Latest / Reformed Thinking / How Long, O LORD? (Psalm 13) | Saint Augustine

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How Long, O LORD? (Psalm 13) | Saint Augustine · Reformed Thinking

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  Podcast intro audio reformed thinking.
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  Welcome everyone, to this deep dive from Reformed thinking.
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  Today we're turning our attention to a really powerful
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  piece of Scripture, Psalm 13, and we'll be looking at it
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  specifically through the lens of Augustine of Hippo, one of the
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  great minds of the early church. Our aim here is to kind of
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  unpack what this ancient Psalm can tell us about, well, the
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  human condition, divine truth, all of that.
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  It's quite a journey, starting with a real cry from the heart.
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  That's absolutely right. And this deep dive, it's really
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  going to shine a light on how Augustine unfolds this Psalm.
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  We see this movement, don't we, from this intense human lament,
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  wrestling with spiritual struggle and then landing
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  ultimately on hope. Hope, specifically found in
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  Christ, will sort of trace that development.
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  Augustine guides us from feeling utterly abandoned, really, to
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  finding genuine joy in God's salvation.
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  He connects dots we might otherwise miss.
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  Yeah, those connections are key. OK, let's dive into the first
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  part. The cry from the depths.
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  Understanding the Psalmist's lament.
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  Psalm 13.1 to 2. So it opens with just this
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  incredibly raw question. How long, O Lord, will thou
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  forget me unto the end? I mean, who hasn't felt
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  something like that? That feeling of being forgotten,
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  overlooked by God? It's so relatable, almost
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  painfully so. It.
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  Really is it resonates very deeply.
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  But Augustine, in his commentary, he immediately
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  pushes us a bit deeper. That phrase unto the end, he
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  doesn't see it as just meaning forever or until I die.
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  OK, so what's his take? For Augustine, the end points
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  directly to Christ. He connects it to Paul's idea
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  that Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to
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  everyone who believes Christ is the goal, the fulfillment.
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  So the telos the ultimate purpose.
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  Exactly. And Augustine takes it even
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  further. He calls Christ the wisdom of
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  God and the true end of all, the aim of the soul.
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  Wow. OK, so the psalmist cry, how
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  long unto the end isn't just despair then?
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  Well, it is despairing on one level, the human level, but
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  Augustine sees underneath it, perhaps unconsciously for the
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  psalmist, A deeper spiritual longing.
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  It becomes less when will my suffering stop and more how long
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  until I reach my true goal, my ultimate fulfillment, which is
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  union with Christ, with divine wisdom.
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  So it reframes the question entirely from abandonment to
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  aspiration. Precisely.
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  It shifts the focus. It suggests that even in our
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  deepest cries of feeling forgotten, there's an underlying
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  orientation of the soul towards its ultimate good, towards
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  Christ. That makes sense.
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  It implies that maybe all our longings, even when they feel
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  purely negative, are kind of signpost pointing towards him.
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  That's a great way to put it. Augustine would argue that,
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  yeah, fundamentally, all true human desire, the longing for
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  peace, for meaning, for lasting joy, it's ultimately A veiled
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  longing for God. And Christ is the embodiment of
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  that which satisfies the soul. So the ache itself, the feeling
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  of being forgotten, paradoxically points towards the
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  one who truly remembers and fulfills.
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  It turns a personal lament into something quite universal about
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  the soul's nature. It does.
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  It connects that individual cry to the inherent human search for
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  God. OK, so following that feeling of
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  being forgotten, the psalmist asks, how long does thou turn
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  away thy face from me? Again, that feeling of God being
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  distant, maybe even deliberately ignoring us.
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  We've all been there where prayers seem to hit the ceiling.
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  Yes, that sense of withdrawal is another very common human
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  experience in the life of faith. But Augustine is quick to remind
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  us here about how Scripture speaks.
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  He says as God does not forget, so neither doth he turn his face
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  away. But Scripture speaks after our
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  manner. OK, so it's that anthropomorphic
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  language again, talking about God in human terms.
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  Exactly. God's nature doesn't change.
