Psalm 42-43: The Upside to Being Downcast

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

[This article is also posted on my Cupbearers Initiative pastoral advocacy blog.]

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my salvation and my God. (Psalm 43:5)

During this season of social distancing and even strict quarantine, there is considerable concern regarding the psychological impact of isolation in addition to the more widespread anxieties of the Covid-19 crisis. Many have lost their jobs; others can no longer visit family for fear of spreading exposure to the more vulnerable among us. 

Photo Credit: Greg Dueker

I work at a Christian University and Seminary and we are currently teaching remotely and doing our best to reach out and check in with our students regularly. But I miss seeing them in class, out on the campus lawn, or in the cafeteria. Even the library is quieter than normal (if you can imagine that). All this combined with the hoarder-induced shortages of TP, sanitizer, vegetables, and most carbs (rice, beans, pasta, bread), can produce turmoil in our souls. But will we look down or up for the hope our soul desperately needs?

In Psalm 42-43 (Theywhich are generally thought to make up one psalm), the writer uses a common refrain where he addresses his own soul and directs it to trust in God. This psalm might have been written during David’s exile during the rebellion of Absalom, or later during the Babylonian exile, or as Peter Craigie suggests, “it is equally possible that the background is to be found in sickness, which limited the poet’s possibility of going to Jerusalem and participating in the worship in the temple.”[1] 

Currently, this hits pretty close to home for most churches in the US.

Photo by Jordan Hopkins on Unsplash

We live in just such a time filled with challenging circumstances and difficult directives as the various levels of our government pursue policies put in place to slow the insidious spread of Covid-19. Yet even as the virus captures our attention, nature’s other outbursts are not abated be it tornados, floods, or earthquakes.

Some people are overwhelmed by the darkness they see. Others recognize that darkness is the necessary precursor to the coming of the light. If we never experience the dark how then will we long for the light? Psalm 43:3-4 contains the prayer of one who was downcast in the darkness. Do these ancient words of prayer resonate with our heart’s cries today?

Send out your light and your truth;
    let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
    and to your dwelling!
Then I will go to the altar of God,
    to God my exceeding joy,
and I will praise you with the lyre,
    O God, my God.   (Psalm 43:3-4)

These psalms were written by, or for, the sons of Korah who served as doorkeepers and worship leaders in the Temple of the Lord. Their cry to the Lord was that he would bring them back to the place where they were called to serve. They realized that for whatever reason, they were no longer in that spot. I would argue that their season of difficulty, whether sourced in an attack of an enemy or their own sin was being shaped into a gift in the hands of the Lord who loves steadfastly! My pastor used to say, “Don’t despise that which drives you to your knees.” Whatever causes us to lean into the Lord’s love, and extend that love to others, is ultimately a cause for gratitude.

Photo by Ahna Ziegler 
on Unsplash

In the history of Israel and the history of the Christian church, there have been great feasts celebrated regularly, but the problem in modern times is that we too often cast off the fasts that precede them. Wisdom, and experience, teach that we appreciate and celebrate the light better after we have experienced the darkness. We need the longing season of Advent before the celebration of Christmas. We need the confessional season of Lent before the victorious joy of Easter. Even in the progression of the natural seasons, after a long hot summer, we need the cold and dark of winter before we will enjoy a sunny and warm spring day to its fullest! Isaiah 42:16 declares the Lord’s promised plan for his people on the other side of the darkness…

And I will lead the blind
    in a way that they do not know,
in paths that they have not known
    I will guide them.
I will turn the darkness before them into light,
    the rough places into level ground.
These are the things I do,
    and I do not forsake them. (See also: Isaiah 42:6-7; 9:1-2; Matt. 4:14-16)

But those who will not trust in the Lord will see their idols destroyed (Isaiah 42:17).

As we read through Psalm 42-43, we find that it is chock-full of lessons applicable to our lives as we walk through the current circumstances we face. Despite being ordered to responsibly practice “social distancing” we can still digitally join our hearts together, around the Lord and his word. I hope we will take time each day to reflect on God’s written word, the Bible, and share his love displayed there with others.

