my heart shall rejoice and I will sing to the Lord.</I> What a
surprising change is here in a few lines! In the beginning of the psalm
we have him drooping, trembling, and ready to sink into melancholy and
despair; but, in the close of it, rejoicing in God, and elevated and
enlarged in his praises. See the power of faith, the power of prayer,
and how good it is to draw near to God. If we bring our cares and
griefs to the throne of grace, and leave them there, we may go away
like Hannah, and our <I>countenance will be no more sad,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+1:18">1 Sam. i. 18</A>.
And here observe the method of his comfort.
1. God's mercy is the support of his faith. "My case is bad enough, and
I am ready to think it deplorable, till I consider the infinite
goodness of God; but, finding I have that to trust to, I am comforted,
though I have no merit of my own. In former distresses <I>I have
trusted in the mercy of God,</I> and I never found that it failed me;
his mercy has in due time relieved me and my confidence in it has in
the mean time supported me. Even in the depth of this distress, when
God hid his face from me, when without were fightings and within were
fears, yet <I>I trusted in the mercy of God</I> and that was as an
anchor in a storm, by the help of which, though I was tossed, I was not
overset." And still <I>I do trust in thy mercy;</I> so some read it. "I
refer myself to that, with an assurance that it will do well for me at
last." This he pleads with God, knowing what pleasure he takes <I>in
those that hope in his mercy,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+147:11">Ps. cxlvii. 11</A>.
2. His faith in God's mercy filled his heart with <I>joy in his
salvation;</I> for joy and peace come <I>by believing,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+15:13">Rom. xv. 13</A>.
<I>Believing, you rejoice,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+1:8">1 Pet. i. 8</A>.
Having put his trust in the mercy of God, he is fully assured of
salvation, and that his heart, which was now daily grieving, should
<I>rejoice in that salvation.</I> Though weeping endure long, joy will
return.
3. His joy in God's salvation would fill his mouth with songs of praise
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+13:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
"<I>I will sing unto the Lord,</I> sing in remembrance of what he has
done formerly; though I should never recover the peace I have had, I
will die blessing God that ever I had it. He has dealt bountifully with
me formerly, and he shall have the glory of that, however he is pleased
to deal with me now. I will sing in hope of what he will do for me at
last, being confident that all will end well, will end everlastingly
well." But he speaks of it as a thing past <I>(He has dealt bountifully
with me</I>), because by faith he had received the earnest of the
salvation and he was as confident of it as if it had been done
already.</P>
<P>
In singing this psalm and praying it over, if we have not the same
complaints to make that David had, we must thank God that we have not,
dread and deprecate his withdrawings, sympathize with those that are
troubled in mind, and encourage ourselves in our most holy faith and
joy.</P>
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