Psalms 13 KJV
How Long, O Lord?
About This Psalm
The shortest lament - 'How long, O LORD?' Four times in six verses. When God feels silent and you're running out of patience.
1ow 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.
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Did You Know?
Psalm 13 models the lament genre by directing four successive 'how long' questions straight at God, treating divine silence itself as a legitimate subject of prayer rather than evidence of unfaithfulness.
The abrupt transition in verse 5 from urgent petition to present-tense rejoicing occurs without any narrated change in circumstances, illustrating that trust can be asserted as an act of will rather than a report of deliverance.
The phrase 'lighten mine eyes' in verse 3 employs an ancient Near Eastern idiom linking failing vision with mortal weakness or Sheol's shadow, a motif that also appears in Ugaritic texts describing the approach of death.
Though intensely personal, the superscription assigns the psalm to the chief musician, indicating it was shaped for public temple performance and thus incorporated private anguish into Israel's corporate liturgy.
Its placement among the Davidic collection (Psalms 3โ32) invites readers to hear the lament against the backdrop of the Samuel narratives, where David's flights from Saul repeatedly feature prolonged periods when prophetic guidance and priestly oracles seemed withdrawn.