Psalm 13:5-6 NKJV
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.
From Worry to Praise and Worship
MY NOTES
“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.”—Psalm 13:5–6 (NKJV)
Notice how Psalm 13 begins compared to how it ends.
Psalm 13:1
How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?
One moment David is heavy with the weight of feeling forgotten, and the next the clouds begin to lift. The same man who cried out in the dark now finds his voice again—not because his circumstances have fully changed, but because his trust has found solid ground. Prayer has done its quiet work. The mercy seat has refreshed the weary heart, and the song that follows is all the richer for the sorrow that came before it.
How does someone move from despair to delight in just six short verses? Nothing in David’s external circumstances had changed yet. His enemies still lurked, his troubles hadn’t magically disappeared, and the trial remained very real. What changed wasn’t his situation—it was his stance. David stopped staring at his problems and anchored his heart in God’s character.
Psalm 130:7
O Israel, hope in the Lord; For with the Lord there is mercy, And with Him is abundant redemption.
Look at the turn in verse 5: “But I have trusted in Your mercy…”
That word “but” is one of the most powerful pivots in Scripture. It marks the moment faith takes the floor. David essentially says, “My circumstance is heavy, my feelings are all over the place, but I know who my God is.” He didn’t place his confidence in his own goodness, his own record, or even his own emotional stability. He threw his anchor into God’s unfailing mercy and grace.
Psalm 116:7
Return to your rest, O my soul, For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
When you feel abandoned, remember that our feelings are terrible reporters of reality. They measure the moment, but they cannot measure God’s covenant. The very fact that you feel the ache of God’s absence proves you know He belongs in your life. You can’t feel abandoned by someone you never knew.
Habakkuk 3:17–18
“Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls— Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”
Notice how David’s trust leads directly to joy and praise: “My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me.”
Did you catch that tense? David speaks of God’s deliverance in the past tense before he even sees the physical breakthrough. Why? Because faith looks at God’s track record and treats His promises as settled facts. When you look back over your life, you realize God has never failed you. He has sustained you through every fire and carried you through every flood. He has dealt bountifully with you in the past, and He isn’t going to start abandoning you now.
This is the power of bringing our cares to God and leaving them there. We may arrive heavy, but we don’t have to leave the same way. Trust in mercy steadies the heart. Faith in His salvation fills it with joy. And that joy finds its voice in praise.
You don’t have to wait for your circumstances to clear up before you worship. You can start singing in the dark, confident that the God who sustained you yesterday holds your victory today.
Prayer
Father, thank You that Your mercy is bigger than my darkest moments. When my heart grows weary and my feelings tell me You have forgotten me, remind me who You are. Help me turn my complaints into prayers and my prayers into trust. Anchor my soul in Your unfailing love. Give me the courage to rejoice in Your salvation even before I see the physical breakthrough, knowing that You have always dealt bountifully with me. Turn my heart to praise You in every season—in the trial and in the triumph. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Key Takeaways
- The turn from despair to praise often begins with a deliberate return to trust in God’s mercy, not a change in circumstances.
- Faith doesn’t ignore the struggle; it holds on to the Lord through it and becomes visible precisely when we exercise it.
- We can rejoice in God’s salvation before we fully see it, because trust gives confidence that deliverance is sure.
- Looking back at how God has dealt bountifully with us fuels present praise and future hope.
- Prayer that moves from complaint to trust tends to end in song—the same heart that sighed can learn to sing.
Proverb for Today
He who has knowledge spares his words, And a man of understanding is of a calm spirit. Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; When he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive. Proverbs 17:27-28 NKJV
Daily Scripture
I sent the hornet before you which drove them out from before you, also the two kings of the Amorites, but not with your sword or with your bow. I have given you a land for which you did not labor, and cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat of the vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’ “Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:12-15 NKJV
Closing
“The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26 NKJV
Grace be with you. Amen.
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Commentaries:
Charles Spurgeon
What a change is here! Lo, the rain is over and gone, and the time of the singing of birds is come. The mercy-seat has so refreshed the poor weeper, that he clears his throat for a song. If we have mourned with him, let us now dance with him. David’s heart was more often out of tune than his harp, He begins many of his psalms sighing, and ends them singing; and others he begins in joy and ends in sorrow; “so that one would think,” says Peter Moulin, “that those Psalms had been composed by two men of a contrary humor.” It is worthy to be observed that the joy is all the greater because of the previous sorrow, as calm is all the more delightful in recollection of the preceding tempest.
Sorrows remembered sweeten present joy.
