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Psalm 13 Bible study: How long, LORD?

The verb for what the psalmist's adversaries would do at his fall, "rejoice" (13:4), is the verb for his own heart in the next verse: "My heart rejoices in your salvation" (13:5). One Hebrew word, gil. And the psalm never says the LORD answered; its turn is "But I trust" (13:5).

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“But I trust in your loving kindness. My heart rejoices in your salvation.”
Psalm 13:5 · World English Bible

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“In Psalm 13, the word "rejoice" is used both of the psalmist's adversaries and of his own heart.”

Is that in Psalm 13, or not? Make your call.

What's really going on

Four times, "How long?"

In the text

The title says: "For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David" (13:1). It names no occasion. Then the psalm asks the same two words four times in two verses: "How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?" (13:1), and "How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart every day? How long shall my enemy triumph over me?" (13:2) (tap How long, forget, forever, hide, sorrow). The first two ask about the LORD: forgetting, and hiding his face. The third is about the psalmist himself, his soul and his heart. The fourth is about his enemy. The psalm doesn't name the enemy or say what he had done. Psalm 6 asks "how long?" once, with other Hebrew words (Psalm 6:3); here, in Hebrew, it is ad-anah each time (tap How long).

Honest questions

Questions people ask about Psalm 13

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The rest of Psalm 13 is waiting in Favor

  • Answer me, LORD, my God
  • "But I"
  • Psalm 44 asks with the same words
  • "Not one of them is forgotten"
  • 5 questions as you read
  • 14 more Hebrew words
  • A short check at the end
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The Hebrew word behind it

גִּילgilsay GEEL

Brown-Driver-Briggs: "rejoice". Strong's: "properly, to spin round (under the influence of any violent emotion), i.e. usually rejoice, or (as cringing) fear". The psalm has it twice, in verses next to each other: "lest my adversaries rejoice when I fall" (13:4), and "My heart rejoices in your salvation" (13:5). First it is what his adversaries would do at his fall; then it is his own heart, in the LORD's salvation (tap salvation). Other psalms put it beside salvation too: "I will rejoice in your salvation" (Psalm 9:14), and "It shall rejoice in his salvation" (Psalm 35:9). The Hebrew Bible has it 44 times, 19 of them in the Psalms.

For your group

Psalm 13 Bible study questions

  1. 1The psalmist's four "How long"s (13:1-2) are about God, about his own sorrow, and about his enemy. Which kind of "how long?" are you closest to carrying right now?
  2. 2In the middle of his questions he still calls the LORD "my God" (13:3) and asks him to answer. What helps you keep talking to God when he seems silent?
  3. 3The psalm doesn't say what changed before "But I trust in your loving kindness" (13:5). What would it look like for you to say that line this week, while you are still waiting?

Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Psalm 13 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.

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Questions

What is Favor?

Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home