PSALM 39 Written by David, a lament psalm. Jeduthun was the name of a Levite whom David appointed to lead one of the Temple choirs. David is writing this psalm for that chief musician.
1 I said, “I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth while in the presence of the wicked.”
2 So I remained utterly silent, not even saying anything good. But my anguish increased;
3 my heart grew hot within me. While I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.
5 You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.
6 “Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom; in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth without knowing whose it will finally be.
7 “But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.
8 Save me from all my transgressions; do not make me the scorn of fools.
9 I was silent; I would not open my mouth, for you are the one who has done this.
10 Remove your scourge from me; I am overcome by the blow of your hand.
11 When you rebuke and discipline anyone for their sin, you consume their wealth like a moth— surely everyone is but a breath.
12 “Hear my prayer, Lord, listen to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. I dwell with you as a foreigner, a stranger, as all my ancestors were.
13 Look away from me, that I may enjoy life again before I depart and am no more.”
SECTIONS:
I David’s reflections and Request for Perspective
II Brevity and Burdens of Life
III Reflections on Hope
IV Request for Relief
THEME: What would you choose as the theme of this psalm?
QUESTIONS:
What does David intend to do? And why?
What does David ask the Lord to do and why?
What does David look for?
Note the word “Selah” -The idea in the Hebrew for this word (occurring 74 times in the Old Testament) is for a pause. Most people think it speaks of a reflective pause, a pause to meditate on the words just spoken. It may also be a musical instruction, for a musical interlude of some kind.
We can read a little information about Jeduthun in 1 Chronicles 16:37-42; 25:1-8 and 2 Chronicles 5:12; 35:15. Jeduthun and his sons were in charge of the instrumental worship and thanksgiving to the Lord. We are also told that Jeduthun was prophesying through the use of his instrumental talents. Many believe that Psalm 39 was written in conjunction with Psalm 38. In psalm 39 we see David being struck down for his sins, as in psalm 38 (39:9-11). This psalm may be a continuation of David’s description from psalm 38 about the pain of sin.
David may be refraining because the words he wants to say would be sinful in verse 1. David also may be keeping silent because what he would say might be taken the wrong way by those around him because they are wicked. David has the great quality of self-control. There are things he desires to say, but he will guard his ways and muzzle his tongue. In the middle of suffering, surrounded by enemies, and feeling the rebuke of sin, David is able to keep control of his tongue so that he will not sin.
David shows us that it is possible, even in the middle of difficult circumstances, to do and say what is right. How often we excuse our actions and words because “we’re having a bad day.” This is not a justifiable excuse before God. David refuses to suggest he has a right to let his tongue go because of all he is enduring.
Rather than say what he shouldn’t, David keeps silent. But as he does, his distress grows worse. He gets even more upset about his enemies and the circumstances he’s enduring. But he doesn’t lash out with his tongue. When silence no longer worked and he felt like he needed to say something, he talked to God and not to those around him. This is a needed lesson for us. Too many times we feel compelled to speak. We have the burning in our hearts that David speaks of, and when we feel it, we think we must express ourselves. But instead, be silent and learn to speak our minds to God.
How rare it is for us to stop and appreciate the brevity of our lives! We assume that things will continue the way they are day after day. People in many of the countries on the Indian Ocean assumed it would be another vacation day. Little did they know that a cataclysmic tsunami would engulf and kill over 130,000 people. Our time is truly a vapor. We need to appreciate the day and not assume tomorrow is available to us. We leave so much unsaid and undone. How often we see people who have lost loved ones wishing they had another few hours to say or do some final things. They never imagined they would not have time to offer those final important words. They assumed tomorrow would come.
Often we neglect the possibility that the reason for our suffering is because of our sins. We know there are other reasons for suffering. In Job we learned suffering can come from Satan and suffering is a testing of our faith. But this psalm reminds us that suffering can come because of our own choices. We may not be able to see the direct correlation between our sins and the consequences. In fact, many times the consequences we endure are due to the sins of others. David recognizes that his punishment is due to his own sins.
Discipline is used to turn us from the error of our ways. We discipline our children so they will learn what to do and what not to do. We are not showing love for our children if we refuse to discipline and teach them about life. In the same way, God must discipline us because he loves us and wants what is best for us. Discipline is painful, but necessary to correct us and is for our own good.
David closes his prayer by recognizing he is a stranger and alien in this world. Our way of living must always reflect that we are children of God and not permanent residents in this world.
Hebrews 11:13-16 “All of these died in faith, without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.”
Are we willing to leave this land behind for the heavenly city prepared for those who have given their lives to the Lord? Are we looking forward toward the eternal goal or are we looking backward, missing the ways of this physical world? Our citizenship is to be in heaven and our lifestyle shows if we are citizens of God or citizens of the earth. Let us always desire a better country, seeking a better homeland with the Lord.
