Latest / Reformed Thinking / Howling Changed to Singing (Psalm 13:1–2, 6) | Charles Spurgeon

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Howling Changed to Singing (Psalm 13:1–2, 6) | Charles Spurgeon · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to Reformed Thinking, the deep dive where we take your
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questions, look at the sources, and really try to get to the
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heart of the matter. Glad to be here.
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Today we're tackling something pretty universal, I think that
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big swing from, you know, deep sorrow all the way to real
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heartfelt joy. And our guide for this was
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Charles Spurgeon looking closely at Psalm 13.
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Indeed. And it's fascinating because we
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get to see the psalmist, David's own very raw experiences.
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Right. Those cries of bitter complaint
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turning into songs of praise. Exactly.
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And these aren't just old words on a page, they really hold up a
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mirror to our own lives, don't they?
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They do. Helping us see how such a huge
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change is actually, well, possible, we'll try and layout
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some of the practical steps involved.
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OK, let's let's unpack this. Then our source material clicks
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off by describing something, well, quite striking about human
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nature, especially for folks on a spiritual walk.
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It talks about every man being two men.
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Now that sounds a bit dramatic, doesn't it?
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What's going on there? Yeah, it does sound a bit
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theatrical, but it's getting at a really core inner reality, OK?
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It's what you know, in our theological language we often
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call the old man and the Newman, or maybe old nature and New
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Nature. Ah, right, that internal
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conflict. Precisely this sort of inherent
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duality inside us. It explains why we feel such big
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shifts sometimes. The source uses this great
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image. April weather.
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April weather, yeah, like sunshine and showers.
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Exactly like that. One minute bright sun, the next
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a sudden downpour. Sometimes it even feels like the
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rain is falling right through the sunshine, doesn't it?
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Yeah, I know that. Feeling and even our renewed
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nature, the new person in Christ still experiences these ups and
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downs, moments where maybe spiritual joy feels a bit dim,
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or our confidence isn't quite as strong.
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So it's not smooth sailing. Not at all.
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This internal mix often leaves us feeling a bit confused,
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trying to sword out our own feelings, our motivations.
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It's complex. So our inner world is definitely
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not simple or, you know, static. It's always moving, sometimes
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confusing. And David, the psalmist, he's
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held up as a key example of this, a wonderful man for
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changes of experience, the text calls him.
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He really is. He seems to embody this inner
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push and pull so vividly. He swings from the absolute
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depths right up to the highest peaks, doesn't he?
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He does his writings. The Psalms are like a living
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journal of these shifts. It's incredible, really.
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You almost never find yourself in a spiritual place, high or
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low, that David hasn't already been.
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It's. Quite a thought.
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Whether you're wrestling with, you know, deep discouragement or
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feeling full of joy, you can probably find David right there
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with you in his Psalms. I like how the sources put it
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like 2 instantaneous photographs.
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Yeah, that's a great picture. One photo catches him completely
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lost in complaint and the next he just bursting with praise.
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And he actually sang these with instruments.
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Yes, accompanying himself, reflecting the changing tunes of
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his own heart and mind. It makes it so real.
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It really does, and the sources emphasize that God allowed David
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to go through all these ups and downs, not just for David's own
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sake. That's a key point.
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God permitted these many changes, these alterations, and
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experience primarily for the good of succeeding generations.
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Meaning for us. Meaning for you, for me, for
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anyone who reads the Psalms, it means whenever you open them up,
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you might just, you know, somewhere or other, see
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yourselves. That's reassuring.
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It is no matter where you find yourself on your walk, feeling
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close to God, feeling distant, feeling peaceful, full of
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questions. David's likely sung about it.
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His experiences are so broad, they offer a kind of universal
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reflection for our spiritual lives.
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So for you listening right now, what's the take away here?
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This inner well mystery? This changeability we all feel,
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it's a call, isn't it? A call to know ourselves better.
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It really is. The sources suggest that anyone
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who takes the time to actually think about their inner life,
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their thoughts, feelings, reactions, will often find
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themselves a bit, well, puzzled. Discovering you're a strange
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mixture, as it says. Yeah, and dreadfully changeable.
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It's perfectly normal to feel like you can't quite make
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yourself out sometimes. That's part of this internal
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duality. And not doing this self
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reflection is seen as. It's put quite strongly, yes.
