Continuing a chronological Bible study:
Saul had been pursuing David relentlessly, and David had just narrowly escaped Saul when Saul and his army had David and his small army surrounded. However, a messenger suddenly had come to Saul and told him their land was being invaded by the Philistines, and Saul left off from pursuing David and went back to fight the Philistines. It is believed that David could have composed the following psalm at that time:
(Psalm 13:1) (To the chief musician, A Psalm of David) How long will you forget me, O Lord? Forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?
I find it hard to believe that David would have composed this psalm so soon after God had delivered him out of the hand of Saul. But then again, in his weakened state of despair, did he even realize that it was God keeping him out of Saul's hands? God had obviously not forgotten David, but why did he prolong his suffering at the hands of Saul? God could have taken Saul out at any point. He could have never sent the evil spirit (1 Samuel 16:14) to trouble Saul. But God's actions are always perfect; He can be nothing other than perfect. His judgment is completely righteous and just; it can be no other way, as it is His very nature. Saul had rejected the will of God in preference to his own; he had sinned against God. God was completely righteous in punishing Saul's sin; however, He was actually providing a way for Saul to repent. When Saul was plagued by the evil spirit, he was soothed by David's harp. But rather than reflect on what had brought him to such circumstances and repent for his sins, he was arrogant and jealous of David and driven to hatred of him.
In the case of David, God was teaching David to have complete reliance on Him. David had already demonstrated that he could lie and rely on trickery to save his skin. He had lied and had Jonathan lie for him when he failed to appear at the king's table during a feast (1 Samuel 20:6), and that almost got Jonathan killed by Saul (1 Samuel 20:33) when he cast his javelin at him. The priests at Nob did get killed when Ahimelech helped David after he lied to him about his circumstances (1 Samuel 21:2). David's methods were not the best, and God wanted David to depend solely on Him, so He allowed David to be pursued relentlessly by Saul in order for him to realize it was only by God's grace and protection that Saul did not succeed in killing him. Of course, God had not forgotten David or hidden His face from him. God was refining David to be His chosen king, the man after His own heart, and the father of the line from which the Messiah would come.
(2) How long shall I take counsel in my soul, sorrow in my heart daily? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
David felt so sad and forgotten by the Lord that he felt he must devise his own plans to save himself. He wondered how long he would have to live like that with his enemy exalted over him. But I believe that was the point, to have David reach the point when he knew that his own personal counsels and devices were useless and that only God could save him. David knew that; that's why he lamented the fact that God seemed not there for him. Perhaps God had indeed pulled back for a time to have David earnestly seek Him, let go of his own ego, and patiently wait on the Lord. Let go and let God, as they say.
(3) Consider and hear me, O Lord my God; lighten my eyes, lest I sleep death.
David prayed that the Lord hear him and consider his agony. Lightening David's eyes could have different meanings. Perhaps his eyes were actually darkened, clouded with much grief. He wished them to be lightened and brightened with renewed strength. Perhaps it was more a metaphor of how dark things felt, and David wished them to be lightened. Or perhaps he meant that he wanted the Lord to enlighten his eyes and himself to see God's plan. In whatever respect, David felt that if his eyes were not lightened, he would die. He had a dread of dying. Contrast that to Paul in the New Testament who looked forward to dying because he would be in eternity with Christ (2 Corinthians 5:8). Of course, David did not have the full knowledge of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice at this point, but I believe the Lord was teaching him not to fear death but to depend on Him.
(4) Lest my enemy say, "I have prevailed against him;" those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
Another reason that David prayed that the Lord hear him was that his enemy would think he had prevailed against him and would rejoice. Is that a bit of ego speaking that David wanted to be the winner? No one wants to lose to someone who deceitfully and unjustly won. I think injustice bothers us more than losing. And God is not unjust. David appealed to the righteousness of God that evil not be allowed to win. And the Lord does care about that in some instances depending upon what His will is at that time. In Deuteronomy 32:27, He said He didn't want to punish His people so harshly that the enemy would have faith in their own strength and believe that He had been unable to save them.
(5) But I have trusted in Your mercy; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
David turned from complaining to proclaiming his faith in the Lord and His mercy and His salvation. I love the way Dr. John Gill described David's transition in his Exposition of the Bible:
The faith, hope, and comfort of the psalmist grew and increased by prayer; from complaining he goes to praying, from praying to believing; he trusted not in himself, not in his own heart, nor in his own righteousness and merits, but in the mercy of God; and not in the bare absolute mercy of God, but in the grace and goodness of God...
And of course, faith in the salvation of Jesus Christ.
(6) I will sing to the Lord because He has dealt bountifully with me.
And finally from believing to rejoicing! And in that I finally come to realize the lesson of this psalm. Throughout this short psalm, I have tried to reconcile David's complaints about a God whom he accuses of forgetting him when He had done so much for him with the man after God's own heart. How were David's complaints any different from the complaints of the Israelites in the desert whom God often punished? As always, it comes back to the heart of man. God knows the heart, and He also knows human weakness. In his weakness, David complained, but then he prayed to the One who could resolve his complaints, and in praying, he began to have faith in God to save him, and finally he rejoiced in God, who inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3). This psalm is a perfect representation of the weakness of man in times of trouble and a guide for what to do about it.
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