... in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Amen. Through the prayers of our
holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen. Glory
to You, our God, Glory to You.
O Heavenly King,
the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things,
Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us
from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy
Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).
Glory be to the
Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it is now, was in the
beginning, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of David.
I said, I will take heed to my ways, so 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 from
good. My sorrow was stirred. My heart was hot within me, While I was meditating
the fire burned. [Then] I spoke with my tongue,
Lord, make me know my end, and the measure of my days, what it [is]: [so that] I may know how frail I [am]. Behold, You have made
my days a handbreadth. My age [is] as nothing before You. Certainly, every man at his best state [is] altogether vanity. Consider.
Surely every man walks in a vain show. Surely they are restless in vain. He hoards [riches],
and knows not who shall gather them.
And now, Lord[2], for what
wait I? My hope [is] in You. 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]. Remove Your stroke away from me. I am consumed by the blow of Your hand. When You with rebuke correct man for
iniquity, You make his beauty consume away like a moth. Surely every man [is] vanity. Consider.
Hear my prayer, Lord, and give ear to my cry. Hold
not Your peace at my tears: for I [am]
a stranger with You, a sojourner, as all my fathers. Spare me, that I may recover strength, before
I go hence, and be no more.[3]
[1] Psalm
39 brings many other Scriptures to mind, chief of which are Matthew 27:14; Mark
15:4-5; Luke 23:9, John 19:9-10; Isaiah 63:7 and Acts 8:32. We also remember Jeremiah 20:9-10; Revelation
10:9-10; and James 10.
David writes of his own vain attempt to control his own
tongue. Somehow his words are distantly
prophetic of Christ.
Having pondered his own futility in silencing the tongue,
David arrives at one conclusion: namely, earthly life is vanity; it is far too short,
filled with empty show, and altogether concerned about worthless riches. Solomon will take these ideas to heart and
develop them in Ecclesiastes.
As David’s understanding develops he sees that the resolution
of his sinful earthly life rests on hope in God: for it is God Who delivers
David from sin. Earthly punishments are
part of that deliverance, they hurt, and David asks that they would come to an end. David may not realize that he is looking
forward to the Crucifixion of Jesus.
David concludes with the meditation that earthly life and
death are nothing more than a sojourn, a camping trip, a hotel or motel stop,
not a real home. He is not asking for
God to spare him from physical death. He
knows that the wicked face death to be silenced; but the righteous come through
death to sing praises. David is asking
God to include him with the righteous in spite of his sins.
[2] Adonai
[3] If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations in
Psalms, please repost or share any of them as you wish.
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