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Psalm Thirty-nine
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 39
To the chief Musician
cf15I even to Jeduthun
a Psalm of
David. Some take Jeduthun to be the name of a musical instrument
as Jarchi
on
which
and others the first word of a song
to the tune of which
this psalm
was sung
as Aben Ezra; though it seems best
with Kimchi and others
to
understand it as the name of the chief musician
to whom this psalm was sent to
be made use of in public service; since Jeduthun was
with his sons
appointed
by David to prophesy with harps and psalteries
and to give praise and thanks
unto the Lord
1 Chronicles 16:41;
he is the same with EthanF19Vid. Hiller. Onomastic. Sacr. p. 513
805. . The occasion of it is thought
by some
to be the rebellion of his son
Absalom; so Theodoret thinks it was written when he fled from Absalom
and was
cursed by Shimei; or rather it may be some sore affliction
which lay upon
David for the chastisement of him; see Psalm 39:9; and the
argument of the psalm seems to be much the same with that of the preceding one
as Kimchi observes.
Psalm 39:1 I
said
“I will guard my ways
Lest I sin with my tongue; I will restrain my
mouth with a muzzle
While the wicked are before me.”
YLT
1To the Overseer
to
Jeduthun. -- A Psalm of David. I have said
`I observe my ways
Against sinning
with my tongue
I keep for my mouth a curb
while the wicked [is] before me.'
I said
.... That is
in his heart; he purposed and determined within
himself to do as follows; and he might express it with his mouth
and so his
purpose became a promise;
I will take heed to my ways; as every good man
should; that is
to all his actions
conduct
and conversation: it becomes him
to take heed what ways he walks in; that they are the ways of God
which he
directs to; that they are the ways of Christ
which he has left an example to
follow in; and that they are according to the word of God; that he walks in
Christ
the way of salvation
and by faith on him; that he chooses and walks in
the way of truth
and not error; and in all
the commandments and ordinances of
the Lord blameless; and in the path of holiness
in which
though fools
they
shall not err: and it is also necessary that he should take heed that he does
nothing
either by embracing error
or going into immorality
by which the ways
of God
and Christ
and truth
are evil spoken of
blasphemed and reproached;
and that he does not depart out of these ways
nor stumble
slip
and fall in
them;
that I sin not with my tongue; which is a world of
iniquity
and has a multitude of vices belonging to it; not only in profane
men
but in professors of religion; whom it becomes to take heed that they sin
not with it
by lying one to another
by angry and passionate expressions
by
corrupt communication
filthiness
foolish talking
and jesting
which are not
convenient; by whispering
talebearing
backbiting
and by evil speaking one of
another: particularly there are vices of the tongue
which the saints are
liable to under afflictive providences
and seem chiefly designed here; such as
envious expressions at the prosperity of others; words of impatience under
their own afflictions
and murmurings at the hand of God upon them; such as
these the psalmist determined
within himself
to guard against; in order to
which he proposed to take the following method;
I will keep my mouth with a bridle: that is
bridle his
tongue
that being an unruly member
and to be kept in with bit and bridle
like an unruly horse; see James 1:26;
while the wicked is before me; or "against
me"F20לנגדי "adversum me"
V. L. "contra me"
Cocceius; so the Targum. ; meaning either while
Ahithophel and Absalom were conspiring and rebelling against him
and Shimei
was cursing him
under which he behaved with great silence
calmness
and
patience; see 2 Samuel 15:25; or
while he had the flourishing condition of wicked men in his view
and was
meditating on it; or rather
when anyone of them came to visit him in his
affliction
he was determined to be wholly silent
that they might have no
opportunity of rejoicing over him
nor of reproaching him
and the good ways of
God: and indeed it is proper for the people of God to be always upon their
guard
when they are in the presence of wicked men; and be careful what they
utter with their lips
who watch their words to improve them against them
and
the religion they profess.
