Psalm 13

Jesus called those who labor and are heavy with care to come to Him so He could give them rest (Matt. 11:28).  God bids us come into His very throne room, through the priestly work of Christ, to find grace and mercy in time of need (Heb. 4:14-16).  These kinds of invitations assume two things at least: 1) there are needy people; and 2) God cares for them.  

You may think the Psalmist is out of place to accuse God of “unkindness” (as Matthew Henry puts it), to be too late with His help, and in fact to be an absent Partner in their relationship.  But in fact this is God’s servant expressing his heart, the starting place in approaching God.  He FEELS this way.  But if you read the entirety of this short hymn, you know it is not the ending place.  He will go out of his secret place rejoicing and trusting God’s mercy.

The fact that he is in God’s presence with this matter is quite possibly the result of having no one else to turn to.  He has been reduced to taking “counsel in my soul” (v2).  When he seeks this advice from within himself he finds only sorrow or discouragement.  But he will not walk “in the counsel of the ungodly” (Ps. 1:1).  The “counsel of the nations” is ineffective (Ps. 33:10).  Only the counsel of the LORD will stand (Ps. 33:11).  Even if there are godly people around us, who will accept us in our pain and will compassionately pray for us and, yes, counsel us, we will still be wise to follow David into the sanctuary.  For in order to have victory against the enemy (v2,4) we not only need God’s word; we need God’s mercy and salvation (v5).

Perhaps we should remind ourselves of one more thing about God, so that we will not hesitate to come to Him in every situation we face.  When we come to Him He will deal with us “without reproach” (James 1:5).  He will not make light of our need.  He will not criticize us for not coming up with the answer on our own.  James says in the same verse, He is the God “who gives to all liberally,” echoing David’s conclusion at the end of the Psalm: “I will sing to the LORD because He has dealt bountifully with me”.

Let nothing keep you from the prayer room today and every day.  Not only does the Son long to give you rest, and the Father ready to grant grace and mercy; you will also find the Spirit ready to join you in prayer when you do not know what to say (Rom. 8:26).  How blessed to have this Trinity of invitations.  RSVP now.  And then show up early!