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Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 39:1

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To the chief Musician, [even] to Jeduthun, A Psalm of David. I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.

1. I said ] To myself: I resolved, as the result of self-communing. Cp. Psa 30:6; Psa 31:14.

I will take heed to my ways ] Lit. I will keep my ways: keep watch and ward over thought word and action. Cp. Pro 16:17; and the often repeated exhortation in Deuteronomy to ‘take heed’ (Deu 4:9; &c.). He fears that he may sin with his tongue (Job 31:30) by murmuring against God as he contrasts the prosperity of the wicked with his own lot of trial. Cp. Job 1:22; Job 2:10; and generally Psalms 37, 73.

I will keep &c.] Lit. I will keep a muzzle for my mouth. Cp. Psa 141:3. Perhaps with the LXX, we should read I will put on.

while the wicked is before me ] For the sight of their prosperity is a temptation. Cp. Hab 1:3. This seems to be the sense, rather than that he was afraid of giving way to complaints in the hearing of the wicked, which might give occasion for ridicule or blasphemy.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

1 3. The resolution of silence in the presence of temptation.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

I said – This refers to a resolution which he had formed. He does not say, however, at what time of his life the resolution was adopted, or how long a period had elapsed from the time when he formed the resolution to the time when he thus made a record of it. He had formed the resolution on some occasion when he was greatly troubled with anxious thoughts; when, as the subsequent verses show, his mind was deeply perplexed about the divine administration, or the dealings of God with mankind. It would seem that this train of thought was suggested by his own particular trials Psa 39:9-10, from which he was led to reflect on the mysteries of the divine administration in general, and on the fact that man had been subjected by his Creator to so much trouble and sorrow – and that, under the divine decree, human life was so short and so vain.

I will take heed to my ways – To wit, in respect to this matter. I will be cautious, circumspect, prudent. I will not offend or pain the heart of others. The particular thing here referred to was, the resolution not to give utterance to the thoughts which were passing in his mind in regard to the divine administration. He felt that he was in danger, if he stated what he thought on the subject, of saying things which would do injury, or which he would have occasion to regret, and he therefore resolved to keep silent.

That I sin not with my tongue – That I do not utter sentiments which will be wrong, and which I shall have occasion to repent; sentiments which would do injury to those who are already disposed to find ground of complaint against God, and who would thus be furnished with arguments to confirm them in their views. Good men often have such thoughts passing through their minds; thoughts reflecting on the government of God as unequal and severe; thoughts which, if they were suggested, would tend to confirm the wicked and the skeptical in their views; thoughts which they hope, in respect to themselves, to be able to calm down by meditation and prayer, but which would do only unmitigated harm if they were communicated to other men, especially to wicked people.

I will keep my mouth with a bridle – The word used here means rather a muzzle, or something placed over the mouth. The bridle is to restrain or check or guide the horse; the muzzle was something to bind or fasten the mouth so as to prevent biting or eating. Deu 25:4 : thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn. See the notes at 1Co 9:9. The meaning here is, that he would restrain himself from uttering what was passing in his mind.

While the wicked is before me – In their presence. He resolved to do this, as suggested above, lest if he should utter what was passing in his own mind – if he should state the difficulties in regard to the divine administration which he saw and felt – if he should give expression to the skeptical or hard thoughts which occurred to him at such times, it would serve only to confirm them in their wickedness, and strengthen them in their alienation from God. A similar state of feeling, and on this very subject, is referred to by the psalmist Psa 73:15, where he says that if he should utter what was really passing in his mind, it would greatly pain and offend those who were the true children of God; would fill their minds with doubts and difficulties which might never occur to themselves: If I say, I will speak thus; behold, I shall offend against the generation of thy children. As illustrations of this state of feeling in the minds of good men, and as evidence of the fact that, as in the case of the psalmist, their existence in the mind, even in the severest and the most torturing form, is not proof that the man in whose bosom they arise is not a truly pious man, I make the following extracts as expressing the feelings of two of the most sincere and devoted Christian men that ever lived – both eminently useful, both in an eminent degree ornaments to the Church, Cecil and Payson: I have read all the most acute, and learned, and serious infidel writers, and have been really surprised at their poverty. The process of my mind has been such on the subject of revelation, that I have often thought Satan has done more for me than the best of them, for I have had, and could have produced, arguments that appeared to me far more weighty than any I ever found in them against revelation. – Cecil. Dr. Payson says in a letter to a friend: There is one trial which you cannot know experimentally: it is that of being obliged to preach to others when one doubts of everything, and can scarcely believe that there is a God. All the atheistical, deistical, and heretical objections which I meet with in books are childish babblings compared with those which Satan suggests, and which he urges upon the mind with a force which seems irresistible. Yet I am often obliged to write sermons, and to preach when these objections beat upon me like a whirlwind, and almost distract me.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Psa 39:1-13

I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I offend not in my tongue; I will keep my mouth as it were with a bridle.

Thought and prayer under trial

I. Thought under trial.

1. Its utterance repressed. I said, I will take heed to my ways.

(1) This effort as repression was pious. Why did he essay to muzzle his tongue? That I sin not. He felt in all probability that the circumstances which brought on his sufferings had awakened within him such sceptical ideas concerning the rectitude or benevolence of the Divine procedure, the utterance of which, in the ears of the wicked, while they were before him, would be highly sinful.

(2) This effort at repression was painful. Imprisoned thoughts, like pent-up floods, increase in turbulent force; the more they are suppressed, the more they heave, swell, and battle.

(3) This effort at repression was temporary. His thoughts became at last irrepressible. I spake with my tongue. To whom? Not to ungodly men–this he resolved not to do because it was sinful–but to the great Jehovah.

2. Its attention arrested. The character of life. Its terminableness. Its frailty. Its brevity. Its vanity. Its emptiness. Its disquietudes. Its worthless labours. (Homilist.)

The unspoken judgment of mankind

Scripture speaks in two different ways about judging others. On the one hand, it says, Judge nothing before the time, till the day of the Lord come; on the other hand, it says, He that is spiritual judgeth all things; and we are told to regard the Holy Spirit, of which we partake, as a spirit of discernment. Nor, if this discernment exists in Christians, can we confine it to distinguishing only flagrant sinners from well-conducted men? No; it extends much farther than that; it goes much deeper. Christians who are endowed with the spirit of holiness, and who have with that gift the spirit also of wisdom and knowledge, can see where the heart is right in others, and where it is not. This is part of that very unconscious power which lies in goodness as such; for goodness finds not goodness in others. On the other hand, disguise it how they will, the contrary character is detected, and repels. So that goodness, as such, has a true wisdom in it. But, perhaps, the great law with respect to judging which is laid down in our texts refers to the delivery of the judgment, it is not to be allowed full expression and manifestation. The judgment will be an outspoken one, ours may not be so. Scripture holds before us the terror of a dreadful exposure when the secrets of all hearts shall be made known (Luk 8:1-56; Luk 12:3). But the tongue of intermediate judgment is tied. There is an embargo laid upon the delivery of it. This, then, is the meaning of the bridle while the ungodly is in my sight. A judgment of some kind is implied, but it is to be a mute judgment. In this temper of the psalmist, then, we observe first, a greater strength than belongs to the other temper of impetuous and premature expression–strength not only of self-control, but of actual feeling and passion. Such a state of mind must needs be stronger, since it does not require the proof which immediate, impetuous expression affords. It is because they feel they want this support of outward expression that therefore men make this outward demonstration. The force of our language reacts upon ourselves, and our minds are encouraged by it, so that their own inward conviction does not give way. They want their verdict sustained. Hence this mute form of judgment must needs be strong. The circumstances of the world are such, that this greater strength of feeling, this silent form of judgment, is positively needed to meet them. For consider what the perpetual expression of judgment, what the constant reply to the challenge of the other side would entail. This challenge is always going on. It is impossible to live in the world without constantly hearing admiration and praise lavished on that which we know in our hearts to be hollow and inferior in character.. The world generally accepts success as a test; indeed, popular judgment is almost obliged to be exceedingly rough. It must take men as they stand, and accept the mechanical praise which flows from a law of public opinion. And, indeed, the exposure of the bad in this world is all but impossible. But if no judgment, however true in the sanctuary of the heart, can declare itself, by the very conditions of society, this is a clear revelation of the will of God that such a manifestation must not be attempted, and that to attempt it would be to forestall His divine purpose. And then we have nothing to fall back upon but the rule of the psalmist–the rule of a mute and silent judgment. I will keep my mouth, as it were, etc. But such men do not escape judgment altogether. The good judge them, and make up their minds about them, though it be unuttered. Is there not an unspoken sentence upon him, a silent verdict in the consciences of the righteous and holy which goes deeper than explanations? And is not this mute verdict an anticipation of that judgment which will not be silent but outspoken–the disclosure and manifestation of the human heart which will take place at the last day? Nay, and is there not even a judgment in Iris own heart which he does not pass altogether comfortably? Is there not a voice within him which would speak if he would let it, and did not suppress it; and which, if it did speak, would scatter to the winds all his refuges of lies. Let us fear that. (J. B. Mozley, D. D.)

Evil speaking, and the proper means to prevent it

I. The reasonableness of this resolution, and particularly with respect to us, as Christians, not to offend with the tongue.

1. Evil speaking brings a great scandal upon our holy religion, as it is so directly opposite to the genius and spirit of it, to the many express precepts which occur in it, and that goodness and candour of temper which so remarkably discovered itself in our blessed Saviour.

2. The injustice of this crime with respect to others.

(1) It is a very evident truth, that according to the worth of anything, wherein we invade another mans right, the wrong we do him is proportionably heightened. It is no less certain that of all the external advantages and comforts of human life, there are none of greater importance to a man than a good name.

(2) Besides defrauding a man of reputation and honour, this crime is for the most part highly injurious and prejudicial to him with respect to his other interests, and very often proves an injury to the public. For, as Plutarch well observes, the reputation of honour and worth affords one a thousand opportunities of doing good in the world, by opening to him an easy passage to the hearts and affections of men; whereas, says he, if a man lie under any calumnies or suspicions, he cannot exert his virtues, be he never so well qualified, to the benefit of others, without committing a kind of violence upon them.

(3) That which heightens the injustice of this crime the more, is, that it is so difficult to make the injured party any reparation. A scandal, when it is once gone abroad, is not easily recalled; but as a poisonous vapour sometimes infects a whole city or region, so a calumny, once set forward, and meeting with so general an inclination to provoke it, is not only apt to spread itself wide, but the further it spreads, the more it usually increases its malignity.

3. The impudence of those who are guilty of this crime.

(1) There are few persons who give their tongues a general liberty of scandal and defamation that do not irritate others to take the same freedom with them.

(2) The folly and imprudence of this vice of evil speaking appears further from hence, that it seldom if ever answers one great end we propose to ourselves by it. We are apt to imagine that by lessening or throwing dirt upon other people, we set ourselves off to greater advantage, and appear in a better light; but we ought to consider the world has, at that very moment, an eye upon our conduct, and the same right to make a judgment of it, as we have to sit upon the actions of other people. And that it will judge of us, not from our declaiming against their vices or defects, and the elevation we would thereby give ourselves above them; but from our personal qualifications or behaviour.

(3) Persons who give themselves the liberty to reflect upon the criminal actions and behaviour of other people, or to charge them perhaps with crimes they never thought of, are frequently observed to speak their own inclinations, and to give some visible and plain hints what they themselves would have been disposed to do under the same circumstances of temptation.

II. The proper method of making this resolution good.

1. To take heed to our ways implies in general that we keep a strict and watchful eye upon all our actions, that we frequently examine and call them over, and impartially state accounts between God and our own consciences.

2. But I shall consider this expression in its more restrained sense, as it imports the great duty of self-reflection or examination. A duty which, if we discharge with that care and frequency we ought, we shall have less time and less inclination to concern ourselves about the failings or disorders of other people.

(1) We shall have less time for this criminal amusement; because, by calling our own ways frequently to remembrance, we shall discover how many opportunities of religious improvement we have trifled away already, or perhaps abused to very wicked and irreligious purposes; and that it concerns us therefore, by a more strict and constant application to the duties of religion for the future, to use our utmost endeavours towards redeeming the time.

(2) By frequently examining into the state of our own souls, we shall also have less inclination to censure the conduct of others. By considering how apt we ourselves are to be tempted, and how easily we have been overcome by temptation, we shall be disposed to make a more favourable judgment of the failings of other people; we shall think it unreasonable to expect that they should be perfect, while we are conscious to ourselves of so many personal defects; we shall be ashamed to condemn men of like passions for taking those liberties which we think excusable in ourselves.

III. Improvement.

1. If evil speaking be in general so heinous a sin, and on so many accounts injurious to the party spoken against, the guilt of it must still be increased, when such particular persons are defamed who bear any extraordinary character, or whose reputation is of greater influence; such as princes and civil magistrates that are put in authority under them, whose honour it is the common interest of society itself to support and maintain, because in proportion to any contempt or indignity offered to their persons, their authority itself will grow cheap and precarious.

2. From what has been said, we may observe the general decay of Christian piety.

3. If evil speaking be so heinous a crime, let us take care not only to avoid it ourselves, but to discountenance it in others. I must own there is some courage and resolution required to stem a torrent which runs so strong, and wherewith such multitudes are carried away; but the more general any sinful practice is, it is an argument of the greater bravery and generosity of mind to oppose it. But if we have not power enough over ourselves to do that, let us take care, at least, that we be not thought by any seeming complacency in it, to encourage so unchristian a conversation. (R. Fiddes.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

PSALM XXXIX

The psalmist’s care and watchfulness over his thoughts, tongue,

and actions, 1-3.

He considers the brevity and uncertainty of human life, 4-7;

prays for deliverance from sin, 8-11;

and that he may be protected and spared till he is fitted for

another world, 12, 13.

NOTES ON PSALM XXXIX

The title says, To the chief Musician, Jeduthun himself, A Psalm of David. It is supposed that this Jeduthun is the same with Ethan, 1Ch 6:44, compared with 1Ch 16:41; and is there numbered among the sons of Merari. And he is supposed to have been one of the four masters of music, or leaders of bands, belonging to the temple. And it is thought that David, having composed this Psalm, gave it to Jeduthun and his company to sing. But several have supposed that Jeduthun himself was the author. It is very likely that this Psalm was written on the same occasion with the preceding. It relates to a grievous malady by which David was afflicted after his transgression with Bath-sheba. See what has been said on the foregoing Psalm.

Verse 1. I said, I will take heed to my ways] I must be cautious because of my enemies; I must be patient because of my afflictions; I must be watchful over my tongue, lest I offend my GOD, or give my adversaries any cause to speak evil of me.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Jeduthun; one of the three chief masters of the sacred music; of whom see 1Ch 16:41,42; 2Ch 5:12.

I said; I fully resolved. To my ways, i.e. to order all my actions aright, and particularly to govern my tongue, which is very hard to do, and especially under these provocations.

That I sin not with my tongue; that if any evil thoughts or passions do arise in me, I will endeavour to suppress and mortify them, and not suffer them to boil and break forth into sinful and scandalous reflections upon God and his providence, as they usually do upon such occasions.

As with a bridle, i. e. with all possible care and diligence. The phrase implies the great difficulty of ruling the tongue.

Before me; either,

1. In my presence. Or rather,

2. In my thoughts, as the same phrase is understood, Psa 51:3, i.e. whilst I consider the flourishing estate of wicked men.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

1. I saidor, “resolved.”

will take heedwatch.

waysconduct, of whichthe use of the tongue is a part (Jas1:26).

bridleliterally,”muzzle for my mouth” (compare De25:4).

while . . . before meinbeholding their prosperity (Psa 37:10;Psa 37:36).

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

I said,…. That is, in his heart; he purposed and determined within himself to do as follows; and he might express it with his mouth, and so his purpose became a promise;

I will take heed to my ways; as every good man should; that is, to all his actions, conduct, and conversation: it becomes him to take heed what ways he walks in; that they are the ways of God, which he directs to; that they are the ways of Christ, which he has left an example to follow in; and that they are according to the word of God; that he walks in Christ, the way of salvation, and by faith on him; that he chooses and walks in the way of truth, and not error; and in all, the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless; and in the path of holiness, in which, though fools, they shall not err: and it is also necessary that he should take heed that he does nothing, either by embracing error, or going into immorality, by which the ways of God, and Christ, and truth, are evil spoken of, blasphemed and reproached; and that he does not depart out of these ways, nor stumble, slip, and fall in them;

that I sin not with my tongue; which is a world of iniquity, and has a multitude of vices belonging to it; not only in profane men, but in professors of religion; whom it becomes to take heed that they sin not with it, by lying one to another, by angry and passionate expressions, by corrupt communication, filthiness, foolish talking, and jesting, which are not convenient; by whispering, talebearing, backbiting, and by evil speaking one of another: particularly there are vices of the tongue, which the saints are liable to under afflictive providences, and seem chiefly designed here; such as envious expressions at the prosperity of others; words of impatience under their own afflictions, and murmurings at the hand of God upon them; such as these the psalmist determined, within himself, to guard against; in order to which he proposed to take the following method;

I will keep my mouth with a bridle: that is, bridle his tongue, that being an unruly member, and to be kept in with bit and bridle, like an unruly horse; see Jas 1:26;

while the wicked is before me; or “against me” t; meaning either while Ahithophel and Absalom were conspiring and rebelling against him, and Shimei was cursing him, under which he behaved with great silence, calmness, and patience; see 2Sa 15:25; or while he had the flourishing condition of wicked men in his view, and was meditating on it; or rather, when anyone of them came to visit him in his affliction, he was determined to be wholly silent, that they might have no opportunity of rejoicing over him, nor of reproaching him, and the good ways of God: and indeed it is proper for the people of God to be always upon their guard, when they are in the presence of wicked men; and be careful what they utter with their lips, who watch their words to improve them against them, and the religion they profess.

t “adversum me”, V. L. “contra me”, Cocceius; so the Targum.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

(Heb.: 39:2-4) The poet relates how he has resolved to bear his own affliction silently in the face of the prosperity of the ungodly, but that his smart was so overpowering that he was compelled involuntarily to break his silence by loud complaint. The resolve follows the introductory in cohortatives. He meant to take heed to his ways, i.e., his manner of thought and action, in all their extent, lest he should sin with his tongue, viz., by any murmuring complaint concerning his own misfortune, when he saw the prosperity of the ungodly. He was resolved to keep (i.e., cause invariably to press) a bridling (cf. on the form, Gen 30:37), or a bridle ( capistrum ), upon his mouth, so long as he should see the ungodly continuing and sinning in the fulness of his strength, instead of his speedy ruin which one ought to expect. Then he was struck dumb , in silence, i.e., as in Psa 62:2, cf. Lam 3:26, in resigned submission, he was silent , turned away from (vid., Psa 28:1; 1Sa 7:8, and frequently) prosperity, i.e., from that in which he saw the evil-doer rejoicing; he sought to silence for ever the perplexing contradiction between this prosperity and the righteousness of God. But this self-imposed silence gave intensity to the repressed pain, and this was thereby , stirred up, excited, aroused; the inward heat became, in consequence of restrained complaint, all the more intense (Jer 20:9): “and while I was musing a fire was kindled,” i.e., the thoughts and emotions rubbing against one another produced a blazing fire, viz., of irrepressible vexation, and the end of it was: “I spake with my tongue,” unable any longer to keep in my pain. What now follows is not what was said by the poet when in this condition. On the contrary, he turns away from his purpose, which has been proved to be impracticable, to God Himself with the prayer that He would teach him calm submission.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

Devout Reflections; Brevity and Vanity of Life.

To the chief musician, even to Jeduthun. A psalm of David.

1 I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me. 2 I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good; and my sorrow was stirred. 3 My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue, 4 LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. 5 Behold, thou hast made my days as a handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah. 6 Surely every man walketh in a vain show: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.

David here recollects, and leaves upon record, the workings of his heart under his afflictions; and it is good for us to do so, that what was thought amiss may be amended, and what was well thought of may be improved the next time.

I. He remembered the covenants he had made with God to walk circumspectly, and to be very cautious both of what he did and what he said. When at any time we are tempted to sin, and are in danger of falling into it, we must call to mind the solemn vows we have made against sin, against the particular sin we are upon the brink of. God can, and will, remind us of them (Jer. ii. 20, Thou saidst, I will not transgress), and therefore we ought to remind ourselves of them. So David did here.

1. He remembers that he had resolved, in general, to be very cautious and circumspect in his walking (v. 1): I said, I will take heed to my ways; and it was well said, and what he would never unsay and therefore must never gainsay. Note, (1.) It is the great concern of every one of us to take heed to our ways, that is, to walk circumspectly, while others walk at all adventures. (2.) We ought stedfastly to resolve that we will take heed to our ways, and frequently to renew that resolution. Fast bind, fast find. (3.) Having resolved to take heed to our ways, we must, upon all occasions, remind ourselves of that resolution, for it is a covenant never to be forgotten, but which we must be always mindful of.

2. He remembers that he had in particular covenanted against tongue-sins–that he would not sin with his tongue, that he would not speak amiss, either to offend God or offend the generation of the righteous, Ps. lxxiii. 15. It is not so easy as we could wish not to sin in thought; but, if an evil thought should arise in his mind, he would lay his hand upon his mouth, and suppress it, that it should go no further: and this is so great an attainment that, if any offend not in word, the same is a perfect man; and so needful a one that of him who seems to be religious, but bridles not his tongue, it is declared His religion is vain. David had resolved, (1.) That he would at all times watch against tongue-sins: “I will keep a bridle, or muzzle, upon my mouth.” He would keep a bridle upon it, as upon the head; watchfulness in the act and exercise is the hand upon the bridle. He would keep a muzzle upon it, as upon an unruly dog that is fierce and does mischief; by particular stedfast resolution corruption is restrained from breaking out at the lips, and so is muzzled. (2.) That he would double his guard against them when there was most danger of scandal–when the wicked is before me. When he was in company with the wicked he would take heed of saying any thing that might harden them or give occasion to them to blaspheme. If good men fall into bad company, they must take heed what they say. Or, when the wicked is before me, in my thoughts. When he was contemplating the pride and power, the prosperity and flourishing estate, of evil-doers, he was tempted to speak amiss; and therefore then he would take special care what he said. Note, The stronger the temptation to a sin is the stronger the resolution must be against it.

II. Pursuant to these covenants he made a shift with much ado to bridle his tongue (v. 2): I was dumb with silence; I held my peace even from good. His silence was commendable; and the greater the provocation was the more praiseworthy was his silence. Watchfulness and resolution, in the strength of God’s grace, will do more towards the bridling of the tongue than we can imagine, though it be an unruly evil. But what shall we say of his keeping silence even from good? Was it his wisdom that he refrained from good discourse when the wicked were before him, because he would not cast pearls before swine? I rather think it was his weakness; because he might not say any thing, he would say nothing, but ran into an extreme, which was a reproach to the law, for that prescribes a mean between extremes. The same law which forbids all corrupt communication requires that which is good and to the use of edifying, Eph. iv. 29.

III. The less he spoke the more he thought and the more warmly. Binding the distempered part did but draw the humour to it: My sorrow was stirred, my heart was hot within me, v. 3. He could bridle his tongue, but he could not keep his passion under; though he suppressed the smoke, that was as a fire in his bones, and, while he was musing upon his afflictions and upon the prosperity of the wicked, the fire burned. Note, Those that are of a fretful discontented spirit ought not to pore much, for, while they suffer their thoughts to dwell upon the causes of the calamity, the fire of their discontent is fed with fuel and burns the more furiously. Impatience is a sin that has its ill cause within ourselves, and that is musing, and its ill effects upon ourselves, and that is no less than burning. If therefore we would prevent the mischief of ungoverned passions, we must redress the grievance of ungoverned thoughts.

IV. When he did speak, at last, it was to the purpose: At the last I spoke with my tongue. Some make what he said to be the breach of his good purpose, and conclude that, in what he said, he sinned with his tongue; and so they make what follows to be a passionate wish that he might die, like Elijah (1 Kings xix. 4) and Job, Job 6:8; Job 6:9. But I rather take it to be, not the breach of his good purpose, but the reformation of his mistake in carrying it too far; he had kept silence from good, but now he would so keep silence no longer. He had nothing to say to the wicked that were before him, for to them he knew not how to place his words, but, after long musing, the first word he said was a prayer, and a devout meditation upon a subject which it will be good for us all to think much of.

1. He prays to God to make him sensible of the shortness and uncertainty of life and the near approach of death (v. 4): Lord, make me to know my end and the measure of my days. He does not mean, “Lord, let me know how long I shall live and when I shall die.” We could not, in faith, pray such a prayer; for God has nowhere promised to let us know, but has, in wisdom, locked up that knowledge among the secret things which belong not to us, nor would it be good for us to know it. But, Lord, make me to know my end, means, “Lord, give me wisdom and grace to consider it (Deut. xxxii. 29) and to improve what I know concerning it.” The living know that they shall die (Eccl. ix. 5), but few care for thinking of death; we have therefore need to pray that God by his grace would conquer that aversion which is in our corrupt hearts to the thoughts of death. “Lord, make me to consider,” (1.) “What death is. It is my end, the end of my life, and all the employments and enjoyments of life. It is the end of all men,” Eccl. vii. 2. It is a final period to our state of probation and preparation, and an awful entrance upon a state of recompence and retribution. To the wicked man it is the end of all joys; to a godly man it is the end of all griefs. “Lord, give me to know my end, to be better acquainted with death, to make it more familiar to me (Job xvii. 14), and to be more affected with the greatness of the change. Lord, give me to consider what a serious thing it is to die.” (2.) “How near it is. Lord, give me to consider the measure of my days, that they are measured in the counsel of God” (the end is a fixed end, so the word signifies; my days are determined, Job xiv. 5) “and that the measure is but short: My days will soon be numbered and finished.” When we look upon death as a thing at a distance we are tempted to adjourn the necessary preparations for it; but, when we consider how short life is, we shall see ourselves concerned to do what our hand finds to do, not only with all our might, but with all possible expedition. (3.) That it is continually working in us: “Lord, give me to consider how frail I am, how scanty the stock of life is, and how faint the spirits which are as the oil to keep that lamp burning.” We find by daily experience that the earthly house of this tabernacle is mouldering and going to decay: “Lord, make us to consider this, that we may secure mansions in the house not made with hands.”

2. He meditates upon the brevity and vanity of life, pleading them with God for relief under the burdens of life, as Job often, and pleading them with himself for his quickening to the business of life.

(1.) Man’s life on earth is short and of no continuance, and that is a reason why we should sit loose to it and prepare for the end of it (v. 5): Behold, thou hast made my days as a hand-breadth, the breadth of four fingers, a certain dimension, a small one, and the measure whereof we have always about us, always before our eyes. We need no rod, no pole, no measuring line, wherewith to take the dimension of our days, nor any skill in arithmetic wherewith to compute the number of them. No; we have the standard of them at our fingers’ end, and there is no multiplication of it; it is but one hand-breadth in all. Our time is short, and God has made it so; for the number of our months is with him. It is short, and he knows it to be so: It is as nothing before thee. he remembers how short our time is, Ps. lxxix. 47. It is nothing in comparison with thee; so some. All time is nothing to God’s eternity, much less our share of time.

(2.) Man’s life on earth is vain and of no value, and therefore it is folly to be fond of it and wisdom to make sure of a better life. Adam is Abel–man is vanity, in his present state. He is not what he seems to be, has not what he promised himself. He and all his comforts lie at a continual uncertainty; and if there were not another life after this, all things considered, he were made in vain. He is vanity; he is mortal, he is mutable. Observe, [1.] How emphatically this truth is expressed here. First, Every man is vanity, without exception; high and low, rich and poor, all meet in this. Secondly, He is so at his best estate, when he is young, and strong, and healthful, in wealth and honour, and the height of prosperity; when he is most easy, and merry, and secure, and thinks his mountain stands strong. Thirdly, He is altogether vanity, as vain as you can imagine. All man is all vanity (so it may be read); every thing about him is uncertain; nothing is substantial and durable but what relates to the new man. Fourthly, Verily he is so. This is a truth of undoubted certainty, but which we are very unwilling to believe and need to have solemnly attested to us, as indeed it is by frequent instances. Fifthly, Selah is annexed, as a note commanding observation. “Stop here, and pause awhile, that you may take time to consider and apply this truth, that every man is vanity.” We ourselves are so. [2.] For the proof of the vanity of man, as mortal, he here mentions three things, and shows the vanity of each of them, v. 6. First, The vanity of our joys and honours: Surely every man walks (even when he walks in state, when he walks in pleasure) in a shadow, in an image, in a vain show. When he makes a figure his fashion passes away, and his great pomp is but great fancy, Acts xxv. 23. It is but a show, and therefore a vain show, like the rainbow, the gaudy colours of which must needs vanish and disappear quickly when the substratum is but a cloud, a vapour; such is life (Jam. iv. 14), and therefore such are all the gaieties of it. Secondly, The vanity of our griefs and fears. Surely they are disquieted in vain. Our disquietudes are often groundless (we vex ourselves without any just cause, and the occasions of our trouble are often the creatures of our own fancy and imagination), and they are always fruitless; we disquiet ourselves in vain, for we cannot, with all our disquietment, alter the nature of things nor the counsel of God; things will be as they are when we have disquieted ourselves ever so much about them. Thirdly, The vanity of our cares and toils. Man takes a great deal of pains to heap up riches, and they are but like heaps of manure in the furrows of the field, good for nothing unless they be spread. But, when he has filled his treasures with his trash, he knows not who shall gather them, nor to whom they shall descend when he is gone; for he shall not take them away with him. He asks not, For whom do I labour? and that is his folly, Eccl. iv. 8. But, if he did ask, he could not tell whether he should be a wise man or a fool, a friend or a foe, Eccl. ii. 19. This is vanity.