Psalm 39:2 2 I was mute with silence
I
held my peace even from good; And my sorrow was stirred up.
YLT
2I was dumb [with] silence
I kept silent from good
and my pain is excited.
I was dumb with silence
.... Quite silent
as if
he had been a dumb man
and could not speak; so he was before men
especially
wicked men
and under the afflicting hand of God; see Psalm 39:9; thus he
put his resolution into practice;
I held my peace
even from good; that is
he
said neither good nor bad: this expresses the greatness of his silence: he did
not choose to open his lips
and say anything that was good
lest evil should
come out along with it; though this may be considered as carrying the matter
too far
even to a criminal silence; saying nothing of the affliction he
laboured under as coming from the hand of God
and of his own desert of it; nor
praying to God for the removal of it
nor giving him thanks for his divine
goodness in supporting him under it
and making it useful to him; though it
seems rather to have respect to his silence concerning the goodness of his
cause before men; he said not one word in the vindication of himself; but
committed his cause to him that judgeth righteously. The Targum and Jarchi
interpret it of his silence and cessation "from the words of the
law": he said nothing concerning the good word of God; which sense
could
it be admitted
the words in Jeremiah 20:9;
might be compared with these and the following;
and my sorrow was stirred; this was the issue and
effect of his silence; his sorrow being pent up
and not let out and eased by
words
swelled and increased the more; or the sorrow of his heart was stirred
up at the insults and reproaches of his enemies
as Paul's spirit was stirred
up by the superstition and idolatry of the city of Athens
Acts 17:16.
Psalm 39:3 3 My heart was hot within
me; While I was musing
the fire burned. Then I spoke with my tongue:
YLT
3Hot [is] my heart within
me
In my meditating doth the fire burn
I have spoken with my tongue.
My heart was hot within me
.... Either with zeal for
God; or rather with envy at the prosperity of wicked men
and with impatience
at his own afflictions;
while I was musing the fire burned; not the fire of the
divine word
while he was meditating upon it
which caused his heart to burn
within him; nor the fire of divine love
the coals whereof give a most vehement
flame
when the love of God is shed abroad in the heart
and the thoughts of it
are directed by the Spirit of God to dwell in meditation on it; but the fire of
passion
anger
and resentment
while meditating on his own adversity
and the
prosperity of others;
then spake I with
my tongue; and so broke the resolution he had made
Psalm 39:1; he
spoke not for God
though to him; not by way of thankfulness for his grace and
goodness to him
in supporting him under his exercises; but in a way of
complaint
because of his afflictions; it was in prayer he spoke to God with
his tongue
and it was unadvisedly with his lips
as follows.
Psalm 39:4 4 “Lord
make me to
know my end
And what is the measure of my days
That I may know
how frail I am.
YLT
4`Cause me to know
O
Jehovah
mine end
And the measure of my days -- what it [is]
' I know how
frail I [am].
Lord
make me to know mine end
.... Not Christ
the end
of the law for righteousness
as Jerom interprets it; nor how long he should
live
how many days
months
and years more; for though they are known of God
they are not to be known by men; but either the end of his afflictions
or his
latter end
his mortal state
that he might be more thoughtful of that
and so
less concerned about worldly things
his own external happiness
or that of
others; or rather his death; see Job 6:11; and his
sense is
that he might know death experimentally; or that he might die: this
he said in a sinful passionate way
as impatient of his afflictions and
exercises; and in the same way the following expressions are to be understood;
and the measure of my days
what it is; being
desirous to come to the end of it; otherwise he knew it was but as an hand's
breadth
as he says in Psalm 39:5;
that I may know how
frail I am; or "what time I have here"; or "when I shall
cease to be"F21מה חדל
אני "quanti aevi ego"
Montanus;
"quamdiu roundanus ero"
Vatablus; "quam brevis temporis
sim"
Musculus. ; or
as the Targum is
"when I shall cease from the
world"; so common it is for the saints themselves
in an angry or
impatient fit
to desire death; see Job 7:15; and a
very rare and difficult thing it is to wish for it from right principles
and
with right views
as the Apostle Paul did
Philemon 1:23.
