Hi friends, How are you? I hope you are well. We are now at the last verse in Psalms 13. We have seen negative emotions in the first few verses. In Psalms 13:5 and now in Psalms 13:6, we see more happy and joyful emotions. Let’s ponder this verse as we wrap up our series on Psalms 13. Psalms 13:6 May be a Continuation of Psalms 13:5:
If we read Psalms 13:5 and Psalms 13:6, it is easy to see that they may go together. Psalms 13:6 may even be a continuation of Psalms 13:5. Let’s read them both together.
“But I have trusted in thy mercy; by heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.” Psalms 13:5-6 (KJV) In the beginning of Psalms 13, we see a depiction of what it’s like when God seems far away and doesn’t seem to be listening to our prayers. The feelings were sad and desperate. Psalms 13:5 is the turning point in the psalm. The feeling isn’t that of sadness anymore. Psalms 13:5 seems to be a breakthrough in faith. After a time of feeling far from God, it seems to be a remembrance and acknowledgement that even though God has seem far before, He is trustworthy and gives us salvation. God is faithful in being a loving Father to us. He has mercy on us. Psalms 13:6 goes on from that remembrance and acknowledgement of God’s mercy, faithfulness, trustworthiness, and love. Psalms 13:6 shows what we can do when we feel that love, trust, faithfulness, and mercy. It shows what we can do when we acknowledge how much God does for us and when we rejoice in the salvation God gives us. We can sing! (Yes, even those who don’t carry a tune well can sing or at least make a joyful noise as we read in Psalms 100:1.) God Gives Us So Much:
It may not feel like it when we go through difficult times, but God gives us so much. He blesses us, gifts us things, provides for us, loves us, leads us, and so much more. It is no wonder that we are told to count our blessings, even when we are down. Even in the depths of our despair, God gives us so much. God offers us a multitude of both earthly blessings and heavenly blessings.
If we sit down and take inventory of every little thing and every single person that comes into our lives, if we look around us and see God’s creations, if we acknowledge that God created us, if we realize all the intricate cycles and systems God created in the world and in every living person, animal, plant, and organism, then we can start to realize just how much God does give us. The heavenly gift such as salvation and eternal life are things that we can’t even begin to imagine yet, so we can’t even completely recognize all that God does for us. Also, sadly, we often take God’s blessings and gifts for granted or overlook the fact that the gifts are even from God. However, once we start to count our blessings and recognize all that God does for us, even in times of great hardship we can have hope. We can hold onto the fact that God has great power and love. We can hold onto the fact that God loves us and provides for us greatly. We can have hope and trust that God will get us through difficult times, love us, and provide us with all our needs, even before we actually see it happen. Singing for Joy:
Have you ever felt so happy that you just felt like singing (or making that joyful noise)? I think that is what David was describing in Psalms 13:6. Because he knows that God has been so good to him and has given him so much, he can and will sing with for joy to God.
Isn’t that the same thing we are doing when we sing and worship God at church? We are glorifying God for his wondrous works and love. At church, it may not be as spontaneous as what David is describing though. I know that I have sometimes just spontaneously started singing. Have you? It is a nice feeling. I don’t remember the specifics, but I remember they were happy times. God’s Word:
Sometimes when we read God’s Word, we lose something or miss something when we don’t look at a passage or chapter as a whole. Let’s look at Psalms 13 in its entirety.
“(To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.) How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? How long shall mine enemy be exalted over me? Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death; Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved. But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.” Psalms 13 (KJV) It is easier to see the pattern of feelings and cycle of faith when we look at Psalms 13 as a whole. We can see and feel the lowness that David describes in the beginning of the psalm and the great joy at the end of the psalm. We can see how our feelings seem to change depending on how far or how close we feel we are to God. We can see that it isn’t that God has moved far away, but that we move ourselves farther away from God or closer to God as our foci, beliefs, and attitudes change. Another thing I like to do to understand God’s Word better is to research and pray about the customs of the times. For example, because of the singing mentioned at the end of the psalm, I looked up some of the customs about singing in biblical times. There are many outside sources of the customs surrounding singing in biblical times as well as various verses in God’s Word. I invite you to do your own research to see if it adds to your understanding as well. Heavenly Father, Thank you for your Holy Word. Thank you for being our Heavenly Father, our Provider, and our Creator. Thank you for the multitude of gifts and blessings you give us, both earthly and heavenly, including life itself. Help us to keep these gifts and blessings in mind, from the smallest earthly gift to the largest and most awesome heavenly gift. Help us to count our blessings and thank you and praise you continuously out of love and joy. I ask you this through your Son, Jesus. Amen. 