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

Psalms 39
DESPAIR AND DESPONDENCY
Under great despond and depression David was tempted to rail against the goodness and justice standards of God. But, being a “man after God’s own ,heart or affection” he became submissive to the chastening hand of eternal providence, as he reflected on the love of God.
Verses 1-13:
Verse 1 relates David’s resolve to “take heed to his ways,” to take stock, inventory, or evaluate to what extent he was walking in the law of the Lord, a thing every child of God should frequently do, 2Co 13:5; 1Ki 2:4. In spite of this, he fell into sin, soon murmuring with his mouth, v.4, 5. He added that he would especially avoid sinning with his tongue, keeping his donkey nature under the mouth of the bridle, under safe control, muzzled like an ox, a dog, or a donkey, while the wicked were before him, before they are cut off, Psa 37:12; Psa 37:35-36; Psa 38:16; Psa 35:26. See also 2Ki 10:31; Pro 4:26-27; Heb 2:1; Col 4:5-6; Jas 3:2.
Verses 2, 3 further relate that David calmed up in dumb silence for a time, being so good that he was good for nothing. He even held his peace from doing good. For he who knows “to do good and does it not,” to him it is sin. For the Redeemed are “to say so,” to witness, Psa 102:2; Act 1:8; to let their light shine before men, in word and deed, Mat 5:15-16; to be “doers of the word, not hearers only,” Jas 1:22. As new creatures in Christ Jesus, “created unto good works,” Eph 2:8-10. Tho stirred in sorrow there is no quitting place for the soldier in battle, the pilot at the wheel, or engineer on the track, See? Gal 6:9; 1Co 15:58. But as David’s heart was hot within him, as he mused, meditated, the fires burned, flared up so that he spoke out with his tongue, Jer 20:9; Exo 3:14; Act 4:20; Act 5:29.
Verse 4 is a Davidic cry for the Lord to cause him to recognize his end, the measure of his remaining days, an impatient request, much like that of Job, Job 6:8-11; Job 7:1-7; Job 14:1; Job 16:22. He asked the Lord to reveal to him how frail he was or how near he was to death, when he would cease suffering, Psa 90:12; Psa 119:84.
Verse 5 observes the brevity of life as an handbreadth and his age as nothing, zero, or nil, in comparison with the eternal God, Psa 89:47; Psa 90:4; 2Pe 3:8. He added that man at his state of strength and prosperity is wholly a package of vanity, apart from an existence in the will of God. Selah, or meditate upon this, Joh 15:5; Psa 17:14.
Verse 6 further describes depraved human life as an empty shadow, a vain show, a shadow-man, bustling about, heaping up treasures, seeking satisfaction in material gain, not knowing or recognizing who shall gather them when he is gone, Luk 10:41. It is much like the rich barn builder that he here describes men who build for self, this life alone, Luk 12:16-21; 1Co 7:31; Jas 4:14.
Verses 7, 8 recount David’s question, “and now, Lord, what wait I for?” He knew life was brief. He returns to a sense of faith in and faithfulness to God in spite of the brevity and chastisements of life, exclaiming that his hope existed, was founded on and anchored in the Lord, Psa 40:1-2; Heb 6:17-20. He then prayed the Lord to set him free, liberate or release him from all his transgressions, removing him from an occasion of reproach from the foolish the anti-God scoffers, Psa 38:15.
Verse 9 is a confession that he had been dumb, or plain stupid, as he blubbered and pouted to himself in a “pity-party” state, refraining to open his mouth, even to do good, resenting God’s chastening hand for a time. But now he had become wholly resigned to the goodness and wisdom and purpose of even God’s judgment upon him, v.1-3; 1Jn 1:8-9; Heb 12:5-12.
Verses 10, 11 ask God to remove his chastening stroke because David was consumed by the heavy stroke of his hand, rebuking him for his iniquity and causing him to consume away in health like a moth, in a way of vanity, 1Co 11:30; Job 9:34; Job 13:21.
Verses 12,13 conclude a prayer of David sobbing in tears for God to hear and help him, as a stranger and sojourner, as all his covenant fathers before him were, Lev 25:23; 1Ch 29:15; Psa 119:19; 2Co 5:6; Heb 11:13; 1Pe 1:18; 1Pe 2:11. He added “O spare me” that he might recover full strength for a time before he died,. left this earthly state forever; Such a contrite heart the Lord heeds, even to make the restored one a soul-winner, Psa 51:12-13; Psa 126:5-6.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

1. I said, I will take heed to my ways. David explains and illustrates the greatness of his grief by this circumstance, that, contrary to his inclination and resolution, he broke forth into the severest complaints. The meaning substantially is, that although he had subdued his heart to patience, and resolved to keep silence, yet the violence of his grief was such that it forced him to break his resolution, and extorted from him, if we might so speak, expressions which indicate that he had given way to an undue degree of sorrow. The expression, I said, it is well known, does not always mean what is expressed in words, but is often used to denote the purpose of the heart, and, therefore, the words in heart are sometimes added. David, therefore, means not that he boasted of his fortitude and constancy, and made a display of them before men, but that before God he was, by continued meditation, well fortified and prepared to endure patiently the temptations by which he was now assailed. We ought to mark particularly the carefulness by which he was distinguished. It was not without cause that he was so much intent on exercising watchfulness over himself. He did so because he was conscious of his own weakness, and also well knew the manifold devices of Satan. He, therefore, looked on the right hand and on the left, and kept watch on all sides, lest temptation stealing upon him unawares from any quarter might reach even to his heart. Access to it, then, had been impossible, since it was shut up on every side, if the extreme severity of his grief had not overpowered him, and broken his resolution. When he says, I will keep my mouth with a muzzle, (61) that I sin not with my tongue, it is not to be understood as if he could with difficulty restrain and conceal his grief, (for it is mere pretense for a man to show by the countenance and speech the appearance of meekness when the heart still swells with pride;) but as there is nothing more slippery or loose than the tongue, David declares that he had endeavored so carefully to bridle his affections, that not so much as one word should escape from his lips which might betray the least impatience. And that man must indeed be endued with singular fortitude who unfeignedly and deliberately restrains his tongue, which is so liable to fall into error. As to what follows, while the wicked standeth before me, it is generally understood, as if David had concealed his grief, lest he should give occasion of blasphemy to the wicked, who, as soon as they see the children of God fail under the weight of their afflictions, insolently break forth into derision against them, which amounts to a contempt of God himself. But it appears to me that by the term standeth, David meant to express something more, — that even while he saw the wicked bearing rule, exercising authority, and exalted to honor, he resolved not to speak a single word, but to bear patiently the poverty and indignity which otherwise grieve and torment not a little even good men. Accordingly, he says not merely that when he was in the presence of the wicked he restrained himself, lest he should be subjected to their scorn, but that even while the worst of men prospered, (62) and, proud of their high rank, despised others, he was fully determined in his own mind not to be troubled at it. By this he very plainly shows that he was so beset with wicked men, ever ready for mischief, that he could not freely heave a sigh which was not made the subject of ridicule and scorn. Since, then, it was so hard a task for David to restrain his tongue, lest he should sin by giving way to complaints, let us learn from his example, whenever troubles molest us, to strive earnestly to moderate our affections, that no impious expression of dissatisfaction against God may slip from us.
(61) The Hebrew word מחסום, machsom, rendered bridle in our English version, properly signifies a muzzle, and is so rendered in Deu 25:4. “Our translations,” observes Mant, “say ‘as with a bridle.’ But we do not see how a bridle would preclude the person from speaking; nor is it a correct phrase, which the word muzzle is.” It is probable that the bridles of the ancients were made in the form of muzzles.
(62) Dr Geddes renders the last clause of the verse, “While the wicked prosper before me.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

THE RIGHTEOUS VS. THE WICKED
Psalms 37-39
AN OUTLINE.
COUNSEL37.
Exercise faith versus fretfulness.
Fret not thyself because of evil doers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass.
And He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
For evil doers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.
For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.
The Lord shall laugh at him: for He seeth that his day is coming.
The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.
Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.
For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the Lord upholdeth the righteous.
The Lord knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.
They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.
The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.
For such as be blessed of Him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of Him shall be cut off (Psa 37:1-22).
Expect mercy versus judgment.
The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in His way.
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.
I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed.
Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.
For the Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.
The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.
The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.
The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.
The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him.
The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.
Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.
I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.
Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him! but he could not be found.
Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace,
But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.
But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: He is their strength in the time of trouble.
And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them: He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in Him (Psa 37:23-40).
CONFESSION38.
He finds no soundness in himself.
O Lord, rebuke me not in Thy wrath: neither chasten me in Thy hot displeasure.
For Thine arrows stick fast in me, and Thy hand presseth me sore.
There is no soundness in my flesh because of Thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin.
For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness.
I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.
For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh.
I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart.
Lord, all my desire is before Thee; and my groaning is not hid from Thee.
My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me (Psa 38:1-10).
His hope is alone in God.
My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off.
They also that seek after my life lay snares for me; and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long.
But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth.
Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs.
For in Thee, O Lord, do I hope: Thou wilt hear, O Lord my God.
For I said, Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me: when my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves against me,
For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me,
For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin,
But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied.
They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is.
Forsake me not, O Lord: O my God, be not far from me.
Make haste to kelp me, O Lord my salvation (Psa 38:11-22).
CONSIDERATION39.
His resolutions did not stand him in stead.
I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.
I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good; and my sorrow was stirred.
My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue,
Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am,
Behold, Thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before Thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity.
Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them (Psa 39:1-6).
His deliverance is a matter of mercy only.
And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in Thee.
Deliver me from all my transgressions: make me not the reproach of the foolish.
I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because Thou didst it.
Remove Thy stroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of Thine hand.
When Thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, Thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity.
Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my cry; hold not Thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with Thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.
O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more (Psa 39:7-13).

Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley

INTRODUCTION
Superscription.To the chief musician, to Jeduthun, a psalm of David. Jeduthun was one of the leaders of the sacred music in the time of David (1Ch. 16:41-42; 1Ch. 25:6; 2Ch. 35:15). Jeduthun is also the title of one of the twenty-four musical choirs left by David. As the psalm is addressed to the chief musician, it was obviously intended for use in the public worship of the tabernacle. David is said to be the author of the psalm. The particular occasion to which it refers is unknown. But from the psalm itself, it is clear that it was written in a time of doubt and trouble, when the psalmists thoughts were of such a character that he could not express them without injury to others and to the cause of God. We have no means of determining what the particular trouble was from which David was suffering. Matthew Henry suggests that perhaps it was the death of some dear friend or relation that was the trial of his patience, and that suggested to him these meditations of mortality; and at the same time, it should seem too, he himself was weak and ill, and under some prevailing distemper. Hengstenberg thinks that the psalm was written when in hot persecucution and violent conflict. It is clear that the Psalmist was in affliction and trouble, and his mind seems to have been sorely exercised as to the Divine dealings. He could not see the wisdom, the benevolence, or the justice of some of the Divine arrangements. He had dark and painful thoughts on the matter, which he dare not utter. And at length he is compelled to seek relief in prayer. Homiletically we divide the psalm thus,Silence in Trouble (Psa. 39:1-3; Speech in Trouble (Psa. 39:4-6); Supplication in Trouble (Psa. 39:7-13).
SILENCE IN TROUBLE
(Psa. 39:1-3.)
We have here presented to our consideration:
I. Silence maintained in trouble. I said I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue, &c. (Psa. 39:1-2).
1. Gods providential dealings, as seen by us, sometimes occasion doubt and trouble to good men. The Psalmist appears greatly perplexed as to the Divine administration of human affairs. He saw so much grief and pain in life, apparently proceeding from the hand of God, he was himself being consumed by the blow of Gods hand, and life itself was so short and vain, that he could not see the benevolence of the dealings of God with him. The providence of God has occasioned much perplexity and doubt in the minds of good met Asaph was sorely tried at one time by some of its problems (Psalms 73). We all have passed through experiences which at the time seemed utterly irreconcilable with the wisdom and love of God, and unbelieving and painful thoughts and feelings have filled our mind and heart. At such times we shall do well to remember that we see only a very small portion of His ways, and that small portion we see but dimly. Moreover, bitter experiences often lead to richest blessings.
2. The expression of such doubt and trouble in the presence of the wicked is to be avoided as evil. By the utterance of the sceptical and hard thoughts of God which filled his mind, the Psalmist would probably have confirmed the wicked in their unbelief, and encouraged them in their rebellion against God. Asaph felt that if he spake of his mental difficulties, and announced the dark conclusions which suggested themselves to him, he should thereby injure the true children of God. If I say I will speak thus; behold, I should offend the generation of Thy children. We are not at liberty to express our doubts, if, by so doing, we should give the wicked an occasion to blaspheme the Holy One, or if we should unsettle the faith of any sincere believer in God.
3. The good man guards against this evil by maintaining silence. I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue, &c. A soul resolutely maintaining silence, lest by speech another should be injured, is surely a brave and beautiful sight. What a strange power, says Emerson, there is in silence! How many resolutions are formed, how many sublime conquests effected, during that pause when the lips are closed, and the soul secretly feels the eye of her Maker upon her! When some of those cutting, sharp, blighting words have been spoken which send the hot indignant blood to the face and head, if those to whom they are addressed keep silence, look on with awe, for a mighty work is going on within them, and the spirit of evil, or their guardian angel, is very near to them in that hour. During that pause they have made a step toward heaven or toward hell, and an item has been scored in the book which the day of judgment shall see opened. They are the strong ones of the earth, the mighty food for good or evil, those who know how to keep silence when it is a pain and a grief to them; those who give time to their own souls to wax strong against temptation, or to the powers of wrath to stamp upon them their withering passage. The good man is ready to speak, when by his speech he can help the faith of others. He says, Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what He hath done for my soul. He is ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh him a reason of the hope that is in him with meekness and fear. But if by his speech he should incur the risk of imperilling the faith or peace of a believing soul, or of hardening the wicked in his wickedness, then he resolutely keeps silent. The silence of the Psalmist required effort. He put a muzzle upon his mouth. It is a pity that some of the weaklings, who so glibly prate about their doubts, and parade their so-called religious difficulties, would not try to imitate the Psalmist in this respect. But the Psalmist was a strong man, while the majority of those who exhibit their mental and religious difficulties as a sign of a superior order of mind, are the very reverse. The soul that has agonised with real doubts on the most vital and momentous questions will be silent concerning such doubts, or speak of them in such a manner and to such auditors only as will at least derive no harm from his speech.
II. Silence increasing trouble. We adopt Hengstenbergs rendering of the second verse. I grew dumb and was still; I was silent, not for good, and my pain was stirred. He explains it thus, The Psalmist says he had indeed executed his purpose, declared in the preceding verse, but that ill had thereby accrued. The obstinate and constrained silence, so far from producing good, had rather made his pain rise to a frightful magnitude. All great emotions require expression. They must have utterance, or the over-taxed brain will reel into madness, and the over-charged heart will burst. Sometimes great emotions find utterance in poetry. We have many instances of this in these Psalms. Prose is all too hard and cold for the expression of intense emotions. The grief-stricken spirit pours out its sorrows in plaintive minor strains, and the jubilant soul hymns its gladness in some triumphant Gloria in excelsis, or Jubilate. Yet words the most intensely poetical in significance and arrangement not unfrequently fail to express the souls emotion. Very often great emotions find utterance in tears. When words fail to express our deep grief or thrilling joy, tears often come to our relief. They are the safety-valves of the heart, when too much pressure is laid on. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love.
Sweet tears! the awful language eloquent
Of infinite affection, far too big
For words.POLLOK.
Thus tears relieve the soul when surcharged with sorrow or oerburdened by some great joy. But great emotions may always find relief in prayer. No sorrow is too great or too sacred for us to utter it to the ear of God. We may speak our highest, holiest, joy to Him. And the dark and agonising doubt, which we dare not utter to any of our fellow-men, we may tell to Him. He understands our tears, interprets our sighs, and knows the mysteries of our awful souls; and His ear is ever open to us. At His throne of grace we may ever find relief in trouble, and grace to help in time of need. For a time, the Psalmist seems to have reserved his trouble not only from man but from God also. The emotions which distressed him found no utterance whatever, and so they became more intense and painful. Had he taken his grief to God, it would have been far otherwise with him.
III. Silence growing insupportable in trouble. My heart was hot within me, while I was musing, &c. The Psalmist mused upon his own afflictions and the prosperity of the wicked, and the seeming contradictions in Gods government of the world. By meditation, he realised these things more fully and intensely, until at length further silence was an impossibility. The time had come when he must speak. Upon one occasion, Jeremiah said, I will not make mention of Him, nor speak any more in His name. But it was in mine heart as a burning fire, shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and could not do it. Such was the state of the Psalmist at this time.
CONCLUSION:
1. Let us be careful in speaking our doubts and dark thoughts to men. We are bound to see to it that we neither shake the faith of the believer, nor afford the wicked any cause to blaspheme the Holy One.
2. Let us communicate all our mental conflicts and troubles to God. By so doing we shall be relieved; and He will help us by His grace and Spirit.
A COMMENDABLE RESOLUTION
(Psa. 39:1.)
I said I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue.
We have here
I. A great danger. We are in great danger of sinning with our tongue. There are several kinds of sinful speech of which we are in danger.
1. Sceptical or irreligious speech. The expression even of honest doubt should be suppressed if it is likely to offend any believer, or to harden the ungodly in wickedness.
2. Careless speech. To talk in a trifling spirit of sacred things, or to speak lightly of matters which concern the reputation and honour of another, is to sin.
3. Untruthful speech. There is much false speech without a directly uttered lie. By keeping back part of the truth, by colouring a narrative, &c., much evil is done. A lie has no legs, and cannot stand; but it has wings, and can fly far and wide.
4. Angry, passionate speech. When we have lost our self-control, we are not in a fit state to speak at all. In moments of passion men utter unjust and bitter words, which rankle in the hearts of those to whom they are addressed for years, perhaps for ever. Remember, words once spoken can never be recalled.
5. Malicious speech. Let us see to it that we never open our lips with the deliberate intention of injuring any one. Tale-bearers and slanderers are amongst the most guilty of men, and the greatest pests of society.
Slander;
Whose edge is sharper than the sword; whose tongue
Outvenoms all the worms of Nile; whose breath
Rides on the posting winds, and doth belie
All corners of the world: kings, queens, and states,
Maids, matrons,nay, the secrets of the grave,
This viperous slander enters.SHAKESPEARE.
The danger of uttering sinful speeches arises from
(1.) The facility of speech. No organ of the body moves with greater ease than the tongue.
(2.) The fact that under provocation it is an outlet for pent-up feeling.
(3.) The many temptations to speech. Loquacity is a weakness of the age. With so much talking there must be much that is positively evil, and yet more that is worthless. In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin.
II. A wise precaution. I will take heed to my ways, &c. The Psalmist resolves to guard against this evil. We need to exercise care as to
1. What we speak. Let us speak only the pure, the true, the kindly, the faith-inspiring, &c. Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt.
2. When we speak. A word spoken in due season, how good is it!
3. How we speak. Let us use those words which most correctly and clearly express our meaning. In our tones and manner of speech let us avoid the objectionable and evil.
CONCLUSION:Let us not only avoid the evil, but let us also cultivate the excellent in speech.
Apt words have power to suage
The tumults of a troubled mind,
And are as balm to festered wounds.
MILTON.
SPEECH IN TROUBLE
(Psa. 39:4-6.)
The Psalmist in his speech reveals his
I. Desire to know the duration of his life. Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. Professor Alexander and De Wette translate the last clause: When I shall cease. And Hengstenberg: I wish to know when I may cease. The Psalmist believed that
1. His days were determined by God. Mans days are determined, the number of his months are with Thee; Thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass. Is there not an apppointed time to man upon earth? All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. So the Psalmist believed that the measure of his life was fixed, and the number of his days determined by the Lord.
2. He seeks to know when they will come to an end. Make me to know mine end, &c. At this time, the life of David was one of trouble; apparently it was full of sorrow, and he was anxious to know when his suffering life would terminate. But, whatever may be the prevailing tone of our life, it is not a wise thing to seek to know the times and seasons of our future days.
3. He desires the termination of his days. David seems to have longed in this verse for his life to be brought to a close. In his present troubled state it seems to him that the end of his sufferings will come only with the end of his life, and he is impatient for that end. Job, in his sufferings, gives expression repeatedly to the same feeling: Oh, that I might have my request; and that God would grant me the thing that I long for! Even that it would please God to destroy me, &c. (Job. 6:8-11). The Psalmist evidently knew that this impatience and this want of submission to the Divine arrangements were evil. Hence, for a time, and before men, he had curbed their expression; but now he pours them out before God. Blessed is he who, whether in suffering or in rest, calmly leaves his life to God. My times are in Thy hand.
II. Impression of the brevity of his life. Behold, Thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before Thee. The Psalmist gives a double expression to his sense of the brevity of his life. His days were as an handbreadth. The word is used to denote anything very short or brief. It is one of smallest natural measures, as distinguished from the foot, i.e., the length of the foot; and from the cubit, i.e., the length of the arm to the elbow. And, as compared with Gods, his life shrunk, as it were, into nothingness. My life is as non-existence before Thee. How brief is life even at its longest! Our days are few and short indeed, compared with the eternity to which they are conducting uscompared with the work we have to do, for ourselves, for our families, for our generation, for Godcompared with the talents committed to our trust, and the improvement of those talents required at our handscompared with the innumerable obligations that press upon us, from our station in life, our relations in life, our opportunities of usefulness, and the means which we have both of getting and of doing good. But, compared with the eternal existence of God, our life vanishes. As Matthew Henry says: All time is nothing to Gods eternity, much less our share of time. Knowing that life is so brief, yet so important, let us prize it, improve its opportunities,make the most of it.
III. Impression of the vanity of life.
1. The vanity of human anxieties. Surely they are disquieted in vain. The restless strivings and exertions of men seemed to the Psalmist to result in no worthy issue. Our disquietudes, says Matthew Henry, are often groundless (we vex ourselves without any just cause, and the occasions of our trouble are often the creatures of our own fancy and imagination), and they are always fruitless; we disquiet ourselves in vain, for we cannot, with all our disquietment, alter the nature of things or the counsel of God; things will be as they are when we have disquieted ourselves ever so much about them.
2. The vanity of human acquisitions. He heapeth up riches and knoweth not who shall gather them. The word riches is supplied by the translators. Hengstenberg: He gathers and knows not who will enjoy it. The idea is that it is vain to amass treasures knowing not what will become of them when our brief tenure of life is at an end. Many are the illustrations of this truth which might be adduced. Here is one: M. Foscue, the French millionaire miser, in order to make sure of his treasures, dug a cave in his wine-cellar, so large and deep that he could go down with a ladder. At the entrance was a door with a spring lock, which, on shutting, would fasten of itself. After a time, he was missing. Search was made for him, but to no purpose. At last, his house was sold. The purchaser, beginning to rebuild it, discovered a door in this cellar, and, going down, found him lying dead on the ground, with a candlestick near him; and, on searching farther, discovered the vast wealth which he had amassed. He went into the cave; and the door, by some accident, shutting after him, he perished for want of food. He had eaten the candle, and gnawed the flesh off both his arms. Thus died this avaricious wretch in the midst of the treasures he had heaped together.Dictionary of Illus.
3. The vanity of man himself. Every man at his best estate is altogether vanity. This rendering is not correct Hengstenberg translates: Only for utter vanity was every man ordained. P.-B.Verily, every man living is altogether vanity. Two ideas are expressed,
(1.) that every man is vanity;
(2.) that this is so because of the Divine ordination. God has constituted every man vanity. The Psalmist employs another figure to set forth the vanity of man: Surely every man walketh in a vain show. Hengstenberg: Only as an image walks man. To the poet man seemed an image rather than a reality,a mere walking phantom, a thing having no power, no life in itself, but only a mere shadow of life and strength. Such was the gloomy and one-sided view of life which filled the Psalmists mind in this time of trouble.
IV. Impatience of life. This is not so much uttered in any word, or number of words, as it breathes in the spirit of all the words of our text. The Psalmist was impatient of life by reason of its shortness, its vanity, and its sufferings. The same feeling finds outspoken and strong utterance in the Book of Job: My soul chooseth strangling and death rather than my life. I loathe it; I would not live alway: let me alone, for my days are vanity. Such impatience of life, if found in us in this Christian age, would be both unwise and sinful. It would be unwise, because of its tendency to unfit us for bearing lifes burden and performing lifes work. It would be unwise, also, because it takes into consideration only a small fragment of our life. This is but the bud of being, the dim dawn, the twilight of our day. The hereafter must be taken into account. It would be sinful, because of the want of faith in God which it involves, &c. But David, and the men of his age, must be judged by the light which they had, and not by that which we have, much of which they had not.
V. Want of clear and assured knowledge of any life beyond the present. Had he possessed such knowledge, he could not have spoken so strongly as to the utter vanity of man, not only of his anxieties, and pursuits, and acquisitions, but of man himself. In the view of the Psalmist, at the time when he penned this psalm,
When death
Has quenched this finer flame that moves the heart,
Beyond is all oblivion, as waste night
That knows no following dawn, where we shall be
As we had never been: the present, then,
Is only ours.MALLET.
It is not to be overlooked, says Hengstenberg, that the psalm possesses in part an Old Testament character. While still there was no clear insight into a future state of being, a long-continued state of suffering must have sunk very deep into the heart. When a man dies, will he live again? says Job; all the days of my war-service will I wait, till my discharge come. With every day of his short and miserable existence was the space narrowing for the display of the retributive justice and grace of God; and when the powers of body and of soul began to fail, then the disconsolate thought would press upon him, that he would never come to partake of the blessing which God had promised to His peopleit would scarcely be possible to avoid sinking into perplexity and despair. But this special Old Testament character of the psalm, far from depriving the psalm of its edifying signification for us, rather serves the purpose of enhancing it. The declaration: My hope stands in Thee, which the Psalmist uttered in circumstances when it was against all reason to hope, may well put us to shame, who are easily brought into despair by light and temporal afflictions, while we have the prospect of an exceeding weight of glory; and the more that he hoped, while there was the less to hope for, so much the more readily should our hope be kindled by the light of his. Considering how dim their revelation was, as compared with ours, their faith in God is a rebuke to us, because our faith is not greater. If immortality had beer clearly revealed to the Psalmist, the tone of this psalm would have been very different.
CONCLUSION:
1. Learn the great value of The Book of Psalms. In these ancient poems we have true records of the life of godly souls. We see the sins and sorrows, the doubts and fears, the conflicts, temporary defeats, and glorious triumphs of these saints of old; and we are warned, encouraged, &c. Thank God for such a record of the experience of godly men.
2. Learn the great value of Christianity. How different does life appear since Jesus Christ has lived, died, and risen! He hath abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
3. By the help of God let us endeavour to live well and earnestly. Think of living! says Thomas Carlyle. Thy life, wert thou the pitifulest of all the sons of earth, is no idle dream, but a solemn reality. It is thy own; it is all thou hast to front eternity with. Work, then, even as He has done, and does, like a star, unhasting, yet unresisting.
MAN, A WALKING SHADOW
(Psa. 39:6.)
Surely, every man walketh in a vain show.
These words suggest two main ideas:
I. Life is a journey. Every man walketh. This figure implies
1. Motion. Life is never stationary. Its wheels know no pause. We remain not a day in the same position. The traveller moves onward to fresh scenes, &c. So in life, the events and circumstances of yesterday are behind us to-day, and those of to-day will be in the past to-morrow. Lifes motion is incessant. The traveller, in his journey, may pause to rest or to admire the scenery through which he is passing, but it is not so in the journey of life. In this there is no pausing, not even for a minute. Asleep or awake, active or indolent, living wisely or living as a fool, every man moves forward without any pause, as though urged by a resistless hand. Lifes motion is incessantly onward. The traveller, in his journey, may retrace his steps; but, in the journey of life, we cannot turn back a single step. Every day, we are going the way whence we shall never return. A solemn consideration this. The wise man will note it.
2. Destiny, and approach to it. The traveller journeys with an end in view. And lifes journey has an end. As regards the body, we are travelling to the grave; as regards the soul, to the solemn retributions of eternity,either to heaven or to hell. And how rapidly we advance to the solemn beurne of our pilgrimage! The eagle hastening to its prey, the arrow speeding to its mark, the clouds driving before the strong wind, move not so swiftly as mans life. How solemn, then, is life! how important its every moment and every action!
II. Life is a journey prosecuted falsely. Every man walketh in a vain show. Hengstenberg: Only as an image man walks. What does this mean? It does not mean that life is not real. Life is not a vain show, not phantasmal, but a most solemn reality. Nor does it mean that man himself is unreal, a vain show, an image. Man himself is a greater reality than the solid earth or lustrous heavens. What, then, does it mean? It means that man is not true to himself; that he is false to the reality of his own being, false to the reality of life also. Man shuns himself, and lives amid unreality, amid vain shows. Practically, he ignores his own true being and lives in the realm of fiction. This implies that man is not in his normal condition. He was not made for shams, but for truth. But he half-consciously realises the fact that he has lost the blessedness of his being, and by his false modes of seeking to regain it he shows the derangement of his being and powers. He seeks it in vain shows, in excitement, pleasure, wealth, fame, knowledge. What shadows we are, and what shadows do we pursue, said the great Edmund Burke. Man sometimes pursues these vain shows until he himself becomes a mere image,a living, acting, gaudy simulacrum. Can we discover the reason of this? Partly, at least, we may thus account for it. Man feels the greatness of his own being, and cannot interpret it; and he becomes perplexed, burdened. He has impulses which urge him to activity. He has also an instinctive consciousness that his well-being is to be found only in repose; and, prompted by these, he forms confused designs for obtaining satisfaction, by overcoming difficulties and thus gaining repose. But he does not reach the desired goal, because his course is false, and false are his aims. He is ever seeking, never finding. And deep at the root of all this falsity, and disappointment, and unrest, is the sad fact that his own being is not in harmony. The cause of the disquiet, and falsity, and vanity, is within him. Upon all the unrest, and gaudy show, and baffled hopes of men we may write, Every man walketh in a vain show. And upon the men themselves we may write, Only as an image man walks. Only in God can man be true and blessed; and only through Christ can man rise into union with God. Restored to God, man is restored to himself, and is able to live true to himself, to live not as an image, but as a reality. He then finds that true rest is found in the harmonious activity of the powers of his being in accordance with the will of God. Living for God, and in God, life is real, life is earnest.
What is the character of your life-journey?
SUPPLICATION IN TROUBLE
(Psa. 39:7-13.)
In this instance, we use the word supplication not in the signification of petition or entreaty merely, but in its broad signification as including request, acknowledgment of dependence, thanksgiving, prayer. So using it, the teaching of this section may fitly be grouped under the heading, Supplication in Trouble.
Consider:
I. The confidence avowed. And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in Thee.
1. Mans need of hope. Low as the Psalmist was sunk in misery, he had not lost hope. The miserable hath no other medicine, says Shakespeare, but only hope. He that loses hope may part with anything.Congreve. But he that retains hope may rise from great depths of misery to calm heights of joy. When that star is quenched in the firmament of the soul, the darkness is unrelieved and total Judas lost hope, and was undone. We are saved by hope.
2. Mans only sufficient hope. My hope is in Thee. The Psalmist has already bewailed the vanity of man, and of his pursuits. Man is an image pursuing shadows. There is no trust to be reposed in him: to hope in him is to invite disappointment. So the Psalmist turns from human pursuits and possessions, and from man himself, and fixes his hope in God. Although he regarded his troubles as coming from the hand of God, and cried bitterly and complainingly to Him, yet it was to Him that he looked,in Him that he trusted. God may appear severe, and His ways mysterious and painful, yet there is no one beside Him to whom we can look for help, and in whom we can place our trust in the great trials of life. And He is all-sufficient in all things.
II. The submission expressed. I was dumb, I opened not my mouth, because Thou didst it.
1. The submission. I am dumb, I open not my mouth. The silence which is spoken of here is very different from that spoken of in Psa. 39:2. Then he was silent lest by his murmurings against the government of God he should cause the wicked to blaspheme; now he is silent because he acquiesces in the arrangements of that government. That was the silence of rebellion, or at least of bitter dissatisfaction and complaint; this is the silence of trustful submission to the will and ways of God. He submits himself to God, feeling no desire now to complain of His providence.
2. The reason. Because Thou didst it. The Psalmist looked upon his afflictions and sorrows as produced by God, and in that he found reasons for patient acquiescence. How much more should we! Knowing how wise and loving, how tender and strong He is, let us immediately check any rising complaint with the consideration, It must be well, for Thou hast done it.
It is Thy hand, my God;
My sorrow comes from Thee:
I bow beneath Thy chastening rod,
Tis love that bruises me.DARBY.
III. The petitions presented.
1. For the forgiveness of sin. Deliver me from all my transgressions; make me not the reproach of the foolish. These two clauses have a close relation. That relation, as we understand it, may be expressed thus:The afflictions of the Psalmist were regarded by men as a proof that he was wicked: on this account his enemies reproached him; if his sins were forgiven, his afflictions would cease, so he thought; and in this way the reproaches of the wicked would be brought to an end. David seems to have viewed his sins as the cause of his sufferings and troubles. He seeks forgiveness of sin before he asks for removal of suffering. This is well and wise. Would that all efforts for the amelioration of human condition proceeded in this order! When moral evil is no more, natural evil (so called) will soon cease to be. When sin is not, suffering will not long continue. When the fountain is dry, the stream will speedily cease to run.
2. For the removal of affliction. Remove Thy stroke away from me; I am consumed by the blow of Thine hand, &c. (Psa. 39:10-11). He regarded
(1.) His afflictions as Divine correction, Thy stroke, the blow of Thine hand. When Thou with rebukes dost correct, &c. The sufferings of the people of God are frequently Gods chastisement by reason of their sins. When He corrects us, it is because of our iniquity, and in love to us. My son despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him; for whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, &c. (Heb. 12:5-11).
(2.) His affliction was severe. I am consumed by the blow of Thine hand. Thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth. Margin: That which is to be desired in him to melt away. Hengstenberg: Thou dost consume, as by a moth, what he loves. As the moth consumes the most beautiful woollen garment or the finest sable, so the Psalmist says he was being consumed away by the afflictions which had come upon him,his strength and vigour, his cheerfulness, and courage, and beauty, were passing away before the expressions of the displeasure of God. Yet, severe as these corrections were, God could remove them. Low as he was reduced by suffering, God could raise him up again. For this he prays. He turns for healing to the hand that wounded him; for lifting up to Him who had brought him low.
3. For invigoration before death. O spare me, that I may recover strength before I go hence, and be no more. Hengstenberg: Leave off from me, that I may be revived, before I go away and be no more. The first member, literally: Look away from me, that I may brighten up; q.d. turn away from me Thy angry look, so that my sorrowful one may be made cheerful. The idea, says Barnes, is that of being cheered up; of being strengthened and invigorated before he should pass away. He desired to be invigorated and comforted before he passed away from this world for ever.
IV. The pleas urged. Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my cry; hold not Thy peace at my tears, &c. (Psa. 39:12). The Psalmist pleads
1. His sorrow. Hold not Thy peace at my tears. Weeping, if unmurmuring, says Barnes, is of the nature of prayer, for God regards the sorrows of the soul as He sees them. The weeping penitent, the weeping sufferer, is one on whom we may suppose God looks with compassion, even though the sorrows of the soul do not find words to give utterance to them. And, says John Arnd, This is the effect of tears, when one sees or hears any one weeping sadly, one cannot well remain silent, as the Lord Jesus said to the woman at Nain, Weep not; and to Mary Magdalene, Woman, why weepest Thou? This nature teaches us. Now, if a man can scarcely be silent to a persons tears, how much less the Lord God! Therefore, it is said in Psalms 56 that God numbers the tears of believers, and in Isaiah 25 that He will wipe away all tears from our eyes. In thus pleading his sorrow, the Psalmist appeals to the compassion of God. The Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy.
2. His dependence. For I am a stranger with Thee,a sojourner, as all my fathers. A stranger and pilgrim has nothing of his own, he is quite dependent upon the goodness of those with whom he lives, is everywhere on the footing of a beggar. By thus pleading his dependence, the Psalmist appeals to the faithfulness of God. Such-appeals are ever met by a full and gracious response.
CONCLUSION:There is still much vanity, and gloom, and sorrow, in life. There are times when our burden seems greater than our strength can bear, and we are ready to cry out in impatient complaint to God. But let us take our burdens to Him. He will interpret their meaning, and give us strength to bear them. He is the unfailing support in lifes troubles of all who trust in Him. Lord, my hope is in Thee.
GOD AFFLICTING, AND MAN SUBMITTING
(Psa. 39:9.)
I was dumb, I opened not my mouth, because Thou didst it.
I. God afflicting man. Thou didst it. This will apply
1. To many temporal losses, e.g., those occasioned by floods, storms, earthquakes, &c.
2. To many bodily afflictions.
3. To the bereavements of death. I saw this verse engraved with great appropriateness on a beautiful marble monument that had been erected over a grave where lay three children that had been suddenly cut down by the scarlet fever. What could be more suitable in such a trial than such a text? What could more strikingly express the true feelings of Christian pietythe calm submission of redeemed soulsthan the disposition of parents, thus bereaved, to record such a sentiment over the grave of their children?Barnes.
II. Man submitting to God. I am dumb, I open not my month, because Thou didst it. Submission to God may be enforced by the following considerations:
1. The folly of rebelling against Him.
2. The perfection of His character. He is perfect in wisdom, goodness, faithfulness. In accordance with these glorious attributes, He governs the world.
3. The uses of suffering. Great are the benefits of sanctified affliction. Thou didst it, we say now in submission. He hath done all things well, we shall soon exclaim in rapture.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Psalms 39
DESCRIPTIVE TITLE
The Lament and Prayer of a Divinely Stricken One.
ANALYSIS
Stanza I., Psa. 39:1-3, How the Stricken Ones Resolve to be Silent is Broken. Stanza II., Psa. 39:4-6, Lament that Life, already Short, should be further Shortened. Stanza III., Psa. 39:7-11, Prayer for Pardon and Healing, with a recognition of the Marring Effect of the Disease. Stanza IV., Psa. 39:12-13, Supplementary and Subdued Prayer for Help.
(Lm.) PsalmBy David.
1
I saidLet me take heed to my ways
that I sin not with my tongue,
Let me restrain my mouth[416]
[416] MI.: Let me put (so Gt.Gn.) to my mouth a muzzle.
while a lawless man is before me.
2
I was dumb with silence
I abstained from blessing;
But my pain had been stirred
3
hot was my heart within me:
As I murmured there was kindled a fire
I spake with my tongue.
4
Let me know O Jehovah mine end
and the measure of my days what it is:
I would fain know why forsaken[417] am I.
[417] Same word as rejected in Isa. 53:3. Cp. Thirtle, O.T.P., 186; and see Psa. 38:10-11.
5
Lo! as handbreadths thou hast given my days,
And my life-time was as nothing before thee:
6
Only a vapour is any man though set firm,
Only in semblance doth any man march to and fro,
Only a vapour that he should make a commotion:
He heapeth things up and knoweth not who shall carry them off!
7
Now therefore for what have I waited Sovereign Lord?[418]
[418] Some cod. (w. 2 ear. pr. edns., Aram. and Syr.): JehovahGn.
as for my hope thine it is!
8
From all my transgressions rescue me,
the reproach of the vile[419] do not make me.
[419] Or: senselessDr.
9
I am dumb I will not open my mouth
for thou didst it!
10
Remove from off me thy stroke,[420]
[420] See note on Psa. 38:11 (same word here).
through the hostility of thy hand I am spent.
11
When by rebukes for iniquity thou hast corrected a man
then hast thou consumed as a moth his comeliness.
Only a vapour is any man!
12
Oh hear my prayer Jehovah!
and unto my cry for help oh give ear!
at my tears do not be silent;
For a sojourner am I with thee,
a settler, like all my fathers.
13
Look away from me that I may brighten up,
ere yet I depart and be no more.
(Lm.) To the Chief Musician.
PARAPHRASE
Psalms 39
I said to myself, Im going to quit complaining! Ill keep quiet, especially when the ungodly are around me.
2, 3 But as I stood there silently, the turmoil within me grew to the bursting point. The more I mused, the hotter the fires inside. Then at last I spoke, and pled with God:
4 Lord, help me to realize how brief my time on earth will be! Help me to know that I am here for but a moment more.
5, 6 My life is no longer than my hand! My whole lifetime is but a moment to You. Proud man! Frail as breath! A shadow! And all his busy rushing ends in nothing. He heaps up riches for someone else to spend.
7 And so, Lord, my only hope is in You.
8 Save me from being overpowered by my sins, for even fools will mock me then.
9 Lord, I am speechless before You. I will not open my mouth to speak one word of complaint, for my punishment is from You.[421]
[421] Literally, for You have done it.
10 Lord, dont hit me anymoreI am exhausted beneath Your hand.
11 When You punish a man for his sins, he is destroyed; for he is as fragile as a moth-infested cloth; yes, man is frail as breath.
12 Hear my prayer, O Lord; listen to my cry! Dont sit back, unmindful of my tears! For I am Your guest! I am a traveler passing through the earth, as all my fathers were!
13 Spare me, Lord! Let me recover and be filled with happiness again before my death.
EXPOSITION
The first thing in this psalm to arrest our attention is its likeliness to the previous psalm; and then, the next thing, its unlikeness; which, indeed, is so great as to divert attention from its similarity. To describe this psalm, as some have done, as merely an Elegy on The Vanity of Life, is quite to miss its especial characteristic. First and foremost it is the Wail of one who has been Stricken of God with a plague on account of Transgression. The Vanity of Life is merely the background of the picture, to enhance the pity of it, that one who in any case had but a short life to live should have his comeliness disfigured and his life made shorter still. The plagueprobably leprosywhich appeared in Psalms 38, re-appears here in Ph. 39: that is the striking but greatly overlooked fact. As will be seen, the same technical word (nega) which was used in Psa. 39:11 of the previous psalm, is again used in Psa. 39:10 of this; and as, there, a descriptive confirmation was found (Psa. 39:10-11) giving unmistakable effect to the suspicious word, so here an equally sure confirmation of it is discovered in the unquestionable allusion to his own marred looks in Psa. 39:11. To catch this reference to his own lamentable bodily condition, is to feel a new point in his plea that he might have declared to him the measure of his days. He already knew the ordinary brevity of human life, and feels it so strongly that he employs it as a refrain; but, for that very reason, he was not likely, in an ordinary way, to make it the point of a special petition. But now, as the case is, he would be glad to know the worst. Hence it can be no longer open to question that, as in the previous psalm, so in this,the petitioner has fallen under the punitive stroke of Divine displeasure.
It is just when this similarity has been put beyond further question, that our apprehension of the wide contrast between the two psalms becomes keen and inquisitive. Is this another plague-stricken psalmist; or if the same, what has happened to impart such a different tone to his present effusion? The similarity being conceded, the contrast is so great as to become almost startling. There, enemies were in evidence: here, there are none. There, all was excitement and turmoil: here, all is as restful as it is sad. There, no general reflections on the brevity of life were indulged in: here, they abound, and are set forth so forcibly as to mislead the casual reader into the mistake of regarding this composition as a dirge to the note of Vanity of vanities! all is vanity! Besides all which, there is a tone of resignation here, and an extreme moderation of request, which are in the greatest contrast with the previous psalm.
How is this contrast to be accounted for? Is the writer of this psalm another man than he that wrote the previous? But for the inscription, we should quite readily have come to that conclusion; and should have unhesitatingly fixed upon the leper-King Uzziah as the probable author. We should have called attention to the probable fact that Uzziah was smitten for lifewhich would have accounted for his resignation and for his seeming to say: And if there may be no complete and early removal of the stroke, let there be at least a brightening up before I go hence. This, too would have given especial point to the seeming apprehension of the sufferer that he might, in his distress be overheard by an attendant apparently sinning with his tongue. The previous psalm, however, warns us against being hasty in concluding against the authorship of David, even here. According to that psalm, his wives withdrew from him, his lovers and friends stood aloof, his neighbours kept at a distance; and, under these circumstances, although David may not have been formally banished to a several house like that to which Uzziah had to retire, he may have been confined to his own apartments during his sickness, and may have had ample opportunities to bridle his tongue while uncertain attendants were in his presence. Then, moreover, it must be remembered that sick people are proverbially subject to moody fluctuationsfiery one day; subdued the next; besides which, time works wonders,by giving space for reflection; and reflection, on a sensitive mind like Davids, may have added to the wonder, by soon transforming the high-spirited and resentful statesman of the 38th psalm, into the resigned and patient moraliser of the 39th; especially may this have in part come about by influences due to changing circumstances in the state: as, for instance, by a recrudescence of the bodily plague, after Absaloms rebellion had become a thing of the past, when the sadder but wiser king had ample time and increased motive to dwell, as he had never done, on the vanity of human life. It is, in any case, significant, that, in his pathetic address on the consecration of the offerings for the building of Solomons temple as recorded in 1Ch. 29:15, the venerable monarch should, in fellowship with his people, have used language precisely similar to that which closes this psalm: language which we shall do well to keep in mind, as suggesting that Messianic hope did not always run high in Israel, and, indeed, by the very reaction of its occasional brilliance was apt to make it appear that only in this life had those ancients hope in Jehovah their Godthat they were, indeed, for a brief span, sojourners and settlers with their God in the enjoyment of the good things of his house; and then departed into the land of forgetfulness.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1.
There are so many books to help you in your study of the psalms. Many of them will ask you to divide the psalm into many divisions and sub-divisionshow would this psalm divide? What is the theme of this psalm?
2.
What was it that stirred David so intently? Wasnt it the awful inequalities of life? Read verses one thru three with the thought of two or three of our present day problems. One might begin with the fantastic outlay of money for material advantages while the cause of Christ limps along for want of financeor is this the problem? Discuss.
3.
Are verses four through six the expression of what finally burst forth?it hardly seems so. Discuss.
4.
If we had the date of our death before uswould it help? If we could hold the two dates usually inscribed upon the tombstoneif we could hold these dates in our hand while we lived in the Spirit World of eternityof infinity we might relax our feverish efforts. Is this the thought of verse four? Discuss.
5.
The brevity of life is described with some very graphic figures: (1) A hand breadth (2) A breath (3) A shadow. Discuss the meaning to life now.
6.
The only hope of man is in the Lord. How eternallypresentlypersonally true this is! Discuss by reading verses seven through eleven.
7.
David says of man that he is a house guest of God. Read Psa. 39:12-13 and discuss.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