Psalm 39:5 5 Indeed
You have made my
days as handbreadths
And my age is as nothing before You; Certainly
every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah
YLT
5Lo
handbreadths Thou hast
made my days
And mine age [is] as nothing before Thee
Only
all vanity [is]
every man set up. Selah.
Behold
thou hast made my days as an handbreadth
.... These
words
with the following clause
are the psalmist's answer to his own
inquiries; or rather a correction of his inquiry and impatience
showing how
needless it was to ask such questions
and be impatient to die
when it was so
clear and certain a case that life was so short; not a yard or ell (forty five
inches)
but an handbreadth
the breadth of four fingers; or at most a span of
time was allowed to man
whose days are few
like the shadow that declineth
and the grass that withers; by which figurative expressions the brevity of
human life is described
Psalm 102:11; and
this is the measure made
cut out
and appointed by the Lord himself
who has
determined the years
months
and days of man's life
Job 14:5;
and mine age is as nothing before thee; in the sight
of God
or in comparison of his eternity; not so much as an handbreadth
or to
be accounted as an inch
but nothing at
all; yea
less than nothing
and
vanity; see Isaiah 40:17; that
is
the age or life of man in this world
as the wordF23חלדי "vitale aevum meum"
Cocceius; "my
worldly time"
Ainsworth. used signifies; for otherwise the age or life of
man
in the world to come
is of an everlasting duration; but the years of this
present life are threescore and ten; ordinarily speaking; an hundred and thirty
are by Jacob reckoned but few; and even a thousand years with the Lord are but
as one day
Psalm 90:4;
verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. As vanity may
signify sin
emptiness
folly
falsehood
fickleness
and inconstancy; for man
is a very sinful creature
empty of all that is good; foolish as to the
knowledge of divine things; he is deceiving and deceived
his heart is deceitful
and desperately wicked; and he is unstable in all his ways: he is "all
vanity"F24כל הבל
"universa
vel omnis vanitas"
Pagninus
Montanus
Gejerus
Michaelis
Musculus
Cocceius; so Ainsworth.
as the words may be rendered;
all that he has
or is
or is in him
is vanity; his body
in the health
beauty
and strength of it
is subject to change; and so are his mind
his
memory
his judgment and affections
his purposes and promises; and so are his
goods and estate
his riches and honours; yea
all the vanity that is in the
creatures
that is
in the vegetable and sensitive creatures
yea
that is in
the whole
world
is in him; who is a microcosm
a little world himself: and
this is true of every man
even in his "best settled"F25נצב "stans"
Pagninus
Montanus
Cocceius;
"quamlibet firmus consistere videatur"
Tigurine version
Vatablus;
"though settled"
Ainsworth; so Junius & Tremellius
Piscator.
estate; when he stood the most firm
as the word used signifies; it is true of
men of high and low degree
of the wise
knowing
and learned
as well as of
the illiterate and ignorant
Psalm 62:9; even of
those that are in the most prosperous circumstances
in the greatest ease and
affluence
Luke 12:16; David
himself had an experience of it
2 Samuel 7:1; yea
this is true of Adam in his best estate
in his estate of innocence; for he was
even then subject to change
as the event has shown; and being in honour
he
abode not long; and
though upright
became sinful
and came short of the glory
of God: indeed
the spiritual estate of believers in Christ is so well settled
as that it cannot be altered; nor is it subject to any vanity.
Selah. See Gill on Psalm 3:2.
Psalm 39:6 6 Surely every man walks
about like a shadow; Surely they busy themselves in vain; He heaps up riches
And does not know who will gather them.
YLT
6Only
in an image doth each
walk habitually
Only
[in] vain
they are disquieted
He heapeth up and
knoweth not who gathereth them.
