Psalm 13--How Long, O LORD?

Psalm 13
English Standard Version

How Long, O LORD?
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
13 How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
    How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I take counsel in my soul
    and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

3 Consider and answer me, O LORD my God;
    light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
4 lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
    lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

​5 But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
    my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the LORD,
    because he has dealt bountifully with me.

---

David is in despair in this psalm.  He feel that the LORD has turned His face away from him (the face of the LORD in Hebrew has to do with experiencing the LORD's presence and His blessing...to be show the LORD's favor).  David feels like he is alone and that his joy has been taken away because his enemies--the enemies of God--are having victory and are going unpunished.  Once again, David cries out for justice, both because of himself and because God's name is on the line.

David asks that the LORD answer him so that his joy may return ("light up my eyes") and that he desire to continue living, because right now David imagines it would be better to die and be with God than to live among the wicked who are going unpunished.  But even in death, David knows that his enemies would declare victory and would say they were victorious over him and in doing so would mock God by saying "Your God was not strong enough to protect you."  Even David's despair is a reason for his enemies to rejoice and as they continue to scoff and mock God.

David must once again change his focus from earth to heaven and from the temporal to the eternal.  His hope is in the LORD and His salvation (that's Jesus), and in His steadfast love (that's also part of the gospel).  Therefore, David choose to rejoice and to sing, even when he doesn't feel like it, because God is worthy of our praise because who He is and what He has done remains the same, no matter how we feel.  Our feelings do not determine truth.  In all this, even though David feels like he is being surrounded on every side by the enemy and fighting a losing battle, he chooses to focus on the blessings that God has given to him and remember that God's love and salvation are sure and forever for those who belong to Him.