Psalms 39:13

O spare me,.... Or "look from me" (f); turn away thy fierce countenance from me; or "cease from me (g), and let me alone"; as in Job 10:20; from whence the words seem to be taken, by what follows:

O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more. O spare me - literally, 'look away from me;' 'turn away (thy angry look) from me' [ haasha` (H8159) mimeniy (H4480)].

Spare me; or, cease from me, i.e. from afflicting me; do not destroy me. My life at best is but short and miserable, as I have said, and thou knowest; sufficient for it is the evil thereof: do not add affliction to the afflicted. That I may recover strength, both in my outward and inward man, both which are much weakened and oppressed. Or, that I may be refreshed, or comforted, eased of the burden of my sins, and thy terrors consequent upon them, and better prepared for a comfortable and happy dissolution. Before I go hence, Heb. before I go, to wit, unto the grave, as this phrase is used, 25:32; or the way of all the earth, as the phrase is completed, ; or whence I shall not return, as it is ; or, which is all one, into that place and state in which I shall not be, to wit, amongst the living, or in this world, as this phrase is frequently used, both in Scripture, as 37:30 42:36, and in heathen authors; of which see my Latin Synopsis.

Psalms 39:13 O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more.Ver. 13. O spare me, that I may recover strength] Ut refociller, reficiar. Job maketh the like request, Job 10:20. Some breathing while they would have, and a time to recollect themselves, before that last, great encounter. They say in effect, Differ, habent parvae commoda magna morae. Before I go hence, and be no more] No more seen among men. It is said that Richard III caused the dead corpses of his two smothered nephews to be closed in lead, and so put in a coffin full of holes, and hooked at the ends with two hooks of iron; and so be cast into a place called the Black Deeps, at the Thames’ mouth, whereby they should never rise up nor be any more seen. "Joseph is not, and Simeon is not," Genesis 42:36. The righteous perish, Isaiah 57:1. When once I go hence, saith David here, viz. to my long home, Ecclesiastes 12:5, there will be a Non ego, an end of me and to this world; wherefore I beg a little respite. Sοιμεντουτο, Yεε, σμικρον, εμοιδεμεγα.

(13) Recover strength.—Better, Let me become cheerful, i.e., look up with a glad look once more on my face, as the angry look fades from the Divine countenance. Before.—Literally, before I go, and am not. All the words and phrases of this last verse occur in the Book of Job. (See Job 7:8; Job 7:19; Job 7:21; Job 14:6; Job 10:20-21.)

Verse 13. O spare me] Take me not from this state of probation till I have a thorough preparation for a state of blessedness. This he terms recovering his strength - being restored to the favour and image of God, from which he had fallen. This should be the daily cry of every human spirit: Restore me to thine image, guide me by thy counsel, and then receive me to thy glory! ANALYSIS OF THE THIRTY-NINTH PSALM This Psalm was apparently written on the same occasion as the preceding. The psalmist is still suffering as before, yet is silent and patient; but the suffering at last becoming very sharp, he could hold his peace no longer: then he spoke. And we have reason to be thankful that he broke silence, as whoever considers the weighty truths which he spoke must allow. There are three parts in this Psalm: - I. His own account of his resolution to keep silence, Psalms 39:1, and the consequences of it, Psalms 39:2-3. II. His expostulation with God on the shortness, uncertainty, and frailty of life, Psalms 39:4-6. III. His petition to have his sin pardoned, Psalms 39:8; to be saved from punishment, Psalms 39:10; and for farther grace and respite, Psalms 39:12-13. I. David acquaints us with his resolution: I said - I fully purposed to keep silence. 1. "I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue." 2. This resolution he kept for a while: "I was dumb; I held my peace even from good," even from making a just defence. 3. But in this I found great difficulty, nay, impossibility. 1. For all the time "my sorrow was stirred." My pain was increased by silence. 2. "My heart was hot." I was strongly incited to utter my mind. 3. "And, while thus musing, the fire burned;" what was within I saw should not be longer concealed: "Then spake I with my tongue." II. He expostulates with God: and, being greatly oppressed both in body and mind, prays to know how long he is to live; or, rather, how soon he may get rid of his maladies, false friends, and deceitful enemies. Many considerations render his life uncomfortable. 1. It is very brittle and frail: "Make me to know how frail I am." 2. It is very short: "Behold, thou hast made my days as a handbreadth." 3. Yea, when carefully considered, it was even less, of no consideration: "Mine age is as nothing before thee." 4. It was full of vanity: "Verily, every man at his best estate (in his strength, riches, power) is altogether vanity." His labours promise much, perform little. 5. It is unstable and uncertain, as a shadow. "Surely, every man walketh in a vain shadow." 6. It is full of trouble and inquietude: "Surely, they are disquieted in vain." 7.

13. O spare me] So Jerome, parce mihi. But more exactly, Look away from me. Cheyne renders, ‘avert thy frown.’ that I may recover strength] Lit. brighten up, as the sky when the clouds clear. Parallels for every phrase in the verse are to be found in Job. See Job 7:19; Job 14:6; Job 10:20-21; Job 7:8 (R.V.). It is, as Delitzsch remarks, the heroic character of Old Testament faith, that in the midst of the enigmas of life, and in full view of the deep gloom enshrouding the future, it throws itself unconditionally into the arms of God.

O spare me - The word used here - from שׁעה shâ‛âh - means “to look;” and then, in connection with the preposition, “to look away from;” and it here means, “Look away from me;” that is, Do not come to inflict death on me.

12, 13. The concluding verses are a prayer for restoration, urged by the shortness and frailty of life.