(1) My tongue.To enter into the feeling of the poet we must remember the unrestrained way in which Orientals give way to grief. It was natural and becoming for him to roar (Psa. 38:8, &c.) out his indignation or his grief, to mutter (Psa. 1:2, &c) aloud his prayers, to speak out on every impulse. Now he determines to endure in silence and mutely bear the worst, rather than speak what may in the eyes of the impious be construed into a murmur against Divine Providence, into impatience under the Divine decree. (Comp. Psa. 38:13-14.)
With a bridle.See margin, and comp. Deu. 25:4, where the cognate verb occurs. The root-meaning is stop. For the metaphor comp. Jas. 1:26, and Plato, Laws, 3:701, the argument, like a horse, ought to be pulled up from time to time, and not be allowed to run away, but held with bit and bridle. (Comp. also Virgil, neid, vi. 79.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

1, 2. See on Psa 38:13-14.
Bridle Or muzzle, implying restraint,

That I sin not The danger of sinning when speaking under strong excitement, also of being misinterpreted by enemies, led to this resolution. See note on Psa 4:4; and compare Job 1:22; Job 2:10
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

1). The Psalmist is determined not to say anything in the presence of unrighteous people that might give them occasion to criticise God. Once he is alone, however, he cannot keep silent ( Psa 39:1-3 ).
Psa 39:1

‘I said, I will take heed to my ways,
That I sin not with my tongue,
I will keep my mouth with a bridle,
While the wicked person is before me.’
The Psalmist declares that he will ‘keep his ways’. That is, he will watch over them and control them. And his aim and purpose is in order that he might not sin with his tongue by bringing his doubts about life before the unrighteous while they are in his presence, or alternatively by bringing his doubts about the unrighteous who are in his thoughts, before men. The latter problem was a constant one in the Psalms. Why did the unrighteous flourish?
So he determines to keep a bridle on his tongue, lest he say anything that brings dishonour on God. Wise is the man or woman who keeps a watch over what comes from their mouths.
Psa 39:2-3
‘I was dumb with silence,
I held my peace, even from good,
And my sorrow was stirred.
My heart was hot within me,
While I was musing the fire burned,
Then spoke I with my tongue.’
Thus he was ‘dumb with silence’, saying nothing, even about what was good, lest he slip up with his tongue. But such was the force of the thoughts that were flowing into his mind, that his sorrow was stirred, and his heart was hot within him. His meditations were so powerful that they were too much for him to hold in. And thus while he was musing a fire burned in his heart, and in the end he could no longer keep silence.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Psalms 39
Outline Here is a proposed outline of Psalms 39:
1. The Unruly Tongue Psa 39:1-3
2. The Brevity of Life Psa 39:4-6
3. The Psalmist Cries for Justification Psa 39:7-13
Psa 39:1-3 The Unruly Tongue – David knew the struggle it was to control his tongue.
Psa 39:1 (To the chief Musician, even to Jeduthun, A Psalm of David.) I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.
Psa 3:1 “To the chief Musician, even to Jeduthun”- Comments – The individual named “Jeduthan” is also mentioned in the titles of Psalms 62, 77.
Psa 62:1, “To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun , “A Psalm of David. Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.”
Psa 77:1, “To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, “A Psalm of Asaph. I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me.”
1Ch 16:41, “And with them Heman and Jeduthun , and the rest that were chosen, who were expressed by name, to give thanks to the LORD, because his mercy endureth for ever;”
Psa 39:1 “I said, I will take heed to my ways” Scripture References – Note:
1Ki 2:4, “That the LORD may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.”
Eph 5:15, “ See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,”
Psa 39:1 “that I sin not with my tongue” Comments – The tongue defiles the whole body:
Mat 15:11, “Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.”
Mat 15:18-20, “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.”
Jas 1:26, “If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.”
Jas 3:2-9
Psa 39:1 “I will keep my mouth with a bridle” Comments – The psalmist will carefully guard what comes out of the mouth. Note Jas 1:26, which tells us to bridle our tongue.
Jas 1:26, “If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.”
Psa 39:1 “while the wicked is before me” Comments – The wicked are always watching the righteous, seeking an opportunity to destroy them (Psa 37:32). Therefore, we are to walk in wisdom towards them that are without.” (Col 4:5-6)
Psa 37:32, “The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him.”
Col 4:5-6, “Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”
Psa 39:2 I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good; and my sorrow was stirred.
Psa 39:2 “I was dumb with silence” Comments – That is, the psalmist was quiet, literally, tongue-tied.
Psa 39:2 “and my sorrow was stirred” Comments – That is, his anguish or pain increased, grew worse, or he was troubled.
Psa 39:2 Scripture Reference – Note a similar verse:
Psa 38:13, “But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth.”
Psa 39:3 My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue,
Psa 39:3 “while I was musing the fire burned” Comments – Webster says the word “muse” means, “ To think closely; to study in silence; to meditate .”
Psa 39:4 LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am.
Psa 39:4 “that I may know how frail I am” Comments – Man’s frailty refers to his mortality, or limited existence on earth, and weakness towards sin.
Psa 39:5 Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.
Psa 39:5 “verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity… surely every man is vanity” Word Study on “at his best state” Strong says the Hebrew word “at his best state” ( ) (H5324) means, “to station.” The Enhanced Strong says this word is used 75 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as, “stand 34, set 12, officers 6, set up 7, upright 2, appointed 1, deputy 1, erected 1, establish 1, Huzzab 1, misc 9.”
Comments – The Hebrew word ( ) carries the idea of “standing firm.” Within the context of Psalms 39, this word refers to the psalmist’s age, or days of life on earth, thus the brevity of man’s life. Psa 39:5 means that man’s best efforts to establish himself on earth are but vain affairs, and only for a fleeting and brief moment in time. Compare the ancient pyramids of Egypt as an example of man’s best efforts to establish an eternal place for himself on earth. Yet today, on one knows the names of most of those buried in these old piles of stone.
The NKJV reads, “Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths. And my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor . Selah.”
Note a similar verse in Jas 4:14, “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away .”
Psa 39:6 Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.
Psa 39:6 “Surely every man walketh in a vain shew” Comments – The phrase “a vain shew” literally refers to an image, or a shadow. Rotherham reads, “Surely as a shadow, doth every man wander.” The RSV reads, “ Surely man goes about as a shadow!” The YLT reads, “Only, in an image doth each walk habitually.”
“surely they are disquieted in vain” Comments – The NIV reads, “He bustles about, but only in vain.” The NKJV reads, “Surely they busy themselves in vain.”
Psa 39:6 carries the theme of the book of Ecclesiastes, which deals with the vanities of life.
Ecc 2:26, “For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.”
“he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them” – Comments In contrast to the covetousness of the wicked, David gathered riches for the construction of the Temple and not for himself (1Ch 29:1-5).
Psa 39:12 Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.
Psa 39:12 Comments The Patriarchs were certainly sojourners in the land of Canaan for many years before Jacob and the seventy departed into Egypt under Joseph’s care. In Psa 39:12 David seems to be speaking now from a divine perspective in that he views himself as a sojourner. He sees how God’s children are only sojourners on the earth in life of the brevity of human life until they depart to be with the Lord in eternity, abiding in the true Promised Land. David has acknowledged the brevity of man’s life on earth throughout this psalm (Psa 39:4-6; Psa 39:11). Man’s mortality testifies to the eternal life of mankind after death, making his earthly life appear as a temporary journey in a foreboding land. Thus, God’s children view this mortal life very differently than the wicked who heap up riches in vain (Psa 39:6).
Psa 39:13 O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more.

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

The Believer’s Attitude in View of the Apparent Happiness of the Godless.
To the chief musician, even to Jeduthun, or Ethan, the name of one of David’s chief choristers, who was the leader of a family or choir of singers, active chiefly in the liturgical part of worship, a psalm of David.
v. 1. I said, I will take heed to my ways, to his entire manner of thinking and acting, that I sin not with my tongue, namely, by murmuring and complaining over his own misfortune as compared with the good fortune of the wicked; I will keep my mouth with a bridle, a muzzle, to prevent his lamenting, while the wicked is before me, in his presence, while he was compelled to see the godless prosper in the fullness of his power, in apparent enjoyment of everything that was good.
v. 2. I was dumb with silence, in trusting submission, I held my peace, even from good, away from prosperity, he shut his heart and mind off from everything and communed with God alone; and my sorrow was stirred, his fretting finally constrained him to cry out to the Lord.
v. 3. My heart was hot within me, his emotions like a smothered flame, seeking for an outlet; while I was musing, the fire burned, bursting through all repression. Then spake I with my tongue, directing his complaint to the Lord.
v. 4. Lord, make me to know mine end, give him the proper understanding of the vanity of this earthly life and the quickness with which it is cut off, and the measure of my days, what it is, that this measure may soon be filled up; that I may know how frail I am, a mortal being in the midst of perishable things. This thought is intended to stress, not so much the shortness of human life, as its utter vanity and therefore the folly of concerning one’s self with the matters of this world to the exclusion of the one thing needful, the laying hold of God in faith and trust.
v. 5. Behold, Thou hast made my days as an handbreadth, a mere span of life being assigned to each mortal; and mine age is as nothing before Thee, before the face of the eternal God. Verily, every man at his best state, even when he seems to be most firmly established, is altogether vanity, transitory and perishable. Selah.
v. 6. Surely every man walketh in a vain show, an unsubstantial shadow like the image of himself cast on the ground by the light; surely they are disquieted in vain, only for a breath they make a noise, all their restless and noisy bustle with which they fret and stir themselves and elbow and jostle one another to obtain wealth and rank, is like a single breath; he heapeth up riches, that being the average person’s chief concern in life, and knoweth not who shall gather them, dishonest adversaries or laughing heirs enjoying the fruit of his toil. With such contemplations the believer hushes the voice of his lamenting and extinguishes the fire of his murmuring.
v. 7. And now, Lord, what wait I for? Turning away with relief from the contemplation of earthly vanity, the believer lets his eyes rest upon the Lord. My hope is in Thee, all his trust grounded in Jehovah alone, in whom he has the fullness of all true joys.
v. 8. Deliver me from all my transgressions, which, as he knew, furnished abundant reasons for his own sufferings; make me not the reproach of the foolish, a target for the scorn of fools, whose mockery would, at the same time, bring disgrace upon the Lord.
v. 9. I was dumb, I opened not my mouth, with reproachful lamenting directed against Jehovah, because Thou didst it, a confession with which he bows under the almighty hand of God.
v. 10. Remove Thy stroke away from me, which seemed like a blow by the hand of divine anger; I am consumed by the blow of Thine hand, as the Lord set Himself in battle against him, knowing that he was doomed to destruction if the Lord should continue His course of chastisement.
v. 11. When Thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, sending forth His punishment upon the guilty, Thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth; for just as garments disappear under the attack of moths, so the handsome appearance of man melts away under the stroke of divine chastisement. Surely every man is vanity, a mere breath, which disappears in a moment. Selah.
v. 12. Hear my prayer, O Lord, his appeal for relief being addressed to the mercy of Jehovah, and give ear unto my cry, in a gracious, compassionate answer; hold not Thy peace at my tears, which flowed with the depth of his suffering; for I am a stranger with Thee, a mere guest in this world, and a sojourner, like a person who is not a citizen of a country, but lives there merely by concession, as all my fathers were. Just as the patriarchs did not hold citizenship in the country where they dwelled, so all believers do not consider this earth their true home, their citizenship being in heaven, Php_3:20 .
v. 13. O spare me, turning from him the look of His angry face, that I may recover strength, being cheered in the midst of his troubles, before I go hence and be no more. Instead of being bound under wrath and chastened under displeasure, David longs for the face of God turned upon him in mercy, in order that he may give thanks and praise Him all his life. And so every believer, although oppressed with sin and sorrow, the anger of God and suffering, still turns to the heavenly Father in firm confidence, knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope; and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us, Rom 5:3-5.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