Which one of us wants to make misstatements – let alone sinful statements – in front of a lost person? We’re trying to win them to Christ, so we’re careful about what we say when they’re around. David was going to watch his ways.
May you know what it’s like to be going through a tremendous upheaval that is a direct result God disciplining you. A lost person wouldn’t understand. If they heard your bitter complaints about how God is dealing with you, they might have more reason to reject God. But sometimes when we are struggling, an unsaved person may ask, “how are you feeling?” You want to bitterly complain, – but you know they wouldn’t comprehend the true nature of your struggles. I think that’s David’s concern. He’s struggling with God, yet he doesn’t want to make God look bad.
Sorrow is also translated as grief or pain. David is grieved with having to keep silent and not complain. He’s brooding over his troubles. He feels a burning inside and can’t hold it in any longer.
Then he remembers life is short in view of eternity. David wanted to be reminded of that– and God apparently did remind him of that in light of his prayer in verse 4. David starts to wonder how important it really is that he tries to make himself look good in front of people. After all, David and these people are all going to pass away rather quickly. Why be concerned about what others think about you when life is so temporary?
The wicked are often wealthy because they’re unscrupulous and have no fear of God. They heap up riches. But since these men are a mere breath – someday they leave their riches to others and sometimes it may go to someone they don’t know. When you find yourself in a similar situation with vain people intimidating you from speaking God’s truth, you have no one to whom you can turn – but God. That’s what David does in verse 7. He waits for the Lord. He puts confident hope in God and starts to focus on him.
David felt free to pour out his heart about the fact that he sinned and God was chastening him. If the wicked didn’t like it – or used it as an opportunity to discredit him – who were they, anyway? How insignificant their opinion. Yes, David was being chastened. But now he didn’t feel compelled to hide the fact that God was dealing with him about it. Sometimes we can feel like we’re the only one that knows what chastening for sin feels like. But David is reminding himself that God deals with others the same way.
https://bible.org/seriespage/psalm-39-how-transient-i-am
Two things always make me think about the shortness of life: illness and the New Year. When I get sick, I realize how weak and vulnerable I am. An invisible germ can invade my body and sap my strength and there isn’t much that I can do about it. When you’re well and especially when you’re young, you tend to think that you’re strong and invincible. I read an interview with Tom Cruise in Reader’s Digest. He comes across as being in total control of his life. He’s not! He should look at actors like Christopher Reeve, who broke his neck, or Michael J. Fox, stricken with Parkinson’s disease, and realize that life is very tenuous. Illness reminds me of that fact.
This psalm arises out of some unspecified problem in David’s life. Apparently he had some illness, which he relates to God’s discipline. David may have seen a direct link between his sin and this trial, or he may be simply relating his suffering to the curse on the human race that stems from Adam’s sin. But David is tormented with the severity of God’s discipline.
Although he complains, he’s not defiant. He knows that unbelievers are waiting to scoff at him and at his God, and he’s careful to voice his protest in a submissive manner, as a learner whose only hope is in God who seemingly is being so harsh with him. David makes his point, that life is transient and thus must be lived for the Lord. He prays that he learns the lesson of his suffering well. It’s easy to forget the lesson as soon as the suffering is past. David prays that God would not let him forget how transient life is.
Death is not only certain, it is also unexpected. You don’t know whether you will be alive at this time tomorrow. I read about a Scottish pastor who was burdened for the soul of a businessman who occasionally attended his church. The man admitted that he was not born again. Whenever the pastor would try to talk to him about his soul, the man would reply that as long as he was in good health, he would wait. Besides, he was just too busy to think about such matters.
One day, the pastor decided to startle the man into realizing that he couldn’t afford to keep dodging the matter of where he would spend eternity. So he walked into the man’s office without knocking or calling in advance. When the startled man looked up, the pastor asked abruptly, “Did you expect me?” “No, I didn’t,” the man replied. The pastor then said grimly, “What if I had been Death?” Then he spun around and walked out.
Christians can easily get caught up with the things of this world. We subtly drift into the pursuit of financial security ahead of the pursuit of God. We work long hours to provide a comfortable lifestyle for our families, but don’t think or make an effort to share the gospel with people who need to hear it.
Some Christians have been tainted by the world. We all need time to be refreshed and renewed but sometimes we get too involved with recreation. We don’t get involved in serving in our church because, it ties up our weekend. We pursue our favorite activities rather than seeking God’s kingdom. The solution is to become enamored with the Lord. When He becomes your delight and the object of your love, the things of the world fade away by way of comparison.
God often uses trials to show us our lack of holiness. Trials should cause us to examine ourselves, to see what God may be trying to teach us. David realized that God was disciplining him. He says, “You consume wealth as a moth.” He’s saying God does this because we’re counting the wrong things as precious. Our hope isn’t in the Lord as much as in other things. So God consumes those things to show us that He alone is worth hoping in.
SONG: Take My Life & Let it Be, Because He Lives, In Christ Alone, Everyday-Joel Houston Hillsong Worship