To the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
1 I said, "I will guard my ways,
Lest I sin with my tongue;
I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle,
While the wicked are before me."
2 I was mute with silence,
I held my peace even from good;
And my sorrow was stirred up.
3 My heart was hot within me;
While I was musing, the fire burned.
Then I spoke with my tongue:
David was unhappy with his circumstances. It was painful for him to be afflicted in some way while he saw the ungodly skating through life unaffected by their sin. He decided to keep his mouth shut and not complain lest he say something to bring shame to himself or the Lord. If we truly believe in a sovereign God, can we really complain about the life He gave us? Are the circumstances in which we stand not approved of by God? Or do we only stand with God when things go the way we believe they should. Our relationship with the Lord should be open and we can take our concerns straight to God and talk about them. Lord, what is it I need to see here? What is it that you want me to learn? How can I minister to others in this place you set me in?
4 "LORD, make me to know my end,
And what is the measure of my days,
That I may know how frail I am.
5 Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths,
And my age is as nothing before You;
Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah
6 Surely every man walks about like a shadow;
Surely they busy themselves in vain;
He heaps up riches,
And does not know who will gather them.
Can you imagine knowing your end? We would spend today much differently if we knew Friday was it for us. Does our time become more valuable when we know our demise? No, we are just more keenly aware of how valuable it is because for all we know, Friday may be it for us.
We are one heartbeat away from death. There are no guarantees we will live to a ripe old age. Our life is very frail. To think we are in control of it is a thinly veiled illusion. Handbreadths are a very small unit of measure, four fingers. David saw his age as meaningless before God. Every man was suffering from vanity. Life was like a shadow…… ever changing, moving, until it is gone. The shadow relies on the light. We all busy ourselves as if we have all the time in the world. We build and work and gather. But for what? For whom? Is it all vanity….. an empty breath? Is it really important how long we live or should it be important on how we live?
7 "And now, Lord, what do I wait for?
My hope is in You.
We wait for Jesus. We await His return. We wait for the rapture. Come quickly Lord Jesus because our hope isn't in length of life or any other vain thing of this world.
8 Deliver me from all my transgressions;
Do not make me the reproach of the foolish.
9 I was mute, I did not open my mouth,
Because it was You who did it.
10 Remove Your plague from me;
I am consumed by the blow of Your hand.
11 When with rebukes You correct man for iniquity,
You make his beauty melt away like a moth;
Surely every man is vapor. Selah
Again we see the silent, suffering servant. He didn't open his mouth in the chastening of the Lord. What can he say? What complaint can he offer to God? All any of us can do is confess and repent of our sins before the Lord. The pain from sin and the chastening of the Lord will make a man feel old. His beauty will melt away. Man is like a vapor, shifting changing and gone.
12 "Hear my prayer, O LORD,
And give ear to my cry;
Do not be silent at my tears;
For I am a stranger with You,
A sojourner, as all my fathers were.
13 Remove Your gaze from me, that I may regain strength,
Before I go away and am no more."
David was asking that God stop the discipline that he might find the joy in his life again. It feels like we are in God's crosshairs sometimes. If he would just look away, or maybe look at someone else. But God sees all our sin, our heart and our attitudes. We should not be as a stranger with Him. We should be in relationship with the Lord, talking to Him daily, confessing our sins and talking to Him about our lives. We are sojourners, but only for a time. There is a day coming when we will stand face to face.
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