Psalm 13

Theodoret theorized that this psalm was composed by David when his son Absalom conspired against him. However, Charles Spurgeon asserts that any attempt to link it to a specific incident is conjecture; rather, the psalm gives voice to feelings that arise in any of the many trials that a person undergoes in life. Jewish and Christian commentators note the three-part structure of this psalm, with verses 2–3 in the Hebrew (1-2 in the KJV) relating to David's complaint, verses 4–5 in the Hebrew (3–4 in the KJV) expressing David's prayer, and verse 6 in the Hebrew (5-6 in the KJV) describing David's salvation. A. G. Brown asserts that prayer is the turning point between mourning and rejoicing. Spurgeon notes that the repetition of the words "How long?" four times in this psalm resemble cries; he creatively refers to this psalm as the "How Long Psalm" or the "Howling Psalm". ==Text==

The following table shows the Hebrew text of the Psalm with vowels, alongside the Koine Greek text in the Septuagint and the English translation from the King James Version. Note that the meaning can slightly differ between these versions, as the Septuagint and the Masoretic Text come from different textual traditions. In the Septuagint, this psalm is numbered Psalm 12. ==Uses==

Judaism Verse 6 in the Hebrew is recited in the morning prayer service during Pesukei dezimra. According to the Chasam Sofer and the Siddur Sfas Emes, the entire psalm is recited as a prayer for the well-being of a sick person. and the first watch of the Midnight office. It is also in the prayer of the Veil, which is generally prayed only by monks. Book of Common Prayer In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, Psalm 13 is appointed to be read on the evening of the second day of the month. == Musical settings ==

Heinrich Schütz wrote a setting of a paraphrase of Psalm 13 in German, "Ach Herr, wie lang willst du denn noch", SWV 109, for the Becker Psalter, published first in 1628. In 1692, Michel-Richard de Lalande wrote his great Latin motet (S. 40) for the offices of the Royal Chapel of Versailles. His contemporary Henry Desmarest also composed a grand motet on this psalm. Marc-Antoine Charpentier set around 1685 one "Usquequo Domine" H.196, for 4 voices, recorder, flutes, and continuo. In German, the psalm was set to music by Johannes Brahms for women's choir in three voices, "Herr, wie lange willst du". Friedrich Kiel set verses as No. 6 of his Six Motets, Op. 82, published in 1883. Franz Liszt scored it for a tenor soloist as the psalmist, mixed choir, and orchestra. The Canadian Christian singer-songwriter and worship leader Brian Doerksen wrote with others a song called 'How long, O Lord'. ==Notes==