"To the choirmaster: to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
I said, “I will guard my ways,
that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will guard my mouth with a muzzle,
so long as the wicked are in my presence.”
2 I was mute and silent;
I held my peace to no avail,
and my distress grew worse.
3 My heart became hot within me.
As I mused, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “O Lord, make me know my end
and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting I am!
5 Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,
and my lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah
6 Surely a man goes about as a shadow!
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!
7 “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?
My hope is in you.
8 Deliver me from all my transgressions.
Do not make me the scorn of the fool!
9 I am mute; I do not open my mouth,
for it is you who have done it.
10 Remove your stroke from me;
I am spent by the hostility of your hand.
11 When you discipline a man
with rebukes for sin,
you consume like a moth what is dear to him;
surely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah
12 “Hear my prayer, O Lord,
and give ear to my cry;
hold not your peace at my tears!
For I am a sojourner with you,
a guest, like all my fathers.
13 Look away from me, that I may smile again,
before I depart and am no more!”
Psalm 39
Three strands are discernible in David's soliloquy. First of all there is the brevity and meaninglessness of man's life over against the eternity of God (4-6). But this is only one side of David's thinking. In Psalm 8 he strikes a very different note, setting the vast eternity of God over against the insignificance of man and finding something in this to exult his heart - mystery in light not mystery in darkness. It is only the kind of prayer uttered in 4 that can transport us from the one attitude to the other. Secondly, David's prayer asks God to show him the purpose of life. Life, brief as it is, cannot be in vain if it is linked to the purpose of God. It is possible to serve our day and generation, then fall asleep in the glad consciousness and assurance that life, however brief, has not been in vain. The third strand of thought, in 7-9, underlines hope in God. When a man's hope is in God, for this life or the next, he is related to eternity, and he cannot live in vain. This threefold strand of thought forms the basis and groundwork of David's experience, and it is this that ensures that the touching prayer in 8-13 will be answered. The truth is, when basic fundamentals are sorted out, we have a ground on which to stand, and on which we can cry to God in real confidence. The great thing is to have come to an understanding of life, to know our end, and to realise the divine purpose for us. This is what brings lasting peace to our hearts.