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  He isn't fickle. He doesn't literally look away.
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  Augustine explains that God has said to turn away his face from
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  us when he does not give to the soul the knowledge of himself,
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  specifically to the soul that doesn't yet have the pure eye of
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  the mind. The pure eye of the mind.
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  What does he mean by that? Is it about our perception then,
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  not God's action? Yes, precisely.
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  The perceived distance stems from our capacity, or lack
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  thereof, to perceive God. It's like trying to see the sun
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  through a dirty window. The sun hasn't gone anywhere,
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  but our view is obscured. So what dirty is the window?
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  What gets in the way of this pure eye?
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  Well, for Augustine, it's primarily sin.
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  Attachment to worldly things, distractions, a lack of
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  spiritual focus. Cultivating that pure eye
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  involves purifying the heart, striving for holiness, aligning
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  our will with God's, engaging in spiritual disciplines, prayer,
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  meditation, studying Scripture. So it's an active process on our
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  part. Very much so.
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  It's about cleaning the inner lens so we can perceive the God
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  who is always present, always looking towards us, even when we
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  feel He isn't. The change required is in us,
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  not in Him. That puts a lot of
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  responsibility back on us in terms of spiritual practice.
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  It does. It highlights the need for
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  ongoing spiritual effort and reliance on grace to see
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  clearly. OK, so from God's perceived
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  distance, the psalmist then looks inward.
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  How long shall I place counsel in my soul?
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  This sounds like that exhausting mental loop, you know, turning
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  problems over and over trying to figure things out alone.
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  Yeah, that feeling of being stuck in your own head,
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  wrestling with decisions or anxieties.
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  Augustine picks up on this and offers 2 main ways to understand
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  it. What are they?
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  The 1st is pretty straightforward.
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  He sees it as another way of asking how long will I be in
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  this adversity? Because, you know, you generally
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  only need intense internal counsel when you're facing
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  trouble or confusion. So it emphasizes the duration of
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  the struggle. Right, the weariness of
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  constantly trying to navigate difficulty makes sense.
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  What's the second view? The second one is a bit more
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  complex and connects back to the earlier verses.
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  Augustine suggests this phrase might actually be an answer to
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  why God feels distant. The feeling of being forgotten,
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  of God's face being turned away, persists until until I shall
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  place counsel in my own soul to work mercy perfectly.
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  Wow, OK, see more about that. That sounds conditional.
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  It does imply a kind of conditionality, yes.
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  The idea is that the full revelation of God, the face to
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  face knowledge, the clear guidance towards the end Christ,
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  is in a way dependent on our internal response.
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  If we don't make that conscious effort within ourselves to seek
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  true counsel, which for Augustine is ultimately God's
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  wisdom, and to cultivate mercy, then God might not grant that
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  fuller knowledge. So our internal state, our
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  effort to cultivate mercy effects our ability to receive
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  God's presence and guidance. That's the idea it creates.
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  This dynamic perceived distance prompts internal effort, seeking
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  counsel, working mercy. And that effort prepares the
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  soul to receive more from God. What does work Mercy perfectly
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  mean though? That sounds.
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  Impossible perfectly is a strong word.
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  I don't think Augustine means achieving flawless execution in
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  every action. It's more about the orientation
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  of the soul. It's about cultivating a deep,
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  consistent disposition towards mercy, making up the guiding
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  principle of your inner life, your thoughts, intentions,
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  responses, choosing forgiveness, showing compassion, seeking
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  reconciliation, putting others first.
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  It's a continuous inner work. OK, so it's the direction, the
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  striving, that makes the soul ready.
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  Exactly. When the soul is actively
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  striving to align itself with God's merciful nature, it
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  becomes more receptive to perceiving His presence and
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  wisdom more clearly. It's about becoming fit to
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  receive. That's quite profound.
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  It connects our inner work directly to our experience of
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  God. It does.
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  It underscores that our relationship with God isn't
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  passive. And this struggle, this need for
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  counsel, it's accompanied by deep sorrow.
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  Sorrow in my heart through the day.