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Not studying oneself, this inner book of your own nature, your
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own wants, your own desires, your own changes.
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It's called the judgement of folly.
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Why folly? Well, because without that
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honest self-awareness, we're kind of navigating blind, aren't
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we? We might misunderstand why we
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feel certain ways or misread our experiences.
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Or miss the path to growth. Or even miss seeing our need for
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God more clearly. It's like having the owner's
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manual for yourself and just leaving that on the shelf.
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OK, that makes sense. This inner book, as the sources
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call it, It concerns you more directly than almost any other
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book you could read. It's an invitation to look
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honestly inside, not for self obsession, but for real clarity.
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Right. Without seeing your own nature,
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it's hard to know what you need. Which brings us to where David
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starts in Psalm 13. The sources describe it as
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howling. A bitter, sad complaint poured
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out before God. Let's look closely at this man
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complaining the beginning of Psalm 13.
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It's described as dolorous to the deepest degree.
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Real sorrow. It is, and this howling is
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marked by these repeated, almost desperate questions.
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How long, How long, How long, How long?
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Four times. It's not a quiet little sigh, is
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it? It's a roaring, moaning
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complaint before God and the bitterness of his soul.
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David even called it the voice of my roaring elsewhere.
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Yes. It signals someone right at
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their edge, feeling like the suffering is just endless,
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feeling utterly alone, maybe abandoned.
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And at first, how long? In Psalm 13 it hits hard.
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How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord, Forever.
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That feeling of being forgotten by God, that must be terrifying
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for someone who trusts Him. It's described as a core grief,
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yes. Maybe you've been praying for
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something specific, perhaps for mercy, and it just seems like
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nothing's happening and that thought creeps in.
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God's overlooked me. Or maybe searching for peace for
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years and it's still out of reach.
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Right. And you start to think, has God
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just forgotten my case? Or maybe you remember a time of
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feeling really close to God, real joy.
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And now that seems gone, a distance has come in.
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And the feeling is he's lost sight of me.
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Or maybe it's just trouble after trouble, wave upon wave, barely
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time to breathe. You feel ready to just give up.
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And that thought settles in again.
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God has forgotten me. But the sources are really clear
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here. That feeling, however real it
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feels, it's not the actual reality.
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That's crucial. It appears that way to you in
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the moment, but it's not the truth of the situation.
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God in His very nature, His greatness, His unchanging love,
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His absolute faithfulness, He cannot forget anything.
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It is impossible. That verse comes to mind.
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Can a woman forget her sucking child?
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Yeah, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee?
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It's such a strong image. Even if a mother could forget
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the child nursing that child is still drawing life from her.
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Because like, we're still sustained by God even when we
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feel forgotten. Exactly.
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You're still living day by day on his provision.
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You wouldn't even exist without his sustaining grace and
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strength. So this feeling it's called an
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appearance and an error. An error in our perception, not
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in God's character. Correct.
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God hasn't forgotten His graciousness, and He certainly
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hasn't forgotten you. But then the sources draw a
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really important distinction. For the believer, the real
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trouble isn't being forgotten. It's God hiding his face.
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What does that mean? This is key.
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It's not about God turning his back in anger or forgetting you
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exist. It's more subtle.
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He isn't hiding his heart, his love for you or his mind, His
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plan for you. What he's withdrawn is the
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comfort of His presence, the feeling of his smile, the light
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of his countenance. And that.
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Absence is deeply felt. Oh, incredibly so.
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Especially for someone who has known that light before, to lose
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that sense of closeness, even for a short time, can feel
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utterly heartbreaking. But the fact that we long for
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his face again again, that says something.
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It says everything. It confirms that the face being
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hidden is a face of love, not a face of anger.
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We wouldn't long for the return of something dreadful, would we?
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We long for the loving presence we once knew.
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So it's not necessarily punishment or sign he's
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displeased. Not necessarily in punitive
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sense, no. The sources suggest this
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temporary withdrawal actually serves a purpose.
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It works for your good. Also like the night for plants
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analogy. Exactly, Plants need darkness to
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grow properly, don't they? Constant daylight wouldn't work,
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and fields need rain, not just constant sunshine, for a good
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harvest. So these periods of feeling
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distant can bring about growth. They can bring a kind of
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spiritual ripeness, maybe a strengthening of faith or a
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deeper appreciation for his presence when it returns.