To do just that, allow me to share nine truths that can be found especially in times of hardship and our downcast seasons of darkness…

1. Hardship often reveals our deepest thirst and gives opportunity to admit it (42:1-2). Have we seen enough of the world to know that it doesn’t, and can’t satisfy our deepest longings?
2. Hardship may open us up to criticism from others; those who love “piling on” when someone else is suffering, adding insult to injury (v. 3,10). I am reminded of Jesus’ words to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matt. 5:44). Times like this will give us opportunities to grow in this regard.
3. Hardship reminds us how much we miss celebrating the goodness of God with our spiritual family (v. 4). Thankfully, we have the technology to reach across the distance and join in spiritual worship and acts of service.
4. Hardship often increases our sense of isolation (v. 4) but the more we think of others, and check in on them (phone, text, email, social media) the less isolated we will be, even when confined to our home.
5. Hardship provides the opportunity to do some soul searching and some soul instructing. (42:5, 11; 43:5)
6. Dark times move us past our powerless pride to put our hope in the Lord (v.5-6). In 2 Cor. 1:8-10, the Apostle Paul described this experience clearly. "For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him, we have set our hope that he will deliver us again." 
7. Amid dark and tumultuous times, we may become more sensitive to the presence of God and his steadfast love (v.7-8). The more distractions are removed, the more quiet we encounter, the more we dwell in His Word, and the less we can lean on our own strength the more we see him at work. Pro tip: Don’t watch more news than you can cover in prayer!
8. In dark and tumultuous times, we can ask God honest questions about where he is in all that which we are facing. We feel he is far away, but what encouragement can we offer our own souls? (v.11) “Put your hope in God!” He is our covenant-keeping Savior!
9. In times of hardship, we can confess our weakness and choose to trust God to deliver us from the oppressor (43:1-3).

Sabbath in Modern Tiberius

One other comment before I close. Even good things need fallow seasons of pruning and rest in preparation for new seasons of fruitfulness. It makes me wonder since this current crisis is in effect imposing a sabbath rest on the land. While the imposition of a required sabbatical season is not the cause of this shutdown, perhaps that is how the Lord may use this terrible pandemic for good, if we will hope in him.

We are a nation that refuses to stop whatever it is that we are doing. Yet, being forced to stop, to pause, to trust it will work out, will we continue to be downcast, angry, fearful, and divided, or will our souls be counseled by this psalm to hope in God? Will we trust that we will once again join our voices together to praise Jesus for the salvation he brings to share? I hope so!

How we live and engage those we live with, will reveal both our heart and our source of hope… for better or worse!

---

[1] Peter C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50, Word Biblical Commentary Vol. 19, (Waco, TX: Word Inc., 1983) 325.

Psalm 41: Merciful, or Just Mean as a Snake?

Blessed is the one who considers the poor!

    In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him;

the Lord protects him and keeps him alive;

    he is called blessed in the land;

    you do not give him up to the will of his enemies.

The Lord sustains him on his sickbed;

    in his illness you restore him to full health. (41:1-3)

Photo by Shail Sharma on Unsplash

In Psalm 40, we saw the psalmist testify about the good that God had done for him, and we see that in Psalm 41 as well… in the person of the Lord himself and in the one who represents him well. 

     “Blessed is the one who considers the poor!” (v.1)

Here is a question... are verses 1b-3 a description of what God does for the poor or what God will do for the one who cares for the poor? Perhaps both. Willem Van Gemeren, in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, notes that,

“The Father in heaven looks for those who wisely conform to his heavenly kingdom on earth: righteousness, holiness, love, and justice. He cares for the oppressed and delights to see his children's concern with the things that are important to him: concern for those in need (cf. 35:13-14; 112:9 –Emphasis mine).”[1]

We should also observe that David ended the previous psalm with the cry,

 As for me, I am poor and needy,
    but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
    do not delay, O my God! (40:17)

David might have been establishing a case whereby the Lord would do merciful things for him since he was also in need. It is also possible that he was emphasizing the importance for those who have power over the poor/weak/sick/powerless to use that power to help and not to harm. This idea may be supported by the title of this psalm in the Syriac which says, “It was a Psalm of David when he appointed overseers to take care of the poor.” (Adam Clarke)

This psalm seems to suggest that how we treat “the poor” in their day of trouble influences how we will be treated in our own day of trouble. Jesus picked up on this prophetic message (and others such as Psa. 18:25-26 and Micah 6:8) in the Sermon on the Mount when he said, "Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy" (Matt 5:7). Later James, Jesus' half-brother and leader of the Jerusalem church, wrote that pure religion is evidenced in our treatment of “widows and orphans” and not just some abstract form of personal piety (James 1:27).

