Matthew Henry Commentary Psalms 13:1

"How long, O Jehovah? wilt thou forget me for ever? How long wilt thou hide thy face from me?" — Psalms 13:1 (ASV)

God sometimes hides His face and leaves His own children in the dark concerning their assurance of belonging to Him: and this they take to heart more than any outward trouble whatever. But anxious cares are heavy burdens with which believers often load themselves more than they need. The bread of sorrows is sometimes the saint's daily bread; our Master Himself was a man of sorrows.

It is a common temptation, when trouble lasts long, to think that it will last always. Those who have long been without joy begin to be without hope. We should never allow ourselves to make any complaints except those that drive us to our knees. Nothing is more killing to a soul than the lack of God's favor; nothing is more reviving than its return.

The sudden, delightful changes in the book of Psalms are often very remarkable. We pass from the depth of despondency to the height of religious confidence and joy. It is thus in verse 5. All is gloomy dejection in verse 4; but here the mind of the despondent worshipper rises above all its distressing fears and throws itself, without reserve, on the mercy and care of its Divine Redeemer. See the power of faith and how good it is to draw near to God.

If we bring our cares and griefs to the throne of grace and leave them there, we may go away like Hannah, and our countenances will be no more sad (1 Samuel 1:18). God's mercy is the support of the psalmist's faith. Finding I have that to trust in, I am comforted, though I have no merit of my own. His faith in God's mercy filled his heart with joy in His salvation, for joy and peace come by believing.

He has dealt bountifully with me. By faith he was as confident of salvation as if it had been completed already. In this way believers pour out their prayers, renouncing all hopes but in the mercy of God through the Saviour's blood: and sometimes suddenly, at others gradually, they will find their burdens removed and their comforts restored. They then admit that their fears and complaints were unnecessary and acknowledge that the Lord has dealt bountifully with them.