Psalm 39

 To the chief Musician, even to Jeduthun, A Psalm of David.

I said, I will take heed to my ways,
that I sin not with my tongue:
I will keep my mouth with a bridle,
while the wicked is before me.

{2} I was dumb with silence,
I held my peace, even from good;
and my sorrow was stirred.
{3} My heart was hot within me,

while I was musing the fire burned:
then spake I with my tongue,

{4} LORD, make me to know mine end,
and the measure of my days, what it is;
that I may know how frail I am.

{5} Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth;
and mine age is as nothing before thee:
verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity.

{6} Surely every man walketh in an image;
surely they are disquieted in vain:
he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.

{7} And now, Lord, what wait I for?
my hope is in thee.
{8} Deliver me from all my transgressions:
make me not the reproach of the foolish.

{9} I was dumb, I opened not my mouth;
because thou didst it.
{10} Remove thy stroke away from me:
I am consumed by the blow of thine hand.

{11} When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity,
thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth:
surely every man is vanity.

{12} Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry;
hold not thy peace at my tears:
for I am a stranger with thee,
and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.

{13} O spare me, that I may recover strength,
before I go hence, and be no more."

What a striking psalm this is. It begins with determination and jaw set to keep his mouth shut, but in the end, David just couldn’t do it. The tongue, said James, is an unruly member. Who can tame it? I don’t have an answer to that, but I do wonder how long we should hold our peace when "the wicked" is before us. There is a time to keep silent and a time to speak.

Part of the solution offered here is that we mind our place in the scheme of things. Help me to remember how frail I am, David prays. It doesn't matter how old I am, all my days are a mere hands breadth to God. And since, at our very best, we still are motivated by vanity, we would do well to bridle our tongue.

Every man, David said, walks in an image. I’ll never forget the first few weeks after I noticed this psalm. I began watching people to see if I could guess what image they had of themselves. If you are ever stuck in an airport, you can pass a few hours watching the images that people present to world around them. If you can just remember this little truth, “every man walks in an image,” and think about the real person behind the image, you can give yourself an edge.

In verse 8, David seems to be asking, not merely for forgiveness, but that he might be delivered from the consequences of his foolishness as well. He seems to recognize God's chastisement in the consequences. We can always find forgiveness with God, but He often leaves us with the consequences so the lesson might be well learned.

The message? Don't get cocky and shoot off your mouth. You may have some hard lessons to learn.
 

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