Here is his avowal of his confidence: “But I have trusted in thy mercy.” For many a year it had been his wont to make the Lord his castle and tower of defense, and he smiles from behind the same bulwark still. He is sure of his faith, and his faith makes him sure; had he doubted the reality of his trust in God, he would have blocked up one of the windows through which the sun of heaven delights to shine. Faith is now in exercise, and consequently is readily discovered; there is never a doubt in our heart about the existence of faith while it is in action: when the hare or partridge is quiet we see it not, but let the same be in motion and we soon perceive it. All the powers of his enemies had not driven the psalmist from his stronghold. As the shipwrecked mariner clings to the mast, so did David cling to his faith; he neither could nor would give up his confidence in the Lord his God. O that we may profit by his example and hold by our faith as by our very life!
Now hearken to the music which faith makes in his soul. The bells of the mind are all ringing, “My heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.” There is joy and feasting within doors, for a glorious guest has come, and the fatted calf is killed. Sweet is the music which sounds from the strings of the heart. But this is not all; the voice joins itself in the blessed work, and the tongue keeps tune with the soul, while the writer declares, “I will sing unto the Lord.”
I will praise thee every day,
Now thine anger’s past away;
Comfortable thoughts arise
From the bleeding sacrifice.
The Psalm closes with a sentence which is a refutation of the charge of forgetfulness which David had uttered in the first verse, “He hath dealt bountifully with me.” So shall it be with us if we wait awhile. The complaint which in our haste we utter shall be joyfully retracted, and we shall witness that the Lord hath dealt bountifully with us.
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Enduring Word
But I have trusted in Your mercy;
I have trusted: David, after his prayer, came to a place of confidence and trust. I have trusted speaks in the past tense; it is as if David remembered that he really did trust God, and he cleared away the fog from his sleepy eyes as God enlightened his eyes. (Guzik)
In Your mercy: At this place of discouragement, David could not trust in God’s justice, or in God’s law, or in God’s holiness. Those things might condemn him because his feelings had made him not see clearly. But he could always trust in God’s mercy. When you can’t trust anything else, trust in God’s mercy. (Guzik)
i. “He begins his prayer as if he thought God would never give him a kind look more…. But by the time he had exercised himself a little in duty, his distemper wears off, the mists scatter, and his faith breaks out as the sun in its strength.” (William Gurnall, cited in Spurgeon)
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the LORD,
My heart shall rejoice: Now, David was still in the realm of feelings (rejoice). But he directed his feelings instead of having his feelings direct him (shall rejoice). He told his heart to get busy rejoicing! (Guzik)
In Your salvation: This is what David rejoiced in. David, if he could rejoice in nothing else, could rejoice in the salvation God gave him. This is solid ground for any believer. If you are saved, you can rejoice, and tell your heart to start rejoicing. (Guzik)
I will sing to the LORD: David knew rejoicing is wonderfully expressed in singing. So, he would sing to the LORD. Singing to the LORD would both express his joy and increase his joy. (Guzik)
i. “There is not half enough singing in the world…I remember a servant who used to sing while she was at the wash-tub. Her mistress said to her, ‘Why, Jane, how is it that you are always singing?’ She said, ‘It keeps the bad thoughts away.’” (Spurgeon)
ii. David moved from being depressed and feeling abandoned by God, to singing joy. “The fact that we feel abandoned itself means that we really know God is there. To be abandoned you need somebody to be abandoned by. Because we are Christians and have been taught by God in the Scriptures, we know that God still loves us and will be faithful to us, regardless of our feelings.” (Boice)
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.
Because He has dealt bountifully with me: As David thought about it, he had good reason to rejoice and sing, because God had been good to him. If we will only think about it, every person on this earth has reason to rejoice, because in some way God has been good to everyone. (Guzik)
He has dealt bountifully with me: What a transition! In the beginning of the psalm, David was overwhelmed by his feelings and believed that God forgot him and was hiding from him. He had trouble with God, with himself, and with others. Yet now he sees how God had dealt bountifully with him. Because his eyes were enlightened, David could now see God’s goodness, and what a change in perspective that was! (Guzik)
i. Before God can enlighten our eyes, we must agree that we don’t see everything. We need to realize that our feelings are not giving us full and accurate information. But if we will do this, and cry out to the LORD, He will enlighten our eyes and bring us from a place of despair to a place of trust, joy, and confidence! (Guzik)
ii. “[In times of trouble, the Lord] would with one Scripture or another, strengthen me against all; insomuch that I have often said, Were it lawful, I could pray for greater trouble, for the greater comfort’s sake.” (John Bunyan, cited in Spurgeon)
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Albert Barnes
But I have trusted in thy mercy — In thy favor; thy friendship; thy promises. His original confidence had been in God only, and not in himself. That confidence he still maintained; and now, as the result of that, he begins to exult in the confidence that he would be safe. The idea is, “I have trusted in the mercy of God; I still trust, and I will trust forever.”
My heart shall rejoice in thy salvation — The word “salvation” here does not refer to salvation in the future world, but to deliverance from his present troubles, or to God’s interposition in putting him into a condition of safety. The idea is, that he had entire confidence that God would interpose, and that there would yet be cause to rejoice in that salvation as actually accomplished. He now calls on his heart to rejoice in the assurance that it would be his. So with us. There will not only be rejoicing in salvation when actually accomplished, but there may, and should be, in the firm conviction that it will be ours.
