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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Psalms XIII].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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<h3><a href="http://www.biblesnet.com" target="_blank">Back to Biblesnet.com Home Page</a>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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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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<P>
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This psalm is the deserted soul's case and cure. Whether it was penned
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upon any particular occasion does not appear, but in general,
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I. David sadly complains that God had long withdrawn from him and
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delayed to relieve him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+13:1,2">ver. 1, 2</A>.
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II. He earnestly prays to God to consider his case and comfort him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+13:3,4">ver. 3, 4</A>.
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III. He assures himself of an answer of peace, and therefore concludes
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the psalm with joy and triumph, because he concludes his deliverance to
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be as good as wrought,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+13:5,6">ver. 5, 6</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="Ps13_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps13_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps13_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps13_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps13_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps13_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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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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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<CENTER>
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<P>To the chief musician. A psalm of David.</P>
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</CENTER>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 How long wilt
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thou forget me, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy
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face from me?
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2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul, <I>having</I> sorrow in
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my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?
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3 Consider <I>and</I> hear me, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> my God: lighten mine eyes,
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lest I sleep the <I>sleep of</I> death;
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4 Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; <I>and</I>
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those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
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5 But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in
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thy salvation.
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6 I will sing unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, because he hath dealt bountifully
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with me.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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David, in affliction, is here pouring out his soul before God; his
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address is short, but the method is very observable, and of use for
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direction and encouragement.</P>
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<P>
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I. His troubles extort complaints
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+13:1,2"><I>v.</I> 1, 2</A>);
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and the afflicted have liberty to <I>pour out their complaint before
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the Lord,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+102:1">Ps. cii.</A>
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<I>title.</I> It is some ease to a troubled spirit to give vent to its
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griefs, especially to give vent to them at the throne of grace, where
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we are sure to find one who is afflicted in the afflictions of his
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people and is troubled with the feeling of their infirmities; thither
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we have boldness of access by faith, and there we have
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<B><I>parresia</I></B>--<I>freedom of speech.</I> Observe here,</P>
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<P>
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1. What David complains of.
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(1.) God's unkindness; so he construed it, and it was his infirmity. He
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thought God had forgotten him, had forgotten his promises to him, his
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covenant with him, his former lovingkindness which he had shown him and
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which he took to be an earnest of further mercy, had forgotten that
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there was such a man in the world, who needed and expected relief and
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succour from him. Thus Zion said, <I>My God has forgotten me</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:14">Isa. xlix. 14</A>),
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Israel said, <I>My way is hidden from the Lord,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+40:27">Isa. xl. 27</A>.
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Not that any good man can doubt the omniscience, goodness, and
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faithfulness of God; but it is a peevish expression of prevailing fear,
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which yet, when it arises from a high esteem and earnest desire of
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God's favour, though it be indecent and culpable, shall be passed by
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and pardoned, for the second thought will retract it and repent of it.
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God hid his face from him, so that he wanted that inward comfort in God
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which he used to have, and herein was a type of Christ upon the cross,
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crying out, <I>My God, why hast thou forsaken me?</I> God sometimes
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hides his face from his own children, and leaves them in the dark
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concerning their interest in him; and this they lay to heart more than
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any outward trouble whatsoever.
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(2.) His own uneasiness.
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[1.] He was racked with care, which filled his head: <I>I take counsel
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in my soul;</I> "I am at a loss, and am <I>inops
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consilii--without a friend to advise with</I> that I can put any
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confidence in, and therefore am myself continually projecting what to
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do to help myself; but none of my projects are likely to take effect,
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so that I am at my wits' end, and in a continual agitation." Anxious
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cares are heavy burdens with which good people often load themselves
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more than they need.
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[2.] He was overwhelmed with sorrow, which filled his heart: <I>I have
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sorrow in my heart daily.</I> He had a constant disposition to sorrow
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and it preyed upon his spirits, not only in the night, when he was
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silent and solitary, but by day too, when lighter griefs are diverted
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and dissipated by conversation and business; nay, every day brought
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with it fresh occasions of grief; <I>the clouds returned after the
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rain.</I> The bread of sorrow is sometimes the saint's daily bread. Our
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Master himself was a man of sorrows.
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(3.) His enemies' insolence, which added to his grief. Saul his great
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enemy, and others under him, were exalted over him, triumphed in his
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distress, pleased themselves with his grief, and promised themselves a
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complete victory over him. This he complained of as reflecting
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dishonour upon God, and his power and promise.</P>
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<P>
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2. How he expostulates with God hereupon: "<I>How long</I> shall it be
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thus?" And, "Shall it be thus <I>for ever?</I>" Long afflictions try
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our patience and often tire it. It is a common temptation, when trouble
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lasts long, to think it will last always; despondency then turns into
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despair, and those that have long been without joy begin, at last, to
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be without hope. "Lord, tell me how long thou wilt hide thy face, and
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assure me that it shall not be for ever, but that thou wilt return at
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length in mercy to me, and then I shall the more easily bear my present
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troubles."</P>
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<P>
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II. His complaints stir up his prayers,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+13:3,4"><I>v.</I> 3, 4</A>.