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Things that might not happen if everything was always easy and
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bright. So the advice is grieve the loss
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of that feeling, but don't fall into despair.
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Precisely because even when his face feels hidden, his love for
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you hasn't changed. His actions aren't random,
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they're part of his wise and good plan for you.
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Then David cries out, How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
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Having sorrow in my heart daily. This sounds like getting trapped
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in your own head. It's a perfect description of
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that endless internal loop, isn't it?
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Rumination. Going over and over.
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The same problems, the same sorrows inside yourself.
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Talking to yourself but getting nowhere.
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Well, it's good to reflect, to think things through, but it
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becomes a problem when you make yourself your only counselor,
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your own ultimate guide, especially when God's comforting
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presence feels distant. You can talk yourself into a
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deeper hole. You really can talk yourself
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right into despair. The source uses a simple picture
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pouring water from a jug back into the same.
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Jug, nothing changes, the water just stays there.
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Exactly. Pouring out your heart within
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itself, from yourself into yourself.
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It brings poor change, no real relief.
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You just end up end up in a fret and a trouble maybe all day
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long. So where does real ease come
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from? Only from pouring it out before
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God, turning that pitcher upside down, letting it all spill out
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before him. That's where the relief is
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found. It's getting it out of yourself
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and to him. Yes, it's like getting outside
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help for a puzzle you can't solve alone.
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And then there's the external element David mentions.
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How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
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Outside pressure is piling on. That had such a heavy layer,
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doesn't it? When other people comment on
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your struggles or seem to delight in them.
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Yeah, that stings. It really does.
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This can include ship remarks from others, sometimes even, as
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the source puts it, from candid friends.
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Ah. The enemy candied over with a
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little sugar. That's a harsh description.
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It is, but it captures those people who may be under the
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guise of concern, say things that cut deeper than an open
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enemy might because they know where you're vulnerable.
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Like Penina taunting Hannah in the Bible.
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Just like that, people who should be a comfort become
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another source of pain. Their words just twist the
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knife. And it's not just people, no.
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The sources are clear. Our great adversary Satan also
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loves to see a stumble and feels a sense of triumph when we're
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down. He and his unseen forces take
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pleasure in our distress. So it's internal struggle
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compounded by external attacks, both human and spiritual.
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Yes, it makes you feel incredibly isolated, maybe like
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your pain is on public display. For critics, it just deepens
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that sense of helplessness. OK, so we've really seen the
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depth of this howling, this agonizing complaint.
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But before the singing starts, you mentioned a vital step, self
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knowledge. Why is knowing yourself, even
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your own flaws and struggles, so necessary for knowing Christ?
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It connects back to that two men idea, doesn't it?
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It absolutely does. It's presented as fundamentally
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necessary. Knowing yourself, at least to
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some degree, is essential if you're going to truly know the
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Lord Jesus Christ. Why is that link so strong?
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Well, think about it practically.
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If you don't recognize your own spiritual disease, your deep
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need, why would you seek out the physician?
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Wouldn't it feel the need? Exactly.
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If you don't grasp your own spiritual poverty, your
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inability to fave yourself or fix your deepest problems, you
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won't feel compelled to go to him for true wealth for his all
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healing medicine. So seeing our own brokenness
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drives us to Him. It does an honest look at your
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own needs, your shortcomings, your complete inability to
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bridge the gap with God on your own.
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That's what creates the spiritual hunger that only He
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can satisfy. It pushes you towards Him.
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That makes a lot of sense. You don't look for a cure if you
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don't think you're sick. Precisely.
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And Jesus is presented as the model man, the Son of Man, the
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ultimate representative of humanity, and also the Savior of
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humanity. So understanding humanity helps
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us understand Him. In a way, yes.
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By understanding something about men, our shared condition, our
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struggles, our inner world, you can gain real insight into who
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he is and what he came to do. And the Psalms bridge this.
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Beautifully, Sometimes you read a Psalm and it's hard to tell.
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Is David talking about himself, or is he speaking prophetically
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about Christ? Often it seems to be both at
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once. That marvelous union between the
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sank and his savior. Yes, it helps us grasp Christ's
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nature, His connection to our human reality.
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He's the first born among many brethren.
