How Long, O LORD? + My Opening Exhortation to the CREC Saints in Washington, D.C.
Day 14: When God Seems Silent
“How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?”
—Psalm 13
Psalm 13 is one of the more famous psalms of lament. It is a rather transparent one. What would lead the Psalmist to arrive at this point in his life? Reflecting on this psalm, John Calvin observes that when we are weighed down by hard things for a long time, and when we do not perceive any sign of divine help, “this thought unavoidably forces itself upon us, that God has forgotten us.”
To many, David’s questions may appear to come from a weak man. But remember that this song is written by Scripture’s most notably strong author and musician. David plays the harp with one hand and kills giants with the other. In this song, David gives us a glimpse into what it means to be a man after God’s own heart.
Let us consider three elements of this psalm: the Complaint, the Relationship, and the Resolution.
The Complaint and the Relationship
First, note how David laments to his God. He does it in terms of questions: “How long?” He asks it four times—about forgetfulness, favor, aloneness, and sorrow.
In David’s mind, the answer to these things is very much delayed. He feels forgotten, unfavored, alone, and filled with grief. This is what we often call a complaint psalm. The world teaches us the wrong way to complain, but the Psalms teach us how to complain rightly. Our questions about God’s delay stem from our deep feelings about these four things.
At some level, we are constantly dissatisfied. As human beings, we struggle relationally and existentially. For David, the lack of aid leaves him with a profound aloneness in his thoughts and counsel. There is no one to show him favor when he needs it.
We sometimes feel abandoned, as if God dropped us into a deserted land with no food or shelter. At these moments, as the Lutheran theologian Marva Dawn once said, “We don’t need trite folk wisdom slapped on superficially in a meaningless attempt to help us feel better.” David’s question continues to haunt us emotionally. His complaint is clear.
Secondly, David is not simply content with a que sera sera theology. David is not a fatalist. He is grounded in covenantal thinking, meaning he is intimately connected to his God. He wants deep engagement with the Lord.
When we are intimately connected to our Father, we talk to him as a Father. When my child comes to me in pain, we have a pre-existing relationship. I am not expecting her to express generalities about her pain. I expect specificity: “My head hurts, Daddy.”
David does something similar: “Answer me. There are enemies around me, and I feel overwhelmed to the point where I cannot sleep and feel like dying.” David ponders the duration of God’s absence, but he speaks openly about how he perceives it. His complaint flows from a relationship.
The Resolution: Yahweh’s Steadfast Love
Finally, in this psalm, we encounter one of the most important Hebrew words in Scripture: ḥesed. In English, it is translated as “steadfast love.” That word is closely tied to the divine name used throughout the psalm—Yahweh, the covenant Lord.
Yahweh is a faithful God who shows steadfast, continual love. David understood this. In fact, ḥesed answers David’s question, “How long?” Yahweh’s steadfast love is the answer to David’s four “How longs.” It tells us that God has not forgotten us—not for a moment, nor will he ever.
