Psalm 39

Psalm 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.
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 an 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 shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.
7 And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.
8 Deliver me from all my transgressions: make me not the reproach of the foolish.
9 I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because thou didst it.
10 Remove thy stroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of thine hand.
11 When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity. Selah.
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.
13 O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more.
—Psalm 39 (KJV)

Psalm 39 is a Psalm of David. It's a prayer from relief from persecutors as much as anything. For the Christian, the world is often our persecutor. We can take solace that we are not alone. Too often, we of faith get in the flesh, however, and would curse circumstances and let out a torrent flood of anger and bitter words, hence 39:3. This is what David did! And is is what the enemy wants us to do, so as to snare us. Reacting foolishly only allows our adversaries cause to further reproach us. We can pour coals of fire on them, by heeding the commands of our Lord: "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you..." (Matthew 5:44). Sometimes, the enemy is elusive and we our own enemies. Of Psalm 39, Matthew Henry writes,

There is no solid satisfaction to be had in the creature; but it is to be found in the Lord, and in communion with him; to him we should be driven by our disappointments. If the world be nothing but vanity, may God deliver us from having or seeking our portion in it. When creature-confidences fail, it is our comfort that we have a God to go to, a God to trust in. We may see a good God doing all, and ordering all events concerning us; and a good man, for that reason, says nothing against it. He desires the pardoning of his sin, and the preventing of his shame. We must both watch and pray against sin. When under the correcting hand of the Lord, we must look to God himself for relief, not to any other. Our ways and our doings bring us into trouble, and we are beaten with a rod of our own making. What a poor thing is beauty! and what fools are those that are proud of it, when it will certainly, and may quickly, be consumed!

In any case, what we need to do is guard our ways, and turn our sights solely on Jesus Christ in the mist of calamity and harsh circumstances, and pray for guidance, blessing and relief. Providence can work in mysterious ways, and draw us closer to the Lord during trying times.

Whatever a Christian is going through in his life, he is not alone. My solace and my peace is in the Lord Jesus Christ. I find that the Psalms are a continual source of encouragement for the believer. Their richness comes out in trying times. Our desire should be to live peacably among men, and be salt and light to the world.

Related Articles:
Psalm 39 - Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
Treasury of David - Psalm 39 - C.H. Spurgeon