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He truly understands our howling because He entered into our
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condition. So for you listening, that
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honest, maybe even difficult look inside of your own nature
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wants changes. It isn't navel gazing.
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It can actually point you straight to Christ.
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It can be the very path. Praying for God to show you
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yourself even the parts you don't like can be the first step
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toward discovering who Christ really is for you.
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The solution, the comfort, the strength you need.
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It's a path from inner awareness to his sufficiency.
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Right. This is where he gets really
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practical. We've seen the howling.
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How does David, how do we move from that place to singing?
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The sources call these the connecting links.
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Yes, the tangible steps that bridge that gap.
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It's not magic, it's a process involving deliberate actions.
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And there are two main ones. Two primary actions David
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demonstrates right there in Psalm 13.
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These are how the howler actively starts becoming the
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singer. OK, the first one pleading with
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God, taking our troubles straight to Him in prayer.
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Not just any prayer though. No, it's presented as the vital
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first step towards finding comfort when you're in deep
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distress, instead of getting stuck in that internal loop,
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that rumination. Where you just go round and
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round. Right.
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Instead of that, the instruction is go and take the matter to
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your God. Be specific, state your case,
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lay it all out. Mention the separate particulars
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it says. Yes, all the details, everything
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that's weighing on you. Pour out your heart before him.
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There's that powerful image used like King Hezekiah taking that
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threatening letter from the Assyrians.
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One full of taunts. Yes, and instead of just
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agonizing over it, he goes into the temple and spreads the
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letter out directly before the Lord, laying every single word
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before him. And doing that brings relief.
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The sources say you'll find an immediate sense of easing the
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burden. It's like truly unburning
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yourself, but to the one who can actually handle it.
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And then comes the really challenging part, perhaps
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leaving it there. Yes, that's crucial.
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It's compared to hiring a solicitor, a lawyer for a
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difficult case. Once you've handed over all the
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documents and explain the situation, you trust them to
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handle it, right? You don't keep trying to manage
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it yourself. You let them do their job.
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Exactly so the instruction is cast thy burden upon the Lord
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and then this is key. Have done with it.
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Don't pick it back up mentally 5 minutes later.
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That sounds easier said than done.
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It requires real faith, no doubt, but the sources are.
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I argue it's illogical to truly give something to God and then
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immediately take the weight back onto your own shoulders.
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You have an advocate, a divine helper.
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Let him manage it. And this act of surrender, of
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entrusting it, it changes things.
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It brings instant relief, apparently, and it causes you to
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soon begin to change your mode of talking.
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Your complaints start to lessen and then soon begin to sing.
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Your whole perspective shifts as you truly let go.
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Letting go opens the door that leads right into the second
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link, doesn't it? Which is called the chief point.
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Yes, the absolute core of the change, trusting in the Lord's
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mercy. Which sounds like the very heart
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of the gospel message. It really is.
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This is described as the essential lesson for anyone
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stuck in soul trouble who wants to find light and peace.
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It's the fundamental remedy both for sin itself and for the
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resulting heartache. And the sources just keep
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repeating it. Trust him, trust him.
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Trust. Him, yes, notice the simplicity.
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It's not. Try to trust.
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Him. Why is that distinction made?
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Trying to trust is the very reverse of trusting.
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Because trying implies your own effort, a struggle on your part
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to generate trust, whereas trusting is simply resting,
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relying on him. It's an act of reliance, not an
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achievement. So you don't need to feel like
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you have a good heart 1st or figure everything out.
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No, not at all. You don't need to feel worthy or
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even fully grasp how it all works before you trust you.
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Just trust Him because He is trustworthy, because He is the
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Almighty Savior, fully capable and willing to save the.
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Illustrations used are helpful. The blind person taking the
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guide's hand. Or someone with a broken leg
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leaning completely on someone strong enough to carry them.
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You don't tentatively lean, you put your full weight on the
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support. You lean hard.
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You lean hard this gospel way is trust, trust, trust.
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While the way of the Law might be summarized as obey, the way
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of the gospel is trust, precisely because we find
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ourselves too weak to obey perfectly on our own.
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And this trust isn't a gradual thing.
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It brings immediate results. The sources insist it
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immediately brings salvation, light and peace to the soul.
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It's not a slow climb. It's like flipping a switch.
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The moment you truly rest your hope on Christ and His mercy,
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the change begins. OK, so those are the links.