Surely every man walketh in a vain show
.... Or
"in an image"F26בצלם "in
imagine"
V. L. Pagninus
Montanus
Tigurine version
Piscator
Cocceius
Michaelis. ; not "in the image of the Lord"
as the Targum; in the
image in which God created man
for that is lost; nor in that which is stamped
on men in regeneration; for every man does not walk in that; rather in the
image of fallen man
in which every man is born and walks: or "in a
shadow"F1"In umbra"
Gejerus; "instar
umbrae"
Musculus; vid. Hackman. Praecidan. Sacr. tom. 1. p. 82. ; or like
one; to which the days of man's life are often compared
1 Chronicles 29:15;
and who
for the most part
busies himself in shadowy and imaginary things;
agreeably to all which the poet saysF2
ορω γαρ ημας Sophoclis Ajax
v. 125
126.
"I
see that we who live are nothing else but images
and a vain shadow.'
SomeF3Donesh
in Jarchi in loc. interpret it of "the shadow of death"; and othersF4Jarchi
& Kimchi in loc. & R. Jonah in Miclol Yophi in loc. of
"darkness" itself; and it fitly expresses the state of unregeneracy
and darkness in which every man walks without the grace of God; and which will
end in utter darkness
if that does not prevent it; and which is called "a
walking in the vanity of the mind"
Ephesians 4:17.
Here it seems rather to intend the outward show
pomp
and grandeur of every
great man; of emperors
kings
princes
nobles
and the great men of the world;
which is all a vain show
a glittering appearance for a while
a glory that
passeth away
and will not descend after them when laid in the grave
and
oftentimes lasts not so long;
surely they are disquieted in vain; about vain things
as
riches and honours
which are fickle and unstable; and sometimes in vain are
all the carking cares and disquietude of the mind
and toil and labour of the
body
which are here referred to
to obtain these things; some rise early
and
sit up late
and yet eat the bread of sorrow; and if they gain their point
yet
do not find the pleasure and satisfaction in them they promised themselves and
expected;
he heapeth up riches
and knoweth not who shall gather them: according to
Jarchi
the metaphor seems to be taken from a man that has been ploughing and
sowing
and reaping and laying up the increase of the field in heaps
and yet
knows not who shall gather it into the barn
seeing he may die before it is
gathered in; compare with this Luke 12:16; or the
meaning is
when a man has amassed a prodigious deal of wealth together
he
knows not who shall enjoy it
whether a son or a servant
a friend or a foe
a
good man or a bad man
a wise man or a fool
Ecclesiastes 2:18.
Psalm 39:7 7 “And now
Lord
what do I
wait for? My hope is in You.
YLT
7And
now
what have I
expected? O Lord
my hope -- it [is] of Thee.
And now
Lord
what wait I for?.... Look for
or expect
in this view of things? not long life
since the days of man are so short
and
his age as nothing; not help from man
since he is altogether vanity; not
riches and honour
since they are such poor
fading
perishing things; but the
glories of another world
and the enjoyment of the Lord himself
both in this
and that;
my hope is in thee; the psalmist now returns
to himself
and comes to his right mind
and to a right way of judging and
acting; making the Lord the object of his hope and trust
expecting all good
things
grace and glory
alone from him; and this is the hope which makes not
ashamed.
Psalm 39:8 8 Deliver me from all my
transgressions; Do not make me the reproach of the foolish.
YLT
8From all my transgressions
deliver me
A reproach of the fool make me not.