I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me — The word which is here rendered “dealt bountifully” – גמל gâmal – means properly “to deal” with anyone; to “treat” anyone well or ill; and then, to requite, or recompense. When used absolutely, as it is here, it is commonly employed in a good sense, meaning to deal favorably, or kindly, toward anyone; to treat anyone with favor. It means here that God had shown him kindness or favor, and had thus laid the foundation for gratitude and praise. The psalm closes, therefore, with expressions of joy, thankfulness, triumph. Though it begins with depression and sadness, it ends with joy. This is often observable in the Psalms. In the commencement it often occurs that the mind is overwhelmed with sorrow, and there is earnest pleading with God. Light, under the influence of prayer, breaks in gradually upon the soul. The clouds disperse; the darkness disappears. New views of the goodness and mercy of God are imparted; an assurance of his favor is brought to the soul; confidence in his mercy springs up in the heart; and the psalm that began with sorrowful complaining ends with the language of praise and of joy. So, too, it is in our own experience. Afflicted, depressed, and sad, we go to God. Everything seems dark. We have no peace – no clear and cheerful views – no joy. As we wait upon God, new views of his character, his mercy, his love, break upon the mind. The clouds open. Light beams upon us. Our souls take hold of the promises of God, and we, who went to His throne sad and desponding, rise from our devotions filled with praise and joy, submissive to the trials which made us so sad, and rejoicing in the belief that all things will work together for our good.
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John Gill
But I have trusted in thy mercy,…. The faith, hope, and comfort of the psalmist grew and increased by prayer; from complaining he goes to praying, from praying to believing; he trusted not in himself, not in his own heart, nor in his own righteousness and merits, but in the mercy of God; and not in the bare absolute mercy of God, but in the grace and goodness of God, as the word here used signifies, as it is displayed in the plenteous redemption which is by Christ; which is a sufficient ground of faith and hope; see Psalm 130:7;
my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation; which God is the contriver, author, and giver of, and in which the glory of his perfections is so greatly displayed: and a true believer rejoices more on account that God is glorified by it than because of his own interest in it; and this joy is an inward one, it is joy in the heart, and is real and unfeigned, and is what continues, and will be felt and expressed both here and hereafter.
because he hath dealt bountifully with me; both in a way of providence and grace, granting life and preserving it, and supporting with the comforts of it; blessing with spiritual blessings, and crowning with loving kindness and tender mercies; all which is generous and bountiful dealing, and affords a just occasion of praise and thanksgiving; see Psalm 116:7.
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Matthew Henry
See the power of faith, the power of prayer, and how good it is to draw near to God. If we bring our cares and griefs to the throne of grace, and leave them there, we may go away like Hannah, and our countenance will be no more sad, 1 Sa. 1:18. And here observe the method of his comfort.
1. God’s mercy is the support of his faith. “My case is bad enough, and I am ready to think it deplorable, till I consider the infinite goodness of God; but, finding I have that to trust to, I am comforted, though I have no merit of my own. In former distresses I have trusted in the mercy of God, and I never found that it failed me; his mercy has in due time relieved me and my confidence in it has in the mean time supported me. Even in the depth of this distress, when God hid his face from me, when without were fightings and within were fears, yet I trusted in the mercy of God and that was as an anchor in a storm, by the help of which, though I was tossed, I was not overset.” And still I do trust in thy mercy; so some read it. “I refer myself to that, with an assurance that it will do well for me at last.” This he pleads with God, knowing what pleasure he takes in those that hope in his mercy, Ps. 147:11.
2. His faith in God’s mercy filled his heart with joy in his salvation; for joy and peace come by believing, Rom. 15:13. Believing, you rejoice, 1 Pt. 1:8. Having put his trust in the mercy of God, he is fully assured of salvation, and that his heart, which was now daily grieving, should rejoice in that salvation. Though weeping endure long, joy will return.
3. His joy in God’s salvation would fill his mouth with songs of praise (v. 6): “I will sing unto the Lord, sing in remembrance of what he has done formerly; though I should never recover the peace I have had, I will die blessing God that ever I had it. He has dealt bountifully with me formerly, and he shall have the glory of that, however he is pleased to deal with me now. I will sing in hope of what he will do for me at last, being confident that all will end well, will end everlastingly well.” But he speaks of it as a thing past (He has dealt bountifully with me), because by faith he had received the earnest of the salvation and he was as confident of it as if it had been done already.
In singing this psalm and praying it over, if we have not the same complaints to make that David had, we must thank God that we have not, dread and deprecate his withdrawings, sympathize with those that are troubled in mind, and encourage ourselves in our most holy faith and joy.
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