EXPOSITION
THE psalmist, vexed and disgusted with life, feeling a desire to murmur and complain, but aware that his words are watched, and his wicked enemies ready to make use of them against him, has resolved on maintaining an entire silenceat any rate, while the ungodly are in his sight (Psa 39:1, Psa 39:2), but is unable to keep to his resolve. Despite himself, he bursts out into speecha speech of bitter complaint (Psa 39:4-6). “How long has he got to endure this life so unsatisfactory, so full of vanity?” The outburst relieves him, and he continues in a gentler strain, recognizing God’s hand in the griefs and woes of life, entreating his help, and finally asking to be spared a little, that he may recover strength, before he goes hence and is no more (Psa 39:7-13).
The title assigns the psalm to David, and represents him as having committed the composition for musical arrangement to the precentor, or choir-master, of the time, who is then named as Jeduthun, one of the chief musicians in David’s service (1Ch 16:41, 1Ch 16:42; 1Ch 25:3-6). There is no reason to dispute this attribution. The poetic beauty of the composition is great, and the circumstances are such as suit David’s early life.
The pause-sign, “Selah,” divides the psalm into three portions:
(1) from Psa 39:1 to Psa 39:5;
(2) from Psa 39:6 to Psa 39:11; and
(3) from Psa 39:12 to the end.
Psa 39:1
I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue. There are no grounds for connecting this silence with the abstinence from self-vindication mentioned in the preceding psalm (Psa 39:13, 14). Indeed, it seems to have had a wholly different origin (see the introductory paragraph). I will keep my mouth with a bridle; i.e. “curb my impatience, restrain and keep in my speech.” While the wicked is before me. The Prayer-book Version is better, if less literal, “While the ungodly is in my sight.”
Psa 39:2
I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good. Some explain, “I held my peace, but it did me no goodI was none the better for it” (Hupfeld, Hengstenberg, Canon Cook); others adopt the Prayer-book Version, I kept silence even from good words“ (Kay, Alexander, Revised Version). And my sorrow was stirred. The pain at my heart was not quieted thereby, nor even lessened; rather, it was roused up, quickened, and aggravated. This is the natural result of repressing any strong feeling.
Psa 39:3
My heart was hot within me; or, grew hot (Kay). And while I was musing the fire burned; or, kindled (Revised Version). Then spake I with my tongue; i.e. aloud, articulately. I could notat any rate, I did notrefrain myself. I burst out in speech, and made my moan to God
Psa 39:4
Lord, make me to know mine end, and the number of my days. This is not exactly the request of Job, who desired to be at once cut off (Job 6:9; Job 7:15; Job 14:13), but it is a request conceived in the same spirit. The psalmist is weary of life, expects nothing from it, feels that it is “altogether vanity.” He asks, therefore, not exactly for death, hut that it may be told him how long he will have to endure the wretched life that he is leading. He anticipates no relief except in death, and feels, at any rate for the time, that he would welcome death as a deliverer. That I may know how frail I am. So most moderns; but Hengstenberg denies that can ever mean “frail,” and falls back upon the old rendering, “that I may know when I shall cease [to be],” which certainly gives a very good sense.
Psa 39:5
Behold, thou hast made my days as a handbreadth. It seems inconsistent that one who professes to be weary of his life should then complain of life’s shortness. But such inconsistency is human. Job does the same (Job 14:1, Job 14:2). And mine age is as nothing before thee. The short human existence can scarcely be regarded by God as existence at all; rather, it is mere nothingness. Verily every man living at his best state is but vanity. So our Revisers. But most moderns translate, “Verily every man living was ordained for utter vanity” (comp. Psa 62:9; Psa 144:4).
Psa 39:6
Surely every man walketh in a vain show; literally, in an image, or “as an image;” i.e. with a mere semblance of life, but without the reality. Surely they are disquieted in vain. Their restless strivings are to no end, have no result. He heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them (comp. Job 27:16, Job 27:17; Ecc 2:18, Ecc 2:21).
Psa 39:7
And now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in thee. And nowunder these circumstanceshuman life being what it is, and all men nothing but vanity, what is my hope? what is my expectation? what am I waiting for? A cry, as it would seem, of utter despair. But when the night is darkest, day dawns. “Out of the depths” comes forth the voice of faith”My hope is in THEE!” There is always hope in God When our father and mother forsake us, the Lord taketh us up. He will not leave us nor forsake us. So the psalmist ends his complaint by throwing himself into the arms of the Divine mercy, and unreservedly submitting himself to God’s will.
Psa 39:8
Deliver me from all my transgressions. The approach to God quickens in every God-fearing man the sense of sin and the longing for pardon. So the psalmist has no sooner thrown himself upon God as his one Hope, than the thought of his sin occurs to himthe sin which has brought upon him all his misery; and his first prayer is to be “delivered” from it. Make me not the reproach of the foolish. So long as his afflictions continued, the psalmist would be an object of scorn to the fool and the un= godly. He prays, therefore, secondly, that the punishment of his sin may cease.
Psa 39:9
I was dumb, I opened not my mouth (comp. Psa 39:1, Psa 39:2). Because thou didst it. The knowledge that my afflictions came from thee, and were the just punishment of my transgressions, helped me to keep the silence which I observed while the ungodly was in my sight.
Psa 39:10
Remove thy stroke away from me (camp. Psa 38:11). I am consumed by the blow of thine hand; literally, by the quarrel of thine hand. But our version gives the true meaning. The “quarrel” has led the “hand” to deal the “stroke” by which the sufferer is “consumed” or “wasted away” (Kay).
Psa 39:11
When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity. The calamities which God sends on a man are of the nature of “rebukes” addressed to his spirit. They are intended to teach, instruct, warn, deter from evil-doing (see Job 36:8-10). Thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth; or, “thou dost consume, as by a moth, what he prizes;” i.e. his health, his strength, “all wherein he has joy and satisfaction” (Hengstenberg). As a moth corrodes a beautiful garment, so does thy displeasure and heavy hand pressing on him corrode and destroy all which constituted his delight and glory. Surely every man is vanity (comp. Psa 39:5 ad fin.). This has become a sort of refrain, terminating the second as well as the first part of the psalm (comp. Psa 107:8, Psa 107:15, Psa 107:21, Psa 107:31; Ecc 2:1, Ecc 2:11, Ecc 2:15, Ecc 2:19, Ecc 2:21, Ecc 2:23, Ecc 2:26; Isa 9:12, Isa 9:17, Isa 9:21).
Psa 39:12
Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears. Tears appeal to the Divine pity in an especial way. “Weep not!” said our Lord to the widow woman at Nain; and to Mary Magdalene, “Why weepest thou?” He himself offered up his supplications with strong crying and tears” (Heb 5:7); and so his faithful servants (Job 16:20 : Psa 6:6; Psa 42:3; Psa 56:8; Isa 16:9; Isa 38:3; Jer 15:17; Lam 2:11; Luk 7:38; Act 20:19). Hezekiah’s tears especially moved God to pity him (2Ki 20:5). For I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner. “Here we have no continuing city” (Heb 13:14), but are “strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (Heb 11:13). Hence, being so weak and dependent, we may the more confidently claim God’s pity. As all my fathers were (comp. Le 25:23, “The land is mine; ye are strangers and sojourners with me “).
Psa 39:13
O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more. The Psalmist, no longer anxious for death, but still expecting it, requests of God, in conclusion, a breathing-space, a short time of refreshment and rest, before he is called on to leave the earth and “be no more ;” i.e. bring his present state of existence to an end. Nothing is to be gathered from the expression used as to his expectation or non-expectation of a future life.
HOMILETICS
Psa 39:4
A wise prayer.
“Lord, make me to know mine end,” etc. The writer of this most beautiful, though most sorrowful, psalm opens to us his inmost heart. The inspiring Spirit speaks through one of like passions with ourselves. His-own sorrows had taught him sympathy. Looking at human life, he seems to see one vast funeral procession, in which business and pleasure seem alike vain. Yet he shrinks from uttering his pent-up feelings, lest he appear to the ungodly to be blaming God. So he turns to God and pours out his grief in prayer.
I. THIS SEEMS AN UNNECESSARY PRAYERAT LEAST AT FIRST SIGHT. If any truth is obvious, it is thisof the brevity and frailty of life. Brief at longest (Psa 90:10), especially if we reckon the time spent in sleep or dissipated in numberless trifles (Psa 39:5); frail, ever carrying within it the germs of decay and dissolution. Utterly uncertainthe strongest life may in a moment snap like a thread or be torn like a tree from its root. Who knows not all this?
II. YET IT IS A VERY NEEDFUL AND WISE PRAYER. For there is no truth so obvious and certain which men take so little to heart. “All men think all men mortal but themselves.” The picture Charles Dickens has drawn of the lawyer who is for ever harping on the duty of making your will in health, and who dies intestate, is very true to human nature. The psalmist’s prayer is not for everybody else, but for himself”Teach me my days.” How account for this blind insensibility of men to the certainty of the futurethis “walking in a vain show”? It seems unaccountable, yet so ingrained, nothing less than Divine teaching will cure it.
III. THE TEACHING HERE PRAYED FOR IS NOT TO INFORM US OF THE FACT, WHICH EVERYBODY KNOWSAND FORGETS, BUT TO ENABLE US TO LEARN ITS LESSONS. Not mere knowledge, but wisdom.
1. Do not anchor your hope on a life so frail, or store your treasure in a world you may leave to-morrowmust leave soon (Psa 39:6; Mat 6:19-21).
2. Do not leave to-day’s work to be done to-morrow. A certain eminent statesman is said to have made it a rule to “do nothing to-day which you can put off till to-morrow.” This has two great disadvantages:
(1) To-morrow will have its own burden, without being double-weighted.
(2) You may not be here to-morrow to do it (Joh 9:4).
3. Cast the care of the unknown future on God. The frailest thread of life cannot break in his hand unless he wills (Mat 10:22-31; Mat 6:1-34 :80).
4. Live as pilgrims, “like unto men who wait for their Lord” (Psa 39:12). If you are a believer in Jesus, a child of God by faith, then the keys of life and death are in the hands once nailed for you to the cross, of which he says, “Neither shall any pluck them out of my hand” (Joh 10:28). Death will but come as his messenger. Learn to look full in the dark angel’s face and smile, and you will see an answering smile (Heb 13:14; 2Co 5:1, 2Co 5:8).
Psa 39:7
God, the Refuge of the soul.
“My hope is in thee.” This is the single note of joy the psalmist strikes from his harp amid its mournful musiclike a ray of sunshine from a stormy sky. From his own private sorrow, from his wide survey of the troubles of human life, he takes refuge in God.
I. A HOPE OF PRESENT HELP, IMMEDIATE DELIVERANCE. (Psa 39:13.) He is a stranger and a sojourner with God (Le 25:23); but he hopes the brief remainder of his pilgrimage will be divinely led, even as his fathers had the manna, the water from the rock, the pillar of cloud and fire, in the desert. Hope in God is not a faraway hope, but looks to him as “a very present Help” (Psa 46:1; Joh 14:18).
II. A HOPE THAT LOOKS BEYOND THIS LIFE, FOR GOD IS THE EVER–LIVING. (Joh 14:19.) If hope in God stopped short at the grave, the transient gleam would make the darkness but more terrible (1Co 15:19; comp. Heb 11:13-16). Wonderful pleasure seems taken by critics and commentators in casting doubt on the knowledge or hope of a future life among God’s ancient people. How could they be ignorant of what formed the basis of Egypt’s religion and wisdom, on the one hand, and was no less believed, on the other, by the Greeks, Assyrians, Babylonians, etc.? King Saul was no saint, but certainly he fully believed that the spirit of Samuel existed after death (1Sa 28:11).
III. THIS HOPE RESTS WITH CERTAINTY ONLY ON GOD. This is our Lord’s argument against the Sadducees, to prove that the Old Testament Scriptures do teach immortality (Mat 22:31, Mat 22:32). Immortality apart from God would be no glorious hope, but the most appalling of our terrors.
IV. THIS BLESSED HOPEto those ancient believers matter of sheer faithRESTS FOR CHRISTIANS ON AN IMMOVABLE DOUBLE FOUNDATIONthe resurrection of Christ, which is an actual physical demonstration of life beyond death; and the promises of Christ, which bind our lives personally to his (2Ti 1:10; 1Pe 1:3; Joh 14:1-3). No wonder if the faith of the ancient saints sometimes wavered; but ours should be as strong as its foundation (2Ti 1:12).
HOMILIES BY C. CLEMANCE
Psa 39:1-13
Unburdening the heart to God in a time of sore affliction, when nothing can be said to man.
Jeduthun, whose name stands at the head of Psa 39:1-13, Psa 62:1-12, and Psa 77:1-20, was one of a musical family entrusted with the conduct of the musical service in the time of David. The psalms having his name at the head were probably intended to be sung by his choir. It would thus seem that in the Hebrew service of sacred song the prayers and plaints of the individual believer were included, when set to music. If so, the “service of song in the house of the Lord” covered a much wider ground than is usually supposed, and was made to include not only direct address to God, whether of prayer or praise, but also the rehearsal of personal experience; and thus a holy fellowship of song would arise, anticipating long ages before, the expression of the apostle, “Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs;” only it should be noted that these would be musical utterances of an actual experience going on then and there. It does not follow that the like utterances would be suitable for the service of song now. Discretion and discrimination are needed in the use thereof. This is evidently an individual psalm; it is neither national, prophetic, nor Messianic; it is one of those which reflect the care and anxiety with which David was bowed down at one crisis of his life, though to which of his numerous crises it refers it is not easy to decide, Nor, indeed, is that of moment. It will profit us more to note the course taken by the psalmist at a time of crushing sorrow, and then to see how far the course which he took may be a guide for us under like circumstances.
I. LET US NOTE THE COURSE ADOPTED BY THE PSALMIST AT A TIME OF CRUSHING SORROW. There is a somewhat wide divergence among expositors in their estimate of this psalm, and of the mental revelations therein contained. But we feel bound to look at the psalmist’s words tenderly rather than harshly, knowing as we do, how often, in agonies of soul, the best men may utter words which would not escape them in their calmer hours (cf. Psa 116:11).
1. Here is a case of sore affliction. “Thy stroke” (Psa 77:10); “the blow of thine hand” (Psa 77:10). Whatever the sorrow may have been to which reference is made, it is regarded as coming directly from God. “Thou didst it” (Psa 77:9). It was so heavy that David was “consumed” thereby (Psa 77:10). And it was looked on by him as a chastisement for his transgressions (of. Psa 77:8, Psa 77:11).
2. It is, under such circumstances, very hard to be absolutely still. So the first verse implies. There is little indication that the disturbing trouble arose (as some suggest) from seeing the prosperity of the wicked; but evidently there is some distinctively personal trouble, probably sickness and weakness, which, with all the public demands made upon him, weighs heavily upon his soul, and he is tempted to complain and to seek sympathy from without. But:
3. He is in the midst of uncongenial souls. (Psa 77:1.) “The wicked is before me.” Note: Earthly men are poor companions in the distresses of spiritual men. To the natural man the sorrows of a spiritual man would be altogether unintelligible. And supposing that the troubles here referred to arose about the time of and in connection with Absalom’s rebellion, the majority of those round about David would be men whose thoughts and aims moved entirely in the military or political sphere. Hence:
4. Here is a wise resolve. (Psa 77:1, Psa 77:2.) He will say nothing. There would be many reasons for this.
(1) No one would enter into his feelings.
(2) What he said would be misunderstood.
(3) He would consequently be misrepresented.
(4) The more he said, the worse matters would be. And
(5) if he told men what he thought and felt, he would be very likely to say something which he would afterwards regret.
“That I sin not with my tongue.” Hence silence is his wisest course.
5. But suppressed grief consumes like a fire. (Psa 77:3.) There is nothing which so wears out the soul, nor which so burns within, as woe to which no vent can be given; so David found it, and consequently:
6. The silence is broken. “Then spake I with my tongue.” But, in breaking the silence, he speaks not to man, but to God. After the word “tongue,” the Authorized Version has a comma, but the Revised Version a colon, indicating that what he said is about to follow. What an infinite mercy that when we cannot say a word to man, through fear of being misunderstood, we can speak to God, and tell him exactly what we feel, as we feel it, knowing that then we touch a heart infinitely tender, and address an intelligence infinitely wise!
7. In speaking to God he moans and groans. (Psa 77:4-6.) Does David speak petulantly? Is he asking God to let him know how long he has to endure all this? Is he adducing the frailty and nothingness of man as an argument against his being allowed to suffer thus? So many think, and some, as Calvin, are very hard on Davidvery. But why? There is a vast difference between the fretfulness of an overburdened man and the waywardness of a rebellious man. And he who knows our frame, takes the difference into account. When Elijah pettishly said, “Now, O Lord, take away my life I” God did not rebuke him; he sent an angel to him, and said, “Arise and eat; the journey is too great for thee.”
8. He declares that his expectation of relief is in God alone. (Psa 77:7.) Just so. These are not the words of a rebellious, but of a trusting one. And from that point of view the whole psalm must be regarded (cf. Psa 62:1-12.).
9. He will not utter a word of complaint. (Psa 77:9.) Render, “I am dumb; I open not my mouth, because thou hast done it” (‘Variorum Bible’). “Thyself hast done it.” On this fact faith fastens; and when this is the case, not a word of murmuring will escape the lips. The cry of a trusting soul is, “Here am I; let him do with me as seemeth him good” (2Sa 15:26).
10. Yet he supplicates. (Psa 77:8, Psa 77:10, Psa 77:13.) First, he desires deliverance from sin, then a mitigation of the suffering; such is the order, and the order which only a saint would name. The last verse is, in our versions, obscure. The word “spare ‘ should not be read in the sense intended when we say, “If I am spared,” etc; but in the sense of “O spare me this sorrow!” It is a repetition of Psa 77:10, “Remove this stroke away from me.” It asks not for prolongation of life, but for mitigation of pain. The Revised Version margin gives a more correct translation of the phrase, “that I may recover strength;” rather, “that I may brighten up.” No conclusion can be drawn from the end of the thirteenth verse, as to the psalmist’s view of another life. The Prayer-book Version, “and be no more seen,” gives the sense.
11. The supplication is accompanied by a tender plea. (Psa 77:12.) “I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.” Archbishop Leighton beautifully expresses the force of this plea, “In this world, wherein thou hast appointed me to sojourn a few days, and I betake myself to thy protection in this strange country. I seek shelter under the shadow of thy wings, therefore have compassion upon me.”
II. HOW FAR IS THE COURSE TAKEN BY DAVID, IN HIS AFFLICTION, A GUIDE FOR US?
1. In some respects we may well imitate him. In restraining our words before man, and in telling all our cares and woes to God exactly as we feel them, and in such a way as will best relieve an overburdened heart.
2. In other respects we should go far beyond him. Believers ought not to confine themselves now within the limits of such a prayer as this; they should always transcend it. We know more of God’s Fatherly love; we know of our great High Priest; we know the fellowship of the Spirit; we know of “the unsearchable riches of Christ;” and hence our prayers should rise above those of David as much as the prayer of Eph 3:14-21 is above the level of this psalm. Note: The best preventive of sins of the tongue is the fuller and more frequent outpouring of the heart to God.C.
HOMILIES BY W. FORSYTH
Psa 39:1-13
Lessons from a funeral.
It is toll of Archbishop Leighton that a friend once met him by the way, and said, “You have been to hear a sermon?” His answer was, “I met a sermona sermon de facto, for I met a corpse, and rightly and profitably are the funeral rites performed, when the living lay it to heart.” This psalm, so often read at deaths and funerals, suggests some precious lessons for such solemn occasions.
1. A funeral is a time for silence. There is much to think of and ponder in our hearts. We have need to put a restraint upon ourselves, lest we speak rashly or fall into idle and unprofitable talk. But silence cannot always be maintained. As we muse the fire burns, and we are constrained to speak. Let us take care that we speak wisely, with feeling and solemnity, as in the presence of God.
2. A funeral is a time when we are taught the vanity of life. One thing forced on our attention is that life has an end. We know it had a beginning, but we are slow to recognize, at least as to ourselves, that it must have an end. “All men think all men mortal but themselves.”
3. Another thing brought to our mind is that life is frail and soon passes away. Measured by human standards, it is but a very little thinga “hand-breadth;” looked at in the light of God and of eternity, it dwindles away to “nothing.” And yet of what stupendous importance to us is this “nothing”!
4. Another thing is that life at the best is full of sorrow and disappointment (Psa 39:6). Sophocles, one of the wisest of the heathen, said, “I see that we who live are nothing else but images and vain shadows.” The great orator, Burke, said, “What shadows we are, and what shadows we pursue!” Shakespeare also speaks to the same effect
“Out, out, brief candle,
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more.”
What, then, comes of all our labours, all our cares and disquietudes, all our hopes and ambitions? Is there no good that abideth? Is there no wealth laid up which will endure? Must we say, “All is vanity”? Yes, if there were no God, no future world. But let us take heart; let us turn from the thoughts that vex and disquiet our souls, and that leave us without hope, to the Lord our God and to Jesus Christ who has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. When we mourn the loss of friends, or when we take part with others in love and sympathy in the last rites of the dead, let us renew our faith in God. “My hope is in thee.” Thus we shall gain strength to bear our trials meekly, and to rise, even at the grave’s mouth, to the bright vision of immortality. Let us also cry to God for deliverance from sin (Psa 39:8-11), from the burden of its guilt, from the slavery of its power, from the miserable reproaches which it brings upon us from without and from within, from the base murmurings and discontent which it breeds, and from the cruel forebodings of evil with which it darkens our lives. God alone can bring us help and comfort in such straits. Finally, let us pray earnestly for spiritual invigoration, that we may not fail in our duty to God and to our brethren. We have not only to sympathize, but to act. The best way we can honour the dead is to work for the living. Every breach made in our ranks is a call to close up and to quit ourselves like men, as good soldiers of Jesus Christ. Every bereavement is a reminder to us that we too are but “strangers” and sojourners here, and that soon God will call us home. If some father in the Church is gathered as a “shock of corn in his season,” let us give thanks, and take courage to follow in his steps; if some young man of rare gifts and promise, and very dear to our hearts, is cut down early, let us be assured that it is because his Master has need of him for service in nobler fields, and let us strive to fill up what he may have left undone of good work for God; if some child, the light of our eyes, has been taken from us, let us believe that it is to enter a higher school than ours, where the holy angels are the teachers, and where progress is quick and sure under the radiant smiles of God.W.F.
Psa 39:13
Death deprecated.
“Spare me!” This prayer is common. From many a bed of sickness, and in the time of weakness and of fear, the mournful cry goes up to heaven. Often there is a gracious answer (Isa 38:2, Isa 38:5). But the mercy of God is not always remembered, nor the vows made in trouble performed. The words suggest
I. THAT DEATH IS AN EVENT OF DREAD SIGNIFICANCE.
1. It puts an end to our present mode of being. “Be no more.” Yet a little while, and what a change! You will see no more with those eyes; your heart will cease to beat; and your spirit, disengaged from the flesh, will wing its flight to other worlds. What your experiences will be at the awful moment of dissolution, and afterwards, none can tell. All is mystery.
2. It separates us from all we hold dear on earth. “Go hence.” This world is dear to us. Here we were born, and have lived; here our minds have been formed and powers developed; here we have tasted the delights of knowledge, of friendship, and of personal achievement; here, in a word, has been our home. To separate from all, to have no more anything to do with what goes on under the sun, is a distressing thing. No wonder if we recoil with pain.
3. It settles for ever our spiritual destiny. “Before I go hence.” Life is associated with hope, death with doom. So long as a man lives, there is a possibility of amendment. Errors may be corrected, follies retrieved, evil courses abandoned; but let death come, and it will end all this. Any event that affects our future is important, but this is the most important of all.
“Great God, on what a slender thread
Hang everlasting things!
The eternal states of all the dead
Upon life’s feeble strings!”
No wonder, if in thought of these things, we should cry, “Spare me!”
II. THAT GOOD MEN SOMETIMES SHRINK FROM DEATH UNDER A SENSE OF WEAKNESS AND UNPREPAREDNESS. Some are prepared to die. But such a state of mind is rare and inconstant. The best of men have their times of misgiving, as well as their moments of exulting faith. Doubting Castle and the Valley of the Shadow of Death lie in the pilgrim’s path, as well as the Delectable Mountains. Even the sweet Land of Beulah is bounded by the cold flood and the swellings of Jordan. The moods of the soul vary. He who says to-day, “I will fear no evil” (Psa 23:4), may cry to-morrow from the dust, “Oh, spare me!” Paul had a large experience. He had been “in deaths oft” (2Co 11:23); his heart had been well-nigh broken by separations (Act 20:37); his whole soul shuddered at the thought of being a “castaway” (1Co 9:27); but what chiefly moved him in the thought of death was sin. “The sting of death is sin.” And this has been the feeling of many, and therefore the cry is not merely,” Spare me!” but, “that I may recover strength.”
1. Strength is needed to face death with fortitude.
2. Strength is lost through sin. There is the action of the body (Psa 39:11) and of the affections (Psa 39:12), but worst of all is sin. It clouds the mind, burdens the conscience, racks the heart, darkens the future (Psa 31:10).
3. Strength may be recovered if sought in due time. “Before I go hence.” To everything there is a season. Hence the urgency of the prayer. Life should be used for invigoration of the soul. To be ready we must have our lamps burning. We all receive warnings Perhaps we have been “spared” already. Therefore take heed. It is as we can say, “To me to live is Christ,” that we can add, “To die is gain.”
III. THAT IN THE SOUL‘S DARKEST HOUR GOD IS A SUFFICIENT REFUGE. “Spare me!” Why? Is it that you are young, that you have bright hopes, that you are concerned about those near and dear to you, that you have the consciousness of powers unused, or that you desire to do more for God than you have yet done? The great thing isAre you seeking this high boon for yourself or for God? If you put your hand in the fire, or cast yourself before the railway car, what boots it to cry, “Spare me”? We can only be spared, in the truest and best sense, by being brought nearer God. God is the Lord of life (1Sa 2:6; Rev 1:18); God is very pitiful and of tender mercy (Exo 33:11); God is mighty to save. Let us, therefore, trust in him. “Spare me!”if not the body, the soul; if not to longer life on earth, to eternal life with thee in heaven.W.F.
HOMILIES BY C. SHORT
Psa 39:1-13
The afflicted man.
The old question of the retributive justice of God lies at the bottom of this psalm. Why should the righteous be afflicted and the wicked prosper, since the sins of the latter are greater and more numerous than those of the former? But he has determined that he will not discuss his difficulties before the wicked, lest he should seem to complain of the Divine ways. But when he can no longer restrain speech, this is what he says, in which we have two main divisions of thought.
I. AN AFFLICTED MAN‘S PERPLEXITIES. (Psa 39:1-6.)
1. He wishes to know when his sufferings shall come to an endin death. (Psa 39:4.)
2. He is deeply impressed that human life should be so brief and fleeting. (Psa 39:5.) Man is but a breath, so that it seems scarcely worth while to live.
3. The restless exertions which men make here are to no purpose. (Psa 39:6.) Men are but fleeting shadows, and all that they seek for is evanescent; they are troubled in vain.
II. THE AFFLICTED MAN‘S HOPE. (Psa 39:7-13.) In God.
1. The good man is waiting for God. (Psa 39:7.) To unfold his purpose toward him more fully.
2. To be delivered from all his transgressions. (Psa 39:8.)
3. His hope in God teaches him self-restraint. (Psa 39:9.)
4. Teaches him to pray for the Divine mercy to remove his sufferings. (Psa 39:10.)
5. He pleads for mercy because of the brevity of his life. (Psa 39:12.) A stranger, “one who is but a passing guest;” a sojourner, “one who settles for a time in a country, but is not a native of it.”
6. And because it is near its close, (Psa 39:13.) I shall soon be no more. Help before it is too late for help. Such faith in God, with such views of this life as being all, is something marvellous, when compared with our faith in him, who believe in an immortal life.S.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary

