¹How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
² How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

³ Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
⁴ lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

⁵ But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
⁶ I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.

1) Who is the author of this psalm, and what is the context?
This is a Psalm of David.  It is not recorded exactly when this psalm was written, but there are a couple of possibilities.  During his life, David was in several long periods of trials.  For a long time as a young man, David was forced into hiding by King Saul, who wanted to kill David.  Later, after David had been king for many years, his son, Absalom, led a rebellion against him, forcing him to flee Jerusalem.  Both of these events could have caused the kind of anguish in David’s heart that caused him to cry out, “How long, O LORD?  Will you forget me forever?”  The deep pain that David experienced, waiting for God to deliver him, is expressed in verses 1-2.

2) What is the psalmists’ request?
David has just one request in this psalm:  “light up my eyes.”  What does this mean?  It could mean that David was ill, and was asking for healing (lest he “sleep the sleep of death.”)  But more likely, it’s a plea for God to restore hope.  David doesn’t want this enemies to rejoice because he is shaken.  He knows that God is on his side, and as long as he has hope in God, he will not be shaken.

3) How does the psalmist take comfort, and what is his response?
Verse 5 begins with the word “but,” which indicates a contrast or a turning point in thought.  The first four verses focus on David’s situation and the despair he is feeling, while the last two verses point to the steady reasons for hope:  God’s steadfast love, and David’s salvation.  God loves us with an everlasting love, and our salvation is sure and secure.  Therefore, David can sing to the LORD, even in the midst of great trials, because God has indeed dealt bountifully with him.

1) Who is the author of this psalm, and what is the context?
This Psalm is a prayer from an anguished heart.  Every human being can resonate with the cry of “How long?”  What is your “how long?”  How long will I or my loved one be in pain?  How long will I be crippled by grief?  How long will you have me wait?  How long will my loved one reject you?  The list could go on and on, but this psalm shows us that it is okay to cry out to God in our pain and struggle.  It also gives us a template for what to pray for, after we cry out.

2) What is the psalmists’ request?
David does not ask for deliverance from his bad situation, but he asks that God light up his eyes.  I confess that when I am struggling, my prayer is most often about resolving my problem than it is about asking God to give me hope in the midst of it.  But what a difference the right prayer can make!  We do not know whether God wills to end our trial, but we know He will answer a prayer for hope in the midst of it!  Lord, when I walk through trials, help me to hope in you, rather than focus on the situation.

3) How does the psalmist take comfort, and what is his response?
God’s steadfast love never changes.  And our salvation is secure—no one can snatch us out of Christ’s hand (John 10:28-29).  We know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).  The Almighty, all-powerful God of the universe loves us and is working for our good.  Does that not give you hope?  His perfect plan may look messy to us, but He is creating something beautiful, and we can trust Him to complete it in His time.

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Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Find super awesome stuff like “origin”, “definition”, and even all the different ways that single word has been translated into English! If you want to be geeky, you can even click the word and hear its original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

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Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

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