Big Idea: Faith has its personae, from skepticism to personal conflict, but trust, its true persona, sings its way into the joy of God’s goodness.

Understanding the Text

Psalm 13 is an individual lament that leaves the cause of lament uncertain (see below) but calls attention to the joy of buoyant faith (13:5). The biblical laments always hover near words of trust and assurance, and such a question as we have in verses 1 and 2 should send us on a search for words of faith in the lament psalms.

Also, it hardly needs to be said that lament is about some troublesome circumstance, which is often explicit in the poem but other times only a hint. In this psalm it is the latter. Some believe David’s problem that gave rise to his lament was conflict with his enemies, while others are inclined to thin…