The introductory note to this chapter says "To the choirmaster." Presumably, this psalm was sung as a part of worship in OT Israel, and, like all the rest of the psalms, has been sung by the church for two millennia. The thing that I find surprising about that is it's a real downer of a song.
"How long, O LORD?" The first two verses are simply questions directed at God. Where are you? When will you save me? Where is your grace?
Can you picture singing lines like that at church this morning?
He asks the Lord to respond in the next two verses. He brings his requests, despite the fact that he is downtrodden and feeling defeated. He feels as though the Lord is far off, but he maintains a quiet faith that knows he needs God's light "lest I sleep the sleep of death" (13:3).
Apart from the steadfast love of the Lord (13:5), we would all sleep the sleep of death. But because of God's steadfast love to us as it's been so generously poured out on us in Christ, we no longer fear death. Death has no power over us; because Christ slept that sleep for us, “Death is swallowed up in victory” (1 Cor. 15:54).
In Christ, we can say, even in our lowest moments and most difficult times, "my heart shall rejoice in your salvation" (13:5). In our seemingly darkest hour, even at the threshold of death itself, in Christ we can pray with the psalmist, "I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me" (13:6). The Lord has dealt bountifully with us. In Christ, we have received "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (Eph. 1:3), have been blessed with "the riches of his grace" (Eph. 1:7), have received an inheritance (Eph. 1:11, 14) we otherwise could never hope to obtain.
God's steadfast, ever-present love is with us. It may not always feel that way, but it is always reason enough to sing.
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