BUT I TRUST IN YOUR UNFAILING LOVE
Key verse: 5
NIV
Psalm 13[a]
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 How long,(A) Lord? Will you forget me(B) forever?
How long will you hide your face(C) from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts(D)
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?(E)
Footnotes
- Psalm 13:1 In Hebrew texts 13:1-6 is numbered 13:2-6.
Cross references
- Psalm 13:1 : Ps 6:3
- Psalm 13:1 : Ps 42:9; La 5:20
- Psalm 13:1 : S Dt 31:17; S Ps 22:24; S Isa 8:17; S 54:9
- Psalm 13:2 : Ps 42:4; 55:2; 139:23; Isa 33:18; Da 7:28
- Psalm 13:2 : Ps 94:3
- Psalm 13:3 : Ps 9:12; 25:18; 31:7; 35:23; 59:4; 80:14; 107:41; 119:50, 153
- Psalm 13:3 : S Ps 4:1
- Psalm 13:3 : S Ezr 9:8
- Psalm 13:3 : Ps 76:5; 90:5; Jer 51:39
- Psalm 13:4 : S 1Ki 19:2; Ps 25:2
- Psalm 13:4 : Ps 38:16; 118:13
- Psalm 13:5 : S Ps 6:4
- Psalm 13:5 : S Job 33:26; Ps 9:14; Isa 25:9; 33:2
- Psalm 13:6 : S Ex 15:1; Ps 7:17
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway
ESV
How Long, O Lord?
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.13 (A)How long, O Lord? Will you (B)forget me forever?
How long will you (C)hide your face from me?
2 How long must I take (D)counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
3 (E)Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
(F)light up my eyes, lest (G)I sleep the sleep of death,
4 (H)lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am (I)shaken.
5 But I have (J)trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall (K)rejoice in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.
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Cross references
- Psalm 13:1 : Ps. 79:5; 89:46; [Rev. 6:10]
- Psalm 13:1 : Ps. 10:12; 44:24; 74:19, 23; Lam. 5:20
- Psalm 13:1 : See Job 13:24
- Psalm 13:2 : [Ps. 77:6]
- Psalm 13:3 : Ps. 5:1; 119:153
- Psalm 13:3 : Ps. 19:8; Ezra 9:8; Prov. 29:13; Eph. 1:18; [1 Sam. 14:27]
- Psalm 13:3 : [Jer. 51:39]
- Psalm 13:4 : Deut. 32:27
- Psalm 13:4 : See Ps. 10:6
- Psalm 13:5 : See Ps. 11:1
- Psalm 13:5 : See Ps. 9:14
13 (A)How long, O Lord? Will you (B)forget me forever?
How long will you (C)hide your face from me?
2 How long must I take (D)counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
3 (E)Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
(F)light up my eyes, lest (G)I sleep the sleep of death,
4 (H)lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am (I)shaken.
5 But I have (J)trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall (K)rejoice in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.
Cross references
- Psalm 13:1 : Ps. 79:5; 89:46; [Rev. 6:10]
- Psalm 13:1 : Ps. 10:12; 44:24; 74:19, 23; Lam. 5:20
- Psalm 13:1 : See Job 13:24
- Psalm 13:2 : [Ps. 77:6]
- Psalm 13:3 : Ps. 5:1; 119:153
- Psalm 13:3 : Ps. 19:8; Ezra 9:8; Prov. 29:13; Eph. 1:18; [1 Sam. 14:27]
- Psalm 13:3 : [Jer. 51:39]
- Psalm 13:4 : Deut. 32:27
- Psalm 13:4 : See Ps. 10:6
- Psalm 13:5 : See Ps. 11:1
- Psalm 13:5 : See Ps. 9:14
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway
1. How long, Lord? (1-4)
David's four 'How long' questions reveal his long suffering, despair, and desperation. He had deep sense of loss and abandonment, feeling that God forgot him and distanced himself from him. So he wrestled with such thoughts and had sorrow. What's worse, his enemies triumphed over him continually. Then David takes these dark feelings to God and asks him to give light to his eyes to see everything in the way God sees it. Prolonged trials can toss us to despair but taking them to God in prayer and seeing them with God's eyes will help us see what is beyond the end of the tunnel.
2. Trust in God's unfailing love (5-6)
After his prayer, David's heart came to a place of trust and praise: 'But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation' (5). Recalling God's unfailing love, David realizes that God has not abandoned him. His heart turns from despair to rejoicing and praising God. No matter what, we know and trust in God's unfailing love because he has proven his love for us by sending his Son Jesus to die while we were still in our sins (Ro 5:8).
Prayer: Lord, give light to my eyes to see things clearly and put my trust in your unfailing love.
One Word: One word: God's love is unfailing