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  It doesn't sound like a fleeting sadness, but something constant,
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  pervasive. Right.
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  Augustine points out that through the day here likely
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  means continuance or throughout time.
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  It's not just one bad day. So BA represents time itself.
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  Yes, or specifically what he calls man's day are temporal
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  earthly existence. It signifies the ongoing nature
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  of sorrow within the limitations of this life.
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  It's not just sorrow from specific events, but potentially
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  the sorrow inherent in living in a fallen, time bound world
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  separate from the fullness of God's eternal presence.
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  A kind of existential ache, almost.
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  You could say that it's the weight of continuous temporal
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  suffering. But tied to this, Augustine sees
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  an aspiration. The soul feels constrained by
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  man's day and longs to be free to rise to things eternal.
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  So the sorrow itself fuels a desire for eternity.
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  Precisely. It pushes the soul to look
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  beyond the temporary. This aligns really well with
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  that Reformed emphasis on seeking spiritual eternal
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  realities over fleeting earthly concerns.
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  The sorrow becomes a catalyst for seeking ultimate hope.
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  Exactly. It points beyond itself to the
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  only place true, lasting joy can be found.
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  Two, confronting the adversaries, Internal and
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  external warfare. Psalm 13.3.
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  The Four. OK, so we've got the inner
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  landscape of lament and longing. Then the psalmist turns to an
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  opponent. How long shall my enemy be
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  exalted over me? This introduces conflict
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  warfare. Who is this enemy according to
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  Augustine? Augustine gives us a really
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  helpful dual perspective here, covering both external and
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  internal battles. OK, what's the external?
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  The external enemy is, as you might expect, the devil, the
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  adversary who tempts, accuses, and opposes God's people.
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  That's the classic spiritual warfare understanding.
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  Right. And the internal.
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  The internal enemy, Augustine says, is carnal habit.
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  Carnal habit? What does that mean exactly?
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  It refers to those terrained patterns of sin in our lives,
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  that inclinations rooted in our fallen nature are fleshly
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  desires that pull us away from God.
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  Think of things like habitual pride or lust or anger or
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  selfishness, patterns that become almost second nature.
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  So the battle is not just out there against the devil, but in
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  here against our own in green tendencies.
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  Exactly. It's A2 front war in a sense,
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  and Augustine sees both operating as the enemy that can
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  seem exalted over us. This internal enemy carnal habit
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  can be just as dominating, just as destructive to our spiritual
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  lives as any external attack. That makes the fight feel much
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  more personal, and maybe even harder.
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  How do you fight an enemy that's part of you, so to speak?
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  It requires constant vigilance, doesn't it?
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  And reliance on grace. It's about intentionally
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  cultivating new habits, habits of righteousness through
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  discipline, prayer, immersing oneself in Scripture.
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  It's that slow, often difficult work of retraining our desires,
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  our responses, resisting those ingrained paths, and choosing
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  God's way instead. It's a battle for the hearts and
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  clinations. A continuous process, not a one
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  time fix. Absolutely.
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  Lifelong sanctification. Amidst this battle, the tone
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  shifts again. It becomes a direct plea.
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  Look on me and hear me, O Lord my God, lighten mine eyes that I
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  sleep, not in death. There's a real urgency here,
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  recognition that divine help is essential.
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  How does this connect back? It connects directly back to the
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  opening cries. Look on me as the plea against
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  God turning away his face. It's asking for that perceived
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  distance to be closed, OK, and hear me as the plea against
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  being forgotten. It's asking for God's attentive
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  presence. And the core request lighten my
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  eyes. This refers to the eyes of the
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  heart, our spiritual understanding, our discernment.
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  It's a plea for elimination, for clarity, to see spiritual truth.
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  And Augustine gives a stark warning here.
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  He says these spiritual eyes can be closed by the pleasurable
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  eclipse of sin. Pleasurable eclipse of sin.
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  That's a powerful image. Isn't it?
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  It suggests that the very enjoyment we might find in sin,
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  the temporary satisfaction it offers, can act like an eclipse,
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  blocking out the light of God's truth, blinding us spiritually.