If you missed other posts in the series, you may want to go back and read them now. Here they are: *Psalms 13: Crying Out to God *Psalms 13: When God Seems Far, Do We Fend for Ourselves? *Psalms 13: Crying for Life Over Death *Psalms 13: Good Versus Evil *Psalms 13: What has Changed? Now, it is your turn. I am so thankful that you are here. I pray that God blesses you as you read the Faith Blog by DUO Inspirations. If you feel called to do so, please feel free to comment or contact me at any time. I welcome your comments and look forward to reading them. Also, if you have any questions, comments, ideas, or requests for me, please feel free to let me know. Thank you. If you find value in the Faith Blog by DUO Inspirations, please share it with your friends and family. The new share buttons will make it easier for you to do that. Some of your friends and family may appreciate you sharing it, so they can read it as well. Also, if you are crying out to God and want me to pray for you as well, please feel free to contact me. I do sometimes get people who do ask for prayer. For those who do, thank you for reaching out. I am happy to pray for you. Feel free to pray for me as well. Thank you. God bless. I believe that all Christians are called to share God’s Word and encourage others to get closer to God. In helping you with your Bible study, I have a free gift for you. Please, sign up below to receive your free gift and get the Faith Blog by DUO Inspirations in your inbox each week. Yes, I may include some other “faith” content with the email at times, especially a prayer.
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Hi friends, How are you? I hope you have been enjoying the series on Psalms 13. I have enjoyed pondering it. It is a short psalm, but it covers a wide range in feelings from a very low feeling to a very happy feeling. To me, it gives hope to the reader. Today, we ponder the first sign of a change in feelings from sadness to happiness. I have to admit that this verse is more difficult for me to ponder within the context of the whole psalm and whether Psalms 13 is based upon a particular situation in David’s life or not. However, maybe I am overthinking it, because God gives people their own personal message while reading His Word. So, maybe it isn’t for me to know and that’s okay. I encourage you to read God’s Word and get your own message anyway, not go by my thoughts. These are here to encourage you or as prompts and ideas for your own thoughts and prayers. I certainly have experienced the rejoicing feeling after receiving the gift of God’s mercy. In the end, once we remember to trust in God’s mercy, our attitudes are likely to change for the better. So, let’s ponder and pray. What Happens Between Verse Four and Verse Five of Psalms 13?:
If Psalms 13 is written based on something particular in David’s life, I wonder what happened between verse four and five. The psalm goes from a really sad mood and pleas for help in the beginning of the psalm to more of a happy feeling in Psalms 13:5. Did God talk to David? Did God touch David’s heart? Did God put into David’s memory all the times He has saved David and helped David in the past? Are we even talking about something specific? Or, is David writing about a general cycle of faith? Can you remember a time when you were down for an extended period of time and then you were happy? If so, what happened to change your mood? Did you pray and finally get an answer from God? Did you start reading His Word? Did you attribute that happiness to God or to a friend and change of luck or circumstance? So, what are your thoughts? Is there an event that happens between Psalms 13:4 and Psalms 13:5 or is Psalms 13:5 the change? What if Psalms 13:5 is the Change?:
Have you ever been down and a friend or loved one said, “You will get through this. You have survived difficult situations before”? Or, maybe you were down and prayed or read God’s Word, then all of a sudden you remember that you have been through difficult situations before and God has always helped you through it. I have had these experiences before.
