angela hormberg

Tag: Confidence in God

  • Psalm 13

    Psalm 13

    Commonplace –

    “How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord?” (Psalm 13:1a).

    Questions for God

    David opens Psalm 13 with four questions:

    1. How long wilt thou forget me O Lord? for ever?
    2. How long wilt thou hide thy face from me?
    3. How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily?
    4. How long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?

    Petition

    Then, David brings forth his petition to God, and he uses action verbs. These are the actions he desires God to take:

    1. Consider me
    2. Hear me
    3. Lighten mine eyes, lighten my eyes lest I sleep the sleep of death

    The first two petitions are clear. He is asking God to listen and carefully weigh his requests. The third is a bit confusing, “lighten my eyes” (v.3.); this could be physical, spiritual, or both. David’s mood is heavy and dark; spiritually he is weighed down. This downhearted outlook casts a darkness over life, so he’s asking for spiritual illumination. He is asking for help to see beyond his circumstances and to be reinvigorated with hope and light. It could also have the double physical meaning that he is fearful he will lose his life. He needs strength to overcome his enemies, who stand waiting to jeer at him, if he fails.

    Remembering and Reminding

    David remembers.

    “But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.

    I will sing unto the Lord, because he hat dealt bountifully with me” (Psalm 13:6).

    Note his past tense in the word ‘trusted’ and how he switches tense with ‘shall’ and ‘will’. I have trusted; I shall rejoice. I will sing. God has always supplied more than enough of his needs. He will walk forward in faith, knowing God will not leave him.

    Once again, Matthew Henry’s words are on point.

    “This psalm is the deserted soul’s case and cure.

    Henry comments on David’s final words: “[David] concludes his deliverance to be as good as wrought” (229).

    Works Cited

    Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 13.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3 and Volume 6, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

    Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg

  • Psalm 142

    Psalm 142

    Commonplace –

    “I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me; refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.

    I cried unto thee, O Lord: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living” (Psalm 142:4-5).

    Like Psalm 141, Psalm 142 begins with David crying out to God. He shares his troubles with God. He speaks of his loneliness and despair; no person is there to help him. Then, David reminds himself that God is his refuge and portion in the “land of the living”. Even if man abandons him, God is ever present. He ends on a confident note with full faith that God will save him:

    “…the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me” (Psalm 142:7b).

    Matthew Henry advises the following:

    “Those that are troubled in mind, body, or estate, may, in singing this psalm (if they sing it in some measure with David’s spirit), both warrant his complaints and fetch in his comforts” (626).

    Works Cited

    Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 142.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3 and Volume 6, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

    Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg

  • Psalm 115

    Psalm 115

    Commonplace –

    Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield.

    The Lord hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron.

    He will bless them that fear the Lord, both small and great” (Psalm 115: 11-13).

    Psalm 115 begins with declaring God should receive glory for His mercy and for the sake of truth, which He upholds. The psalmist then considers the heathen and asks, ‘Where is there God?’ and proceeds to call out the the gods of the heathens, which are made of man made materials. The heathen gods are fashioned in the image of man with mouths and hands and feet, but they cannot speak or feel or walk. They are empty, the men that make them are like them. The God of Heaven was not made but is the Maker of all things; He was not formed by man but formed man. And for this reason, the psalmist pleads for God’s followers to trust Him, to remember all He has done for His followers.

    Matthew Henry notes, this psalm teaches us to “to give glory”. Henry encourages the church to “place her confidence in God, and triumph in doing so; and with such a holy triumph we ought to sing this psalm” (Henry 548).

    Works Cited

    Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 115.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

    Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg