Devotional Short Notes to Psalm 39: One
may call this Psalm, an afterglow on basic tenets of the Book of Ecclesiastics
and Job. Although it seems as if Ecclesiastics were written by Solomon the son
of David, what one find in this Psalm are echoes of that. Parental education
plays a big role in the continuation of thoughts of children. Like father, like
son. This is no exception. In Proverbs 4:20 the educator says in
Solomon’s hand writing: “My son, give attention to my words…incline your ear …your
sight…in the middle of your heart…watch…put away from you a deceitful mouth and
put devious lips far from you…eyes look directly ahead…gaze be fixed…watch the
path of your feet…your ways will be established…turn your foot from evil”. In
Psalm 39:2 David, who must have taught Solomon the same as Proverbs 4 says that
he took what appears to our modern eyes as a “New Year Resolution”: I will not
speak back when the wicked scream at me. I will bite my tongue “that I sin not
with my tongue”. It worked: “I was dumb with silence, I held my peace from good
and my pain was held in check” (39:3). Not talking to the wicked “before” (neged)
him. It helped since his heart waxed hot within him. This heartfelt relationship for God “burned”
in his heart “in my praising” (39:4b). Most translations read here “musing” to
connect it to the Buddhist, Hindu and Jewish Kabbalistic meditation practices
but that is not what is here involved. Musing is not meditation here although the
Middle-age Rabbis translated it such. It is the Late Egyptian word ḥknw for “praise
or thanksgiving”. It was while David was praising God that a fire kindled
inside him for God and “spoke I with the tongue” not to people but to God
(39:4d). “Lord,” David said, “make me known my
end”. God knows the end of each one since Ecclesiastics 3:10 reads: “and the
measure of my days, what it is. Let me know how short-lived I am” (39:5b-c). He
has Job 14:1-2 in mind here: “man, who is born of woman is short-lived and full
of trouble, like a flower he comes forth and withers. He also flees like a
shadow and does not remain”. David continued with the words of Job: “You have
made my days as hand-breadths, and mine age is as nothing before You”. The same
is said in Ecclesiastics 19:1 “Man does not know what love and hatred, anything
awaiting him”. David also cites the vanity line of Ecclesiastics: “Surely every
man at his best estate is altogether vanity” (39:6c). David is citing here Ecclesiastics
since he used the word Selah which is a marker for citations. He then cites from Ecclesiastics 2:18,
19, 21 indicating that wealth accumulation is vanity since after death, who
will take it? (39:7a-c). Just like Solomon in Ecclesiastics came to the main
understanding what matters in life in Ecclesiastics 12:13 “Fear God and keep
His commandments because this is for every person” so David came to the same: “and
now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope, it is in You” (39:8). Like father like
son. The sins of David are every now and then mentioned in the Scriptures in
his history so in this case he mentioned “transgressions” that need deliverance
from (39:9). But David knew, that what you sow you reap and if you sow evil you
will reap evil consequences because there is a Great Controversy in Heaven
still raging on earth between Christ and Satan, with Christ as Victor already
by Satan acting as if he is the winner. So even though David confessed his
guilt and sins and was forgiven totally, the memory of sin is not taken away
and neither are the avenues to the soul totally blocked-off from Satan’s entry.
Unless he daily and momentarily pay attention, Satan will slip in his thoughts
and spin his spiders-web holding him captive to habits and desires popping-up. The
Holy Spirit, most powerful, is instantly available for casting Satan out just
like the pigs over the cliff in Jesus’ days. No difference. And that is
probably what David is doing here: “Deliver me…” In David’s case, it seems as if he is
aware of his guilt and God’s disfavor with that guilt: “because You have done
it” (39:10b); “remove Your stroke from over me” (39:11a); “I am consumed by the
blow of Your hand” (39:11b). He knows the principle of God: “In rebukes over
iniquity You unrestrain [yisarta] man” (39:12). Why does the Lord unrestrain
man? Because man is free do sin or not sin but the faithful will be punished as
a father punishes his son whom he loves. However unrestrained. Satan however,
binds people to sin, desires and habits. He gives them no second choice or
freedom to choose the opposite. This is the difference between God and Satan. David then cites Job 13:28 and
Ecclesiastics 2:16-26 that man is like a cloth which a moth eaten away. “Surely
every man is vanity” and David closed his citation with the citation mark:
Selah. Job said the same when he said: “While I am decaying like a rotten
thing. Like a garment that is moth-eaten”. David’s finger is on chapter 13 and
14 of Job while writing Psalm 39. He closed the Psalm with a prayer: He wants
the Lord to hear his prayer and give ear to his cry. The Lord should not keep
silent at his tears. David is crying and shedding tears. The Lord’s hand rests
on him for his transgressions that he is aware of. Then David said a very
interesting remark: “For I am a stranger [ger] with You”. In Judaism this is a
no-no. This is how it works: in their religion, ha-am is the ethnic remnant
Israel who are the children of Abraham and due to the blood-relationship are
heirs of salvation and blessings of the Lord. Ger or “strangers” are not
elected by God. They are unholy. Here David calls himself not a ha-am but a
ger. Many rabbis will be shocked at this statement and may even denied that it
is written by David because of this sentence. David says: If you sin, your
transgressions breaks your relationship with God so that even though you are
Jewish, or a Hebrew, you are a stranger to God and cannot receive the blessings
of the covenant of God with His people. Secondly, David indicates here that
only when one is faithful and have a spiritual relationship with Him, can one
be called ha-am, otherwise one is ger. Especially by the prophet Isaiah it is
indicated that the ha-am and ger would be at the End of Time be together with
God. He had in mind the spiritual remnant and those who with the Latter Rain made
a last decision since it is the last call from all nations across the globe.
But, the ha-am is also from all nations across the globe. It is just a way to
explain that a small remnant is going to be much larger after the Latter Rain.
Here David used it in a derogatory manner about himself.
He also says that his fathers were “sojourners”
(39:13d). In 39:14 he wants God to turn away from him, not to forsake him, but
to stop the discomfort of the problems he reaped due to his transgressions. He
is afraid that he will die if God does not turn his trails: “In the event I go
and be no more”.