Psa 39:2-3 | KingComments | STEP | Psalm 39 continues the subject of Psalm 38, the difference being that in this psalm David hardly speaks of his enemies, but primarily of his illness as a result of his sin. He acknowledges that God gives man a short life. Therefore, he pours out his heart to God as his only hope and asks Him to end His chastisement so that he may enjoy the remaining days of his life. His illness, as a result of his sin, has brought him to awareness of his futility as a human being and of the transience and brevity of his life ( ). This awareness leads him to ask the LORD to deliver him ( ). For “for the choir director” ( ) see at Psalm 4:1. The psalm is “for Jeduthun”. The name “Jeduthun” also appears in the heading of Psalm 62 and Psalm 77 ( ). The psalm shows that sin is the cause of the transience and brevity of life and man. He also shows that the heart of the righteous learns to accept that. That is why, despite its dark subject, the psalm is also “for Jeduthun”, which means “choir of praise”. Jeduthun is a Levite who, along with Asaph, Heman and Ethan, is commissioned by David to praise God ( ; ). He instructed his sons in the same work ( ; ). David commissioned Jeduthun to teach and sing this psalm. For “a Psalm of David” see at Psalm 3:1. David tells what is on his mind. He describes the state of mind he is in. He says that he will guard his ways, which means that he will pay attention to which ways he is going ( ). It shows that he intends not to deviate from God’s ways again. By his ways he means his entire life’s journey, his attitude and behavior. He focuses on his speaking. Keeping his ways means, above all, to guard his mouth. He will pay attention to what he says and above all what he should not say. At all costs he wants to avoid sinning with his tongue. Here we see a continuation of what David intended ( ). He feels the urge to speak rebellious words when he sees the “wicked” in his presence. He sees how the wicked live and speak and how things are going with himself compared to that. That gets right to him, it does touch him. But he does not want to be tempted to ventilate his frustration with the great danger of saying wrong things. For this he will guard his “mouth as with a muzzle”. This is strongly said, but that is how radical he is, and that is how radical we must also be when it comes to restraining our tongue (cf. ). We often think that we should say whatever comes to mind. This is also encouraged by the people of the world around us, but here we see that this is inappropriate for the believer. He is mute and keeps quiet in the presence of wicked people ( ). He sees their prosperity and untroubled lives, but restrains himself from saying anything about it. No rebellious words come out of his mouth. He refrains, literally keeps silence, from good, that is about the prosperity of the wicked. His misery and illness, the sorrow of his soul, is aggravated by seeing the prosperity of the wicked and by his attack on him. His self-control is an inner struggle that gives no rest. By suppressing his feelings, his inner suffering becomes more severe. It does not mean that he has made a wrong decision to remain silent. A good decision can produce new struggles. David is no longer inwardly displeased with the wicked, but he is deeply troubled with his own life. His heart begins to burn and becomes hot within him ( ). His sighing, that is complaining without words, becomes more intense and a fire is kindled. Then he can no longer restrain himself (cf. ) and he speaks with his tongue, that is, he speaks aloud. He does not speak to his enemies, but to the LORD; he does not speak of his enemies, but of himself ( ). David’s earlier words he speaks within himself and he does so because he sees the wicked facing him. Now he is in God’s presence. That changes a person. What he says are not rebellious words, but are about the shortness of life. Nowhere does a man see his perishableness more clearly than when he is in the presence of God, where he also realizes how sinful he is (cf. ). In this prayer he speaks of the transience of life and the perishableness of man. Transient means to cease to be here, to pass away. David wants to know his end, how it will end for him, and how many days he has left to live. He would like to know when his days will be fulfilled. Then he will know how transient he is, how perishable, that is, he will know that his life is over, finished. He answers his questions himself in the following verses. He knows that his days are determined by God and that God made his days only “[as] handbreadths” ( ; cf. ). A handbreadth is four fingers ( ) and is one of the smallest units of measurement in ancient Israel. It indicates the brevity of life. Here David acknowledges that this measure applies to him as well. His life span, the number of days allotted to him, is “as nothing” to God, Who is the eternal God. What is true of David is true of every man, for the life of “every man at his best is a mere breath” (cf. ; ). The Hebrew word for “breath” means vapor, mist, air. Life is altogether vanity, a vapor seen for a short time and then no longer there ( ). Man in his conceit may think that he is “at his best”, literally “standing firm”, that nothing can shake his life, let alone make it disappear. It shows short-sightedness and blindness to the truth that David professes here. Any man who is wise will confess this with him.

‏ Psalms 39:2-3

Introduction

Psalm 39 continues the subject of Psalm 38, the difference being that in this psalm David hardly speaks of his enemies, but primarily of his illness as a result of his sin. He acknowledges that God gives man a short life. Therefore, he pours out his heart to God as his only hope and asks Him to end His chastisement so that he may enjoy the remaining days of his life.