Nineteenth-century preacher Charles Spurgeon, in his classic Treasury of David, elaborated on how the faithful servants of the Lord are both relationally wise and merciful in their consideration of the poor, “They do not toss them a penny and go their way, but enquire into their sorrows, sift out their cause, study the best ways for relief, and practically come to their rescue; such as these have the mark of the divine favor plainly upon them…“The promise is not that the generous saint shall have no trouble, but that [they] shall be preserved in it, and in due time brought out of it.”[2]

Certainly, these verses depict the kindness and grace of God, shown to those who are “poor”— a word that depicts the marginalized in every society on earth, but also in the Hebrew context that specially referred to those who were humble before the Lord, confessing the sin. In the New Testament, we see both aspects on the lips of Jesus in Matthew 5’s “poor in spirit” and Luke 6’s “poor” in an economic/power sense.

I am touched by the merciful kindness shown to "the poor" in verses 1-3 of this psalm. I am also disturbed by the contrasted meanness of others in verses 5-10 — the malicious, the slanderers, the whisperers, the scandalmongers, the prognosticators, and the betrayers!

Have you ever been “visited” by such as these? David had...

And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words,

    while his heart gathers iniquity;

    when he goes out, he tells it abroad. (v.6)

Pigpen by Charles Schultz

I don’t want to be the “utterer of empty words” nor one with a heart that “gathers iniquity” like velour gathers lint. I don’t want to spread abroad the iniquity I gather like so much sticky pollen and dust due to the negative charge of a fallen world. Instead, I want to spread the goodness of God which I have received. God doesn’t want his people to be the spiritual/relational equivalents of the Peanuts character “Pigpen” whose very presence continuously broadcasts dirt and dust. I also don’t want to imagine the worst for others (v.7) even though we are often faced with the reality of it.

Photo by Elijah O'Donnell on Unsplash

How can we keep from being mean like those described in v. 5-10? I don’t think that too many people set out to speak hurtfully or even use mean words, but the less we listen to the heart of God and more to the selfishness and demands of the world we start to sound like those to whom we listen. I was in a man’s office recently and noticed that his bookshelves were covered in a thick layer of dust. It didn’t happen all at once, but a little bit at a time, so gradually that he had not noticed it. But when I walked in for the first time, I noticed it right away. It is not fun when the light of God’s Word is focused by the Spirit on some areas of our hearts that have become clogged with the dust and disease of selfish pride, but it is therapeutic for it leads us to confession and cleansing!

What else can we do? Having confessed our sins to God and asked for mercy and grace to speak the truth in love, always looking to build up rather than tear down, there are several other safeguards, I would suggest that will prevent us from becoming one of those odious individuals mentioned in v.5-6 that hurts others verbally. We can...

1. Know that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit delight in you! Jesus was prepared for his times of greatest testing by the knowledge of his Father's love (Matt. 3:16-17; 17:5). The triune God knows your flaws already and still delights in you! Publishing and critiquing the perceived faults of others does not enhance your standing before the Lord. It is not like playing “king of the hill” where we climb higher by pushing and throwing others lower. (--> Romans 5:6-11)
2. Know that our enemy, whose very name means “Accuser”, will not have the last word. And when the accuser is silenced by the manifested love of God in Christ, let us not play “devil’s advocate” and take up his taunts against others for whom Jesus died. (--> Rev. 12:10-11; Romans 8:31-34)
3. Know that we are secure in the loving presence of the Lord Jesus forever. We don’t have to be overcome with anxiety, insecurity, or discouragement at our own shortcomings. We are not called to climb up to heaven to win God’s favor, rather, he came down to us to set us free from all that brings guilt and shame! (--> Romans 8:14-17, 35-39)
4. Know that our words quickly reveal the condition of our hearts. So, when we (or others) notice our words growing more caustic, impatient, and overly sarcastic, let it be like an early warning system that our heart is no longer responding to the lovingkindness of the Savior, but has begun to go astray to gather iniquity. (--> Matt. 15:1-20; 12:34; Mark7:1-23; Luke 6:45)
5. Know that you will always need God’s help and make a practice of asking for it, as the psalmist models for us in Psalm 141:3-4,

     Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;

         keep watch over the door of my lips!

