Our Lord is “a sun” (Ps 84:11). That’s illuminating, isn’t it! So no need to dwell in the dark.
You can see that Psalm 13 has a different design. There are three sections with four lines in each. W. Graham Scroggie calls this “From Sighing to Singing.” This style is called iterative parallelism, where each line repeats the earlier thought but changes it slightly. Notice the four “How long” questions in the first section, which we might label the Psalmist’s Distress. He says, I feel forgotten by God. Worse than that, He seems to be hiding from me. And this drags on day after day with no relief in sight. On top of that, I not only have to deal with my grief but with my enemy’s gloating, too. But David knows where to go in such difficulty. “Consider and hear me, O Lord my God” (v 3). This reveals the Psalmist’s Desire (vv 3-4). What does he long for? He asks, “Enlighten my eyes.” Today we might say, “Give me a break.” But the word “enlighten” (Heb, ’ôr) actually means “daybreak.” I need the dark night to pass and a new day to dawn. That sounds better! “Lord, give me a daybreak, a new sunrise for the soul.” The alternatives are grim, as seen in the following “Lest” list. “Lest I sleep the sleep of death; lest my enemy say, ‘I have prevailed against him’; lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved” (vv 3-4). I could face death, he writes, or I could face defeat, or I could face disdain—all reflecting poorly on both David and his God. But then, like the sudden sunrise, we hear the Psalmist’s Delight. “But I have trusted in Your mercy; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me” (vv 5-6). Trust leads to triumph, salvation results in song, and His blessings are always bountiful to those who wait patiently for Him. In the dark, believer? God’s day will soon dawn for you. It always does.