Deliver me from all my transgressions
.... Which
were the cause and occasion of all his distresses
inward and outward; and the
deliverance prayed for includes a freedom from the dominion of sin
which is by
the power of efficacious grace; and from the guilt of sin
which is by the
application of the blood of Christ; and from obligation to punishment for it
or deliverance from wrath to come
which is through Christ's being made a
curse
and enduring wrath in the room and stead of his people; and from the
very being of sin
which
though it cannot be expected in this life
is
desirable: and the psalmist prays that he might be delivered from
"all" his transgressions; knowing: that if one of them was left to
have dominion over him
or the guilt of it to lie upon him
and he be obliged
to undergo due punishment for it
he must be for ever miserable;
make me not the reproach of the foolish; of a Nabal;
meaning not any particular person; as Esau
according to Jarchi; or Absalom
as
others; but every foolish man
that is
a wicked man; such who deny the being
and providence of God
make a mock at sin
and scoff at the saints: and the sense
of the psalmist is
that the Lord would keep him from sinning
and deliver him
out of all his afflictions
on account of which he was reproached by wicked
men.
Psalm 39:9 9 I was mute
I did not open
my mouth
Because it was You who did it.
YLT
9I have been dumb
I open
not my mouth
Because Thou -- Thou hast done [it].
I was dumb
I opened not my mouth
.... This refers either
to his former silence
before he broke it
Psalm 39:1
or to
what he after that came into again
when he had seen the folly of his
impatience
the frailty of his life
the vanity of man
and all human affairs
and had been directed to place his hope and confidence in the Lord
Psalm 39:5; or to
the present frame of his mind
and his future conduct
he had resolved upon;
and may be rendered
"I am dumb"; or "will be dumb
and will not
open my mouth"F5לא אפתח "non aperiam"
Pagninus
Montanus
Piscator
Gejerus; so Ainsworth. ; that is
not in a complaining and murmuring way
against the Lord
but be still
and know or own that he is God;
because thou didst it; not "because thou
hast made me"
as Austin reads the
words
and as the Arabic version
renders them
"because thou hast created me"; though the
consideration of God being a Creator lays his creatures under obligation as to
serve him
so to be silent under his afflicting hand upon them; but the sense
is
that the psalmist was determined to be patient and quiet under his
affliction
because God was the author of it; for though he is not the author
of the evil of sin
yet of the evil of affliction; see Amos 3:6; and it is
a quieting consideration to a child of God under it
that it comes from God
who is a sovereign Being
and does what he pleases; and does all things well
and wisely
in truth and faithfulness
and in mercy and loving kindness: this
some refer to the rebellion of Absalom
and the cursing of Shimei
2 Samuel 12:11; or
it may refer to the death of his child
2 Samuel 12:22; or
rather to some sore affliction upon himself; since it follows
Psalm 39:10 10 Remove Your plague from
me; I am consumed by the blow of Your hand.
YLT
10Turn aside from off me Thy
stroke
From the striving of Thy hand I have been consumed.
Remove thy stroke away from me
.... The psalmist still
considers his affliction as coming from the hand of God
as his stroke upon
him
and which lay as a heavy burden on him
and which God only could remove;
and to him he applies for the removal of it
who is to be sought unto by his
people to do such things for them; nor is such an application any ways contrary
to that silence and patience before expressed;
I am consumed by the blow of thine hand; meaning
either that his flesh was consumed by his affliction
which came from the hand
of God
or he should be consumed if he did not remove it: he could not bear up
under it
but must sink and die; if he continued to strive and contend with
him
his spirit would fail before him
and the soul that he had made; and
therefore he entreats he would remember he was but dust
and remove his hand
from him; for this is a reason enforcing the preceding petition.
Psalm 39:11 11 When with rebukes You
correct man for iniquity
You make his beauty melt away like a moth; Surely
every man is vapor. Selah
YLT
11With reproofs against
iniquity
Thou hast corrected man
And dost waste as a moth his desirableness
Only
vanity [is] every man. Selah.