Psalms 39.
David’s care of his thoughts. The consideration of the brevity and vanity of life. The reverence of God’s judgments, and prayer, are the bridles of his impatience.
To the chief Musician, even to Jeduthun, A Psalm of David.
Title. lamnatseach liiduthun. See what has been observed on the title to the former psalm. This, being of the same kind, is generally supposed to have been written on the same occasion. Here, as well as in that, David endeavours to prevent the scandal which good men take, while they are under afflictions, at the prosperity of the wicked; though he shews that upon same occasions it is very difficult not to be disturbed at it. Jeduthun, mentioned in the title, was one of the chief musicians, as appears from 1Ch 16:42; 1Ch 25:1. 2Ch 5:12. We may just remark, that some have supposed that the psalm was occasioned by the death of Absalom, after Joab had represented to the king the inconsistency of his grief. The first and second verses seem to allude to his resolution to stifle his grief in the presence of Joab: in Psa 39:4 he prays for due preparation for his own death, and strongly alludes to the untimely end of Absalom. This is enforced Psa 39:6 wherein he blames himself for making such ample provision for his heir, who was cut off in so sudden a manner. The reproach of the foolish, Psa 39:8 might allude to the malicious interpretation which Joab or his other enemies might cast upon his affliction. The precariousness of human beauty, Psa 39:11 might refer to Absalom’s remarkable beauty, in which he is said to have excelled all Israel. And the strength mentioned Psa 39:13 may allude to his loss of his two sons, Amnon and Absalom; children being frequently in Scripture styled the strength of their parents.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Psalms 39
To the chief Musician, even to Jeduthun, A Psalm of David
1I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue:
I will keep my mouth with a bridle,
While the wicked is before me.
2I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good;
And my sorrow was stirred.
3My heart was hot within me;
While I was musing the fire burned:
Then spake I with my tongue,
4Lord, make me to know mine end,
And the measure of my days, what it is;
That I may know how frail I am.
5Behold, thou hast made my days as a hand-breadth;
And mine age is as nothing before thee:
Verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.
6Surely every man walketh in a vain shew:
Surely they are disquieted in vain:
He heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.
7And now, Lord, what wait I for?
My hope is in thee.
8Deliver me from all my transgressions:
Make me not the reproach of the foolish.
9I was dumb, I opened not my mouth;
Because thou didst it.
10Remove thy stroke away from me:
I am consumed by the blow of thine hand.
11When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity,
Thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth:
Surely every man is vanity. Selah.
12Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my cry;
Hold not thy peace at my tears:
For I am a stranger with thee,
And a sojourner, as all my fathers were.
13O spare me, that I may recover strength,
Before I go hence, and be no more.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
For the Title, comp. Introduct. 12, No. 6. This Psalm is related in many particulars to Psalms 62. and has likewise many features in common with Job, and in some respects with Psalms 38. The Psalmist has undertaken to be silent respecting his sufferings, in the presence of the ungodly lest he should sin in his speech (Psa 39:1). He has been silent a short time in submission, but the burning and violent pain of his heart, enkindled to ill-humor in brooding over this unfortunate state of affairs, has found vent by the tongue (Psa 39:2-3). The context does not indicate that he has uttered such words in the presence of his enemies as have endangered his life, as Hitzig contends referring to an older cotemporary of the prophet Jeremiah. Moreover the following words are not in favor of taking them as a statement of what the Psalmist uttered when in ill-humor (Calvin, Hengst.). They do not express the self-accusation, that he then desired death as the end of his sufferings and prayed for an indication of its nearness. They express the present petition and wish, that God will make the afflicted man conscious of the shortness of life (Psa 39:4), in accordance with the universal perishableness of man (Psa 39:5). If, namely, all mortal movements are a noise about nothing (Psa 39:6), the best thing for the Psalmist is waiting on the Lord (Psa 39:7), whom now he implores, to deliver him from all his transgressions and not make him the scorn of the ungodly. He does not desire nor does he venture to complain that God has involved him in these sufferings (Psa 39:9); on the contrary he implores the removal of the stroke of His hand, because this would destroy him (Psa 39:10), considering the guilt and weakness of man (Psa 39:11). Therefore he can pressingly implore the hearing of his prayer, which is accompanied with tears, before his departure, on account of the shortness of his earthly pilgrimage (Psa 39:12-13). The same words as those in the second half of Psa 39:12 are found in Davids mouth in 1Ch 29:15. The language is more transparent than usual and sticks closer to the subject. [Ewald: It is the most beautiful of all the elegies in the Psalter.It has great and not accidental resemblances to the discourses of Job 3:31, and since the poets are different in the color of the language and the arrangement of the verses, either this author has read the book of Job, or the author of the book of Job was stimulated by the lamentation of this Psalm to seek a higher solution, the latter is more probable.C. A. B.]
Str. I. Psa 39:1. While the wicked is in my presence.This expression, in itself, might refer to a sinful speaking against the present enemy (Flam., Ruding., Hitzig), or to expressions of ill-will on account of the prosperity of the wicked which was before his eyes, as Psalms 37 (Geier, J. H. Mich., Kster, Delitzsch); but since the poet is throughout the Psalm occupied only with his own situation (Hupfeld), it is best to think of murmuring against God on account of his own severe sufferings, as Psa 38:13 sq., comp. Job 1:22; Job 2:10, (Kimchi, Calvin, De Wette, Hengst.), in which he is in danger of becoming a scorn of fools (Psa 39:8.).
Str. II. Psa 39:2. Away from prosperity.In the situation above described the afflicted man is silent for awhile, and indeed . Since words of silence never have their object with the explanation about good, e.g., the law and praise of God, prosperity and joy, (Chald., Aquil., Rabbins, many of the older interpreters until Rosenm.), or what might serve as a justification against slander (Calvin, Ruding.), are inadmissible. It might possibly be interpreted, I was silent respecting prosperity, in so far as it was not asked for or was dispensed with (Ewald, Kster), or turned away from the prosperity of the wicked, since the poet sought to put the inconsistency to a dead silence (Delitzsch), which would certainly be better than: turned away from the prosperous (Maurer). We might likewise say: far away from good = without joy and comfort (Geier, J. H. Mich.) or: so that it was not well with me, gloomy (Hupf.), or: not for good = without good results (Hengst.). A hard ellipsis, difficult to be understood, would result from the interpretation that it is an abbreviation of the complete clause: from good even to evil = utterly, Gen 31:24; 2Sa 13:22, (Flam., De Wette, Hitzig). We refer the obscure and disputed expression to the circumstance, in which the poet describes himself as an unfortunate man, whose pain has in vain fretted within him.
[Psa 39:3. Fire burned.Hupfeld: This is a usual figure of internal excitement and passion, as well as of the anxiety and pain resulting therefrom, when it is denied expression. Comp. Psa 22:15; Psa 32:3; Is. 20:9.C. A. B.]
Str. III. Psa 39:4. Make me to know,etc. The entire manner of expression shows, that the speaker does not inquire after the point of time of his death, because his sufferings would then be at an end, nor complain of his sufferings on account of the shortness of human life, because he has no longer hope of help; which then is taken as the subject of the previous complaint, derived from the time of his ill-humor, as in Job 6:7 sq.; Job 7:7; Job 14:1 sq.; Job 16:22, in contrasted reference to the present patient endurance of what God has done (Psa 39:9), where Luther improperly translates: Thou wilt make it right. The speaker, certainly does not implore instruction respecting the perishableness of all earthly and human things, which indeed he has experienced in the most direct way in his own sufferings and which is presupposed as the foundation of his prayer. Its purpose is: that God, by His operation upon the soul of the sufferer, may cause him to spiritually apprehend this for moral and practical purposes, in order that, when he apprehends his own person as a vanishing thing in the midst of the perishable, he may not make so much bustle about himself and his sufferings in the world, but may lay hold of God by faith, as the only true support. Thus there is unity in the entire Psalm and an advance in thought. The Psalmist speaks in a narrative form, Psa 39:1-3, but subsequently in prayer, arising out of the feelings which the reflection upon his previous action has excited in him, and from which the previous self-accusation as well as the increasing intensity and pressingness of the prayer have originated and are explained. If on the other hand Psa 39:4 sq., is regarded as the subject of the speech of the tongue mentioned in Psa 39:3, then we must either give an entirely new and independent beginning to the prayer, in Psa 39:7 (Calvin, Ruding., Hengst.), which thus divides the Psalm in two halves, with which neither the refrain of Psa 39:5 in Psa 39:11, nor the double Selah would agree; or we must with Hupfeld regard all spoken after Psa 39:3, as the contents of that which in Psa 39:3 welled forth from the glowing heart upon the tongue. Then the unity of the Psalm would be preserved, since the first half would have the meaning of an Introduction; but the contents do not suit the introduction at all, because there is no trace in the prayer of sinning with the tongue.7I would know what a transitory thing I am.It is not at all necessary to change into after Psa 89:48, comp. Isa 38:11, (Kimchi, Calvin, Cocc., Cleric., Hupfeld), whose meaning vum is doubtful, and is taken by Bttcher in the sense of: a little heap of earth, dust (de inferis, 274).
Psa 39:5. Hand-breadths.Instead of this the Vulgate has mensurabiles, and the ancient Psalters veteres after the Sept. , which however is a corruption of or which, as a literal translation of the Hebrew, is found in the Cod. Alex., and in Chrysostom and Gregory Nazianzen and even was known to Ambrose and by him explained not as the palm but as rings. [Hupfeld: It is used as a little measure of length to indicate the shortness of life, as with us, a span. The construction is that of the double accusative.C. A. B.]Only mere breath is every man though he stand firmly.It is best to connect with in contrast with . Man is thus described as vigorous, standing firm (Zec 11:16), strong in his own feelings, bold and stepping securely, and not merely as one who lives (Sept.). It is certainly, in no case, to be connected with the following Selah = standing he bowed. It is possible to connect this word with the entire clause = only to mere nothingness is every man appointed (Hengst. [Alexander]), or better: placed as mere breath (Bttcher), constitutus est. But this interpretation is not necessary and it cannot be sustained by appealing to the previous lines. For the assertion that before Thee ( = in Thine eyes) means according to Gods regulation is just as untenable as that never = nothing, but always, = nullity. Hupfeld adduces as decisive against it, Isa 40:17; Isa 41:12; Isa 41:24. The confirming yes may be put instead of the restricting only.8 Usage allows the one as well as the other.
Str. IV. Psa 39:6. Only as a shadow doth man walk.The Rabbinical interpretation that man walketh in darkness is incorrect. The beth is the so-called beth essenti. [It introduces the predicate. He walks about consisting merely of an unsubstantial shadow like that image of himself in the shadow upon the ground.Only for a breath do they make a noise.Perowne: All the fret and stir, all the eager clamor and rivalry of men, as they elbow and jostle one another to obtain wealth and rank, and the enjoyments of life, are but a breath. Comp. Jam 4:13-14.C. A. B.].He heapeth up.It makes no difference in the sense whether we think particularly of treasure. (Job 27:16, [A. V. riches]) or grain (Gen 41:35; Gen 41:49). The following verb, however, is in favor of the gathering of the harvest, and the suffix refers to a nom. plur. masc, understood.9
[Psa 39:7. And now.Perowne: Turning away as it were, with a sense of relief from the sad contemplation of mans fleeting, transitory life, to fix the eye of his heart on Him who abideth forever. We seem almost to hear the deep sigh with which the words are uttered. It is remarkable that even here, it is on God Himself, not on a life to come, that his hope sustains itself.C. A. B.].
[Str. V. Psa 39:8. Transgressions are regarded as the root of his sufferings and hence the prayer that they may be removed. Comp. Psa 38:5-6; Psa 31:10.Scorn of the fool.Comp. Psa 22:6. They, beholding his sufferings, would mock him and scorn him for his transgression, charging many things against him of which he was guiltless.
Psa 39:9. Because Thou didst it.The Thou is emphatic and indicates that his sufferings were the work of God and no one else.C. A. B.].
[Str. VI. Psa 39:11. And like the moth makest what he desires to melt away.As the moth consumes garments and they waste away, so that which is dearest and most desirable and precious to him, melts away under the stroke of Divine chastisement. This is a usual figure of perishableness, comp. Isa 50:9; Isa 51:8; Job 13:28.Only a breath is every manVid. Psa 39:5, to which this clause refers back.C. A. B.]
Str. VII. Psa 39:12. [To my tears.Delitzsch: Along-side of the words of prayer appear the tears likewise as a prayer understood by God, for when the doors of prayer appear to be closed, the doors of the tears remain open.C. A. B.]For I am a guest with Thee,etc. The expression which is rendered in the Sept. by (like 1Pe 2:11), originates from Gen 23:4, as a designation of the relation, in which Abraham stood to the natives of the land through which he wandered, and it was referred afterwards not only to the relation of foreign inhabitants of Canaan to the Israelites who were possessed of the full right of citizenship in the promised land, it being in their possession, Exo 12:49; Lev 24:16; Lev 24:22; Lev 25:6, et al.; but likewise to the relation of the Israelites to God as the true and only Lord, Lev 25:23. The additional clause: as all my fathers, points to a comprehensive relation of this kind. We have therefore to think not of a merely personal and transient helplessness and need of protection, or of a mere dependence upon God, which likewise remains to those within the fellowship of the people of God, but to include in the idea, at the same time, the thought of the merely transient abode of man in this world, as likewise in 1Ch 29:15, and Heb 11:13 sq.Most ancient Psalters have after apud te, which is missing in Cod. Vat. of the Sept., likewise in terra. The Cod. Vat. also has this reading, while the Cod. Alex. has both readings, .
Psa 39:12. Look away from me, that I may cheer up.Gods looking away refers to the turning away His angry face, Psa 21:9; Psa 34:16; His look of wrath, Job 7:19; Job 14:6, which has as its result the cheering up (Job 9:27; Job 10:20) of the human countenance, since the clouds of care and shadows of trouble vanish.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. Even experienced believers are deceived at times as to the little reliance they can place upon good resolutions, but only for a short time. Temptation shows how weak we are, how little patience we have in affliction, how easy and how greatly we sin in our impatience and despondency in murmuring and complaining. It is to be well pondered that David in this Psalm does not declare his virtues in that he had formed his wishes after the rule of piety and sent them up to God, but that he rather complains of the weakness which misled him to foam in excessive pain and remonstrate with God. He sets before us in his person a mirror of human weakness, in order that we, being warned of the danger, may learn carefully to flee under the shadow of the wings of God. (Calvin).
2. When, however, in the fiery trial of temptation our good resolutions have not stood the test, the way to salvation is in the confession of our weakness and repentance for our foolish confidence in self. A truly pious man after such experiences of himself, will not justify himself by the plea of good intentions or excuse himself by the greatness of the temptation. He has learned, that he has trodden false paths, whilst he thought to conceal his weakness from the ungodly by a strength which he did not possess, and surrounded himself, without internal devotion and tranquility, with the appearance of quiet and patience. Then the pain consumes still deeper the unbroken heart and if he has kindled in it the dull heat of consuming fretfulness, this soon enough finds vent with the violence of long suppressed resentment.
3. The quiet patience of the pious, in the silence of resignation of oneself into the hands and will of God, is an entirely different thing from the defiant suppression of sullen fretfulness, or cold renunciation in mute resignation. The latter is followed too soon by the stormy outbreak of the enchained ill-humor and the lamentable pouring forth of the disquiet of the heart which is destitute of peace and joy. The former is strengthened by stern self-examination, by earnest reflection upon the world, and by ardent prayer, unto perseverance under the sufferings and temptations in this transitory world.
4. The transitoriness of the world and the brevity of human life, afford the man who is at peace in God, no reasons for consuming ill-humor and despondent complaints. Nor does he seek in them any ground of comfort, when his sufferings pain him, or the riddle of life troubles him. He is not so miserable that he hopes that the one will soon come to an end with the other. He hopes and waits on the Lord as the only reliable and only abiding one, who cannot be carried away by the rushing stream of the perishable, and whose voice cannot be drowned in the roaring and yet vain noise which they make. It is just this which is so heroic in the Old Testament faith, that in the midst of the riddles of the present, and in view of a future, losing itself in a night of gloom, it casts itself absolutely and without hesitation into the arms of God. (Delitzsch). Yet we must not forget, that herein is the root of the faith in immortality, resurrection and eternal life, for one of the characteristic names of Jehovah is =the Living one.
5. But now the communion with God in life, is restricted in man by sin, yet it would be entirely destroyed, if there were no deliverance from the power of sin, if the judging and punishing hand of God should strike the sinner dead. Therefore the afflicted man, who in his sufferings not only receives but recognizes the Divine punishment of his sins, directs his prayer to deliverance from both, from his sins and his sufferings. The former is manifest in the latter in this temporal life and is even clear to his enemies. It is accordingly in the interest of God as well, that He should not allow the man who waits upon Him, having been converted to Him, to be the scorn of the fool; and even the brevity of the human pilgrimage in the land of promise may under these circumstances be used as a motive for the speedy exhibition of the Divine mercy, as in Job.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
The sins of the tongue must be repented of by the entire man.There is a time to be silent and a time to speak.The silence of the sufferer who is resigned to the will of God is very different in its causes and effects from the silence of the tempted sinner in the pride of his self-righteousness, in the weakness of his despondency, in the stubbornness of his despair.In the hour of temptation it is seen that we need another power than our good resolutions.He who lives and suffers in faith in the righteous government of God, may have sore trials to bear, but he will not open his mouth in complaints, murmurings, and blasphemies, but in confession of sin, in appeals to the mercy of God, in praising the glory of the Lord.He who can find no more words for prayer, may let his tears speak for him, and God knows what they mean.The more severely we have to bear the burden of our sins under the pressure of sufferings, the more ardent is the prayer for release by the hand of God.The sufferings of the penitent are a scorn of the fool, but Gods eye observes them.Even under long suffering the path which we walk is but short, and even the least burdened have heavy burdens to bear; so much the more necessary is it to find God early, for, without Him, everything is nothing.Take care that thou dost not exchange a short joy for long pain, and in chasing after perishable goods lose God, the everlasting good.The explanation of our earthly pilgrimage; a stranger on earth, at home with God.
Starke: In the pious the spirit has to wage a severe conflict with the flesh on account of the prosperity of the ungodly, and the misfortunes of the pious.Secret fire and pain concealed within the heart, rage with all the more violence; hence the best advice is to shake them out in Gods lap, and besides manifest oneself a Christian well trained in the cross.If your tongue is to be kept from sinning against God and your neighbors, your heart must first be purified from pride, impatience, and envy.If the days of our life are short and their end uncertain, let us be diligent not only to properly employ a part of them, but our whole time.Where faith and living hope are, Christian patience and humility under the strong hand of God are assured of a desired issue.
Osiander: Man, so far as he is regenerate, desires to quench the ill humor and impatience of his fleshSelnekker: Faith and Hope must overcome all murmuring.Dauderstadt: In every trouble our chief care should be not to transgress.Bake: We build here so firmly and yet are stranger guests.Bengel: David in this Psalm longs beyond measure for the heavenly native land.Diedrich: Blessed is the man who has God left to him from the shipwreck of all temporal prosperity, so that he now properly chooses Him for himself, and considers Him.Taube: Without revelation we understand neither life nor death, with the everlasting lamp we understand both.Thoughts of death foster the sense of our pilgrimage.Ahlfeld: Be not deceived respecting your home by a foreign land: 1). Which is the foreign land? 2). Which is the home? 3). How may we hold fast to our home when abroad?Thym: How does hope comfort in death? It fills us 1) with believing trust in our going home, 2) with glad prospects of home, 3) with comforting confidence of meeting again.Our life on earth is short and transitory. 1) All men know it; 2) but only the disciples of the Lord think of it; 3) and yet it decides our everlasting welfare.Deichert: The poor human heart attains rest only by resigning itself entirely to God. 1) Its vain struggles for rest and peace of soul without God; 2) its bitter and searching importunity in prayer to God; 3) its final triumph with God.
[Matth. Henry: Those that are of a fretful, discontented spirit, ought not to pore much, for white they suffer their thoughts to dwell upon the cause of their calamity the fire of their discontent is fed with fuel, and burns the more furiously.When creature confidences fail, it is our comfort that we have a God to go to, a God to trust to, and we should thereby be quickened to take so much the faster hold of Him by faith.Robert Leighton: It is a piece of strange folly, that we defer the whole, or a great part of our days work, to the twilight of the evening, and are so cruel to ourselves, as to keep the great load of our life for a few hours or days, and for a pained, sickly body. He who makes it his daily work to observe his ways, is not astonished when that day comes, which long before was familiar to him every day.We need not long lines to measure our lives by: each one carries a measure about with him, his own hand.There is a common imposture among people to read their fortunes by their hands; but this is true palmistry indeed, to read the shortness of our life upon the palms of our hands.Every mans fancy is to himself a gallery of pictures, and there he walks up and down, and considers not how vain these are, and how vain a thing he himself is.Barnes: The most perfect calmness and peace in trouble is produced, not when we rely on our own reasonings, or when we attempt to comprehend and explain a mystery, but when we direct our thoughts simply to the fact that God has done it.Spurgeon: To avoid sin one had need be very circumspect, and keep ones actions as with a guard or garrison. Unguarded ways are generally unholy ones. Heedless is another word for graceless.If I have the fever myself, there is no reason why I should communicate it to my neighbors. If any on board the vessel of my soul are diseased, I will put my heart in quarantine, and allow none to go on shore in the boat of speech till I have a clean bill of health.Nature may do her best to silence the expression of discontent, but unless grace comes to her rescue, she will be sure to succumb.Worldly men walk like travellers in a mirage, deluded, duped, deceived, soon to be filled with disappointment and despair.Men fret, and fume, and worry, and all for mere nothing. They are shadows pursuing shadows, while death pursues them.All our desires and delights are wretched moth-eaten things when the Lord visits us in His anger.C. A. B.]
Footnotes:
[7][Perowne agrees with Hupfeld in what is the best view. The words that he spake with his tongue, are those which follow to the end of the Psalm. The introduction is merely the record of that inward struggle out of which the Psalm itself arose. And the words that he does speak are directed to God in prayer for teaching, not to man in complaints.C. A. B.]
[8][A. V. has verily but this is not so good.C. A. B.]
[9][Wordsworth: He heapeth up wealth like sheaves on the threshing floor and knoweth not who shall gather the corn into the barn; comp. Mat 25:24, gathering where thou hast not strawed or winnowed. David heaped up a great store of riches for the Temple of God, which he was not permitted to build; and he might sometimes feel misgivings and apprehensions lest those preparations should be frustrated, and that provision be dissipated.C. A. B.].
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

CONTENTS
This is a mournful Psalm, on the sorrows and uncertainty of life, full of pious breathings on death, and the solemn consequences of it. The Psalm closes in prayer.
To the chief Musician, even to Jeduthan. A Psalm of David.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

What a beautiful and lovely example doth Jesus hold forth of silence, not only in the sight, but under the reproaches of the ungodly! Oh! for grace to be always keeping in view him who endured such a contradiction of sinners against himself, lest we be weary and faint in our mind. Heb 12:3 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Psa 39:9
During the suffering of his last illness Calvin was heard repeating the words of Hezekiah: ‘I did mourn as a dove; mine eyes fail with looking upward,’ followed by those of this Psalm; ‘I was dumb; I opened not my mouth, because Thou didst it.’
John Ker.
Psa 39:13
There is no mistaking the reality which prayer, in the sense of communion with God, was to him. When he heard of his appointment as Master he was staying in a friend’s house. ‘He leant his head against the mantelpiece and prayed aloud, “Oh spare me a little that I may recover my strength, before I go hence and be no more seen”.’
Life of Benjamin Jowett.
References. XXXIX. International Critical Commentary, vol. i. p. 344. XXXIX. 1. R. C. Trench, Sermons in Westminster Abbey, p. 114. XXXIX. 1, 2. C. Vince, The Unchanging Saviour, p. 21. J. B. Mozley, University Sermons, p. 223. XXXIX. 4. J. Budgen, Parochial Sermons, vol. i. p. 157. XXXIX. 4, 5. Bishop Bethell, Sermons, vol. i. p. 154. XXXIX. 12. J. Budgen, Parochial Sermons, vol. i. p. 166. XL. International Critical Commentary, vol. i. p. 350. XL. 3. J. Stalker, The New Song, p. 9. XL. 5. W. L. Alexander, Sermons, p. 191. XL. 7. H. Scott Holland, Logic and Life, p. 110. XL. 7, 8. Bishop Bethell, Sermons, vol. i. p. 478.
Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson

PSALMS

XI
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF PSALMS

According to my usual custom, when taking up the study of a book of the Bible I give at the beginning a list of books as helps to the study of that book. The following books I heartily commend on the Psalms:
1. Sampey’s Syllabus for Old Testament Study . This is especially good on the grouping and outlining of some selected psalms. There are also some valuable suggestions on other features of the book.
2. Kirkpatrick’g commentary, in “Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges,” is an excellent aid in the study of the Psalter.
3. Perowne’s Book of Psalms is a good, scholarly treatise on the Psalms. A special feature of this commentary is the author’s “New Translation” and his notes are very helpful.
4. Spurgeon’s Treasury of David. This is just what the title implies. It is a voluminous, devotional interpretation of the Psalms and helpful to those who have the time for such extensive study of the Psalter.
5. Hengstenburg on the Psalms. This is a fine, scholarly work by one of the greatest of the conservative German scholars.
6. Maclaren on the Psalms, in “The Expositor’s Bible,” is the work of the world’s safest, sanest, and best of all works that have ever been written on the Psalms.
7. Thirtle on the Titles of the Psalms. This is the best on the subject and well worth a careful study.
At this point some definitions are in order. The Hebrew word for psalm means praise. The word in English comes from psalmos , a song of lyrical character, or a song to be sung and accompanied with a lyre. The Psalter is a collection of sacred and inspired songs, composed at different times and by different authors.
The range of time in composition was more than 1,000 years, or from the time of Moses to the time of Ezra. The collection in its present form was arranged probably by Ezra in the fifth century, B.C.
The Jewish classification of Old Testament books was The Law, the Prophets, and the Holy Writings. The Psalms was given the first place in the last group.
They had several names, or titles, of the Psalms. In Hebrew they are called “The Book of Prayers,” or “The Book of Praises.” The Hebrew word thus used means praises. The title of the first two books is found in Psa 72:20 : “The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.” The title of the whole collection of Psalms in the Septuagint is Biblos Psalman which means the “Book of Psalms.” The title in the Alexandrian Codex is Psalterion which is the name of a stringed instrument, and means “The Psalter.”
The derivation of our English words, “psalms,” “psalter,” and “psaltery,” respectively, is as follows:
1. “Psalms” comes from the Greek word, psalmoi, which is also from psallein , which means to play upon a stringed instrument. Therefore the Psalms are songs played upon stringed instruments, and the word here is used to apply to the whole collection.
2. “Psalter” is of the same origin and means the Book of Psalms and refers also to the whole collection.
3. “Psaltery” is from the word psalterion, which means “a harp,” an instrument, supposed to be in the shape of a triangle or like the delta of the Greek alphabet. See Psa 33:2 ; Psa 71:22 ; Psa 81:2 ; Psa 144:9 .
In our collection there are 150 psalms. In the Septuagint there is one extra. It is regarded as being outside the sacred collection and not inspired. The subject of this extra psalm is “David’s victory over Goliath.” The following is a copy of it: I was small among my brethren, And youngest in my father’s house, I used to feed my father’s sheep. My hands made a harp, My fingers fashioned a Psaltery. And who will declare unto my Lord? He is Lord, he it is who heareth. He it was who sent his angel And took me from my father’s sheep, And anointed me with the oil of his anointing. My brethren were goodly and tall, But the Lord took no pleasure in them. I went forth to meet the Philistine. And he cursed me by his idols But I drew the sword from beside him; I beheaded him and removed reproach from the children of Israel.
It will be noted that this psalm does not have the earmarks of an inspired production. There is not found in it the modesty so characteristic of David, but there is here an evident spirit of boasting and self-praise which is foreign to the Spirit of inspiration.
There is a difference in the numbering of the psalms in our version which follows the Hebrew, and the numbering in the Septuagint. Omitting the extra one in the Septuagint, there is no difference as to the total number. Both have 150 and the same subject matter, but they are not divided alike.
The following scheme shows the division according to our version and also the Septuagint: Psalms 1-8 in the Hebrew equal 1-8 in the Septuagint; 9-10 in the Hebrew combine into 9 in the Septuagint; 11-113 in the Hebrew equal 10-112 in the Septuagint; 114-115 in the Hebrew combine into 113 in the Septuagint; 116 in the Hebrew divides into 114-115 in the Septuagint; 117-146 in the Hebrew equal 116-145 in the Septuagint; 147 in the Hebrew divides into 146-147 in the Septuagint; 148-150 in the Hebrew equal 148-150 in the Septuagint.
The arrangement in the Vulgate is the same as the Septuagint. Also some of the older English versions have this arangement. Another difficulty in numbering perplexes an inexperienced student in turning from one version to another, viz: In the Hebrew often the title is verse I, and sometimes the title embraces verses 1-2.
The book divisions of the Psalter are five books, as follows:
Book I, Psalms 1-41 (41 chapters)
Book II, Psalms 42-72 (31 chapters)
Book III, Psalms 73-89 (17 chapters)
Book IV, Psalms 90-106 (17 chapters)
Book V, Psalms 107-150 (44 chapters)
They are marked by an introduction and a doxology. Psalm I forms an introduction to the whole book; Psa 150 is the doxology for the whole book. The introduction and doxology of each book are the first and last psalms of each division, respectively.
There were smaller collections before the final one, as follows:
Books I and II were by David; Book III, by Hezekiah, and Books IV and V, by Ezra.
Certain principles determined the arrangement of the several psalms in the present collection:
1. David is honored with first place, Book I and II, including Psalms 1-72.
2. They are grouped according to the use of the name of God:
(1) Psalms 1-41 are Jehovah psalms;
(2) Psalms 42-83 are Elohim-psalms;
(3) Psalms 84-150 are Jehovah psalms.
3. Book IV is introduced by the psalm of Moses, which is the first psalm written.
4. Some are arranged as companion psalms, for instance, sometimes two, sometimes three, and sometimes more. Examples: Psa 2 and 3; 22, 23, and 24; 113-118.
5. They were arranged for liturgical purposes, which furnished the psalms for special occasions, such as feasts, etc. We may be sure this arrangement was not accidental. An intelligent study of each case is convincing that it was determined upon rational grounds.
All the psalms have titles but thirty-three, as follows:
In Book I, Psa 1 ; Psa 2 ; Psa 10 ; Psa 33 , (4 are without titles).
In Book II, Psa 43 ; Psa 71 , (2 are without titles).
In Book IV, Psa 91 ; Psa 93 ; Psa 94 ; Psa 95 ; Psa 96 ; Psa 97 ; Psa 104 ; Psa 105 ; Psa 106 , (9 are without titles).
In Book V, Psa 107 ; III; 112; 113; 114; 115; 116; 117; 118; 119; 135; 136; 137; 146; 147; 148; 149; 150, (18 are without titles).
The Talmud calls these psalms that have no title, “Orphan Psalms.” The later Jews supply these titles by taking the nearest preceding author. The lack of titles in Psa 1 ; Psa 2 ; and 10 may be accounted for as follows: Psa 1 is a general introduction to the whole collection and Psa 2 was, perhaps, a part of Psa 1 . Psalms 9-10 were formerly combined into one, therefore Psa 10 has the same title as Psa 9 .
QUESTIONS

1. What books are commended on the Psalms?
2. What is a psalm?
3. What is the Psalter?
4. What is the range of time in composition?
5. When and by whom was the collection in its present form arranged?
6. What the Jewish classification of Old Testament books, and what the position of the Psalter in this classification?
7. What is the Hebrew title of the Psalms?
8. Find the title of the first two books from the books themselves.
9. What is the title of the whole collection of psalms in the Septuagint?
10. What is the title in the Alexandrian Codex?
11. What is the derivation of our English word, “Psalms”, “Psalter”, and “Psaltery,” respectively?
12. How many psalms in our collection?
13. How many psalms in the Septuagint?
14. What about the extra one in the Septuagint?
15. What is the subject of this extra psalm?
16. How does it compare with the Canonical Psalms?
17. What is the difference in the numbering of the psalms in our version which follows the Hebrew, and the numbering in the Septuagint?
18. What is the arrangement in the Vulgate?
19. What other difficulty in numbering which perplexes an inexperienced student in turning from one version to another?
20. What are the book divisions of the Psalter and how are these divisions marked?
21. Were there smaller collections before the final one? If so, what were they?
22. What principles determined the arrangement of the several psalms in the present collection?
23. In what conclusion may we rest concerning this arrangement?
24. How many of the psalms have no titles?
25. What does the Talmud call these psalms that have no titles?
26. How do later Jews supply these titles?
27. How do you account for the lack of titles in Psa 1 ; Psa 2 ; Psa 10 ?
XII
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF PSALMS (CONTINUED)

The following is a list of the items of information gathered from the titles of the psalms:
1. The author: “A Psalm of David” (Psa 37 ).
2. The occasion: “When he fled from Absalom, his son” (Psa 3 ).
3. The nature, or character, of the poem:
(1) Maschil, meaning “instruction,” a didactic poem (Psa 42 ).
(2) Michtam, meaning “gold,” “A Golden Psalm”; this means excellence or mystery (Psa 16 ; 56-60).
4. The occasion of its use: “A Psalm of David for the dedication of the house” (Psa 30 ).
5. Its purpose: “A Psalm of David to bring remembrance” (Psa 38 ; Psa 70 ).
6. Direction for its use: “A Psalm of David for the chief musician” (Psa 4 ).
7. The kind of musical instrument:
(1) Neginoth, meaning to strike a chord, as on stringed instruments (Psa 4 ; Psa 61 ).
(2) Nehiloth, meaning to perforate, as a pipe or flute (Psa 5 ).
(3) Shoshannim, Lilies, which refers probably to cymbals (Psa 45 ; Psa 69 ).
8. A special choir:
(1) Sheminith, the “eighth,” or octave below, as a male choir (Psa 6 ; Psa 12 ).
(2) Alamoth, female choir (Psa 46 ).
(3) Muth-labben, music with virgin voice, to be sung by a choir of boys in the treble (Psa 9 ).
9. The keynote, or tune:
(1) Aijeleth-sharar, “Hind of the morning,” a song to the melody of which this is sung (Psa 22 ).
(2) Al-tashheth, “Destroy thou not,” the beginning of a song the tune of which is sung (Psa 57 ; Psa 58 ; Psa 59 ; Psa 75 ).
(3) Gittith, set to the tune of Gath, perhaps a tune which David brought from Gath (Psa 8 ; Psa 81 ; Psa 84 ).
(4) Jonath-elim-rehokim, “The dove of the distant terebinths,” the commencement of an ode to the air of which this song was to be sung (Psa 56 ).
(5) Leannoth, the name of a tune (Psa 88 ).
(6) Mahalath, an instrument (Psa 53 ); Leonnoth-Mahaloth, to chant to a tune called Mahaloth.
(7) Shiggaion, a song or a hymn.
(8) Shushan-Eduth, “Lily of testimony,” a tune (Psa 60 ). Note some examples: (1) “America,” “Shiloh,” “Auld Lang Syne.” These are the names of songs such as we are familiar with; (2) “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” and “There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood,” are examples of sacred hymns.
10. The liturgical use, those noted for the feasts, e.g., the Hallels and Hallelujah Psalms (Psalms 146-150).
11. The destination, as “Song of Ascents” (Psalms 120-134)
12. The direction for the music, such as Selah, which means “Singers, pause”; Higgaion-Selah, to strike a symphony with selah, which means an instrumental interlude (Psa 9:16 ).
The longest and fullest title to any of the psalms is the title to Psa 60 . The items of information from this title are as follows: (1) the author; (2) the chief musician; (3) the historical occasion; (4) the use, or design; (5) the style of poetry; (6) the instrument or style of music.
The parts of these superscriptions which most concern us now are those indicating author, occasion, and date. As to the historic value or trustworthiness of these titles most modern scholars deny that they are a part of the Hebrew text, but the oldest Hebrew text of which we know anything had all of them. This is the text from which the Septuagint was translated. It is much more probable that the author affixed them than later writers. There is no internal evidence in any of the psalms that disproves the correctness of them, but much to confirm. The critics disagree among themselves altogether as to these titles. Hence their testimony cannot consistently be received. Nor can it ever be received until they have at least agreed upon a common ground of opposition.
David is the author of more than half the entire collection, the arrangement of which is as follows:
1. Seventy-three are ascribed to him in the superscriptions.
2. Some of these are but continuations of the preceding ones of a pair, trio, or larger group.
3. Some of the Korahite Psalms are manifestly Davidic.
4. Some not ascribed to him in the titles are attributed to him expressly by New Testament writers.
5. It is not possible to account for some parts of the Psalter without David. The history of his early life as found in Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1and 2 Chronicles, not only shows his remarkable genius for patriotic and sacred songs and music, but also shows his cultivation of that gift in the schools of the prophets. Some of these psalms of the history appear in the Psalter itself. It is plain to all who read these that they are founded on experience, and the experience of no other Hebrew fits the case. These experiences are found in Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles.
As to the attempt of the destructive critics to rob David of his glory in relation to the Psalter by assigning the Maccabean era as the date of composition, I have this to say:
1. This theory has no historical support whatever, and therefore is not to be accepted at all.
2. It has no support in tradition, which weakens the contention of the critics greatly.
3. It has no support from finding any one with the necessary experience for their basis.
4. They can give no reasonable account as to how the titles ever got there.
5. It is psychologically impossible for anyone to have written these 150 psalms in the Maccabean times.
6. Their position is expressly contrary to the testimony of Christ and the apostles. Some of the psalms which they ascribe to the Maccabean Age are attributed to David by Christ himself, who said that David wrote them in the Spirit.
The obvious aim of this criticism and the necessary result if it be Just, is a positive denial of the inspiration of both Testaments.
Other authors are named in the titles, as follows: (1) Asaph, to whom twelve psalms have been assigned: (2) Mosee, Psa 90 ; (3) Solomon, Psa 72 ; Psa 127 ; (4) Heman, Psa 80 ; (5) Ethem, Psa 89 ; (6) A number of the psalms are ascribed to the sons of Korah.
Not all the psalms ascribed to Asaph were composed by one person. History indicates that Asaph’s family presided over the song service for several generations. Some of them were composed by his descendants by the game name. The five general outlines of the whole collection are as follows:
I. By books