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We should never allow ourselves to make any complaints but what are fit
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to be offered up to God and what drive us to our knees. Observe
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here,</P>
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<P>
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1. What his petitions are: <I>Consider</I> my case, <I>hear</I> my
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complaints, and <I>enlighten my eyes,</I> that is,
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(1.) "Strengthen my faith;" for faith is the eye of the soul, with
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which it sees above, and sees through, the things of sense. "Lord,
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enable me to look beyond my present troubles and to foresee a happy
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issue of them."
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(2.) "Guide my way; enable me to look about me, that I may avoid the
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snares which are laid for me."
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(3.) "Refresh my soul with the joy of thy salvation." That which
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revives the drooping spirits is said to <I>enlighten the eyes,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+14:27,Ezr+9:8">1 Sam. xiv. 27; Ezra ix. 8</A>.
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"Lord, scatter the cloud of melancholy which darkens my eyes, and let
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my countenance be made pleasant."</P>
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<P>
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2. What his pleas are. He mentions his relation to God and interest in
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him (<I>O Lord my God!</I>) and insists upon the greatness of the
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peril, which called for speedy relief and succour. If his eyes were not
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enlightened quickly,
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(1.) He concludes that he must perish: "I shall <I>sleep the sleep of
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death;</I> I cannot live under the weight of all this care and grief."
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Nothing is more killing to a soul then the want of God's favour,
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nothing more reviving than the return of it.
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(2.) That then his enemies would triumph: "<I>Lest my enemy say,</I> So
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would I have it; lest Saul, lest Satan, be gratified in my fall." It
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would gratify the pride of his enemy: He will say, "<I>I have
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prevailed,</I> I have gotten the day, and been too hard for him and his
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God." It would gratify the malice of his enemies: They will <I>rejoice
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when I am moved.</I> And will it be for God's honour to suffer them
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thus to trample upon all that is sacred both in heaven and earth?</P>
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<P>
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III. His prayers are soon turned into praises
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+13:5,6"><I>v.</I> 5, 6</A>):
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But <I>my heart shall rejoice and I will sing to the Lord.</I> What a
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surprising change is here in a few lines! In the beginning of the psalm
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we have him drooping, trembling, and ready to sink into melancholy and
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despair; but, in the close of it, rejoicing in God, and elevated and
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enlarged in his praises. See the power of faith, the power of prayer,
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and how good it is to draw near to God. If we bring our cares and
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griefs to the throne of grace, and leave them there, we may go away
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like Hannah, and our <I>countenance will be no more sad,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+1:18">1 Sam. i. 18</A>.
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And here observe the method of his comfort.
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1. God's mercy is the support of his faith. "My case is bad enough, and
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I am ready to think it deplorable, till I consider the infinite
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goodness of God; but, finding I have that to trust to, I am comforted,
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though I have no merit of my own. In former distresses <I>I have
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trusted in the mercy of God,</I> and I never found that it failed me;
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his mercy has in due time relieved me and my confidence in it has in
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the mean time supported me. Even in the depth of this distress, when
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God hid his face from me, when without were fightings and within were
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fears, yet <I>I trusted in the mercy of God</I> and that was as an
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anchor in a storm, by the help of which, though I was tossed, I was not
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overset." And still <I>I do trust in thy mercy;</I> so some read it. "I
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refer myself to that, with an assurance that it will do well for me at
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last." This he pleads with God, knowing what pleasure he takes <I>in
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those that hope in his mercy,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+147:11">Ps. cxlvii. 11</A>.
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2. His faith in God's mercy filled his heart with <I>joy in his
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salvation;</I> for joy and peace come <I>by believing,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+15:13">Rom. xv. 13</A>.
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<I>Believing, you rejoice,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+1:8">1 Pet. i. 8</A>.
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Having put his trust in the mercy of God, he is fully assured of
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salvation, and that his heart, which was now daily grieving, should
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<I>rejoice in that salvation.</I> Though weeping endure long, joy will
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return.
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3. His joy in God's salvation would fill his mouth with songs of praise
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+13:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
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"<I>I will sing unto the Lord,</I> sing in remembrance of what he has
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done formerly; though I should never recover the peace I have had, I
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will die blessing God that ever I had it. He has dealt bountifully with
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me formerly, and he shall have the glory of that, however he is pleased
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to deal with me now. I will sing in hope of what he will do for me at
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last, being confident that all will end well, will end everlastingly
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well." But he speaks of it as a thing past <I>(He has dealt bountifully
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with me</I>), because by faith he had received the earnest of the
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salvation and he was as confident of it as if it had been done
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already.</P>
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<P>
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In singing this psalm and praying it over, if we have not the same
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complaints to make that David had, we must thank God that we have not,
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dread and deprecate his withdrawings, sympathize with those that are
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troubled in mind, and encourage ourselves in our most holy faith and
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joy.</P>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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[<A HREF="MHC19012.HTM">Previous</A>]
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[<A HREF="MHC19014.HTM">Next</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
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