Psalm 13

The OPC Composition Subcommittee originally recommended the CM text with “Meditation” (as presented below), but the official OPC/URC proposal is a 76 76 D text with “Far Off Lands” — a tune from the Bohemian Brethren used in the 1959 Psalter Hymnal.

Text: Sing Psalms, 2003; alt. MCPC, 2011 (CM)

1 How long will you forget me, LORD? Will you forget always?
How long, LORD, will you hide your face and turn from me your gaze?

2 How long must I be sad each day in deep perplexity?
How long will my opponent stand in triumph over me?

3 O LORD my God, consider me, and give me your reply.
Light up my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of those who die.

4 Then would my enemy declare: “At last I’ve laid him low!”
And so my foes would sing for joy to see my overthrow.

5 But still I trust your constant love; you save and set me free.
6 With joy I will extol the LORD who has done good to me.

Tune: Meditation (John Henry Gower, 1890)

Commentary

Psalm 13 is titled, “To the Choirmaster. A Psalm of David.”

Psalm 13 is a clear example of a lament, moving from a statement of the problem — both God’s disregard for him, and the onslaught of his enemies (verses 1-2), to a plea for help, where the plea for God to answer involves protection from the enemy (verses 3-4), to a statement of confidence in God’s faithful dealings (verses 5-6).

Structure:

I will cheerfully admit that the structure of the Psalter Hymnal‘s text is excellent. By using the 76 76 D meter, they are able to put all four “How long” questions into the first stanza (v1-2), and then the prayer for God’s consideration forms the second stanza (v3-4), and the affirmation of confidence forms the third stanza (v5-6). Admittedly, the Sing Psalms structure is not quite as strong — using five stanzas, blending the last two verses into the final stanza.

Translation Notes:

But the PH text achieves its structural elegance at the cost of several key lines in the Psalm. For instance:

Verse 1 — ESV — “How long will you hide your face from me?”
— PH — “How long will fears beset me while darkness hides your face?”
— SP — “How long, LORD, will you hide your face and turn from me your gaze?”
It is really important to say that God hides his face from us. It’s not just that “darkness” hides God’s face — there are times when God himself hides his face from his people.

Verse 3 — ESV — “Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death.”
— PH — “O LORD, my God, behold me, and hear my earnest cries; lest sleep of death enfold me, enlighten now my eyes.”
— SP — “O LORD my God, consider me, and give me your reply. Light up my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of those who die.”
It is clear that David is asking for an answer. The PH text does not make that clear. Also I appreciate very much the way that the SP text was able to capture the idea of “sleep the sleep.”

Tune Notes:

“Meditation” opens with six consecutive identical notes in the soprano, alto, and tenor — which, when blended with a bass line that descends stepwise from the first to the fifth of the scale, results in a plaintive lament in a major key (with plenty of minor moments). This allows “Meditation” to capture both the lament at the beginning and the quiet confidence at the end.

Meditation is used in the BPS and the BPW with Psalm 13. The Trinity Hymnals use it with Psalm 37 (as well as “There Is a Green Hill Far Away” [256] and “There Is a Land of Pure Delight” [550]). The Trinity Psalter suggests it with Psalm 119, and the 1959 PH uses it with Psalm 1 (which is where the OPC/URC committee recommends it).

Conclusion

If someone would take the time to improve the PH text, I would be willing to consider it (I don’t know “Far Off Lands” — but I like the Bohemian Brethren, so I’d be willing to be persuaded on the tune!), but I’m reluctant to abandon a strong text that is paired with a tune that has long connections with a Psalm. Further, this was long a favorite of our eldest daughter in family worship!

I have not yet preached on Psalm 13.

I have not been able to find any recordings of Meditation.

— Peter J. Wallace