1. Psalms 1-41 (41)
2. Psalms 42-72 (31)
3. Psalms 73-89 (17)
4. Psalms 90-106 (17)
5. Psalms 107-150 (44)
II. According to date and authorship

1. The psalm of Moses (Psa 90 )
2. Psalms of David:
(1) The shepherd boy (Psa 8 ; Psa 19 ; Psa 29 ; Psa 23 ).
(2) David when persecuted by Saul (Psa 59 ; Psa 56 ; Psa 34 ; Psa 52 ; Psa 54 ; Psa 57 ; Psa 142 ).
(3) David the King (Psa 101 ; Psa 18 ; Psa 24 ; Psa 2 ; Psa 110 ; Psa 20 ; Psa 20 ; Psa 21 ; Psa 60 ; Psa 51 ; Psa 32 ; Psa 41 ; Psa 55 ; Psa 3:4 ; Psa 64 ; Psa 62 ; Psa 61 ; Psa 27 ).
3. The Asaph Psalms (Psa 50 ; Psa 73 ; Psa 83 ).
4. The Korahite Psalms (Psa 42 ; Psa 43 ; Psa 84 ).
5. The psalms of Solomon (Psa 72 ; Psa 127 ).
6. The psalms of the era of Hezekiah and Isaiah (Psa 46 ; Psa 47 ; Psa 48 )
7. The psalms of the Exile (Psa 74 ; Psa 79 ; Psa 137 ; Psa 102 )
8. The psalms of the Restoration (Psa 85 ; Psa 126 ; Psa 118 ; 146-150)
III. By groups

1. The Jehovistic and Elohistic Psalms:
(1) Psalms 1-41 are Jehovistic;
(2) Psalms 42-83 are Elohistic Psalms;
(3) Psalms 84-150 are Jehovistic.
2. The Penitential Psalms (Psa 6 ; Psa 32 ; Psa 38 ; Psa 51 ; Psa 102 ; Psa 130 ; Psa 143 )
3. The Pilgrim Psalms (Psalms 120-134)
4. The Alphabetical Psalms (Psa 9 ; Psa 10 ; Psa 25 ; Psa 34 ; Psa 37 ; 111:112; Psa 119 ; Psa 145 )
5. The Hallelujah Psalms (Psalms 11-113; 115-117; 146-150; to which may be added Psa 135 ) Psalms 113-118 are called “the Egyptian Hallel”
IV. Doctrines of the Psalms

1. The throne of grace and how to approach it by sacrifice, prayer, and praise.
2. The covenant, the basis of worship.
3. The paradoxical assertions of both innocence & guilt.
4. The pardon of sin and justification.
5. The Messiah.
6. The future life, pro and con.
7. The imprecations.
8. Other doctrines.
V. The New Testament use of the Psalms

1. Direct references and quotations in the New Testament.
2. The allusions to the psalms in the New Testament. Certain experiences of David’s life made very deep impressions on his heart, such as: (1) his peaceful early life; (2) his persecution by Saul; (3) his being crowned king of the people; (4) the bringing up of the ark; (5) his first great sin; (6) Absalom’s rebellion; (7) his second great sin; (8) the great promise made to him in 2Sa 7 ; (9) the feelings of his old age.
We may classify the Davidic Psalms according to these experiences following the order of time, thus:
1. His peaceful early life (Psa 8 ; Psa 19 ; Psa 29 ; Psa 23 )
2. His persecution by Saul (Psa 59 ; Psa 56 ; Psa 34 ; Psa 7 ; Psa 52 ; Psa 120 ; Psa 140 ; Psa 54 ; Psa 57 ; Psa 142 ; Psa 17 ; Psa 18 )
3. Making David King (Psa 27 ; Psa 133 ; Psa 101 )
4. Bringing up the ark (Psa 68 ; Psa 24 ; Psa 132 ; Psa 15 ; Psa 78 ; Psa 96 )
5. His first great sin (Psa 51 ; Psa 32 )
6. Absalom’s rebellion (Psa 41 ; Psa 6 ; Psa 55 ; Psa 109 ; Psa 38 ; Psa 39 ; Psa 3 ; Psa 4 ; Psa 63 ; Psa 42 ; Psa 43 ; Psa 5 ; Psa 62 ; Psa 61 ; Psa 27 )
7. His second great sin (Psa 69 ; Psa 71 ; Psa 102 ; Psa 103 )
8. The great promise made to him in 2Sa 7 (Psa 2 )
9. Feelings of old age (Psa 37 )
The great doctrines of the psalms may be noted as follows: (1) the being and attributes of God; (3) sin, both original and individual; (3) both covenants; (4) the doctrine of justification; (5) concerning the Messiah.
There is a striking analogy between the Pentateuch and the Psalms. The Pentateuch contains five books of law; the Psalms contain five books of heart responses to the law.
It is interesting to note the historic controversies concerning the singing of psalms. These were controversies about singing uninspired songs, in the Middle Ages. The church would not allow anything to be used but psalms.
The history in Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles, and in Ezra and Nehemiah is very valuable toward a proper interpretation of the psalms. These books furnish the historical setting for a great many of the psalms which is very indispensable to their proper interpretation.
Professor James Robertson, in the Poetry and Religion of the Psalms constructs a broad and strong argument in favor of the Davidic Psalms, as follows:
1. The age of David furnished promising soil for the growth of poetry.
2. David’s qualifications for composing the psalms make it highly probable that David is the author of the psalms ascribed to him.
3. The arguments against the possibility of ascribing to David any of the hymns in the Hebrew Psalter rests upon assumptions that are thoroughly antibiblical.
The New Testament makes large use of the psalms and we learn much as to their importance in teaching. There are seventy direct quotations in the New Testament from this book, from which we learn that the Scriptures were used extensively in accord with 2Ti 3:16-17 . There are also eleven references to the psalms in the New Testament from which we learn that the New Testament writers were thoroughly imbued with the spirit and teaching of the psalms. Then there are eight allusions ‘to this book in the New Testament from which we gather that the Psalms was one of the divisions of the Old Testament and that they were used in the early church.
QUESTIONS

1. Give a list of the items of information gathered from the titles of the psalms.
2. What is the longest title to any of the psalms and what the items of this title?
3. What parts of these superscriptions most concern us now?
4. What is the historic value, or trustworthiness of these titles?
5. State the argument showing David’s relation to the psalms.
6. What have you to say of the attempt of the destructive critics to rob David of his glory in relation to the Psalter by assigning the Maccabean era as the date of composition?
7. What the obvious aim of this criticism and the necessary result, if it be just?
8. What other authors are named in the titles?
9. Were all the psalms ascribed to Asaph composed by one person?
10. Give the five general outlines of the whole collection, as follows: I. The outline by books II. The outline according to date and authorship III. The outline by groups IV. The outline of doctrines V. The outline by New Testament quotations or allusions.
11. What experiences of David’s life made very deep impressions on his heart?
12. Classify the Davidic Psalms according to these experiences following the order of time.
13. What the great doctrines of the psalms?
14. What analogy between the Pentateuch and the Psalms?
15. What historic controversies concerning the singing of psalms?
16. Of what value is the history in Samuel, 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles, and in Ezra and Nehemiah toward a proper interpretation of the psalms?
17. Give Professor James Robertson’s argument in favor of the Davidic authorship of the psalms.
18. What can you say of the New Testament use of the psalms and what do we learn as to their importance in teaching?
19. What can you say of the New Testament references to the psalms, and from the New Testament references what the impression on the New Testament writers?
20. What can you say of the allusions to the psalms in the New Testament?
XVII
THE MESSIAH IN THE PSALMS

A fine text for this chapter is as follows: “All things must be fulfilled which were written in the Psalms concerning me,” Luk 24:44 . I know of no better way to close my brief treatise on the Psalms than to discuss the subject of the Messiah as revealed in this book.
Attention has been called to the threefold division of the Old Testament cited by our Lord, namely, the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms (Luk 24:44 ), in all of which were the prophecies relating to himself that “must be fulfilled.” It has been shown just what Old Testament books belong to each of these several divisions. The division called the Psalms included many books, styled Holy Writings, and because the Psalms proper was the first book of the division it gave the name to the whole division.
The object of this discussion is to sketch the psalmist’s outline of the Messiah, or rather, to show how nearly a complete picture of our Lord is foredrawn in this one book. Let us understand however with Paul, that all prophecy is but in part (1Co 13:9 ), and that when we fill in on one canvas all the prophecies concerning the Messiah of all the Old Testament divisions, we are far from having a perfect portrait of our Lord. The present purpose is limited to three things:
1. What the book of the Psalms teaches concerning the Messiah.
2. That the New Testament shall authoritatively specify and expound this teaching.
3. That the many messianic predictions scattered over the book and the specifications thereof over the New Testament may be grouped into an orderly analysis, so that by the adjustment of the scattered parts we may have before us a picture of our Lord as foreseen by the psalmists.
In allowing the New Testament to authoritatively specify and expound the predictive features of the book, I am not unmindful of what the so-called “higher critics” urge against the New Testament quotations from the Old Testament and the use made of them. In this discussion, however, these objections are not considered, for sufficient reasons. There is not space for it. Even at the risk of being misjudged I must just now summarily pass all these objections, dismissing them with a single statement upon which the reader may place his own estimate of value. That statement is that in the days of my own infidelity, before this old method of criticism had its new name, I was quite familiar with the most and certainly the strongest of the objections now classified as higher criticism, and have since patiently re-examined them in their widely conflicting restatements under their modern name, and find my faith in the New Testament method of dealing with the Old Testament in no way shattered, but in every way confirmed. God is his own interpreter. The Old Testament as we now have it was in the hands of our Lord. I understand his apostle to declare, substantially, that “every one of these sacred scriptures is God-inspired and is profitable for teaching us what is right to believe and to do, for convincing us what is wrong in faith or practice, for rectifying the wrong when done, that we may be ready at every point, furnished completely, to do every good work, at the right time, in the right manner, and from the proper motive” (2Ti 3:16-17 ).
This New Testament declares that David was a prophet (Act 2:30 ), that he spake by the Holy Spirit (Act 1:16 ), that when the book speaks the Holy Spirit speaks (Heb 3:7 ), and that all its predictive utterances, as sacred Scripture, “must be fulfilled” (Joh 13:18 ; Act 1:16 ). It is not claimed that David wrote all the psalms, but that all are inspired, and that as he was the chief author, the book goes by his name.
It would be a fine thing to make out two lists, as follows:
1. All of the 150 psalms in order from which the New Testament quotes with messianic application.
2. The New Testament quotations, book by book, i.e., Matthew so many, and then the other books in their order.
We would find in neither of these any order as to time, that is, Psa 1 which forecasts an incident in the coming Messiah’s life does not forecast the first incident of his life. And even the New Testament citations are not in exact order as to time and incident of his life. To get the messianic picture before us, therefore, we must put the scattered parts together in their due relation and order, and so construct our own analysis. That is the prime object of this discussion. It is not claimed that the analysis now presented is perfect. It is too much the result of hasty, offhand work by an exceedingly busy man. It will serve, however, as a temporary working model, which any one may subsequently improve. We come at once to the psalmist’s outline of the Messiah.
1. The necessity for a Saviour. This foreseen necessity is a background of the psalmists’ portrait of the Messiah. The necessity consists in (1) man’s sinfulness; (2) his sin; (3) his inability of wisdom and power to recover himself; (4) the insufficiency of legal, typical sacrifices in securing atonement.
The predicate of Paul’s great argument on justification by faith is the universal depravity and guilt of man. He is everywhere corrupt in nature; everywhere an actual transgressor; everywhere under condemnation. But the scriptural proofs of this depravity and sin the apostle draws mainly from the book of the Psalms. In one paragraph of the letter to the Romans (Rom 3:4-18 ), he cites and groups six passages from six divisions of the Psalms (Psa 5:9 ; Psa 10:7 ; Psa 14:1-3 ; Psa 36:1 ; Psa 51:4-6 ; Psa 140:3 ). These passages abundantly prove man’s sinfulness, or natural depravity, and his universal practice of sin.
The predicate also of the same apostle’s great argument for revelation and salvation by a Redeemer is man’s inability of wisdom and power to re-establish communion with God. In one of his letters to the Corinthians he thus commences his argument: “For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? -For after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preach-ing to save them that believe.” He closes this discussion with the broad proposition: “The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God,” and proves it by a citation from Psa 94:11 : “The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.”
In like manner our Lord himself pours scorn on human wisdom and strength by twice citing Psa 8 : “At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight” (Mat 11:25-26 ). “And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children that were crying in the temple and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased, and said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?” (Mat 21:15-16 ).
But the necessity for a Saviour as foreseen by the psalmist did not stop at man’s depravity, sin, and helplessness. The Jews were trusting in the sacrifices of their law offered on the smoking altar. The inherent weakness of these offerings, their lack of intrinsic merit, their ultimate abolition, their complete fulfilment and supercession by a glorious antitype were foreseen and foreshown in this wonderful prophetic book: I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices; And thy burnt offerings are continually before me. I will take no bullock out of thy house, Nor he-goat out of thy folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, And the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all of the birds of the mountains; And the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee; For the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, Or drink the blood of goats? Psa 50:8-13 .
Yet again it speaks in that more striking passage cited in the letter to the Hebrews: “For the law having a shadow of good things to come, not the very image of the things, can never with the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually, make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshipers, once purged should have no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance made of sins year by year. For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not, But a body didst thou prepare for me; In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hadst no pleasure: Then said I, Lo, I am come (In the roll of the book it is written of me) To do thy will, O God. Saying above, Sacrifice and offering and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou wouldst not, neither hadst pleasure therein, (the which are offered according to the law), then hath he said, Lo, I am come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second” (Heb 10:1-9 ).
This keen foresight of the temporary character and intrinsic worthlessness of animal sacrifices anticipated similar utterances by the later prophets (Isa 1:10-17 ; Jer 6:20 ; Jer 7:21-23 ; Hos 6:6 ; Amo 5:21 ; Mic 6:6-8 ). Indeed, I may as well state in passing that when the apostle declares, “It is impossible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins,” he lays down a broad principle, just as applicable to baptism and the Lord’s Supper. With reverence I state the principle: Not even God himself by mere appointment can vest in any ordinance, itself lacking intrinsic merit, the power to take away sin. There can be, therefore, in the nature of the case, no sacramental salvation. This would destroy the justice of God in order to exalt his mercy. Clearly the psalmist foresaw that “truth and mercy must meet together” before “righteousness and peace could kiss each other” (Psa 85:10 ). Thus we find as the dark background of the psalmists’ luminous portrait of the Messiah, the necessity for a Saviour.
2. The nature, extent, and blessedness of the salvation to be wrought by the coming Messiah. In no other prophetic book are the nature, fullness, and blessedness of salvation so clearly seen and so vividly portrayed. Besides others not now enumerated, certainly the psalmists clearly forecast four great elements of salvation:
(1) An atoning sacrifice of intrinsic merit offered once for all (Psa 40:6-8 ; Heb 10:4-10 ).
(2) Regeneration itself consisting of cleansing, renewal, and justification. We hear his impassioned statement of the necessity of regeneration: “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts,” followed by his earnest prayer: “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me,” and his equally fervent petition: “Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean; wash me and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psa 51 ). And we hear him again as Paul describes the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputes righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, And whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not reckon sin Psa 32:1 ; Rom 4:6-8 .
(3) Introduction into the heavenly rest (Psa 95:7-11 ; Heb 3:7-19 ; Heb 4:1-11 ). Here is the antitypical Joshua leading spiritual Israel across the Jordan of death into the heavenly Canaan, the eternal rest that remaineth for the people of God. Here we find creation’s original sabbath eclipsed by redemption’s greater sabbath when the Redeemer “entered his rest, ceasing from his own works as God did from his.”
(4) The recovery of all the universal dominion lost by the first Adam and the securement of all possible dominion which the first Adam never attained (Psa 8:5-6 ; Eph 1:20-22 ; Heb 2:7-9 ; 1Co 15:24-28 ).
What vast extent then and what blessedness in the salvation foreseen by the psalmists, and to be wrought by the Messiah. Atoning sacrifice of intrinsic merit; regeneration by the Holy Spirit; heavenly rest as an eternal inheritance; and universal dominion shared with Christ!
3. The wondrous person of the Messiah in his dual nature, divine and human.
(1) His divinity,

(a) as God: “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever” (Psa 45:6 and Heb 1:8 ) ;

(b) as creator of the heavens and earth, immutable and eternal: Of old didst thou lay the foundation of the earth; And the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure; Yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; As a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed. But thou art the same, And thy years shall have no end Psa 102:25-27 quoted with slight changes in Heb 1:10-12 .
(c) As owner of the earth: The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof; The world, and they that dwell therein, Psa 24:1 quoted in 1Co 10:26 .
(d) As the Son of God: “Thou art my Son; This day have I begotten thee” Psa 2:7 ; Heb 1:5 .
(e) As David’s Lord: The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, Until I make thine enemies thy footstool, Psa 110:1 ; Mat 22:41-46 .
(f) As the object of angelic worship: “And let all the angels of God worship him” Psa 97:7 ; Heb 1:6 .
(g) As the Bread of life: And he rained down manna upon them to eat, And gave them food from heaven Psa 78:24 ; interpreted in Joh 6:31-58 . These are but samples which ascribe deity to the Messiah of the psalmists.
(2) His humanity, (a) As the Son of man, or Son of Adam: Psa 8:4-6 , cited in 1Co 15:24-28 ; Eph 1:20-22 ; Heb 2:7-9 . Compare Luke’s genealogy, Luk 3:23-38 . This is the ideal man, or Second Adam, who regains Paradise Lost, who recovers race dominion, in whose image all his spiritual lineage is begotten. 1Co 15:45-49 . (b) As the Son of David: Psa 18:50 ; Psa 89:4 ; Psa 89:29 ; Psa 89:36 ; Psa 132:11 , cited in Luk 1:32 ; Act 13:22-23 ; Rom 1:3 ; 2Ti 2:8 . Perhaps a better statement of the psalmists’ vision of the wonderful person of the Messiah would be: He saw the uncreated Son, the second person of the trinity, in counsel and compact with the Father, arranging in eternity for the salvation of men: Psa 40:6-8 ; Heb 10:5-7 . Then he saw this Holy One stoop to be the Son of man: Psa 8:4-6 ; Heb 2:7-9 . Then he was the son of David, and then he saw him rise again to be the Son of God: Psa 2:7 ; Rom 1:3-4 .
4. His offices.
(1) As the one atoning sacrifice (Psa 40:6-8 ; Heb 10:5-7 ).
(2) As the great Prophet, or Preacher (Psa 40:9-10 ; Psa 22:22 ; Heb 2:12 ). Even the method of his teaching by parable was foreseen (Psa 78:2 ; Mat 13:35 ). Equally also the grace, wisdom, and power of his teaching. When the psalmist declares that “Grace is poured into thy lips” (Psa 45:2 ), we need not be startled when we read that all the doctors in the Temple who heard him when only a boy “were astonished at his understanding and answers” (Luk 2:47 ); nor that his home people at Nazareth “all bear him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth” (Luk 4:22 ); nor that those of his own country were astonished, and said, “Whence hath this man this wisdom?” (Mat 13:54 ); nor that the Jews in the Temple marveled, saying, “How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?” (Joh 7:15 ) ; nor that the stern officers of the law found their justification in failure to arrest him in the declaration, “Never man spake like this man” (Joh 7:46 ).
(3) As the king (Psa 2:6 ; Psa 24:7-10 ; Psa 45:1-17 ; Psa 110:1 ; Mat 22:42-46 ; Act 2:33-36 ; 1Co 15:25 ; Eph 1:20 ; Heb 1:13 ).
(4) As the priest (Psa 110:4 ; Heb 5:5-10 ; Heb 7:1-21 ; Heb 10:12-14 ).
(5) As the final judge. The very sentence of expulsion pronounced upon the finally impenitent by the great judge (Mat 25:41 ) is borrowed from the psalmist’s prophetic words (Psa 6:8 ).
5. Incidents of life. The psalmists not only foresaw the necessity for a Saviour; the nature, extent, and blessedness of the salvation; the wonderful human-divine person of the Saviour; the offices to be filled by him in the work of salvation, but also many thrilling details of his work in life, death, resurrection, and exaltation. It is not assumed to cite all these details, but some of the most important are enumerated in order, thus:
(1) The visit, adoration, and gifts of the Magi recorded in Mat 2 are but partial fulfilment of Psa 72:9-10 .
(2) The scripture employed by Satan in the temptation of our Lord (Luk 4:10-11 ) was cited from Psa 91:11-12 and its pertinency not denied.
(3) In accounting for his intense earnestness and the apparently extreme measures adopted by our Lord in his first purification of the Temple (Joh 2:17 ), he cites the messianic zeal predicted in Psa 69:9 .
(4) Alienation from his own family was one of the saddest trials of our Lord’s earthly life. They are slow to understand his mission and to enter into sympathy with him. His self-abnegation and exhaustive toil were regarded by them as evidences of mental aberration, and it seems at one time they were ready to resort to forcible restraint of his freedom) virtually what in our time would be called arrest under a writ of lunacy. While at the last his half-brothers became distinguished preachers of his gospel, for a long while they do not believe on him. And the evidence forces us to the conclusion that his own mother shared with her other sons, in kind though not in degree, the misunderstanding of the supremacy of his mission over family relations. The New Testament record speaks for itself:
Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them. How is it that ye sought me? Knew ye not that I must be in my Father’s house? And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them Luk 2:48-51 (R.V.).
And when the wine failed, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. And Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come. Joh 2:3-5 (R.V.).
And there come his mother and his brethren; and standing without; they sent unto him, calling him. And a multitude was sitting about him; and they say unto him. Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. And he answereth them, and saith, Who is my mother and my brethren? And looking round on them that sat round about him, he saith, Behold, my mother and my brethren) For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother Mar 3:31-35 (R.V.).
Now the feast of the Jews, the feast of tabernacles, was at hand. His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judea, that thy disciples also may behold thy works which thou doest. For no man doeth anything in secret, and himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou doest these things, manifest thyself to the world. For even his brethren did not believe on him. Jesus therefore saith unto them, My time is not yet come; but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that its works are evil. Go ye up unto the feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; because my time is not fulfilled. Joh 7:2-9 (R.V.).
These citations from the Revised Version tell their own story. But all that sad story is foreshown in the prophetic psalms. For example: I am become a stranger unto my brethren, And an alien unto my mother’s children. Psa 69:8 .
(5) The triumphal entry into Jerusalem was welcomed by a joyous people shouting a benediction from Psa 118:26 : “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Mat 21:9 ); and the Lord’s lamentation over Jerusalem predicts continued desolation and banishment from his sight until the Jews are ready to repeat that benediction (Mat 23:39 ).
(6) The children’s hosanna in the Temple after its second purgation is declared by our Lord to be a fulfilment of that perfect praise forecast in Psa 8:2 .
(7) The final rejection of our Lord by his own people was also clear in the psalmist’s vision (Psa 118:22 ; Mat 21:42-44 ).
(8) Gethsemane’s baptism of suffering, with its strong crying and tears and prayers was as clear to the psalmist’s prophetic vision as to the evangelist and apostle after it became history (Psa 69:1-4 ; Psa 69:13-20 ; and Mat 26:36-44 ; Heb 5:7 ).
(9) In life-size also before the psalmist was the betrayer of Christ and his doom (Psa 41:9 ; Psa 69:25 ; Psa 109:6-8 ; Joh 13:18 ; Act 1:20 ).
(10) The rage of the people, Jew and Gentile, and the conspiracy of Pilate and Herod are clearly outlined (Psa 2:1-3 ; Act 4:25-27 ).
(11) All the farce of his trial the false accusation, his own marvelous silence; and the inhuman maltreatment to which he was subjected, is foreshown in the prophecy as dramatically as in the history (Mat 26:57-68 ; Mat 27:26-31 ; Psa 27:12 ; Psa 35:15-16 ; Psa 38:3 ; Psa 69:19 ).
The circumstances of his death, many and clear, are distinctly foreseen. He died in the prime of life (Psa 89:45 ; Psa 102:23-24 ). He died by crucifixion (Psa 22:14-17 ; Luk 23 ; 33; Joh 19:23-37 ; Joh 20:27 ). But yet not a bone of his body was broken (Psa 34:20 ; Joh 19:36 ).
The persecution, hatred without a cause, the mockery and insults, are all vividly and dramatically foretold (Psa 22:6-13 ; Psa 35:7 ; Psa 35:12 ; Psa 35:15 ; Psa 35:21 ; Psa 109:25 ).
The parting of his garments and the gambling for his vesture (Psa 22:18 ; Mat 27:35 ).
His intense thirst and the gall and vinegar offered for his drink (Psa 69:21 ; Mat 27:34 ).
In the psalms, too, we hear his prayers for his enemies so remarkably fulfilled in fact (Psa 109:4 ; Luk 23:34 ).
His spiritual death was also before the eye of the psalmist, and the very words which expressed it the psalmist heard. Separation from the Father is spiritual death. The sinner’s substitute must die the sinner’s death, death physical, i.e., separation of soul from body; death spiritual, i.e., separation of the soul from God. The latter is the real death and must precede the former. This death the substitute died when he cried out: “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me.” (Psa 22:1 ; Mat 27:46 ).
Emerging from the darkness of that death, which was the hour of the prince of darkness, the psalmist heard him commend his spirit to the Father (Psa_31:35; Luk 23:46 ) showing that while he died the spiritual death, his soul was not permanently abandoned unto hell (Psa 16:8-10 ; Act 2:25 ) so that while he “tasted death” for every man it was not permanent death (Heb 2:9 ).
With equal clearness the psalmist foresaw his resurrection, his triumph over death and hell, his glorious ascension into heaven, and his exaltation at the right hand of God as King of kings and Lord of lords, as a high Driest forever, as invested with universal sovereignty (Psa 16:8-11 ; Psa 24:7-10 ; Psa 68:18 ; Psa 2:6 ; Psa 111:1-4 ; Psa 8:4-6 ; Act 2:25-36 ; Eph 1:19-23 ; Eph 4:8-10 ).
We see, therefore, brethren, when the scattered parts are put together and adjusted, how nearly complete a portrait of our Lord is put upon the prophetic canvas by this inspired limner, the sweet singer of Israel.
QUESTIONS

1. What is a good text for this chapter?
2. What is the threefold division of the Old Testament as cited by our Lord?
3. What is the last division called and why?
4. What is the object of the discussion in this chapter?
5. To what three things is the purpose limited?
6. What especially qualifies the author to meet the objections of the higher critics to allowing the New Testament usage of the Old Testament to determine its meaning and application?
7. What is the author’s conviction relative to the Scriptures?
8. What is the New Testament testimony on the question of inspiration?
9. What is the author’s suggested plan of approach to the study of the Messiah in the Psalms?
10. What the background of the Psalmist’s portrait of the Messiah and of what does it consist?
11. Give the substance of Paul’s discussion of man’s sinfulness.
12. What is the teaching of Jesus on this point?
13. What is the teaching relative to sacrifices?
14. What the nature, extent, and blessedness of the salvation to be wrought by the coming Messiah and what the four great elements of it as forecast by the psalmist?
15. What is the teaching of the psalms relative to the wondrous person of the Messiah? Discuss.
16. What are the offices of the Messiah according to psalms? Discuss each.
17. Cite the more important events of the Messiah’s life according to the vision of the psalmist.
18. What the circumstances of the Messiah’s death and resurrection as foreseen by the psalmist?
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible

Psa 39:1 To the chief Musician, [even] to Jeduthun, A Psalm of David. I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.
Ver. 1. I said, I will take heed ] He resolved so, Psa 38:13-14 , sc. to continue as one deaf and dumb, to use Isaac’s apology to scoffing Ishmael, viz. no apology, unless it be that which is real; for vivendo melius arguuntur obtrectatores, quam loquendo, slanderers and railers are best answered by silence. Eiusdem sensus est hic Psalmus cum priori (Kimchi).

