Psalms 39

Psalms 39THEME: A psalm for funeralsThis remarkable psalm reveals to us the frailty, weakness, and the littleness of humanity. It sets before us the vanity of human existence. This psalm has been used at funerals a great deal, and it can be used so properly. There are those who have considered it probably “the most beautiful of all elegies in the Psalter.” Dean Perowne has said: “The holy singer had long pent up his feelings; and though busy thoughts were stirring within him, he would not give them utterance. He could not bare his bosom to the rude gaze of an unsympathizing world. And he feared lest, while telling his perplexities, some word might drop from his lips which would give the wicked an occasion to speak evil against God.

And when at last, unable to repress his strong emotion, he speaks to God and not to man, it is as one who feels how hopeless the problem of life is, except as seen in the light of God” (The Book of Psalms, p. 295). He speaks of this frailty and sinfulness, this weakness and littleness of mankind, with deep conviction. Candidly, human life is, without a doubt, the most colossal failure in God’s universe. Apart from a relationship with God, my friend, it is rather meaningless. All is vanitythat is what you have to say under the sun. Without the Son of God it means nothing at all. This is a psalm of David, and it is dedicated “To the chief Musician, even to Jeduthun.” Who is Jeduthun? Perhaps he wrote the music for this psalm. He was one of three musical or choir directors connected with Israel’s worship. Asaph and Heman were the other two men. David, the sweet singer of Israel, had associated himself with these three men in the ministry of music. Now notice the beautiful words of this psalm.

Psalms 39:1

This psalm concerns a subject that David would rather not talk about with the man of the world. “He would not quite understand it, so I put a zipper on my mouth.”

Psalms 39:2

But David wanted to say something, and finally he opens his heart before God.

Psalms 39:3

He speaks now to the Lord:

Psalms 39:4

David recognizes the frailty of man and asks, “What is the purpose of life? What is it that gives meaning to existence?” This is a current question being asked by young people today and they are asking it with a bang. After World War II my generation wanted to settle down in peace. We wanted a nice little bungalow, one or two cars in the garage, and a chicken in the pot. We wanted to live in an affluent society and shut our eyes to everything else in order to escape responsibility. Things did not turn out the way we wanted them to. We got tied up in traffic snarls. Our lives became filled with tension. The young generation came along (even those who came from Christian homes), looked around and asked “Is this what life is all about? What is the meaning of life?” This was David’s question. Christians can live in such a way today that there is no meaning to life. If you are a Christian parent, are you living a life that is turning your children on to Jesus Christ, or are you turning them off to everything that is Christian? There are many vagrants drifting over the face of the earth who have left home and gotten into a lot of trouble because of the poor examples set before them. Many of them have come from “good homes"from all outward appearances they were good homesbut these young folk looked at the lives of their parents and said, “They have no meaning.” Oh, this psalm is relevant to the contemporary generation. David prayed, “LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is"give me purpose and meaning.

Psalms 39:5

This verse ends with the word Selahstop, look, and listen; think this over, friend. The brevity of human life on this earth ought to tell us something. If this life is all there is to human existence, it is a colossal failure. I would rather be a dinosaur or a redwood tree and hang around for awhile, because compared to them man’s life is just a handbreadth.

Psalms 39:6

William Thackeray, an English novelist and a Christian, wrote a novel called Vanity Fair. I enjoyed that book. It is a brilliant satire on a little group of people, a clique that had its status symbols, played its little parts, and committed its little sins that are an awful stench in heaven. They lived and died with their littleness and their bickerings. That’s life! “Surely every man walketh in a vain shew …he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.” Nothing has changed. Think of the Christians who gather fortunes down here and leave it for godless offspring, or they leave it to unworthy so-called Christian work. We see a great deal of this. The psalmist saw it and asked, “What is the purpose of it all?”

Psalms 39:7

David turned to God"my hope is in thee.” Friend, if you don’t turn to God, you will not find the meaning of life.

Psalms 39:8

David wanted to be a good example.

Psalms 39:9

He did not want to express his thoughts to the crowd, because they are rather pessimistic.

Psalms 39:10

He was feeling the discipline of God in his lifeand it was for a purpose. Oh, my friend, how we need to get a proper perspective of life! The grave is not its goal. “Dust thou art, to dust returnest was not spoken of the soul.” Man is going on a long journey. Eternity is ahead. What glorious anticipation there should be!

Psalms 39:12

We are just pilgrims and strangers down here, but we don’t think of it that way. We want to fix up our little corner of the earth and think it is going to be permanent. We want to wrap ourselves in a blanket of false security. May I say, at best we are pilgrims and strangers on earth, and that is the way we ought to live our lives. We are on a journey, and we seek a city “…whose builder and maker is God” (Heb_11:10). Oh, to have a hope today! The psalmist says of God, “My hope is in thee.”

Psalms 39:13

That is, enable me to so live that my life will cause men and women to think on eternity. Enable me to live a life that will not turn folk away from God but draw them to Him. We hear a lot today about personal witnessing, but what about the testimony of our lives? Are people turning to God because of the way we are living, or are they turning away from God? I am confident that our lives are doing one or the other.