Psalm 39

Title

לַמְנַצֵּ֥חַ לִֽידוּת֗וּן מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִֽד

BSB

I Will Watch My Ways

For the choirmaster. For Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

1I said, “I will watch my ways

so that I will not sin with my tongue;

I will guard my mouth with a muzzle

as long as the wicked are present.”

2I was speechless and still;

I remained silent, even from speaking good,

and my sorrow was stirred.

3My heart grew hot within me;

as I mused, the fire burned.

Then I spoke with my tongue:

4“Show me, O LORD, my end

and the measure of my days.

Let me know how fleeting my life is.

5You, indeed, have made my days as handbreadths,

and my lifetime as nothing before You.

Truly each man at his best

exists as but a breath.

Selah

6Surely every man goes about like a phantom;

surely he bustles in vain;

he heaps up riches

not knowing who will haul them away.

7And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?

My hope is in You.

8Deliver me from all my transgressions;

do not make me the reproach of fools.

9I have become mute;

I do not open my mouth

because of what You have done.

10Remove Your scourge from me;

I am perishing by the force of Your hand.

11You discipline and correct a man for his iniquity,

consuming like a moth what he holds dear;

surely each man is but a vapor.

Selah

12Hear my prayer, O LORD,

and give ear to my cry for help;

do not be deaf to my weeping.

For I am a foreigner dwelling with You,

a stranger like all my fathers.

13Turn Your gaze away from me,

that I may again be cheered

before I depart and am no more.”

Matthew Henry's chapter overview

Introduction

Psalms 39

David seems to have been in a great strait when he penned this psalm, and, upon some account or other, very uneasy; for it is with some difficulty that he conquers his passion, and composes his spirit himself to take that good counsel which he had given to others (37) to rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him, without fretting; for it is easier to give the good advice than to give the good example of quietness under affliction. What was the particular trouble which gave occasion for the conflict David was now in does not appear. 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 morality; and at the same time, it should seem too, he himself was weak and ill, and under some prevailing distemper. His enemies likewise were seeking advantages against him, and watched for his halting, that they might have something to reproach him for. Thus aggrieved, I. He relates the struggle that was in his breast between grace and corruption, between passion and patience (Psa 39:1-3). II. He meditates upon the doctrine of man's frailty and mortality, and prays to God to instruct him in it (Psa 39:4-6). III. He applies to God for the pardon of his sons, the removal of his afflictions, and the lengthening out of his life till he was ready for death (Psa 39:7-13). This is a funeral psalm, and very proper for the occasion; in singing it we should get our hearts duly affected with the brevity, uncertainty, and calamitous state of human life; and those on whose comforts God has, by death, made breaches, will find this psalm of great use to them, in order to their obtaining what we ought much to aim at under such an affliction, which is to get it sanctified to us for our spiritual benefit and to get our hearts reconciled to the holy will of God in it

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

Cross-references: Ps 39:1 · Ps 39:4 · Ps 39:7