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Psalm 13:6 I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

The Lord has dealt bountifully with David and saved him from enemies. Therefore he will sing unto the Lord. Saying Thank You and Praising God is the natural and proper response to God’s deliverance from the present trouble. But that feels a little inadequate, not enough. So he sings his thanks and praise, putting music to his Psalms of Thanksgiving.

God is good, God delivers, God deals bountifully with us. When we personally realize that truth we naturally respond with praise and song. Every time we hear the Gospel and the Holy Spirit applies it to our heart we are moved to sing. And that should happen at least once every day. We respond with “Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making melody in your heart to the Lord.” This kind of response becomes a constant way of life, singing and making melody all day long, for the Gospel is always true and God is always good. We thank God for freely granting eternal life and salvation when we die and through Christ overcome death. But we also praise Him for being here, with us, a very present help in time of need. We cannot help but burst into song in the heart at every remembrance of Grace. Even when we are not feeling good God is still good. Therefore, we can sing to Lord anyway, and what happens is that we start feeling better. Praise the Lord!

Psalm 13:5 But I have trusted in thy mercy, my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.

While surrounded by troubles and attacked by enemies, David trusts in the mercy of God and rejoices in His salvation. His response to problems is to turn to the Lord and trust in the mercy of God for help and deliverance. He expects God to hear and answer, not because he deserves it, but because He is merciful, and he believes it. This kind of trust in a merciful God results in joy and rejoicing. Because of God, life is good.

The mercy of God is revealed to us in the life, death, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. The Lord has shown us His mercy in Christ, who in love entered into our sinful world, and we can trust it. Then we rejoice in the Lord always, for He has saved us. For Christ’s sake, He forgives our sin, answers our prayer, meets our need, and delivers us from trouble. So, no matter what circumstances surround us or what dangers threaten us, we can always trust and rejoice. And no one and nothing can take that away.

Psalm 13:1-2 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?

David prays and trusts the Lord well enough, and he knows the Lord will answer his prayer and protect him. However, he still has doubts alongside faith. So he asks the Lord with honesty, and with pleading, “How long until you hear my prayer and save me from my enemy?” It is an honest question that speaks with faith that God will answer, but also speaks with doubt and impatience. To David it felt as though God forgot him and withdrew His Presence (hid his face) from him, and it felt sorrowful like the enemy was winning.

Many times in our lives God seems distant and uncaring and deaf to our pleas. We get impatient with God while we wait for answers. But during the times of waiting God wants us to hold on to Him and His promises to strengthen our faith. When and how God answers is up to Him in His wisdom and love. His timing is not ours. In spite of doubt we believe the saying: “God is never in a hurry, but He is never late.” It is a natural response to become impatient with God and let doubts arise, but then the Lord strengthens our faith during the times we ask, “How long?”

Psalm 12:1-2 Help, Lord; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from the children of men. They speak vanity every one with his neighbor: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.

David asks God for help, because he lives in a godless world where faithful people seem to be diminishing. When we look at the world around us, we are moved to pray for God’s help since sometimes it feels like evil is gaining the upper hand. Christians are outnumbered, and we live with lies and broken promises.

We may be tempted to believe that some lies are relatively harmless, even useful at times. But God does not overlook lies, flattery, deception, or boasting. These sins originate from a bad attitude that will eventually be expressed in our speech. The tongue is a great enemy that causes much damage.

Jesus is the Truth. The devil is the father of lies. Both are speaking to us, and we need God’s help to discern the difference and listen to the Word of Truth. Therefore, we respond by spending time with God in the truth that sets us free. And ask for His help in the midst of lies coming at us and lies coming out of us. Help, Lord, for we are afflicted with lies without and within.

Psalm 11:7 For the righteous loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.

Our hope in times of trouble and threats from the Enemy is to count on the Lord to defend and protect us. And He does so because we are righteous and upright, by faith in Jesus. Of course, we have no righteousness of our own, for we are filthy sinners, and we do not walk uprightly. Thus God has no right or reason to defend us.

However, God loves us so that He made a way where there was no way. He sent His Son. Jesus died for us and earned for us God’s righteousness. By faith in Him we are declared righteous. God loves righteousness. God loves the Son. God loves us. Now He smiles upon us when He sees us (and He sees all the time). In times of fear and doubt in the face of the Evil One’s flaming darts we put on the breastplate of righteousness and hold up the shield of faith. Both of these are gifts of God granted freely and abundantly because of Christ and implanted in by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel.

Romans 4:3: “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” We also believe and are righteous. And God loves the righteous, those who believe in Jesus and are counted righteous. Therefore, we shall not fear anything but God alone.

Psalm 11:1 In the Lord put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?