When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity
.... The
psalmist illustrates his own case
before suggested
by the common case and
condition of men
when God corrects them; which he has a right to do
as the
Father of spirits
and which he does with rebukes; sometimes with rebukes of
wrath
with furious rebukes
rebukes in flames of fire
as the men of the
world; and sometimes with rebukes of love
the chastenings of a father
as his
own dear children; and always for iniquity
whether one or another; and not the
iniquity of Adam is here meant
but personal iniquity: and correction for it is
to be understood of some bodily affliction
as the effect of it shows;
thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth; that is
secretly
suddenly
and at once; as a moth eats a garment
and takes off the
beauty of it; or as easily as a moth is crushed between a man's fingers; so the
Targum;
"he
melts away as a moth
whose body is broken:'
the
Vulgate Latin
Septuagint
Ethiopic
and Arabic versions
and so the metaphrase
of Apollinarius
read
as a spider which destroys itself. The word rendered
"beauty" takes in all that is desirable in man; as his flesh
his
strength
his comeliness
his pleasantness of countenance
&c. all which
are quickly destroyed by a distemper of the body seizing on it; wherefore the
psalmist makes and confirms the conclusion he had made before:
surely every man is vanity; See Gill on Psalm 39:5;
Selah; on this word; see Gill on Psalm 3:2.
Psalm 39:12 12 “Hear my prayer
O Lord
And give ear
to my cry; Do not be silent at my tears; For I am a stranger with You
A
sojourner
as all my fathers were.
YLT
12Hear my prayer
O Jehovah
And [to] my cry give ear
Unto my tear be not silent
For a sojourner I [am]
with Thee
A settler like all my fathers.
Hear my prayer
O Lord
.... Which was
that he
would remove the affliction from him that lay so hard and heavy upon him;
and give ear unto my cry; which shows the distress
he was in
and the vehemency with which he put up his petition to the Lord;
hold not thy peace at my tears; which were shed in great
plenty
through the violence of the affliction
and in his fervent prayers to
God; see Hebrews 5:7;
for I am a stranger with thee; not to God
to Christ
to the Spirit
to the saints
to himself
and the plague of his own
heart
or to the devices of Satan; but in the world
and to the men of it;
being unknown to them
and behaving as a stranger among them; all which was
known to God
and may be the meaning of the phrase "with thee"; or
reference may be had to the land of Canaan
in which David dwelt
and which was
the Lord's
and in which the Israelites dwelt as strangers and sojourners with
him
Leviticus 25:23; as
it follows here;
and a sojourner
as all my
fathers were; meaning Abraham
Isaac
and Jacob
and their posterity; see Genesis 23:4; as
are all the people of God in this world: this is not their native place; they
belong to another and better country; their citizenship is in heaven; their
Father's house is there
and there is their inheritance
which they have a
right unto
and a meetness for: they have no settlement here; nor is their rest
and satisfaction in the things of this world: they reckon themselves
while
here
as not at home
but in a foreign land; and this the psalmist mentions
to
engage the Lord to regard his prayers
since he has so often expressed a
concern for the strangers and sojourners in the land of Israel.
Psalm 39:13 13 Remove Your gaze from me
that I may regain strength
Before I go away and am no more.”
YLT
13Look from me
and I
brighten up before I go and am not!
O spare me
.... Or "look from me"F6השע
ממני "respice aliorsum a me"
Gejerus;
"averte visum a me"
Michaelis. ; turn away thy fierce countenance
from me; or "cease from meF7"Desine a me"
Pagninus;
"desiste a me"
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator
Cocceius;
"cessa a me"
Vatablus.
and let me alone"; as in Job 10:20; from whence
the words seem to be taken
by what follows:
that I may recover strength; both corporeal and
spiritual:
before I go hence; out of this world by death:
and be no more; that is
among men in the land of the
living; not but that he believed he should exist after death
and should be
somewhere
even in heaven
though he should return no more to the place where
he was; see Job 10:20
when a
man is born
he comes into the world; when he dies
he goes out of it; a phrase
frequently used for death in Scripture; so the ancient Heathens called death
"abitio"
a going awayF8Fest. Pomp. apud Schindler. Lexic.
col. 440. .
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》