Psalm 39
life to an "empty show," with shadow people bustling about, trying to get rich. Busy for what? Wealthy for what? Years later, Solomon raised the same questions (Eccl. 2:18–19), and Jesus emphasized the same truth in Luke 12:16–21. If you measure the length of life, you may become despondent, but if you look around you and measure the depth of life, you are appalled. Life is swift, life is short, and for most people, life is futile. In modern vocabulary, people are living for the image and not the reality.
PSALM 39
Both 38 and 39 record David attempting to remain silent in a time of trial, lest he say something that would offend believers or give ammunition to unbelievers (38:13–14; 39:1–3, 9; see 73:15). (For other parallels, see 38:15–16/39:7–8; 38:1–3, 11/39:10–11.) In this psalm, David doesn't seem to be gravely ill, but he has been visited by some "stroke" from the Lord because of his sins (vv. 9–11). Also, the old problem of the prosperity of the wicked is in the picture (v. 1). It appears that the wicked ("the foolish" v. 8) were blaspheming God and maligning David in his affliction, and the king was greatly concerned lest he bring reproach on the name of the Lord. There is a dirge-like quality to the psalm, and we marvel that David gave the hymn to the chief musician to use in public worship. Jeduthun was one of three musicians David put in charge of the worship at the sanctuary; the others were Heman and Asaph (see 1 Chron. 16:37–43; 2 Chron. 5:12; 35:15). Jeduthun is mentioned in the titles to Psalms 62 and 77. Recorded in this psalm are four progressive stages in David's overcoming his difficult experience.
He Was Confident—A Believing Heart (v. 7) This is the central verse in the psalm and the turning point in David's experience. "If life is short and goes past so swiftly," asks David, "what am I waiting for? If the world is nothing but a shadow image, let me give myself to the Lord, who is the foundation of all that is real and lasting." Today we would say, "The reality is of Christ" (Col. 2:17 niv). The main concern is not how long we live but how we live. Life is measured, not by how rich we are in material wealth, but whether we have values that last. Are we living with eternity's values in view? "He who does the will of God abides forever" (1 John 2:17 nkjv). In turning by faith to the Lord, David moved from hopelessness to hope and from paralysis to action. The next verses describe what he did to bring about change.
He Was Silent—A Burning Heart (vv. 1–3) Seeing the prosperity of the wicked and hearing their blasphemous words so angered David that he wanted to retaliate and say something to defend God, but he deemed it best to keep quiet. But this restraint only made his heart burn with intense pain (see 32:3; Jer. 20:9) until finally he had to speak out. The two Emmaeus disciples had "burning hearts" because of the way the Lord had expounded the Word to them, and Ezekiel had anguish in his spirit because of the difficult calling God had given him. David didn't even say good things; he just kept quiet as long as he could. There is "a time to keep silence, and a time to speak" (Eccl. 3:7), and wise is the person who knows the difference. David didn't argue with God (v. 9) or with those who reproached him, but he did pray to the Lord.
He Was Repentant—A Broken Heart (vv. 8–13) We begin with David the sinner and listen to his prayer for forgiveness (vv. 8–9). Like every truly convicted sinner, his mouth had been stopped (Rom. 3:19), and he admitted his guilt before God (see 1 Sam. 3:18; Lam. 1:21). We don't know the particular sins that had brought this stroke from the Lord, and we don't have to know. We do know that God listens to the cry of the brokenhearted (51:17) and forgives when we confess (1 John 1:9). David was especially concerned that he not give occasion to "the foolish" to ridicule his faith (14:1; 69:7; 74:22; 79:4). Next, David the sufferer pleaded with God to remove the stroke and heal his body (vv. 10–11; see 32:4; 38:2). He used three images to get his point across: a plague or sickness, draining away his life; the blow of God's hand, like a loving parent disciplining a child; the rebuke of His Word, which cut deeply into David's heart. C. S. Lewis was correct when he wrote in The Problem of Pain, "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to arouse a deaf world."22 The human body ages, decays, and dies; and the material wealth we gather gradually loses its value, like a moth silently destroying a garment. Jim Elliot's oftquoted statement certainly applies here: "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose."23 Vanity of vanity, all is vanity—unless we put our faith and hope in God.
He Was Despondent—A Burdened Heart (vv. 4–6) When we find ourselves burying our true feelings and creating physical and emotional pain for ourselves, then it's time to talk to the Lord and seek His help. David knew that life was short and that the days would pass swiftly; he also knew that he was frail and that one day he would die. He began to measure his days (90:12; 119:84) and saw that they were but a handbreadth (four fingers) and his age nothing in God's sight. (See 90:1–11.) "Verily, every man at his best state [in his vigor] is altogether vanity" (v. 5) sounds like a statement from Ecclesiastes by David's son Solomon, and he repeated the thought in verse 11. The Hebrew word translated "vanity" means "a breath, emptiness" (see 62:9; 144:4; Job 14:2; Eccl. 6:12). One of my Hebrew professors described "vanity" as "what's left after you break a soap bubble." In verse 6, he compared
Finally, David the sojourner prays for God's direction as he makes his pilgrim way through life with its