January 13

Psalm 13
I have a friend who recently felt like he was cheated out of $15.00 in an undisclosed set up fee from someone else who is also a friend of mine. He called the one up and complained. Whether he meant to or not, he came across as “yelling and screaming” on the phone. It all escalated. Both friends are currently in difficult situations. Both felt unjustly used by the other. I told the one friend that he was within his rights to complain about the $15.00 dollars, but the manner in which he did it was wrong, and he owed the other an apology. You can imagine how that went. He is obsessed with his rights and the $15.00. He is convinced that he did not yell and scream at the other. Yet I cannot understand how the other friend can be so upset if he did not in some fashion raise his voice. Anyway it is a big enough deal between them both that they are emotionally stressed out over $15.00. What’s going on here?
What is going on here in Psalm 13? On the one hand, the Psalmist seems to be in the depths of despair. The enemy seems to have surrounded him. He has daily sorrow. He is genuinely afraid of dying. On the other hand, he concludes, “The Lord has dealt bountifully with me.” What made the difference? Three statements separate the two outlooks.
The first statement is that he will trust in the mercy of the Lord. The word that is here translated as ‘mercy’ refers to the abundant loving kindnesses of God’s eternal nature. It may also have reference to the covenant relationship with Yahweh. As David looks at his situation, he makes the choice to take his focus off of his situation and put it on the eternal character of God. He knows how God is, and he is willing to wait upon the appearance of those loving kindnesses.
The second statement is that he will rejoice in the Lord’s salvation. He makes a willful choice to rejoice. He is on the verge of dying and he makes a choice to rejoice! May his tribe ever increase! How I need to learn to rejoice in the midst of dramatic struggle, especially facing death
The third statement is that he will sing to the Lord. Nothing lifts the spirit like singing to the Lord. Remember the Dallas Holms song?
When you’re up against a struggle that shatters all your dreams,
And your hopes are cruelly crushed by Satan’s manifested schemes,
And you feel the urge within you to submit to earthly fears,
Don’t let the faith you’re standing in, seem to disappear.
Praise the Lord! He can work through those who praise Him.
Praise the Lord! Our God inhabits praises.
Praise the Lord! The chains that seek to bind you,
Serve only to remind you they fall powerless behind you when you praise Him!
That is the glory of our Lord! Our measly $15.00, $15,000.00, $15,000,000.00, $15,000,000,000.00 or even $15,000,000,000,000.00 is nothing compared to His glory! We can let it go. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john