That I sin not with my tongue ] A hard task, a long lesson, as Pambus, in the Ecclesiastical History, found it by experience; and after many years’ trial could not take it out. For the tongue is an unruly member; and “if any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body,” Jas 3:2 . David resolved to temper his tongue, and to keep a bridle or a muzzle for his mouth, while he was in extremity of pain, and in the presence of the wicked, who lay at the catch, and would soon exclaim; but his heart deceived him, for he quickly after brake his word, Psa 39:3 , and made a rash request, Psa 39:4 , so great need is there that the best pray to God to keep the door, as Psa 141:3 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

“To the chief musician, to Jeduthun: a psalm of David.” As the saint felt nothing before God, and therefore checked himself in presence of the wicked, so much the more could he speak, when the fire burned, in turning to Jehovah Who was using His stroke for correction, and this of iniquity. He owned himself a stranger and sojourner like saints of old, his fathers. To be strong and great here below was not his desire, but in his weakness he would be dependent on Jehovah. This closes the exercises of heart expressed to God by the tried godly. A vast change appears when Christ is introduced personally, as we shall see in the psalm that follows.
Here again we have a pair of psalms, where Christ appears unmistakably, even if the latter be not personal as the former.
Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 39:1-6
1I said, I will guard my ways
That I may not sin with my tongue;
I will guard my mouth as with a muzzle
While the wicked are in my presence.
2I was mute and silent,
I refrained even from good,
And my sorrow grew worse.
3My heart was hot within me,
While I was musing the fire burned;
Then I spoke with my tongue:
4Lord, make me to know my end
And what is the extent of my days;
Let me know how transient I am.
5Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths,
And my lifetime as nothing in Your sight;
Surely every man at his best is a mere breath. Selah.
6Surely every man walks about as a phantom;
Surely they make an uproar for nothing;
He amasses riches and does not know who will gather them.
Psa 39:1-6 The wicked live only for today, for themselves, but the faithful follower knows he lives and speaks for YHWH. However, without the aid of the Spirit (cf. Joh 6:44; Joh 6:65) the wicked cannot comprehend
1. their own spiritual and physical condition
2. the truth of God
They ask the wrong questions and focus on the wrong things.
Psa 39:1 I will guard Notice that the verb (BDB 1036, KB 1581, Qal cohortative) is repeated. The psalmist should not speak his thought about life and God in the presence of intrenched unbelief (i.e., Mat 7:6). This strophe cannot be proof-texted as a Scripture against witnessing to others. But it is true that some issues, some doctrines should be avoided in our conversations with unbelievers at first because of possible misunderstanding or confusion. A biblical worldview requires
1. the Spirit (cf. Joh 6:44; Joh 6:65)
2. a receptive heart (Matthew 13)
3. revelation in an understandable form
4. time/effort
The UBS Handbook (p. 374) interprets the silence as the psalmist not wanting to complain about his life in the presence of the wicked.
That I may not sin with my tongue The sin here must be understood in context as speaking truth that the wicked cannot receive (cf. Mat 7:6).
Psa 39:2-3 Apparently the psalmist tried not to think on these issues himself. But revelation caused him to address God with his question and concern about the fleetingness and transitoriness of human life.
Psa 39:2 I refrained even from good The MT of this line is I held my peace to no avail (i.e., without success; lit. no good, BDB 373). This is ambiguous and different translations explain it differently. In context it refers to the psalmist’s desire to speak but felt he should not. His reluctance to speak did not help the situation.
If life is so short, what should fallen humans focus on? The fate of the righteous and the unrighteous seems the same (cf. Ecc 2:14-16; Ecc 2:19; Ecc 2:26; Ecc 9:2-3).
Psa 39:3 the fire burned This verb (BDB 128, KB 145, Qal imperfect) is the same that describes Jeremiah’s compulsion to speak YHWH’s word (cf. Jer 20:9).
Psa 39:4-6 These are the issues the psalmist was musing (BDB 211, cf. Psa 5:1) about.
1. the uncertainty of life
2. the fleetingness of life
3. the false focus (i.e., fame, riches) of life
4. the unfairness of life
Psa 39:5 handbreadths This term (BDB 381) is one of several Hebrew measurements from the human body (see Special Topic: Cubit).
1. arms outstretched
2. finger tip to elbow
3. fingers outstretched
4. four fingers together
5. one digit of a finger
SPECIAL TOPIC: CUBIT
my lifetime as nothing in Your sight This is not asserting that YHWH does not care but that human life is fleeting and insignificant when compared to YHWH (cf. Isa 40:15).
a mere breath This phrase (BDB 481 construct BDB 210 I) is another connection to Ecclesiastes (cf. Ecc 1:2; Ecc 12:8; lit. vapor, breath, vanity, see Special Topic: Vain, Empty, Nothingness). This term is used thirty times in Ecclesiastes and only nine in the Psalms (cf. Psa 39:5-6; Psa 39:11; Psa 144:4) and three in Proverbs.
Selah See note at Psa 3:2 and Introduction to Psalms, VII.
Psa 39:6 phantom This is literally shadow (BDB 853). It can refer to clouds but is used regularly in a figurative sense of the transitoriness of life (cf. Job 8:9; Job 14:2; Psa 102:11; Psa 109:23; Psa 144:4). This is the issue of this Psalm! Psalms 8 would be a good theological parallel.
He amasses riches and does not know who will gather them This is so similar to the thought of Qoheleth in Ecc 2:18-23. See Special Topic: Wealth.
The NASB Study Bible (p. 778) has a good comment on this verse.
Could almost serve as a summary of Ecclesiastes.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

Title. A Psalm = Mizmor. See App-65.
of David = by David, and relating to the true David. The Psalm is a continuation of the subject of this last group of four Psalms. Psa 39:2:9 link it on to Psa 38:13; and Psa 39:1 to Psa 38:17. See note on Title of Psa 38:1.
I said = I formed this resolution (Psa 38:7).
take heed = observe, keep, or guard.
sin. Hebrew. chata’. App-44.
keep: same as “take heed to”, above. Septuagint and Vulgate read “I did put”.
a bridle = a muzzle.
the wicked = a lawless one. Hebrew. rasha’. App-44.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

Psa 39:1-13
Psa 39:1-13 . Jeduthun was one of David’s musicians, as was Asaph.
I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me. I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good; and my sorrow was stirred. My heart was hot within me; while I was musing the fire burned ( Psa 39:1-3 ):
Have you ever had that experience where you are just seething inside? While you are thinking on it you just start burning. “While I was musing, while I was thinking on the thing, man, did I burn inside.” And David said,
and then I spoke ( Psa 39:3 ),
It is best not to speak when you are in that shape. But David spoke to the right person; he spoke to the Lord. He said,
LORD, make me to know my end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am ( Psa 39:4 ).
God, help me to realize that I’m not so macho as I think. Help me to know my days. God, help me to really number my days. You know, I don’t have long. Life is short. If you live to be seventy, if you go on beyond that it’s going to be with hardship. Lord, teach me to number my days. Help me to realize how frail I am.
Behold, you have made my days just as a handbreadth; and my age is as nothing before thee ( Psa 39:5 ):
I like that. Don’t put any candles on my birthday cake. As far as God is concerned my age is as nothing.
verily every man at his best state is altogether empty ( Psa 39:5 ).
Man, poor man, so ignorant in that which he knows best. What is your best field of knowledge? What is your particular field of study? What was your major? How much is there to be known in that field in which you major? How much do you know in relationship to all that is to be known in that particular field? I think that, of course, Bible was my major, and I know the Bible better than any other single subject. But I’ll tell you, I am so ignorant in the Bible as far as all that there is to be known about this Word. Man, poor man, so ignorant in that which he knows best. “Man at his best is altogether empty.”
Surely every man walks in a vain show: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heaps up riches, but he knows not who’s going to spend them. And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee. Deliver me from all my transgressions: make me not the reproach of the foolish. I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because you did it ( Psa 39:6-9 ).
In other words, I didn’t complain against the stroke that was upon me, because I knew that it was from you.
Remove thy stroke from me: I am consumed by the blow of your hand. When you with rebukes correct man for iniquity, you make his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is empty. Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were. O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more ( Psa 39:10-13 ). “
Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary

To the chief Musician, even to Jeduthun, A Psalm of David. Jeduthun was one of those who led the sacred song in the house of God in Davids day, and, long afterwards, we find the son of Jeduthun still engaged in this holy service. What a blessing it is to be succeeded in the work of God by your children from generation to generation! May that be your privilege, my dear brethren! May your families never lack a man to stand before the Lord God of Israel to sing his praises! This is called, A Psalm of David. His life was a very chequered one; sometimes he was very joyous, and then he wrote bright and happy Psalms. But he was a man of strong passions and deep feelings; so at times he was very sad, and then he touched the mournful string. This is a very sorrowful Psalm, but it is full of teaching. How grateful we ought to be that such a man as David ever lived, and that he had such a wonderful experience! It may be said of him that he was A man so various, that he seemed to be not one, but all mankinds epitome. Well was he made the type of Christ in whose great heart the joys and sorrows of humanity met to the full. Thus the psalmist sings,
Psa 39:1. I said, I will take heed to my ways,
It is not everybody who would like to recollect what he has uttered; but David could remember and dwell upon what he had formerly said: I said, I will take heed to my ways. That is a good thing to do. He that does not take heed to his ways had need do so. Heedless and careless, and heedless and graceless, are much the same thing. He that does not take heed what he does will be sure to do wrong.
Psa 39:1. That I sin not with my tongue:
He that does not sin with his tongue usually has his whole nature under government. The tongue is the rudder of the vessel, and if that be managed well, the ship will be rightly steered. I said, I resolved, I determined and I uttered my determination, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue. Just then David was sinning in his heart, for it was in a great state of ferment, but he said, I will not sin with my tongue. It was with him as it sometimes is with the captain of a vessel; if someone on board is suffering from the yellow fever, the ship-master will not send a boat to the shore for fear of spreading infection, his vessel will be in quarantine untill all danger is past. It was thus with David; while all within him was seething and boiling in feverish impatience, he said, I shall not speak for the present, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue.
Psa 39:1. I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.
The marginal reading is, with a muzzle for my mouth. David would not speak at all, and herein he was not right. If he had said, I will keep my mouth with a bridle, as our translation has it, that would have been perfectly proper. We ought never to leave off bridling our tongue, but David muzzled his. He would not speak at all while the wicked were before him, he knew that they would misconstrue his words, that they would make mischief of whatever he said, so he muzzled himself when in their company.
Psa 39:2. I was dumb with silence,
I did not speak, I could not speak: I was dumb with silence.
Psa 39:2. I held my peace, even from good;
Davids conduct proves that, even when we are doing something which is right, we are apt to overdo it, and so we stray into a vice while pursuing a virtue. You can run so close to the heels of a virtue that they may knock out your teeth; you may be so ardent for one good thing that you may miss another: I held my peace, even from good.
Psa 39:2. And my sorrow was stirred.
Not giving it vent, it boiled and seethed: My sorrow was stirred. Sometimes, a little talk is a great easement to a troubled spirit; but, as David was dumb, his sorrow was not still.
Psa 39:3. My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned:
There was an inward friction, his griefs kept revolving till his heart grew hot; this heat generated fire, which burned so vehemently that, at last, the psalmist could not help himself, and he was obliged to speak.
Psa 39:3. Then spake I with my tongue,
Whether rightly or wrongly, he must say something, he could not hold himself in any longer: Then spake I with my tongue.
Psa 39:4. LORD,
If you must speak, address your words to the Lord. So David does, he does not speak to the wicked, but he prays to God most holy.
Psa 39:4. Make me to know mine end,
Did he wish to die? Perhaps so; you remember that one of the two men who never died once prayed that he might die. Elijah did so; and David does so here, I think, if I put a hard construction on his speech: Lord, make me to know mine end. But if I read it more tenderly, I may make it to mean, Lord, help me to recollect that my sorrows will not last for ever! That thought will tone them down, and keep them in cheek. Make me to know mine end.
Psa 39:4-5. And the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth;
That is, the breadth of your four fingers; all the length of life is to he measured by a span.
Psa 39:5. And mine age is as nothing before thee:
All that exists is as nothing before God. What are even the elder-born of angels but the infants of an hour in contrast with the ages of eternity? The world itself is only like a bubble blown yesterday, the sun is as a spark struck from the anvil of omnipotence but a few days ago; and as for man, compared with the eternal God, he is as nothing.
Psa 39:5. Verily, every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.
Or, as the Hebrew has it, every Adam is all Abel. Was not Abel the child of Adam, and was he not soon cut off? Every man even at his best state is altogether vanity. What poor creatures we are! Our breath is not more airy than we ourselves are; our lives are but as a mist that is blown away by the wind. Selah. When the psalmist had come so far, he stopped a while, to screw up the strings of his harp; such pressure as he had given it had taken away its melodious tones, and it needed to be brought again up to concert pitch.
Psa 39:6. Surely every man walketh in a vain show:
Like players, or actors, all of us are walking in a phantom show; which is not really anything, but only seems to be.
Psa 39:6. Surely they are disquieted in vain:
They make a dreadful noise in the tumult of the battle, the din of the exchange, the hum of the streets, the fret and worry of the counting-house; but it is all in vain.
Psa 39:6. He heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.
If a man does succeed in amassing wealth, it is a poor success; the muck-rake gathers, and then comes the fork that scatters. One man hoards it up, and another takes as much delight in squandering it. They think that they have entailed their estate, and that their name and house will continue as long as the sun, but it all comes to nothing. Vanity of vanities, said the son of David, all is vanity, and his father had said so before him.
Psa 39:7. And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.
There is no vanity in that declaration. Now we are on the rock, now we have come to something real. When a man trusts in the unchanging God, and hopes in the ever-blessed Saviour, he has come out of his state of vanity: My hope is in thee.
Psa 39:8. Deliver me from all my transgressions:
We had not expected David to offer that prayer, we might have thought that he would say, Deliver me from all my troubles, and from my many vexing thoughts. But no, he lays the axe at the root of the evil: Deliver me from all my transgressions. There is only One who can do that, even the glorious Son of God, who lived and died to save his people from their sins.
Psa 39:8. Make me not the reproach of the foolish.
The wicked will be ready enough to catch me up, and pour scorn upon me. Lord, keep me so right with thee, and so near to thyself, that they may never be able to reproach me!
Psa 39:9. I was dumb, I opened not my mouth, because thou didst it.
This verse should read, I will be dumb, I will not open my mouth, because thou hast done it. That is a better silence than the first, for the psalmist is getting into a right state. This is the proper silence, the other was brazen, this is golden. God help us to know how and when to practice it! Never speak against God whatever he does, open not your mouth when he chastens because whatever he does must be right.
Psa 39:10. Remove thy stroke away from me:
Having come to complete submission, he ventures to pray for deliverance from his sorrow. You may pray very boldly, and very freely, when you can truly say, Thy will be done. David had said that he would not open his mouth against his God, and now he begins to plead, Remove thy stroke away from me.
Psa 39:10. I am consumed by the blow of thine hand.
When God does strike, it is no playing matter; a blow of his hand consumes us.
Psa 39:11. When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth:
As a moth eats up the fur or the cloth, and spoils it, so, when Gods corrections come upon us, our beauty is soon gone. Poor beauty it must be that can so soon go. Lord, let thy beauty be upon us, for no moth can ever eat into that!
Psa 39:11. Surely every man is vanity. Selah.
In the fifth verse, you see that, when the psalmist reached that point, he stopped, and said, selah, and he does so again here. Striking his lyre with a heavy hand, he has put it out of tune again, so he pauses, and begin to screw the strings up once more. You and I often need to be screwed up like the strings of a harp, to put us in right order before we go on to praise or to pray.
Psa 39:12. Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry;
See how Davids prayer grows into a cry. It deepens in intensity; there is more power in a cry than in an ordinary prayer, it shows more earnestness, and implies greater urgency: Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my cry.
Psa 39:12. Hold not thy peace at my tears:
That is a still more powerful mode of pleading. Tears are the irresistible weapons of weakness. Women, children, beggars, and sinners can all conquer by tears: when they can win by nothing else, if they will take to these pearly drops, and especially if they can look through them to the crimson drops of a Saviours blood, they can win what they will of God:
Hold not thy peace at my tears.
Psa 39:12. For I am a stranger with thee,
The believer is a stranger in this world, just as God is. The Lord made the world, but the world does not know its Maker, and it does not know his people.
Tis no surprising thing, That we should be unknown:
The Jewish world knew not their King,
Gods everlasting Son.
I am a stranger, not to thee, but with thee, a stranger even as thou art. There is another very beautiful meaning to this expression. You know how the Orientals exercise hospitality to strangers; when they once take them into their tent, they supply them liberally, and treat them honourably. I am a stranger with thee: I am a poor alien who has come into Gods house to tarry for a while with him. I have eaten of his salt, I have cast myself upon his protection, so he will certainly take care of me: I am a stranger with thee.
Psa 39:12. And a sojourner, as all my fathers were.
They did not remain here. My fathers used this world merely as an inn, at which they stayed for a night; in the morning, they hurried on to the city that hath foundations, on the other side of Jordan,
To the islands of the Blessed,
To the land of the Hereafter,
where the saints dwell for ever with their Lord.
Psa 39:13. O spare me,
Deal gently with me; do not break me in pieces. If thou must needs smite me, yet do not altogether crush me. O spare me,
Psa 39:13. That I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more.
Let me be able to take a little nourishment, and to gather my faculties together yet again, that I may sing to thee some sweeter hymn before I cease to be in the land of the living, and go hence out of this world. So, you see, this is a sweet Psalm after all, it is a bitter sweet, a sweet bitter, a Psalm that tends towards our spiritual health. Many of us understand what David meant by it. May others, who as yet do not, soon be taught its gracious lessons! Amen.
Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible

Psa 39:1
THE BREVITY AND VANITY OF LIFE
The superscription entitles this psalm, ‘The Vanity of Life,’ but the brevity of life is also a feature. It is labeled ‘A Psalm of David,’ ‘for the Chief Musician, for Jeduthun.’
“Jeduthun, in this and in Psalms 62 and Psalms 72, was one of David’s three Music leaders, the other two being Asaph and Heman (1Ch 16:37-42). He was also the King’s Seer (2Ch 35:15).
William Jones has an outline of this psalm, as follows:
(1) Silence in Trouble (Psa 39:1-3);
(2) Speech in Trouble (Psa 39:4-6); and
(3) Supplication in Trouble (Psa 39:7-13).
There are a number of interpretations of these verses. (1) One view is that, “The psalmist’s breaking his vow of silence was sinful and that Psa 39:4-11 are his plea for forgiveness. Another view is that his breaking silence was altogether justified as in the case of Jeremiah (Jer 20:9).
Far too little is known about the actual circumstances that resulted in this psalm’s composition to provide very much certainty regarding exactly what is meant in every line.
“Ewald called this ‘The most beautiful of all the elegies in the Psalter.’
Spurgeon’s summary of the psalm has this:
“The psalmist is bowed down with sickness and sorrow, and is burdened by unbelieving thoughts and doubts, about which he resolves to be silent. His unsupportable grief demands expression, resulting in the prayer of Psa 39:3-6, wherein is a very despondent picture of human life.
Regarding the authorship: the assignment of the psalm to David in the superscription is the only information available on this question; and Delitzsch has declared that there is no authority whatever for critical assignment of it to, “any particular poet, other than David.
In this study, we shall examine the verses one by one.
Psa 39:1
“I said, I will take heed to my ways,
That I sin not with my tongue:
I will keep my mouth with a bridle,
While the wicked is before me.”
In common language, of course, this is merely a pledge on the part of the psalmist to keep his mouth shut. It is a fine resolution for most people, especially with regard to all complaints, criticisms, gossip, and many other elements that sometimes are featured in popular conversation.
Also, in the particular situation here, an unusually good reason for this self-imposed intention of silence is given in the final clause.
“Keep my mouth with a bridle” (Psa 39:1). Several have pointed out that the true meaning here is ‘muzzle,’ not ‘bridle.’
“While the wicked is before me” (Psa 39:1). Rawlinson admitted that this rendition is the literal meaning but preferred the Prayer-book Version. “While the ungodly is in my sight.
We are not very impressed with the imaginary “reasons” some writers have assigned for this silence in the presence of the ungodly.
Some have “guessed” that David was so impatient with God’s treatment of him and so concerned with doubts and unbelief that he was afraid he might say something that would cause his enemies to declare that he had lost his faith. Maybe so; but I find nothing in the psalm that backs up such an idea.
Of course, if that was indeed the situation, silence was certainly appropriate, “Because God’s people are not at liberty to express doubts or complaints, if doing so would give the wicked a chance to blaspheme, or if it should unsettle the faith of any believer.
However, as Spurgeon noted, “Silence in the presence of the ungodly is especially wise, `Because bad men are sure to misuse even our holiest speech; and it is well not to cast our pearls before such swine.’
Whatever the reason for David’s silence, the presence of the ungodly certainly was an element leading to his decision. We do not understand this as any ‘Vow to God’ on David’s part. There is nothing here that suggests that.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 39:1. David expressed the sentiments of this verse in Psa 19:14. He knew the relation between a man’s words and his action. That is why he resolved to bridle his mouth. This thought is expressed in Jas 3:3.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

Again the circumstances are sorrow and affliction. The attitude of the sufferer is true dignity. If the psalm be taken in connection with the preceding one, it marks an advance, perhaps a gain out of that experience. Then we saw a man crying out for Jehovah and His help. Here is a man still undergoing trial and acutely conscious of it, but he has found the secret place of communion and this conditions his attitudes. Toward his foes he maintains a great silence, the secret of which he presently declares-“I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because Thou didst it.” Yet the things he sees strangely stir him and at last he breaks the silence.
Here again the result of his knowledge of Jehovah is seen in that he speaks to Jehovah and not to his enemies. Thus he sets the strange prosperity of the wicked in relation to God. All the apparent success is seen to be nothing worth and this sorrowful man makes his personal appeal to Jehovah.
Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible

the Fleeting Measure of Our Days
Psa 39:1-13
In the opening verses David describes the circumstances out of which this psalm arose. The presence and prosperity of the wicked stirred him to the depths, but he carefully refrained from speech. There are hot moments in our lives, when we do well not to say what is in our hearts. But if our feelings demand a vent, let us get alone and speak out our hearts to God. A softer tone settles on heart and tongue, when we reach His holy presence.
How frail we are, not only in our life, but in our moods! We need not fear men; they are but for a moment; as a breath that curls up in the frosty air, or as a shadow sweeping across the mountainside. Only God abides. Man is vanity; his pride and beauty are like a bursting soap-bubble; he is a stranger and pilgrim along this bank and shoal of time. But the child of the Eternal God is a guest with him, Psa 39:12. He travels in our company. He makes Himself responsible for our well-being. He will bring us safely home as He did all our fathers.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary

Psalm 39 closes this series of fifteen Psalms by bringing before us in a very vivid way the contrast between human frailty and divine power, human sin and divine holiness. The first six verses seem to stand together and the Psalmist shows the utter emptiness of life without God. I trust that everyone of us realizes that. The old hymn is true:
I tried the broken cisterns, Lord,
But ah, their waters failed.
Een as I stooped to drink they fled
And mocked me as I wailed.
But at last the blessed Lord in grace took us up and we found the difference of the life in fellowship with God.
The pleasures lost I sadly mourned,
But never wept for Thee,
Till grace my sightless eyes received
Thy loveliness to see.
Now none but Christ can satisfy,
None other name for me;
Theres love and life and lasting joy,
Lord Jesus, found in Thee.
So here we find this Old Testament believer-and it was David himself-learning the same lesson, the emptiness of life without God; and then the fullness of life when one knows God and lives in fellowship with Him. Look at those first six verses, I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me. I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good; and my sorrow was stirred. My heart was hot within me; while I was musing the fire burned. God wants us to muse. To muse is to think, and God is seeking to get men to think. The prodigal never took a step toward his father until he sat down to think. We read, He came to himself. The devil tries to keep people from musing, from thinking. Take that word so common today, amusement. People are amusement crazy. The devil has all kinds of schemes to amuse people. Cut that word up, Muse-to think. A-muse-not to think. The A there is the negative, and it simply means this, to stop thinking. That is why the theaters are crowded; that is why people love the dance; that is why people go to all these ungodly things of the world-to keep from thinking. If the devil can keep people from thinking, he will have them all doomed and damned eventually. But God wants us to think. His Word is a challenge to us to think. David says, I thought on my ways. Now he is musing, Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. It is a good thing to meditate along that line. People do not like to think of death; they do not like to think of an abrupt termination of life.
Life at best is very brief,
Like the falling of a leaf,
Like the binding of a sheaf,
Be in time.
Fairest flowers soon decay,
Youth and beauty pass away,
Oh, ye have not long to stay,
Be in time.
People do not like to be reminded of the shortness of life. David says, I sat down to think of it: how frail I am; how short a time I may have here, but I want my life to tell for the Lord; I want to do my very best for God. Behold, Thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before Thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them. What a pitiable thing to have no hope beyond this life!
Beginning with verse 7 and going on to the end of the Psalm he changes to the other side of things and shows us that everything worth-while is found in God Himself. And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in Thee. I know that things of this world can never satisfy this poor heart of mine, but my hope, my confidence, and my trust are in Thee. Deliver me from all my transgressions: make me not the reproach of the foolish. I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because Thou didst it. When discipline came because of sin, he bowed his head and said, it is all right; it is the hand of God, and I deserve it. I accept it and trust it may be blessed to me, but if it please God to give deliverance, I will rejoice in His goodness.
Remove Thy stroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of Thine hand. When Thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, Thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity. Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my cry; hold not Thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with Thee, and a sojourner [a pilgrim]. I have only a little while to spend in this world, God help me to spend it for Thee, is what he is saying. Help me to live so that when I leave this scene behind I will realize it was well worth-while that I was permitted to glorify Thee when I was down in the world.
O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more. That Hebrew expression translated, spare me is a significant one. Literally it might be rendered, Look away from me, that I may recover strength. Do you remember in another place we read, Look upon the face of Thine anointed, and so we link that with this, for as David realizes his own weakness, his own frailty, his own infirmity he exclaims, Look away from me, for he sees that there is nothing in him to commend him to God. If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? (Psa 130:3). There would be nothing but eternal judgment for me, but look away from me: look on the face of Thine anointed and accept me in Him. And that is exactly what God does. He hath made us accepted in the Beloved (Eph 1:6).
Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets

Psa 39:1-2
The unspoken judgment of mankind.
Scripture speaks in two different ways about judging others. On the one hand, it says, “Judge nothing before the time, till the day of the Lord come;” on the other hand, it says, “He that is spiritual judgeth all things:” and we are told to regard the Holy Spirit, of which we partake, as a Spirit of discernment. Goodness as such has a wisdom in it; it knows that which attracts and draws it to itself, and that which does not; it knows the character with which it is in sympathy and agreement, and that with which it is not.
I. What then is meant by our being told that we are to “judge nothing before the time, till the day of the Lord come,” etc.? These texts mean (1) that we are not to judge hastily, not to judge others for small and doubtful things; they unquestionably limit and put checks on us in judging others. (2) But perhaps the great law with respect to judging which is laid down in these texts is that judgment in this world, when it is upon the critical point of men’s goodness or badness, is suspended with respect to its delivery; that it is not allowed full expression and manifestation. Openness is the very characteristic of the last judgment. But-and this is the great distinction between the two-the tongue of intermediate judgment is tied. We are not at liberty to say openly what we think about others, even though it may be true.
II. In the temper of the Psalmist we observe a greater strength than belongs to the other temper of impetuous and premature expression-strength not only of self-control, but of actual feeling and passion. To attempt the exposure of the bad in this world would be to fight with all the conditions of our state in this world for another reason. It would be found that the charge could not keep pace with the explanation, but that the explanation would, by the laws of society, overcome it, because by these very laws what society as such requires and is contented with is different from that which satisfies the individual. A thing is true, most true, until you say it; but if you say it, if it goes out of your lips, if it is once spoken, oh, how false it becomes. The floodgates of explanation open. It is crushed, and cannot stand a moment against the full resources of a conventional defence.
III. This judgment, which is hidden at the bottom of human hearts-this is the real judgment, though at present only mute and expectant. Fear this hidden adversary; and if it be not too late, deal with him quickly while thou art in the way with him.
J. B. Mozley, University Sermons, p. 223.
References: Psa 39:1-7.-J. L. Adamson, Dundee Pulpit, March 2nd, 1872. Psa 39:3.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. x., No. 576; J. B. Aitken, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xiv., p. 113. Psa 39:4.-J. Budgen, Parochial Sermons, vol. i., p. 157. Psa 39:5.-W. Lindsay Alexander, Christian Thought and Work, p. 106. Psa 39:6.-A. C. Tait, Lessons for School Life, p. 209.
Psa 39:6-7
I. The central superficialness of this age, and of what calls itself its theology, is that it is so occupied with things of sense or intellect which do not bear on man’s inner nature, that it forgets itself and its relation to God. It treats with God, not with the tender familiarity of reverential love, but with the calm complacency of one whose rights God is bound to respect, and who is, on the whole, on good terms with God; and therefore it is false and hollow to God and to itself.
II. These two objects of knowledge, unlike as they are, of God and of ourselves, mutually condition one another, and that in part because God has revealed Himself to us chiefly in reference to ourselves. The soul which knows not itself, and has not, by the grace of God, purified itself, will not see clearly the image of God, which it has deformed in itself.
III. Set God before thee, and the Pharisee religion of the day will not be thine. Thou shalt walk, not in a shadowy being, as this life would in itself be, but up and down with God; in God thou shalt take thy rest, with God converse; His wisdom shall be thy wisdom, His truth thy light, His love thy joy. And if this be the mirror, what is the “face to face”? “And now, Lord, what have I ever longed for? My longing expectation is for Thee.”
E. B. Pusey, Lenten Sermons, p. 278.
Psa 39:6, Psa 39:12
I. Observe the very forcible expression which is given here to the thought of life common to both verses. (1) “Every man walketh in a vain show.” The force of the expression which the Psalmist employs is correctly given in the margin, “in an image,” or “in a shadow.” The phrase is equivalent to saying, he walks in the character or likeness of a shadow, or, as we should say, he walks as a shadow. That is to say, the whole outward life and activity of every man is represented as fleeting and unsubstantial, like the reflection of a cloud, which darkens leagues of the mountain’s side in a moment, and ere a man can say, Behold! is gone again for ever. (2) Look at the other image employed in the other clause of our text to express the same idea: “I am a stranger and sojourner, as all my fathers were.” The phrase has a history. In that most pathetic narrative of an old-world sorrow long since calmed and consoled, when “Abraham stood up from before his dead” and craved a burying-place for his Sarah from the sons of Heth, his first plea was, “I am a stranger and a sojourner with you.” He was a foreigner, not naturalised. And such is our relation to all this visible frame of things in which we dwell.
II. Let me point, in the second place, to the gloomy, aimless hollowness which that thought apart from God infuses into life. Shadow is opposed to substance, to that which is real, as well as that which is enduring. No matter how you may get on in the world, though you may fulfil every dream with which you began in your youth, you will certainly find that without Christ for your Brother and Saviour, God for your Friend, and heaven for your hope, life, with all its fulness, is empty. The crested waves seem heaped together as they recede from the eye till they reach the horizon, where miles of storm are seen but as a line of spray. So when a man looks back upon his life, if it have been a godless one, be sure of this, that it will be a dark and cheerless retrospect over a tossing waste, with a white rim of wandering, barren foam vexed by tempest.
III. Note, finally, how our other text in its significant words gives us the blessedness which springs from this same thought when it is looked at in connection with God: “I am a stranger with Thee, and a sojourner.” (1) A stranger with Thee-then we are the guests of the King. (2) A stranger with Thee-then we have a constant Companion and an abiding presence. (3) Strangers with Thee-then we may carry our thoughts forward to the time when we shall go to our true home, nor wander any longer in the land that is not ours.
A. Maclaren, Sermons Preached in Manchester, 3rd series, p. 15.
Psa 39:9
I. “Thou didst it.” It is something to have got firm hold of a fact. A great deal is gained when the sorrow has been traced up to God.
II. “Thou didst it” has some treasures of knowledge for us. As we go round it we begin to make discoveries. (1) God did it; then I know that infinite wisdom did it. (2) God did it; then I know that infinite power did it. (3) God did it, and therefore I know that infinite love did it.
M. R. Vincent, God and Bread, p. 207.
References: Psa 39:12.-R. D. B. Rawnsley, Sermons in Country Churches, 1st series, p. 175; Expositor, 3rd series, vol. iv., p. 7; J. Budgen, Parochial Sermons, vol. i., p. 166; Spurgeon, Morning by Morning, p. 76. Psa 39:13.-Sermons for Boys and Girls, p. 77.
Psa 39:13
These are the closing words of the most beautiful of sacred elegies. It is the pathetic utterance of a heart not yet subdued to perfect resignation, yet jealous with a holy jealousy lest it should bring dishonour upon its God. The thought which haunted the Psalmist with such cruel persistence and suggested doubt of the reality of a loving Providence was the thought which from time immemorial has tried the faith of thousands of true hearts-the thought of the frailty and insignificance of human life. “Surely every man walketh in a vain show,” he cries; “he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.”
I. Across the dividing ages we are drawn to the very heart of that nameless wrestler whose conflicts we identify with our own. For if we have a refuge to flee into which was unknown to the authors of these old-world laments, if we can look up, as they could not, with almost open vision, to a Divine Protector, Who has Himself come among us and given us in Christ our Lord the sure pledge of His loving foresight and the earnest of a perfect redress, on the other hand, how the very advance which the world makes brings out the mocking incompleteness of the part we have to play in it.
II. In the text we have a witness to that deep, universal conviction that life and strength are good things. When we thank God for our creation and preservation, we are true to an instinct which is rarely overpowered. That which makes recovery of strength so welcome a thing if once we know what issues depend upon our use of it is the prospect of a new probation, a new chance of employing aright God’s wondrous endowment of life. The Christian prays to be spared above all that he may do more for God, for his fellow-men. He knows that lengthened days, unless they serve these ends, can be no boon at all.
R. Duckworth, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xx., p. 200.
References: Psa 39:13.-J. Keble, Sundays after Trinity, Part II., p. 485. Psalm 39-A. Maclaren, Life of David, p. 236. Psa 40:1.-S. Martin, Westminster Chapel Pulpit, 4th series, No. 15; Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. xx., p. 21. Psa 40:1-3.-J. West, Penny Pulpit, Nos. 3886 and 3887; Spurgeon, vol. xxviii., No. 1674; R. M. McCheyne, Additional Remains, p. 25; G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons, p. 135. Psa 40:2, Psa 40:3.-G. Matheson, Moments on the Mount, p. 216.
Fuente: The Sermon Bible

