Psalm 13
Pastor David Groendyk

There are a number of ways each of us three pastors at Tyrone are different from each other. One way that I am unlike Pastors Lawrence and Mark is that I have not yet been able to see the Grand Canyon with my own two eyes. I’m told the sight is magnificent but that the climb from the bottom to the top is grueling. Well, Derek Kidner describes Psalm 13 in those sorts of terms. It’s a psalm that starts in the absolute lowest of valleys and pits, it takes the grueling journey upward, and it ends on a summit of hope and beauty. With all due credit to Rev. Kidner for the metaphor, let’s examine Psalm 13 as if it were the long, grueling hike from valley to summit.

The journey starts in the valley of despair. Look at verses 1–2. These are a series of questions that surely hit the heart of almost every Christian. Sometimes we ask, “How long?” but many times it comes in the form of the question, “Why?” For what reason is this happening to me? David goes through so many hardships in his life, but you get the sense with this one that it’s personal between him and God. He feels abandoned, threatened, humiliated, depressed. The dark cloud simply will not lift from his heart and mind. It’s psychological and emotional. One of the most consoling parts of Scripture is that it not only acknowledges regular suffering; it acknowledges severe suffering. It’s not abnormal to be plagued with darkness. Likewise, Christ himself is not simply acquainted with regular suffering; he is acquainted with the severest of suffering. He is “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isa. 53:3). Therefore, Scripture and Christ know what to do with your severest suffering…

The path upward is prayer. Look at verses 3–4. The very long journey from the valley of despair to the summit of hope begins with prayer. It begins, as we said yesterday in Psalm 12, with recognizing our dependence upon God for life and breath and everything. However, if you think about it, there’s almost an impossible chasm between verses 2 and 3. Remember in verse 2 that David is crying out that God is hiding his face from David and forgetting him, but in verse 3 he is praying to this God. Even though David is doubting, his instinct is to pray. I love what Ralph Davis says about this prayer: “There may be times when faith does not have its reasons, but it still has its reactions.” The instinct to pray may seem totally illogical, but it is still a good instinct. And notice what he prays for: “Light up my eyes” (v. 3). That is a very similar expression to the one in 1 Samuel 14:29 when Jonathan was weak and exhausted, found some wild honey, ate it, and was refreshed with a new surge of energy. You get the sense that David is not so much asking for his enemies to be defeated as he is asking to just stay on his feet. Fresh strength for severe suffering—that’s what we pray for in despair.

The prospect and retrospect of the summit. In other words, David looks forward to the summit before he gets there, and then he looks back at the summit when his journey is over. Look at verses 5–6. Faith fuels David in the upward journey. For him, the prospect of reaching the summit again is exhilarating, and he firmly keeps his eyes fixed on God’s steadfast love and salvation. After he reaches the peak, he looks back and sings because he can see that God’s bountiful care has been overwhelming. Any of us who have been through what David has ought to look back and sing with overwhelming gratitude. Or perhaps you haven’t reached the summit yet; you’re still on the journey or still in the valley. You can still have the certainty that David has. Paul says in Romans 8 that believers are glorified (past tense) even though they’re not yet in heaven, because he is so certain of it coming true. So David has the same certainty. It’s a certainty based in God, his steadfast love, his covenant, and his promises, not a certainty that’s based on circumstances or even the strength of his own faith. Remember what God said in Psalm 12:5. God sees, God hears, and God rises to act for his people. He does it because he loves his people and has promised to keep loving them. At the end of the day, it is God who moves us on the journey, so let us keep our eyes fixed on him, let us not be afraid to pray to him, and let us remember that he is the God who can do far more than we could ever ask or think (Eph. 3:20).