How Long, Oh Lord? Psalm 13
/Today we look at Psalm 13, one of the shorter Psalms of lament in the Bible. There are three main lessons Pastor Dave drew out for us:
God Invites Us to Honestly Share Our Sorrows
Sometimes the Psalms of lament are so real and raw - especially when they express doubt or displeasure with God’s inaction - that they make us uncomfortable. “Are we really allowed to say that to God?” we think.
But God invites this. Put your hardships into words and go to God with it. This is what he invites, commands us to do when we are instructed to cast, “all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” (1 Pet 5:7)
We don’t need to hide from God. (Not that we could.) The Psalms of lament are the record of God’s people expressing their greatest pain, sorrow, doubt, despair to the Lord. And they’re an invitation for us to do the same.
Big Hammers for Small Nails
Sometimes, when we come to the Psalms, our troubles look so small next to what the psalmists are going through, that we don’t think their prayers apply to us. When we see great enemies in the Psalms – pursuing the psalmist, threatening his life – it sometimes seems like that doesn’t have anything to do with me. My situation doesn’t compare, doesn’t relate.
Here’s a lesson Dr. David Powlison taught pastor Dave:
If the psalmist could pray this in the face of a bigger enemy, how much more can this apply to my smaller problem? If this is God’s grace for the greatest trial, how overwhelmingly sufficient must it be for smaller troubles.
If I have a nail that only requires a small hammer… I wouldn’t turn away a sledge. The bigger tool will definitely get the job done.
The problem would be when I had a giant problem and a tiny solution. Luckily, in the Scriptures, the disparity is always the other way around: Sometimes the solution is much bigger than our troubles. But that’s not a problem! A giant hammer can drive small nails.
So, when Psalm 3 says, “O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me,” we don’t have to wait until we are literally on a battlefield for it to apply to our lives. This Psalm is for when we feel pressed hard from multiple challenges. When the multiplying burdens are about to swamp us. Does it apply on a battlefield? Absolutely. Does it apply for you too? Yes.
What a wealth of spiritual resources we have! All the Psalms are for all our troubles.
So if you come to the Psalms and think they don’t apply because your problems look small… Think again. Don’t hesitate to bring out the big guns.
Go Right to God
When we walk through trouble, we aren’t meant to just grit our teeth and get to the other side. There’s no moment of our lives where we’re meant to be out of touch with the Lord. So, whether you’re bored, scared, frustrated, or isolated: You are meant to lean on the Lord right now. If you are feeling the burden of this lengthy lockdown, that’s what you bring to God. “How long oh Lord?”
What does this Psalm teach us?
In all of life, in troubled times most of all, we go to God.
We don’t just remember a beautiful verse of Scripture, like a mantra. (Though Scripture is good.)
We don’t just recall a wonderful doctrine, as a reassurance. (Though that is good.)
We go to God himself.
Do you see that distinction? You can have all the right doctrine, all the right practice… and never actually talk to God. You’ll miss out on the best part.
I wonder how many of us walk day by day without truly engaging with God.
Is your religion abstract? Cerebral?
Or have you engaged with your Father, who is in heaven?
Have you gone to him? Or have you stopped short?
Today as we look at Psalm 13, follow along with the sermon visually with this graphical overview.