Psalm 39
Deep Soul Exercise in View of Mans Frailty and Nothingness
1. The vanity of life (Psa 39:1-6)
2. Self-judgment and prayer (Psa 39:7-13)
This Psalm is connected closely with the preceding one and shows deep soul exercises. In the midst of trial, with Gods hand resting upon the sufferer, he had been silent before his enemies. Before the Lord he did not maintain silence but pours out his heart, confessing the vanity of his fleeting life which appears to him as a hand-breadth and altogether vanity. Beautiful is Psa 39:7. And now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in Thee. All else the saint waits for in this little life down here is vanity except the Lord. These two Psalms have also their special application to the suffering remnant, who learn the vanity of all things and wait for the Lord only.
Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)

1 Jeduthun
Jeduthun, a Levite, chief singer and instructor. See 1Ch 9:16; 1Ch 16:38; 1Ch 16:41; 1Ch 16:42; 1Ch 25:1; 1Ch 25:3; 1Ch 25:6; 2Ch 5:12; 2Ch 35:15; Neh 11:17. He is mentioned in Psalms 39, 62, 77. Jeduthun was first called Ethan.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes

I said: Psa 119:9, 1Ki 2:4, 2Ki 10:31, Pro 4:26, Pro 4:27, Heb 2:1
that I: Psa 12:4, Psa 73:8, Psa 73:9, Psa 141:3, Pro 18:21, Pro 21:23
my mouth: etc. Heb. a bridle, or muzzle, for my mouth, Jam 1:26, Jam 3:2-8
while: Amo 5:13, Mic 7:5, Mic 7:6, Col 4:5
Reciprocal: Exo 23:13 – be circumspect 2Ki 18:36 – held their peace Job 2:10 – In all this Job 6:24 – I will Job 22:3 – thou makest Psa 17:3 – I am Psa 34:13 – Keep Psa 101:3 – set Psa 106:33 – he spake Pro 10:19 – but Pro 13:3 – General Isa 36:21 – General Mar 14:61 – he held Luk 23:9 – but Joh 8:6 – as though Jam 3:3 – General 1Jo 5:18 – keepeth
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Psalms 38
Proper Psalm for Ash Wednesday (Morning).
Psalms 38-40 = Day 8 (Morning).
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary

Man’s frailty seen in the light of divine government.
To the chief musician, to Jeduthun: a psalm of David.
The closing psalm of this threefold series is most general in its character. It shows us sin as the cause, under divine government, of the frailty and vanity of human life and the heart of the righteous, exercised by this, coming to realize and acquiesce in it with all its humiliation. Thus, spite of its gloomy theme, it is for Jeduthun, the praise-giver,” that the psalm is appointed, and this is so according to rule that all the strangeness has passed out of it.
The psalm divides naturally into two parts, the first of which is an Ecclesiastes dirge over the misery of man’s “short space,” while the second gives the judgment of its cause, the recognition of God’s chastening because of sin, and that His “looking away” from man is his only hope. This, of course, is a very partial view of things; but the exclusion of the evangelic treatment of this -of which the psalmist, as we have seen, cannot be thought so ignorant as might appear -only brings more prominently into sight the matter which occupies him, which is, in fact, the evil and not the good; although it be true, and what is sought in it, that the complete judgment of the evil is itself a good, and allows the ever-ready grace to come freely in. The next psalm returns to Christ, and to His work of propitiation.
1. The sorrow into which he is plunged provokes the psalmist to thoughts that are so full of question, that in the presence of the wicked, ever fretting against God, he is afraid to utter them for fear of sin. He muzzles himself, therefore, and is dumb, even as to good, for he dare not trust himself. But the fire in his heart breaks out at last, and he cannot refrain. He speaks, but to the Lord alone.
He cries, then, to know his end, his days that are measured, and yet he knows not the measure. Alarmed at his frailty, he is alarmed also at how little he realizes his frailty. His days are handbreadths merely, and God has given them their limit, a short space which is really nothing before the Eternal. It is the common condition of man: take the most stable, what is he? a puff of air -a breath.
{*Verse 5 ‘short space’ (hand-breadth), Cheled, “transitoriness.”}
Then the unreality this gives to things, even while they last! vain disquietude; vain heaping up of what has presently to be left to others, he knows not whom. This is a trite story; but we are too certainly actors in it to allow its triteness to abate its interest for us.
{Verse 6 ‘Unreality’, Tzelem, “image.”}
2. He turns once more to the Lord, to express the hope he has in Him. He has no expectation elsewhere, but here at once the remembrance of his sins confronts him; he needs deliverance from these he prays that on this account he may not be made the reproach of the fool -the impious -with whom, spite of all, he is not. Conscious of the chastening hand upon him, he was dumb, his mouth stopped, for he could not open it against God. Yet he can make supplication for the removal of the stroke, the blow of His hand under which he is being consumed. And such is man’s condition: his beauty ephemeral as the moth, but as the correction of perversity: for, with his Father’s goods on his hand, he uses them to enjoy himself away from Him, and thus must find the famine in order to be brought back. Every man is therefore but a breath.
Now he breaks out into prayer again, turning his condition into an argument for the pity of the Merciful One. A “stranger” had careful provision made for him in Israel; and a “sojourner,” like David’s Moabitish ancestress, could reckon upon the shelter of the wings of the God of Israel. “I,” too, he cries, “am a stranger with Thee, and a sojourner, like all my fathers.” A stranger and sojourner is the guest of God, and to prove the largeness of His hospitality.
But he goes further than this, and in a prayer that seems at first to be contradictory to it. “Look away from me,” he says, “that I may recover strength,” (or, more literally, “brighten up,”) before I go hence and be no more.” But why “look away”? Certainly not that he wants God to forget him, but the contrary; but he is conscious of his sinfulness, which is the cause of all the sorrow and evil of his life; if a holy God is to look
at that, what hope can there be for him? Surely none; and he and sin are so identified, God must look away from him -must not regard him -that he may have peace or comfort at all. The psalmist can elsewhere supplement this thought with what is necessary to explain it rightly. He can say, “Look upon the face of Thine Anointed” -Thy Christ (Psa 84:9); and thus it is that, according to the gospel paradox, God, can regard us, just as not regarding us. Here, as already said, it is the very purpose of the psalm to give expression to the sense of the evil in us: we shall have no difficulty in fitting to it then the compensating and glorious truth. Repentance and faith are but the opposite sides of all real conversion. With the back on self, the glory of Christ is ever manifest.
Fuente: Grant’s Numerical Bible Notes and Commentary

Psa 39:1. I said I fully resolved, &c. The Psalm, says Dr. Horne, begins abruptly with the result of a meditation on the narrow, slippery, and dangerous paths of life; more especially on the extreme difficulty of restraining the tongue, amidst the continual temptations and provocations
which surround or assault us, to speak unadvisedly with our lips. I will take heed to my ways That is, to order all my actions aright, and particularly to govern my tongue, that if any evil thought or passions arise within me, I may suppress and mortify them, and not suffer them to break forth into sinful reflections on God and his providence. I will keep my mouth as with a bridle With all possible care and diligence. While the wicked is before me In my presence; or in my thoughts, as the phrase is understood, Psa 51:3, that is, while I consider the flourishing estate of wicked men.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

This psalm is inscribed to Jeduthun, leader of one of the choral bands in the temple. 1Ch 16:41; and bears the name of David.
Psa 39:5. Thou hast made my days as a hand-breadth, which is the smallest of the three measures of stature; the span and the cubit being also in use.
REFLECTIONS.
How valuable are those sacred songs, and plaintive supplications of Hebrew devotion. We have followed David in a vast variety of the vicissitudes of life; now we follow him to the bed of sickness, on which he lay very weak and emaciated. Here we find a piety correspondent to all the devotion of his more active scenes of life. Here we find the hero of the east, the Lords chosen and anointed king, vanquished by a fever, and wasting as the helpless poor. His gay, his infidel, his wicked courtiers, covered with apparent regret, or on the affairs of state, gained admission into his presence. The king, animated with a piety becoming his situation, wished to deliver his soul of them by a faithful declaration of their state. But knowing their principles and incorrigible character, he for awhile restrained the efforts of the Spirit. Finding this to occasion pain and anguish, and that the fire of heaven was kindling in his heart by reflection, he freely uttered the following moral and divine excellencies.
He most aptly expatiated on the shortness of human life, which is but as a hand-breadth, a vapour that fleeth away as a shadow.
He next enlarges on the vanity and folly of life. What a folly for man to heap up riches when he has already more than enough; when he may never live to enjoy them; when his children may die in their minority, and when the sons of strangers shall inherit his substance. Why pursue pleasures with such avidity? They are unsatisfactory in their nature; they divert the mind from more rational duties, and leave but the stings of reflection behind. And why become a martyr for popular applause, and the honour that cometh of men? Perhaps the votary may never acquire the dignity at which he aspires. Perhaps he may see his rival in robes, and himself despised; perhaps a false step may occasion the public to load him with execrations, and cover his lustre with a cloud of eternal infamy. Surely, man walketh in a vain shadow, and disquieteth himself in vain. The prophet having delivered his mind to the wicked, next turned to his own situation, and looked to his God. And now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is, not in physicians, but in thee. His first care was to glorify Gods chastising hand by connecting his punishment and sin; such indeed was his uniform practice.
His first request was to be delivered from all his transgressions; for good men should at all times be more cautious of their conscience than of their health. Therefore he was dumb, and opened not his mouth; he owned the punishment as mild and just.
His next request was for a reprieve: Hear my prayer, oh Lord, and hold not thy peace at my tears. Though piety glowed in his heart; though all fear of death was thereby removed; yet his enemies, the foolish who wished for his death, were many. His body, the garment or vehicle of the soul, fretted away as if eaten by a moth. The fine ruddy countenance of his youth now faded as the rose. Therefore, still anxious that God would not leave the empire in the hands of foolish and ungodly courtiers, he prayed, he cried, he wept that God would spare him a little before he followed his fathers. So Hezekiah, the good Hezekiah, wept and obtained the like reprieve. And what a calamity would it have proved to Israel in both cases, had the Lord in those afflictions taken away their pious kings.
We learn here, that good men are often raised up in answer to prayer; and when thus spared, they are under peculiar obligations to devote the remains of life to piety and usefulness.
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

XXXIX. Prayer of a Pious Israelite in Distress.
Psa 39:3. The poet, afflicted though he is, is silent in presence of the wicked, lest they should impugn or ridicule Gods righteous government of the world. But silence is unendurable.
Psa 39:1. Read, I will set a muzzle on my mouth (LXX).
Psa 39:2. The LXX suggests a better text: I am bowed down with misery, I am far from welfare.
Psa 39:4-6. The Psalmist begs God to teach him how brief, uncertain, and vain life is.
Psa 39:5. Read, Surely every man standing firm is vanity (cf. mg.). But the text is evidently corrupt.
Psa 39:7-13. The Psalmist, repeating his former complaints, prays for pardon and delivery.
Psa 39:11. like a moth: cf. Job 4:19.
Psa 39:12. The Psalmist is a stranger and settler; he is therefore under the Divine protection and is entitled to claim it.
It has been maintained by Duhm that in this Ps. the author had the idea of conscious and personal immortality before him. He longs to know whether his life, or at least his full conscious life, is to cease with death, and asks God to teach him this mystery. Let me know whether I shall cease to be (Psa 39:4 emended). But there is no clear indication that the Psalmist had any such question in his mind. The same scholar puts aside Psa 39:8; Psa 39:10; Psa 39:12 f. as no part of the original poem. They are, no doubt, inconsistent with the rest of the Ps., as Duhm interprets it. In these the poet is busy not with thoughts of life after death, but with external adversity, and Psa 39:13 takes for granted that death ends all. If we accept Duhms interpretation, Psalms 39 would be one of the most interesting in the Psalter, because it would, in a very striking manner, prepare the way for belief in the immortality of the righteous. But Duhms reasons are very precarious, and can be read into the Ps. only by the help of emendation. Surely if the question of immortality had occasioned the poets perplexity, he would have expressed himself more clearly.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible

PSALM 39
The silence of a godly soul, in the presence of the reproaches of the wicked, when under the chastening of God for his sin.
(vv. 1-3) In the presence of the wicked the soul remains dumb. Seeing that he is being chastened of God for his own failure it was not fitting that he should reply to their reproaches, even though he knows their motive to be hatred of the godly. He might have retorted; it would, however, have led him into sinning with his tongue. Thus he restrained himself, and held his peace, even from speaking good. Nevertheless, when keeping silence, his heart burned within him.
(vv. 4-6) When at length he speaks, it is to the Lord. His own failure, and the wickedness of men, who take occasion by the failure of the saints to exalt themselves, bring home to the godly soul the frailty of man. He would fain learn through this trial the shortness of life, the weakness of the flesh, and the vanity of the world. It is but a vain show, in which men put themselves to infinite trouble to heap up riches which they have to leave.
(vv. 7-11) The godly soul looks beyond the vain show to the Lord, the One for whom he waits, and in whom is all his hope. To the Lord he looks for deliverance from his transgressions, as well as from the reproaches of the foolish that they have entailed. He dare not defend himself for the Lord had sent the stroke. He who sent it can alone remove it. Under the rebuke of the Lord all the comeliness of man withers like the fleeting beauty of a moth.
(vv. 12-13) Having owned his sin and weakness, the soul looks to God to hear his prayer; to let his tears speak before God, that he may be spared and recover strength, before he leaves the scene of his pilgrimage.
Fuente: Smith’s Writings on 24 Books of the Bible

39:1 [To the chief Musician, [even] to {a} Jeduthun, A Psalm of David.] I said, {b} I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.
(a) This was one of the chief singers, 1Ch 16:41.
(b) Although he had appointed with himself patiently to have wait for God’s timing, yet the vehemency of his pain caused him to break his purpose.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

Psalms 39
David seems to have composed this individual lament during a prolonged illness that almost proved fatal (cf. Job). He petitioned God to extend his days rather than to continue the chastening. This psalm is quite similar to the preceding one, but in this one David did not mention opposition from his enemies.
Jeduthun, mentioned in the title, was one of David’s chief musicians (1Ch 16:41-42). Perhaps David wrote the psalm for Jeduthun to perform or lead, or for the group of musicians under his direction.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

1. The brevity of life 39:1-6
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

David harbored some strong feelings that he refrained from expressing publicly. As a fire within him they burned to come out, but he held them in fearing that he might regret his words. His feelings arose out of his discipline at God’s hand (Psa 39:9).
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

Psa 39:1-13
PROTRACTED suffering, recognised as chastisement for sin, had wasted the psalmists strength. It had been borne for a while in silence, but the rush of emotion had burst the floodgates. The psalm does not repeat the words which forced themselves from the hot heart, but preserves for us the calmer flow which followed. It falls into four parts, the first three of which contain three verses each, and the fourth is expanded into four, divided into two couples.
In the first part (Psa 39:1-3) the frustrated resolve of silence is recorded. Its motive was fear of sinning in speech “while the wicked is before me.” That phrase is often explained as meaning that the sight of the prosperity of the godless in contrast with his own sorrows tempted the singer to break out into arraigning Gods providence, and that he schooled himself to look at their insolent ease unmurmuringly. But the psalm has no other references to other mens flourishing condition: and it is more in accordance with its tone to suppose that his own pains, and not their pleasures, prompted to the withheld words. The presence of “the wicked” imposed on his devout heart silence as a duty. We do not complain of a friends conduct in the hearing of his enemies. Gods servants have to watch their speech about Him when godless ears are listening, lest hasty words should give occasion for malicious glee or blasphemy. So, for Gods honour, the psalmist put restraint on himself. The word rendered “bridle” in Psa 39:2 by the A.V. and R.V. is better taken as muzzle, for a muzzle closes the lips, and a bridle does not. The resolution thus energetically expressed was vigorously carried out: “I made myself dumb in still submission; I kept silence.” And what came of it? “My sorrow was stirred.” Grief suppressed is increased, as all the world knows. The closing words of Psa 39:2 b (lit. apart from good) are obscure, and very variously understood, some regarding them as an elliptical form of “from good and bad,” and expressing completeness of silence; others taking “the good” to mean “the law, or the praise of God, or good fortune, or such words as would serve to protect the singer from slanders.” “But the preposition here employed, when it follows a verb meaning silence, does not introduce that concerning which silence is kept, but a negative result of silence” (Hupfeld). The meaning, then, is best given by some such paraphrase as “joylessly” or “and I had no comfort” (R.V). The hidden sorrow gnawed beneath the cloak like a fire in a hollow tree; it burned fiercely unseen, and ate its way at last into sight. Locked lips make hearts hotter. Repression of utterance only feeds the fire, and sooner or later the “muzzle” is torn off, and pent-up feeling breaks into speech, often the wilder for the violence done to nature by the attempt to deny it its way. The psalmists motive was right, and in a measure his silence was so; but his resolve did not at first go deep enough. It is the heart, not the mouth, that has to be silenced. To build a dam across a torrent without diminishing the sources that supply its waters only increases weight and pressure, and ensures a muddy flood when it bursts.
Does the psalm proceed to recount what its author said when he broke silence? It may appear so at first sight. On the other hand, the calm prayer which follows, beginning with Psa 39:4, is not of the character of the wild and whirling words which were suppressed for fear of sinning, nor does the fierce fire of which the psalm has been speaking flame in it. It seems, therefore, more probable that those first utterances, in which the overcharged heart relieved itself, and which were tinged with complaint and impatience, are not preserved, and did not deserve to be, and that the pathetic, meditative petitions of the rest of the psalm succeeded them, as after the first rush of the restrained torrent comes a stiller flow. Such a prayer might well have been offered “while the wicked is before me,” and might have been laid to heart by them. Its thoughts are as a cool hand laid on the singers hot heart. They damp the fire burning in him. There is no surer remedy for inordinate sensibility to outward sorrows than fixed convictions of lifes brevity and illusoriness; and these are the two thoughts which the prayer casts into sweet, sad music.
It deals with commonplaces of thought, which poets and moralists have been singing and preaching since the world began, in different tones and with discordant applications, sometimes with fierce revolt against the inevitable, sometimes with paralysing consciousness of it, sometimes using these truths as arguments for base pleasures and aims, sometimes toying with them as occasions for cheap sentiment and artificial pathos, sometimes urging them as motives for strenuous toil. But of all the voices which have ever sung or prophesied of lifes short span and shadowy activities, none is nobler, saner, healthier, and calmer than this psalmists. The stately words in which he proclaimed the transiency of all earthly things are not transient. They are “nothing but a breath,” but they have outlasted much that seemed solid, and their music will sound as long as man is on his march through time. Our “days” have a “measure”; they are a limited period, and the Measurer is God. But this fleeting creature man has an obstinate fancy of his permanence, which is not all bad indeed-since without it there would be little continuity of purpose or concentration of effort-but may easily run to extremes and hide the fact that there is an end. Therefore the prayer for Divine illumination is needed, that we may not be ignorant of that which we know well enough, if we would bethink ourselves. The solemn convictions of Psa 39:5 are won by the petitions of Psa 39:4. He who asks God to make him know his end has already gone far towards knowing it. If he seeks to estimate the “measure” of his days, he will soon come to the clear conviction that it is only the narrow space that may be covered by one or two breadths of a hand. So do noisy years shrink when heavens chronology is applied to them. A lifetime looks long, but set against Gods eternal years, it shrivels to an all but imperceptible point, having position, but not magnitude.
The thought of brevity naturally draws after it that of illusoriness. Just because life is so frail does it assume the appearance of being futile. Both ideas are blended in the metaphors of “a breath” and “a shadow.” There is a solemn earnestness in the three-fold “surely,” confirming each clause of the seers insight into earths hollowness. How emphatically he puts it in the almost pleonastic language, “Surely nothing but a breath is every man, stand he ever so firm.” The truth proclaimed is undeniably certain. It covers the whole ground of earthly life, and it includes the most prosperous and firmly established. “A breath” is the very emblem of transiency and of unsubstantiality. Every solid body can be melted and made gaseous vapour, if heat enough is applied. They who habitually bring human life “before Thee” dissolve into vapour the solid-seeming illusions which cheat others, and save their own lives from being but a breath by clearly recognising that they are.
The Selah at the end of Psa 39:4 does not here seem to mark a logical pause in thought nor to coincide with the strophe division, but emphasises by some long, drawn, sad notes the teaching of the words. The thought runs on unbroken, and Psa 39:6 is closely linked to Psa 39:5 by the repeated “surely” and “breath” as well as in subject. The figure changes from breath to “shadow,” literally “image,” meaning not a sculptured likeness, but an eidolon, or unsubstantial apparition.
“The glories of our birth and state
Are shadows, not substantial things”;
and all the movements of men coming and going in the world are but like a dance of shadows. As they are a breath, so are their aims. All their hubbub and activity is but like the bustle of ants on their hill-immense energy and toil, and nothing coming of it all. If any doubt remained as to the correctness of this judgment of the aimlessness of mans toil, one fact would confirm the psalmists sentence, viz., that the most successful man labours to amass, and has to leave his piles for another whom he does not know, to gather into his storehouses and to scatter by his prodigality. There may be an allusion in the words to harvesting work. The sheaves are piled up, but in whose barn are they. to be housed? Surely, if the grower and reaper is not the ultimate owner, his toil has been for a breath.
All this is no fantastic pessimism. Still less is it an account of what life must be. If any mans is nothing but toiling for a breath, and if he himself is nothing but a breath, it is his own fault. They who are joined to God have “in their embers something that doth live”; and if they labour for Him, they do not labour for vanity, nor do they leave their possessions when they die. The psalmist has no reference to a future life, but the immediately following strophe shows that, though he knew that his days were few, he knew, too, that if his hope were set on God he was freed from the curse of illusoriness and grasped no shadow, but the Living Substance, who would make his life blessedly real and pour into it substantial good.
The effect of such convictions of lifes brevity and emptiness should be to throw the heart back on God. In the third part of the psalm (Psa 39:7-9) a higher strain sounds. The singer turns from his dreary thoughts, which might so easily become bitter ones, to lay hold on God. What should earths vanity teach but Gods sufficiency? It does not need the light of a future life to be flashed upon this mean, swiftly vanishing present in order to see it “apparelled in celestial light.” Without that transforming conception, it is still possible to make it great and real by bringing it into conscious connection with God; and if hope and effort are set on Him amid all the smallnesses and perishablenesses of the outer world, hope will not chase a shadow, nor effort toil for very vanity. The psalmist sought to calm his hot heart by the contemplation of his end, but that is a poor remedy for perturbation, and grief unless it leads to actual contact with the one enduring Substance. It did so with him, and therefore “grief grew calm,” just because “hope was” not “dead.” To preach the vanity, of all earthly things to heavy hearts is but pouring vinegar on nitre, unless it is accompanied with the great antidote to all sad and depreciating views of life: the thought that in it men may reach their hands beyond the time film that enmeshes them and grasp the unchanging God. This psalm has no reference to life beyond the grave; but it finds in present communion by waiting and hope, emancipation from the curse of fleeting triviality which haunts every life separated from Him, like that which the Christian hope of immortality gives. God is the significant figure which gives value to the row of ciphers of which every life is without Him made up. Blessed are they who are driven by earths vanity and drawn by Gods fulness of love and power to fling themselves into His arms and nestle there! The strong recoil of the devout soul from a world which it has profoundly felt to be shadowy, and its great venture of faith, which is not a venture after all, were never more nobly or simply expressed than in that quiet “And now”-things being so-“what wait I for? My hope”-in contrast with the false directions which other mens takes-“to Thee it turns.”
The burden is still on the psalmists shoulders. His sufferings are not ended, though his trust has taken the poison out of them. Therefore his renewed grasp of God leads at once to prayer for deliverance from his “transgressions,” in which cry may be included both sins and their chastisement. The fool is the name of a class, not of an individual, and, as always in Scripture, denotes moral and religious obliquity, not intellectual feebleness. The expression is substantially equivalent to “the wicked” of Psa 39:1, and a similar motive to that which there induced the psalmist to be silent is here urged as a plea with God for the sufferers deliverance. Taunts launched at a good man suffering will glance off him and appear to reach his God.
Psa 39:9 pleads as a reason for Gods deliverance the psalmists silence under what he recognised as Gods chastisement. The question arises whether this is the same silence as is referred to in Psa 39:1-2, and many authorities take that view. But that silence was broken by a rush of words from a hot heart, and, if the account of the connection in the psalm given above is correct, by a subsequent more placid meditation and prayer. It would be irrelevant to recur to it here, especially as a plea with God. But there are two kinds of silence under His chastisements: one which may have for its motive regard to His honour, but is none the less tinged with rebellious thoughts, and brings no good to the sufferer, and another which is silence of heart and will, not of lips only, and soothes sorrow which the other only aggravated. and puts out the fire which the other fanned. Submission to Gods hand discerned behind all visible causes is the blessed silence. “To lie still, let Him strike home, and bless the rod,” is best. And when that is attained, the uses of chastisement are accomplished; and we may venture to ask God to burn the rod. The desire to be freed from its blow is not inconsistent with such submission. This prayer does not break the silence, though it may seem to do so, for this is the privilege of hearts that love God: that they can breathe desires to Him without His holding them unsubmissive to His supreme will.
The last part (Psa 39:10-13) is somewhat abnormally long, and falls into two parts separated by “Selah,” which musical note does not here coincide with the greater divisions. The two pairs of verses are both petitions for removal of sickness, either real or figurative. Their pleading persistence presents substantially the same prayer and supports it by the same considerations of mans transiency. The Pattern of perfect resignation thrice “prayed, saying the same words”; and His suffering followers may do the same, and yet neither sin by impatience, nor weary the Judge by their continual coming. The psalmist sees in his pains Gods “stroke,” and pleads the effects already produced on him as a reason for cessation. He is already “wasted by the assault of Gods hand.” One more buffet, and he feels that he must die. It is bold for a sufferer to say to God, “Hold! enough!” but all depends on the tone in which it is said. It may be presumption, or it may be a childs free speech, not in the least trenching on a Fathers authority. The sufferer underrates his capacity of endurance, and often thinks, “I can bear no straw more”; but yet he has to bear it. Yet the psalmists cry rests upon a deep truth: that God cannot mean to crush; therefore he goes on to a deeper insight into the meaning of that “stroke.” It is not the attack of an enemy, but the “correction” of a friend.
If men regarded sorrows and sicknesses as rebukes for iniquity, they would better understand why sinful life, separated from God, is so fleeting. The characteristic ground tone of the Old Testament echoes here, according to which “the wages of sin is death.” The commonplace of mans frailty receives a still more tragic colouring when thus regarded as a consequence of his sin. The psalmist has learned it in relation to his own sufferings, and, because he sees it so clearly, he pleads that these may cease. He looks on his own wasted form; and Gods hand seems to him to have taken away all that made it or life desirable and fair, as a moth would gnaw a garment. What a daring figure to compare the mightiest with the feeblest, the Eternal with the very type of evanescence!
The second subdivision of this part (Psa 39:12-13) reiterates the former with some difference of tone. There is a beautiful climax of earnestness in the psalmists appeal to God. His prayer swells into crying, and that again melts into tears, which go straight to the great Fathers heart. Weeping eyes are never turned to heaven in vain; the gates of mercy open wide when the hot drops touch them. But his fervour of desire is not this suppliants chief argument with God. His meditation has won for him deeper insight into that transiency which at first he had only laid like ice on his heart, to cool its feverish heat. He sees now more clearly, by reason of his effort to turn away his hope from earth and fix it on God, that his brief life has an aspect in which its brevity is not only calming, but exalting, and gives him a claim on God. whose guest he is while here, and with whom he has guest rights, whether his stay is longer or shorter. “The land is mine, for ye are strangers and sojourners with me”. {Lev 25:23} That which was true in a special way of Israels tenure of the soil is true for the individual, and true forever. All men are Gods guests; and if we betake ourselves behind the curtains of His tent, we have rights of shelter and sustenance. All the bitterness of the thought of the brevity of life is sucked out of it by such a confidence. If a man dwells with God, his Host will care for the needs, and not be indifferent to the tears, of His guest. The long generations which have come and gone like shadows are not a melancholy procession out of nothing through vanity into nothing again, nor “disquieted in vain,” if they are conceived as each in turn lodging for a little while in that same ancestral home which the present generation inhabits. It has seen many sons succeeding their fathers as its tenants, but its stately strength grows not old, and its gates are open today as they have been in all generations.
The closing prayer in Psa 39:13 has a strange sound. “Look away from me” is surely a singular petition, and the effect of Gods averting His face is not less singular. The psalmist thinks that it will be his regaining cheerfulness and brightness, for he uses a word which means to clear up or to brighten, as the sky becomes blue again after storm. The light of Gods face makes mens faces bright. “They cried unto God, and were lightened,” not because He looked away from them, but because He regarded them. But the intended paradox gives the more emphatic expression to the thought that the psalmists pains came from Gods angry look, and it is that which he asks may be turned from him. That mere negative withdrawal, however, would have no cheering power, and is not conceivable as unaccompanied by the turning to the suppliant of Gods loving regard. The devout psalmist had no notion of a neutral God, nor could he ever be contented with simple cessation of the tokens of Divine displeasure. The ever-outflowing Divine activity must reach every man. It may come in one or other of the two forms of favour or of displeasure, bur come it will; and each man can determine which side of that pillar of fire and cloud is turned to him. On one side is the red glare of anger, on the other the white lustre of love. If the one is turned from, the other is turned to us.
Not less remarkable is the prospect of going away into non-being which the last words of the psalm present as a piteous reason for a little gleam of brightness being vouchsafed in this span-long life. There is no vision here of life beyond the grave; but, though there is not, the singer “throws himself into the arms of God.” He does not seek to solve the problem of life by bringing the future in to redress the balance of good and evil. To him the solution lies in present communion with a present God, in whose house he is a guest now, and whose face will make his life bright, however short it may be.
Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary

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