About this episode
Psalm 13: The Longest Question
Four times in two verses David asks the same question — how long? — and the repetition is not poetic ornamentation. It is the sound of a man who has been waiting so long that the waiting itself has become a kind of suffering. How long wilt thou forget me? Forever? How long wilt thou hide thy face? The questions pile up like stones on a chest. And yet this is not the prayer of a man who has stopped believing; it is the prayer of a man who believes so fiercely that the silence is unbearable. A true atheist would not bother asking how long. Only love asks that question. And then comes the turn — one of the most breathtaking pivots in all of Scripture. Without any indication that circumstances have changed, without any divine voice breaking through, David simply declares: I have trusted in thy mercy. My heart shall rejoice. I will sing. The darkness has not lifted, but David has decided to sing in it. Not because he feels like singing, but because he knows Whom he is singing to.
00:00 How Long, O Lord? Forever?
00:12 Sorrow in My Heart Daily
00:22 Lighten Mine Eyes
00:30 Lest Mine Enemy Say, I Have Prevailed
00:38 But I Have Trusted in Thy Mercy
00:46 I Will Sing Unto the Lord
Interactive timestamps
Jump to segmentGet every episode summarized
Each time Daily Psalms - Classical Psalms Every Day publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.
Email me new episodesFree for 3 shows. No card needed.
Hosts & guests
Transcript ready
12 searchable segments. Every word is indexed and playable.
Full transcript
Daily Psalms - Classical Psalms Every Day — Psalm Chapter 13. Machine-transcribed; use the interactive transcript above to jump the player to any line.
0:00Psalm 13 To the chief musician, a psalm of David. How long will that forgive me, O Lord, forever? How long will that high-dark face for me? How long shall I take counsel on my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and hear me, O Lord, my God. Lighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death. With my enemy's day, I have prevailed against him. And those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved. For I have trusted in my mercy, my heart shall rejoice in my salvation. I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.
More episodes
More from Daily Psalms - Classical Psalms Every Day
Psalm Chapter 26 - A Psalm of David
Daily Psalms - Classical Psalms Every Day
Psalm Chapter 25
Daily Psalms - Classical Psalms Every Day
Psalm Chapter 24
Daily Psalms - Classical Psalms Every Day
Psalm Chapter 23
Daily Psalms - Classical Psalms Every Day