     Do not let my heart incline to any evil,

         to busy myself with wicked deeds

     in company with men who work iniquity,

         and let me not eat of their delicacies!

As recipients of great mercy, even before we knew we needed it, let us extend mercy to others though they may not know they need it too! But having received it they will be changed. May the Heavenly Father and Christ the Son, use us to pour his love into the thirstiest of hearts through the work of the Holy Spirit this week! 

And for those of us who face the hour or day of trouble may we embrace the Lord's delivering presence in and through it! 

"Blessed is the one who considers the poor!

    In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him..." (v.1)

---

[1] Willem A. Van Gemeren in EBC Vol. 5, Psalms—Song of Solomon, Zondervan. 325.

[2] C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, Vol. 2 Psalms 27-52, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, 283-284.

Psalm 40 A New Song: Our Testimony of God’s On-going Goodness to Us

Miss Clara in her "War Room"

This is a psalm that is very familiar to many Christians. It contains verses that we like to quote, some that readily identify with our life story, and others that we struggle with admitting are true about us. It starts very straightforwardly as David testifies,

“I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he inclined to me and heard my cry.” (v.1)

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

How many of us can honestly say that we have waited “patiently” for the Lord? While I have waited and contended and prayed and believed for many things over the years, I am not sure how consistently patient God would say that I have been. David’s life, however, lined up with his claim. Despite the turmoil and the tears, he knew that the Lord had heard his desperate prayers.

David knew that God had chosen him and anointed him (via the elderly prophet and judge Samuel) to be king after God had rejected the unrepentant excuse-making King Saul. Even so, David would not elevate himself to the position. He left the timing of the promise’s fulfillment in the hands of God. Even though Saul, in his insane jealousy, repeatedly tried to hunt David down and kill him (in an effort to retain his kingdom from which God had rejected him), David refused to defend himself. He would not raise his weapons against “the Lord’s anointed” despite being encouraged to do so when the opportunity came.

That doesn’t mean that David didn’t feel the pain and experience significant anguish along the way. He did, and he talked to God about it a lot… just read the Psalms! There are more lament psalms than any other kind! As we have often noted on this blog, the psalms give us the language, to be honest with God, and to process our emotions through the revealed character of God. While our circumstances don’t always change, we change and our perspective changes as well! These changes can positively impact those around us!

Photo by Martin on Unsplash

It should be noted that David’s testimony was not that of a quick or one-time deliverance, but more of a slow-motion miracle of daily provision and protection as with each new moment he chose to trust the Lord. He had eyes to see God at work (even in the mundane) and an ear to hear the word of the Lord (even in a whisper). 

Along the way, perhaps in that “valley of the shadow of death” (Ps. 23:4), the psalmist received more than words of empty consolation, for it was in the darkest moments that he became most aware of the presence of God. It should be noted that his life was not all darkness and pain for there were many brilliant moments where heaven seemed to break forth into David’s life. Whether it happened literally or poetically, David was repeatedly delivered by the manifested faithfulness of the Lord.

Photo by Neil Thomas
 on Unsplash

He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
    out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
    making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
    a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
    and put their trust in the Lord. (v.2-3)

What is our “pit of destruction”? Where have we been betrayed and left to die like Joseph (Genesis 37) or Jeremiah (Jer. 18)? What is our “miry bog”, that situation that seems to hold us in a suffocating grip of iron until we give up in exhaustion and despair? David uses the “mire” idea again in Psalm 69:1-3,

Save me, O God!

    For the waters have come up to my neck.