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Pleading with God and leaving it there and then actively trusting
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in His mercy. Once those are in place, what
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does the man singing actually look like?
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How does this joy show up? The change is described as
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total, affecting the whole person inside and out.
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It's like seeing that second photograph, the same person, but
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utterly changed from complaint to rejoicing.
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So first, there's a rejoicing heart.
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This isn't just feeling happy for a moment.
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No, it's described as a real, settled inner joy.
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A joy so authentic it can actually change how a person
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looks. Transfigure the human
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countenance. Make them look like quite
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another person. Yes, we know grief can cast a
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shadow over someone's face, make them look heavy, even older.
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But this kind of spiritual joy, it brings a sparkle to the eyes,
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a lightness to the whole face. You can sometimes see that
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change in people, can't you? You really can.
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Someone might go into a service feeling burdened and come out
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looking visibly lighter, almost glowing.
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It's not just putting on a happy face, it's a genuine wellspring
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from within. This joy isn't really dependent
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on circumstances anymore. It rests on God's goodness.
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And that inner joy, yeah, it has to come out.
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It seems it can't be helped. The sources use that lovely
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phrase, that which is down in the well will come up in the
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bucket. And that which is in the heart
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is sure to come up to the mouth before long.
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Exactly. A happy believer starts to sing.
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A rejoicing heart naturally leads to a praising tongue.
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It's not forced, it's an overflow.
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An irrepressible song, yes. You feel like if you didn't
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sing, the very stones would begin to cry out.
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It's just a natural expression of the gratitude and peace
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inside, not just for Sundays, but woven into daily life.
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Now this next 1 is really interesting.
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The man's judgement is content. This sounds like a shift in
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thinking, not just feeling it. Is it suggests that the rational
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part of us, the cool calculating faculty, actually re evaluates
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everything? Goes back over God's dealings.
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Yes, like re reading an old book with new eyes before the person
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thought God had forgotten them or was harsh or unfair.
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But now. Now, after thinking it through
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again from this new place of trust and joy, they completely
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retract those old complaints, those harsh thoughts about God.
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They're gone. And replaced with what?
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Replaced with the settled conclusion that God hath dealt
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bountifully with them, they look at their life, even the hard
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parts, and see His goodness running through it.
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They realize they've received far more than they deserved.
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A Benjamin's portion overflowing blessing.
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So the verdict changes completely.
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Completely from bitterness or confusion to deep gratitude,
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they arrive at that place of surely goodness and mercy shall
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follow me all the days of my life.
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It's a change in perspective, a contentment in their assessment
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of God's ways. And finally, this isn't just a
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fleeting mood, it leads to a deliberate choice for the
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future. Yes, it wraps up with a firm
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resolve. I will sing unto the Lord.
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This isn't just I feel like singing now it's I choose to
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sing a. Decision to project that joy
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forward. Throughout their whole life, at
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work, resting, waking, sleeping. It's a commitment to keep
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singing this new, new song that God has given them.
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They feel they must sing it out. Like that servant girl singing
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at her wash tub. Exactly.
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Singing to keep negative thoughts at Bay.
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Singing because the joy demands expression.
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It becomes a continuous posture of the soul, actively praising
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and blessing God, reinforcing the joy and peace found in Him.
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Wow. So looking back at Psalm 13
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through Spurgeon's lens, it really maps out this incredible
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shift from the depths of howling, feeling forgotten,
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wrestling internally pressured externally all the way to
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singing. And the key seemed to be that
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honest self knowledge leading us to see our need, that actively
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cleaning with God, really pouring it all out and leaving
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it with Him. Yes, that crucial step of
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surrender. And fundamentally resting
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everything on His mercy through Christ, trusting Him.
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That simple yet profound act of trust, it changes everything.
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The whole human experience with that internal duality, those
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struggles, it really does point us towards Christ.
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He is the all healing medicine, the wealth for our poverty.
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He's the only adequate answer to our deepest needs, our loudest
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laments. So the hope is that you
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listening might also find that transition happening in your own
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life, from complaint to song, as you cast your burdens on him and
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simply trust. That's a great place to leave
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it. Thank you for joining us for
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this deep dive into Psalm 13. Thank you.
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Until next time, may you find that new song taking root in
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your heart, and may you really let it ring out.