Sometimes when we are down, it is difficult for us to remember that we were down before and got through it. Sometimes when we are down it just feels like we are “ALWAYS” down and don’t have good times. Sometimes it takes encouragement and reminders to let us know that we have been through difficult times before and have been happy. So, if it has happened that way before, we can have hope that it can happen that way again, right? This could be the point that David is writing about in Psalms 13:5. Maybe nothing has happened between verse four and five. Maybe Psalms 13:5 is the change. In the last part of the verse David didn’t say that he is rejoicing. He said, “My heart SHALL rejoice.” Why might David’s heart rejoice? I think we see it in the first part of the verse where he wrote, “But I have trusted in thy mercy”. It seems to me that David remembered that God has brought him through difficulties before. He went from a “poor me” attitude to an attitude of “hope” because God has helped him before, so certainly God can help him again. What are your thoughts? We don’t know if David wrote Psalms 13 about something specific or not. If he did, then we don’t know the reason for this change in attitude. We don’t know if God talked to David specifically, led David to scripture or maybe to writings in a journal that reminded David that God has saved him before. Yet, this change in attitude makes the difference in the feelings and emotions depicted. God’s Word:
In God’s Word, we see many verses that talk about how our attitude should be and how our attitude can help change things for us. One of my favorites is Proverbs 17:22 (KJV) which reads, “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.”
Think about when someone wants you to do something. Let’s even make it interesting and say that two people ask you to do something at the same time. You know, one of those days when you are pulled in every direction? Let’s say you are busy at the moment. Let’s further say that one person writes you every few minutes with messages like, “I really need help. I am not having fun here. I really need your help. I am stuck. Why won’t you answer me? Hello?!?” Their over all tone is “poor me” and “I need your help now.” The other person waits about a half hour and then says, “I know you are busy. You are so kind and are so helpful. I know you will get to me when you have a chance. I am just thankful that you are willing to help me, so I will do what I can or just hold out for that hope again. I will see you when I see you and I thank you for that.” Which person would you help first? Which person would you enjoy helping the most? Let’s bring this little imaginative story a little further. What if both of these people were your employees? Which person would get a better review? Which one would get the raise? Obviously, God doesn’t look at things in the way we do. God doesn’t save us if we do things better or get better grades. Yet, this scenario is similar in that a good attitude will be better for you, your health, and your well-being. And, just as we try to have a good attitude around our friends and our loved ones, our supervisors and our teachers, we also should try to have a good attitude with God as well. After all, we as Christians seek a relationship with God just as we do with any of our loved ones, right? God deserves our good attitude more than anyone and the good attitude is healthier for us, physically, emotionally, and spiritually than a bad attitude. So, it is no wonder that when we trust in God and His mercy that we can say to Him, our heart “shall rejoice in thy salvation”. When we remember His Word, when we remember His promises, we can put our trust in God and His mercy and we can rejoice, instead of feeling down or scared or whatever negative feeling we might feel. Heavenly Father, Thank you for your mercy! You gift us with your mercy and grace more than we deserve. Help us to remember that our attitude can make a difference in our situations. Help us to remember to thank you and praise you even before we see your mercy in our current situation. I ask you this through your Son, Jesus. Amen. 
If you missed other posts in the series, you may want to go back and read them now. Here they are:
*Psalms 13: Crying Out to God *Psalms 13: When God Seems Far, Do We Fend for Ourselves? *Psalms 13: Crying for Life Over Death *Psalms 13: Good Versus Evil Now, it is your turn. I am so thankful that you are here. I pray that God blesses you as you read the Faith Blog by DUO Inspirations. If you feel called to do so, please feel free to comment or contact me at any time. I welcome your comments and look forward to reading them. Also, if you have any questions, comments, ideas, or requests for me, please feel free to let me know. Thank you. If you find value in the Faith Blog by DUO Inspirations, please share it with your friends and family. The new share buttons will make it easier for you to do that. Some of your friends and family may appreciate you sharing it, so they can read it as well. Also, if you are crying out to God and want me to pray for you as well, please feel free to contact me. I do sometimes get people who do ask for prayer. For those who do, thank you for reaching out. I am happy to pray for you. Feel free to pray for me as well. Thank you. God bless. I believe that all Christians are called to share God’s Word and encourage others to get closer to God. In helping you with your Bible study, I have a free gift for you. Please, sign up below to receive your free gift and get the Faith Blog by DUO Inspirations in your inbox each week. Yes, I may include some other “faith” content with the email at times, especially a prayer. |
Hi friends!
This is Jodi. I am so glad you are here! I am a Christian and life-long learner. I enjoy sharing and encouraging others. I pray you are blessed by this blog. Thank you for being here. Archives
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