To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David
1. How long, Yahweh? Will you forget me to perpetuity?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2. How long will I take counsels in my soul,
having sorrow in my heart daily?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
3. Look and answer me, Yahweh my God.
Give light to my eyes
Lest I sleep in death,
4. Lest my enemy say, 'I have prevailed over him,'
Lest my adversary exult because I was moved.
5. But I, in your lovingkindness I have trusted.
My heart will exult in your salvation.
6. I will hymn to Yahweh,
Because he has recompensed me.
“How long?” is a common question in the Old Testament. Sometimes God ask it of his people in their disobedience. Sometimes men address it someone when they wonder how long he will continue to do something of which they do not approve. At other times men address it to God, especially when they wonder how long God intends to lay his heavy hand on them. The last appears numerous times in the Psalms (cf. 6:3, 35:17, 74:10, 79:5, 80:4, 89:46, 90:13, 94:3).
Sometimes the question is extended: “how long will the wicked triumph?” (Ps. 94:3). Sometimes it is just the two words, “How long?” (Ps. 90:13). In Psalm 13 both forms appear. The psalms opens with the question, “How long?” but then repeats it 3 times in the extended form: How long will you hide your face? How long will I take counsels in my soul? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? David is in great distress because the Lord seems to have left him completely in the hands of his enemies. He fears that his enemies will destroy him and he will (literally translated) “sleep the death.” He will be entirely cut off from God.
But David prayed, the Lord answered, and he rejoiced because the Lord “has recompensed me.” Many translations translate the last word as “has dealt bountifully with me.” The Hebrew word means to repay (Gen. 50:15) or reward (1 Sam. 24:17, Ps. 18:20). It is appropriate here also because the Scriptures teach that God recompenses us for the suffering we endure. Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory (2 Cor. 4:17).
This is not to say that we deserve a reward for our suffering. We are unprofitable servants (Lk. 17:10). Nevertheless, God, by a grace wholly undeserved, recompenses us for suffering. He goes farther; if we weigh our affliction in the balance with the glory to come, the glory far exceeds the suffering, so far, indeed, that however great the affliction, we will esteem it light in comparison with the glory.
All this is possible because our Lord Jesus Christ walked the way of affliction before us and has received his recompense (wholly deserved) in the everlasting glory in which he now lives. He humbled himself. Therefore God also has highly exalted him (Phil 2:9). His enemies oppressed him and killed him, but he cried to the Lord and the Lord answered him. For Jesus’ sake he will also answer us.