I sink in deep mire,

    where there is no foothold;

I have come into deep waters,

    and the flood sweeps over me.

I am weary with my crying out;

    my throat is parched.

My eyes grow dim

    with waiting for my God.

God always knows where we are, even in those times when it feels like he doesn’t. Isaiah 43:1b-3 is an awesome promise for whatever floods and fires we may face.

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

    I have called you by name, you are mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

    and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;

when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,

    and the flame shall not consume you.

For I am the Lord your God,

    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

The psalmist’s testimony was that the Lord had put his feet on the rock “making his steps

Photo Greg Dueker

secure.” I know what it feels like to climb a steep sand dune at the beach where you are constantly sliding backward, or worse I know the anxiety of trying to traverse a large talus slope in the mountains where sliding rocks could break a leg or precipitate a fatal fall. I also know what it feels like to be pressed down by a 100+ pound pack into a deceptively sticky mud flat—you start to think you might never get out. But the security and stability that the psalmist speaks of are more than just a reference to enhanced physical balance and traction. It addresses a change in one’s whole life through an emotional, and spiritual rescue from overwhelming circumstances, overbearing enemies, and overflowing sin.

But I wonder how often we speak about what God has done for us. On a daily basis, are we more likely to complain about what went wrong (frustrations, disappointments, fears, etc.) or to thank God for his works on our behalf—the way that his deeds manifest his amazing love?

In v. 3, David writes that the Lord “put a new song in my mouth”. Have you ever wondered what that new song is, or why there needs to be a new one if the old song works just fine? I have. So, what is that new song? It is “a song of praise to our God” that is our continuing testimony to the shared goodness of God! Each new daily deliverance should help us to see God more clearly. His loving character is revealed through all his works and our gratitude is revealed by sharing what he has done with others.

Sometimes, in the midst of disappointment, loss, and even persecution, we can be encouraged when we read the psalmist’s reminder that God thinks of us a lot (v.5). I love the word picture that his thoughts and deeds towards us are “multiplied” instead of merely being the work of addition.

You have multiplied, O Lord my God,

    your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;

    none can compare with you!

I will proclaim and tell of them,

    yet they are more than can be told. (v.5)

Photo by Hudson Hintze on Unsplash

Such an insight into the mind and mission of God led the psalmist to testify freely. He did not restrain his lips when speaking of the goodness of God (v.9-10) because the Lord had done more things than could be told (v.5). He could have said there is too much to say so I won’t even try, but he didn’t wimp out. Listen to his words!

I have told the glad news of deliverance

    in the great congregation; behold,

I have not restrained my lips,

    as you know, O Lord.

I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;

    I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;

I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness

    from the great congregation.

What were the most recent three things that God has done for you, which you then shared with someone else? Why don’t we remember what he has done? Why are we not better at writing it down? To borrow a picture from the gospels, could our memory be challenged because our hearts have become like a hard-packed path (with the restless to-and-fro of our habitual busyness and the aimless shuffling of our highly distracted lives) and the seeds of the goodness of God’s works in our lives are snatched away by the enemy of our soul?

Photo by Alejandro Escamilla on Unsplash

We need to plant the blessed memories of God’s workings on our behalf in the potting soil of internal gratitude and public testimony. In the OT people would build an altar or set up memorial stones to remember how God had met them and delivered them. What about us? What things do we do to remind ourselves of the good things God has done for us and for others? Feel free to share your suggestions in the comment section below! As for me, this section has challenged me to start what I call a “gratitude list” or an “I noticed list” where I write down one way I noticed God at work or I enjoyed something or someone for whom I am grateful. If I don’t write it down, I won’t remember. If I don’t remember it then how can I share it with others and allow them to participate in the blessing? Thankfully his mercies don't run short... even in the darkest of times "they are new every morning" (Lam. 3:22-23).

The psalmist makes the connection between his own unrestrained testimony of gratitude to God and his observation/trust that the Lord would not restrain from showing his mercy to the psalmist (v.11) because he was personally in great need of mercy (v.12)! We are certainly no different though we may think we are.