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  So sin isn't just wrong, its pleasure is actively blinding.
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  That's the danger Augustine highlights.
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  The allure of sin can make us numb, unaware of our true
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  condition or God's presence. And if those eyes stay closed,
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  what is this? Sleep and death.
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  It signifies a state of spiritual deadness, really
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  insensitivity, like being asleep to spiritual realities.
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  Not necessarily physical death, but a profound spiritual apathy
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  and unresponsiveness to God being cut off from the source of
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  true life. So the plea is desperately
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  needed to avoid that spiritual state, Yes.
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  It's a cry for grace to keep the spiritual senses sharp, to stay
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  vigilant against sins, deceptive allure which can lead the soul
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  toward the spiritual numbness or death.
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  A vital plea for ongoing spiritual awareness.
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  And there's fear tied to this battle, isn't there?
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  Lest at any time mine enemies say I have prevailed against
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  him. It's the fear of ultimate defeat
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  of the enemy gloating. Who are the ones who would exult
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  here? Augustine identifies these
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  troublers who would exalt as the devil and his angels.
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  Their goal isn't just to cause trouble, but to see the believer
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  fundamentally moved. And moves means.
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  It means to draw back from the steadfastness of his faith, to
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  give up, to abandon one's trust in God, to falter and
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  commitment. So the enemy's victory isn't
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  just causing pain, it's causing apostasy, essentially.
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  Exactly. Their ultimate triumph is when a
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  soul turns away from God. That's when they can say I have
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  prevailed. Augustine uses Job as the
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  counterexample. Job was terribly troubled,
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  afflicted in every way imaginable, but crucially, he
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  was not moved. He didn't abandoned his faith
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  despite everything. Right.
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  He maintained that steadfastness.
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  He provides a model that even in the most severe trials, it's
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  possible through God's grace to remain anchored in faith.
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  So steadfastness remaining rooted in Christ, is the key
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  defense against the enemy's ultimate goal.
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  It is. It's about persevering in that
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  trust, that reliance on God regardless of circumstances or
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  feelings, that very act of holding fast denies the enemy
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  their boast. Our persistence and faith,
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  however weak we feel, is a testimony against the enemy's
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  power. Third, the anchor of hope and
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  the fruit of salvation. Psalm 13.5 to 6.
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  OK, we've journeyed through some pretty dark territory, lament,
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  struggle, enemies within and without.
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  But then verse five hits with this incredible shift.
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  But I have hoped in thy mercy. It's like the clouds parting.
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  Sudden clear declaration of confidence.
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  Where is this hope suddenly spring from?
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  It springs solely from its object, God's mercy, not from a
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  change in circumstances necessarily, or from the
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  psalmist suddenly feeling strong.
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  The hope is grounded entirely in God's character, and Augustine
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  immediately attaches a really critical warning here.
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  He stresses that the ability to not be moved, to remain fixed in
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  the Lord, must never be attributed to oneself.
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  The danger of pride. Exactly, he puts it very
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  pointedly, lest when he glories that he hath not been moved, he
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  be moved by this very pride. Wow, so boasting about your
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  steadfastness can actually cause you to stumble.
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  Yes, spiritual pride is incredibly dangerous.
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  The moment you start thinking, look how strong I am.
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  Look how well I've resisted. You've shifted your alliance
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  from God's mercy to your own perceived strength, and that
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  makes you vulnerable. How does that play out
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  practically believing it's me doing it?
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  Well, you might become complacent.
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  Stop depending on prayer as much, maybe look down on others
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  who struggle. You essentially forget that your
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  standing is entirely by grace. Then, when a bigger trial comes,
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  or a subtle temptation hit your blind spot created by pride,
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  you're more likely to fall because you're relying on
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  yourself, not on the sustaining mercy of God.
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  So true steadfastness requires constant humility and
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  dependence. Absolutely.
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  All credit goes to God's mercy. That's the only safe ground.
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  It keeps us reliant, keeps us looking to Him.