His illness, as a result of his sin, has brought him to awareness of his futility as a human being and of the transience and brevity of his life (Psa 39:1b-6). This awareness leads him to ask the LORD to deliver him (Psa 39:7-13).

Life Is Short

For “for the choir director” (Psa 39:1a) see at Psalm 4:1.

The psalm is “for Jeduthun”. The name “Jeduthun” also appears in the heading of Psalm 62 and Psalm 77 (Psa 62:1 ; Psa 77:1). The psalm shows that sin is the cause of the transience and brevity of life and man. He also shows that the heart of the righteous learns to accept that. That is why, despite its dark subject, the psalm is also “for Jeduthun”, which means “choir of praise”.

Jeduthun is a Levite who, along with Asaph, Heman and Ethan, is commissioned by David to praise God (1Chr 16:41; 2Chr 5:12). He instructed his sons in the same work (1Chr 16:38 ; 1Chr 25:1 ; 3 ; 6; Neh 11:17). David commissioned Jeduthun to teach and sing this psalm.

For “a Psalm of David” see at Psalm 3:1.

David tells what is on his mind. He describes the state of mind he is in. He says that he will guard his ways, which means that he will pay attention to which ways he is going (Psa 39:1b). It shows that he intends not to deviate from God’s ways again. By his ways he means his entire life’s journey, his attitude and behavior. He focuses on his speaking. Keeping his ways means, above all, to guard his mouth. He will pay attention to what he says and above all what he should not say.

At all costs he wants to avoid sinning with his tongue. Here we see a continuation of what David intended (Psa 38:13). He feels the urge to speak rebellious words when he sees the “wicked” in his presence. He sees how the wicked live and speak and how things are going with himself compared to that. That gets right to him, it does touch him.

But he does not want to be tempted to ventilate his frustration with the great danger of saying wrong things. For this he will guard his “mouth as with a muzzle”. This is strongly said, but that is how radical he is, and that is how radical we must also be when it comes to restraining our tongue (cf. Mt 5:29-30). We often think that we should say whatever comes to mind. This is also encouraged by the people of the world around us, but here we see that this is inappropriate for the believer.

He is mute and keeps quiet in the presence of wicked people (Psa 39:2). He sees their prosperity and untroubled lives, but restrains himself from saying anything about it. No rebellious words come out of his mouth. He refrains, literally keeps silence, from good, that is about the prosperity of the wicked. His misery and illness, the sorrow of his soul, is aggravated by seeing the prosperity of the wicked and by his attack on him.

His self-control is an inner struggle that gives no rest. By suppressing his feelings, his inner suffering becomes more severe. It does not mean that he has made a wrong decision to remain silent. A good decision can produce new struggles. David is no longer inwardly displeased with the wicked, but he is deeply troubled with his own life.

His heart begins to burn and becomes hot within him (Psa 39:3). His sighing, that is complaining without words, becomes more intense and a fire is kindled. Then he can no longer restrain himself (cf. Jer 20:9) and he speaks with his tongue, that is, he speaks aloud. He does not speak to his enemies, but to the LORD; he does not speak of his enemies, but of himself (Psa 39:4).

David’s earlier words he speaks within himself and he does so because he sees the wicked facing him. Now he is in God’s presence. That changes a person. What he says are not rebellious words, but are about the shortness of life. Nowhere does a man see his perishableness more clearly than when he is in the presence of God, where he also realizes how sinful he is (cf. Isa 6:1-5).

In this prayer he speaks of the transience of life and the perishableness of man. Transient means to cease to be here, to pass away. David wants to know his end, how it will end for him, and how many days he has left to live. He would like to know when his days will be fulfilled. Then he will know how transient he is, how perishable, that is, he will know that his life is over, finished. He answers his questions himself in the following verses.

He knows that his days are determined by God and that God made his days only “[as] handbreadths” (Psa 39:5; cf. Exo 25:25). A handbreadth is four fingers (Jer 52:21) and is one of the smallest units of measurement in ancient Israel. It indicates the brevity of life. Here David acknowledges that this measure applies to him as well. His life span, the number of days allotted to him, is “as nothing” to God, Who is the eternal God.

What is true of David is true of every man, for the life of “every man at his best is a mere breath” (cf. Psa 62:9a; Job 7:7a). The Hebrew word for “breath” means vapor, mist, air. Life is altogether vanity, a vapor seen for a short time and then no longer there (Jam 4:14). Man in his conceit may think that he is “at his best”, literally “standing firm”, that nothing can shake his life, let alone make it disappear. It shows short-sightedness and blindness to the truth that David professes here. Any man who is wise will confess this with him.