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Psalm 39 (ESV)

¹ 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!”

REFLECTION:

1. The psalmist was wrestling with a lot of anguished questions: life is so fragile, so short, like a puff of air, a passing shadow. How long do I have? What does it mean anyway? (v6)  Can’t you back off a bit, God? (vv10, 13). But then the singer also has hope in God (v7) and continues to seek deliverance from sin (v8).
2. “I am silent; I do not open my mouth”(v9) ushers an invitation for us to be SILENT before God to close “off our souls from ‘sounds’, whether noise, music, or words, so that we may better still the inner chatter and clatter of our noisy hearts and be increasingly attentive to God.”
3. Plan to have a Silent Date with God today or this week. Share your experience with your group.

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

HYMN:

Make Me Know My End – www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzLxR7t0xag