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  OK, so hope is anchored in mercy, not self, and this hope
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  leads to joy. My heart shall exult in thy
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  salvation. What exactly is this salvation
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  that brings such exultation? Is it just being saved from
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  trouble? Augustine is very specific here.
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  This salvation isn't just deliverance from something
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  negative. It is something, or rather
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  someone. He identifies it explicitly as
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  salvation in Christ in the wisdom of God.
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  So Christ is the salvation. Yes, the heart exalts not just
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  in the idea of salvation, but in the person of Christ who
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  embodies God's salvation and wisdom.
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  He is the source of the joy, the object of the hope, the anchor
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  that holds the soul steady. The exultation comes from
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  knowing and belonging to Him. That makes the joy much more
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  substantial, rooted in a relationship, not just relief.
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  Precisely. It's a joy found in Christ
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  himself, which is why it can coexist even with ongoing
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  struggles, because its foundation is secure and
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  unchanging. Beautiful.
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  And this whole experience, from lament through struggle to hope
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  and joy in Christ, culminates in worship.
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  I will sing to the Lord who had given me good things, and I will
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  chant to the name of the Lord Most High.
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  Augustine draws A distinction here between singing and
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  chanting. Right.
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  And what are these good things? Yes.
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  Let's start with the good things Augustine emphasizes.
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  These are spiritual good things, things not belonging to man's
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  day. Meaning not temporary earthly
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  stuff, exactly. Not health, wealth or status
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  which are fleeting, but the lasting gifts of grace,
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  forgiveness, reconciliation with God, wisdom, peace, the hope of
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  eternal life. These are the truly good things
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  worth singing about. OK, and the difference between
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  singing and chanting? Augustine explains.
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  I will sing as singing with the heart.
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  This is the internal private worship.
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  It's the heartfelt praise, the silent Thanksgiving, the inner
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  adoration that only God sees and hears.
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  It's the disposition of the soul towards God.
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  The secret worship of the heart. Got it.
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  And chanting. I will chant, he says.
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  Means with my works. This refers to the outward
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  expression of faith, the tangible actions and deeds that
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  are visible to others. So our actions are a form of
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  worship. Yes, acts of mercy, living
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  righteously, serving others, sharing the faith.
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  These are the chants. They are performed to the name
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  of the Lord, meaning for His glory, to make His goodness
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  known. And Agustin adds a lovely point.
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  These works are serviceable not for him, but for us.
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  God doesn't need our works, but we need to do them and others
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  benefit from them. They serve humanity and witness
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  to God. So it brings together the inner
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  life and the outer life. Perfectly.
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  He even uses the metaphor of the body being the song of the
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  spiritual soul. When it's used rightly in due
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  order. Our whole lives, inward devotion
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  and outward action working together, become an act of
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  worship. What a comprehensive picture of
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  responding to God's mercy and salvation.
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  Outro. Well, that really brings Psalm
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  13 to life in a new way. We've traced that path from the
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  depths of feeling forgotten, guided by Augustine.
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  We saw how that cry points towards Christ, how we face
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  enemies both outside and inside us like carnal habit, and how
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  steadfastness comes not from us but from hoping in God's mercy
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  alone. And finally, how that hope
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  blossoms into joy in Christ, leading to worship both in the
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  heart and through our actions. It really does cover so much
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  ground. And perhaps a final thought for
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  you, the listener, drawing from Augustine here.
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  He really presses us on the ongoing need for discipline,
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  doesn't he? The discipline to cultivate that
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  pure eye of the mind and to consciously work mercy perfectly
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  in our souls. So maybe the question to ponder
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  is, how might focusing on those internal pursuits, clearing our
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  spiritual vision, actively cultivating mercy, how might
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  that actually shape our felt sense of God's nearness today?
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  How might it deepen our reliance on His mercy, even when
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  everything around us feels like he's distant or silent?
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  It puts the ball back in our court in a way regarding our
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  perception of God. That's a great challenge to
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  leave us with thinking about how our inner work effects our
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  experience of God. Thank you for joining us for
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  this deep dive into Psalm 13 with Augustin.
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  We hope to join us again next time on Reformed Thinking.