When faced with troublesome issues or difficult problems, David directly faces them by trusting in the Lord. He is tempted to run away like a bird, but instead he deals with spiritual enemies by standing his ground with faith. The enemy readies his bow and arrow to shoot, but the Lord sees and defends.

God does not shield the believer from difficult circumstances, but He examines both the righteous and the wicked. For some, God’s tests become a refining fire; for others they become an incinerator for destruction. We don’t ignore the tests and challenges that come our way, but we use them as opportunities to grow. Faith is refined and strengthened.

Our Enemy is always nearby with his flaming darts. But our Champion, the Lord Jesus Christ, is also close by with the gospel power of the cross and the empty tomb. We believe in that power. When the foundations are shaking (v. 3) and you wish you could hide, remember that the Lord is in control. When you feel like running away, run to God. He will restore justice and goodness to the earth in His good timing. Put your trust in Him.

Psalm 10:7, 11, 13 His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity….He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it….Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? He hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.

The sinful man thinks he can get away with sinful words and deeds, because God is not present, He has forgotten, He does not see him, and He will not hold him accountable. David is talking about a Deist, not an Atheist. He believes God exists, but that He is distant, that He does not see what’s going on, that He does not care about human affairs, and that therefore He will not judge us.

When we sin in word or deed we are tempted to think that God doesn’t really notice and that He won’t hold us accountable. We are just like the wicked in that way and pretend that it didn’t really happen. But honest confession admits the hidden sin and brings it into the open so that we can know the Lord heard our confession and forgives it for Jesus’ sake. Confession denies the false notion that God forgets so we can forget. And God promises that He doesn’t remember our sins any longer because of Christ. In truth God forgets nothing, but because of Christ He promises to forget our sins and to remember me.

So instead of ignoring, forgetting, or despising God, we face Him, remember Him, and love Him. At the same time, we admit we are like the unbelieving sinner who pretends God doesn’t see, but confession and repentance exposes our sins so we can be relieved of guilt and shame.

Psalm 10:3-4 For the wicked boasted of his heart’s desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth. The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.

The wicked unbelieving people respond to God by ignoring Him. They consider themselves and their own thoughts as more important than God or others. What’s in it for me? They even brag about their own desires as being right and good, because they think of themselves first and put God aside. Then they even go so far as to bless the covetous with his self-centered thoughts and desires. And they refuse to seek after God. He is not in their thoughts all the time. Pride prevents them from giving God a thought,

By implication, the righteous believing people fear God, love Him, seek Him, are mindful of Him, and keep Him in their thoughts all day long. They practice the presence of God and seek His kingdom first. This kind of thinking and remembering affects our words and behavior.

The issue is this: David is not just talking about them. He is describing us. The truth is, the believer is both saint and sinner at the same time all the time. And the two struggle with each other. We are the wicked, who forget God; and we are, through faith in Christ, the righteous who remember God. Jesus forgives our thoughtlessness and gives His life that keeps God in mind. The Spirit in us does everything we can to remind us of God in the heart. For this reason, we go to church, attend Bible study, and spend time alone with God in His Word and in repentance.

We may not be able to keep the Lord in our thoughts all the time, but the Gospel reminds us that He is faithfully there all the time, whether we are consciously aware or not.

Psalm 9:10-11 And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee. Sing praises to the Lord, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings.

The Lord will judge the enemies (which He did at the Cross) and be a refuge in times of trouble (which He does at the empty Tomb). Because God judged our enemies (sin, death, and the devil) and became a refuge for us, we respond with faith and praise. And, especially since Christ came, we can do the same as David.

Believers know the name of Jesus: it is Yahweh saves. And because we know Him we can respond with trust in Him to save and protect us. We are certain that He will not forsake those who seek Him. And so we look for Him, in every circumstance. Therefore, we sing praises to the God who saves us, to the Lord who dwells with His people, to Jesus who is present in our bodies as the temple of the Lord. How can we not respond with praise to such a wonderful Jesus? And then we tell everyone what He has done. We declare His doings by supporting the preaching of the Gospel in our home, in our church, in our community, and in the whole world.

Psalm 9:1-2 I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works, I will be glad and rejoice in thee; I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.

David responds to the Lord’s marvelous works by singing praises with his whole heart and rejoicing in the Lord. Praise is expressing our appreciation and understanding of His great worth. We say thank you for each aspect of His divine nature. Our inward attitude becomes an outward expression. And also vice versa: when we outwardly praise God we inwardly feel better.

God is always good, always faithful, always loving and forgiving, and always doing marvelous works on our behalf. Therefore, He can always be praised in every circumstance we find ourselves in, and we can always rejoice in the Lord. When we praise God we expand our awareness of who He is. When we study the Word we can find many characteristics of God for which we can give Him thanks. Praising God and thanking Him for everything lifts our spirits above the circumstances. And the Enemy of our soul must flee and let us alone.