As for me, I am poor and needy,
    but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
    do not delay, O my God! (v. 17)

I hope you find it encouraging that God thinks about you, hears your cry for help, and comes quickly to answer, encourage, and deliver you. Do you see him?

Psalm 39: Agony & Irony—I Was Silent...Then I Spoke!

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.”
I was mute and silent;
    I held my peace to no avail,
and my distress grew worse.
    My heart became hot within me.
As I mused, the fire burned;
    then I spoke with my tongue... (v.1-3)

As I read these lines of ancient poetry, I find they resonate strongly with my life experience. How many times have we been around "the wicked" and tried not to either defend ourselves against their taunts or tell them exactly what we think is wrong? 

In our hearts, we know that unfiltered venting rarely leads to a positive relational outcome (even though there may be a temporary sense of personal relief), so mature believers don't make a practice of public venting. King David’s son, Solomon, would write repeatedly to this effect,

There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts,
    but the tongue of the wise brings healing. (Prov. 12:18)

And,

A soft answer turns away wrath,

    but a harsh word stirs up anger. (Prov. 15:1)

And also,

The beginning of strife is like letting out water,
    so quit before the quarrel breaks out. (Prov. 17:14)

Sadly, despite such instruction, there are some who make no effort at all to restrain their words (Prov. 18:1). As I have written previously, our technology further enables and even incites such rantings. But for those who, like the psalmist, really don’t want to sin with their speech—be it spoken or written—the struggle is real!

Sometimes we just know that we are right and those attacking us are wrong and, over time,  because of this we feel that we need to set them straight once and for all! 

Thankfully, that is not how God has dealt with us. His patience is mercy, and his kindness is grace, leading us to repentance (Rom. 2:4).

Verses 1-3 evidence the growing agony of the psalmist as he struggles to keep from letting the pressurized words of his soul spill out on the wicked. Hear these lines spoken one by one, through the lips of one struggling with pain and injustice, and feel the tension as the heat within him reached the boiling point,

Photo by Sebastien Gabriel on Unsplash

I held my peace to no avail…

and my distress grew worse…

My heart became hot within me…

As I mused, the fire burned…

Then I spoke with my tongue…

Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash

Yes! Finally!

Now the psalmist is either going to destroy the arguments of the foolish and vindicate himself and his trust in the Lord, or he is going to speak a badly needed prophetic-style condemnation over the lives of the wicked!

As engaged readers, the psalmist’s articulation of his struggle sucks us into his situation and we ache to hear his long-restrained words justify our own verbal venting as they crush the wicked opposition by whatever name we choose to call them (who are the “others” you name most often in your own heated internal musings?).

But, there is a sudden and ironic plot twist in verse four. It happens so fast, and so completely, that we almost end up needing a neck brace! When the psalmist's super-heated words escape his lips, he speaks a prayer,

Photo by Rod Long on Unsplash

   “O Lord, make me know my end

      and what is the measure of my days;

      let me know how fleeting I am! (v.4)

Instead of defending himself, or speaking imprecations upon his tormentors, the psalmist talked to God. Instead of pointing out the error of the wicked, he asked God to show him his own. Lord, have mercy!

David was not in the habit of defending himself. Even on occasions such as when those around him wanted to put a justified end to the verbal abuse of Shimei in 2 Sam. 16, he refused to do so. He was humbly open to the possibility that God might have sent Shimei and was willing to withhold judgment (2 Sam. 16:10-11). Here, in Psalm 39:8-9, he says something similar,

Deliver me from all my transgressions.
    Do not make me the scorn of the fool!
I am mute; I do not open my mouth,
    for it is you who have done it.

It is stunning that the psalmist struggled to keep silent and not speak in the presence of the wicked until he could no longer contain himself. When he did speak it was not primarily to rebuke others as much as to remind himself that he was not God but rather a very temporary and flawed human being. As such he also knew what was coming and asked God to forgive his trespasses. He was not waiting for the other to finally get things right but was putting his hope in the Lord (v.7)

Photo by Moira Dillon on Unsplash

It is when I forget that I am mortal, that my time here is quickly vanishing, that I tend to stray from the Lord. Perhaps it is the same for you. When we forget the blessing of heaven, we seek temporary pleasure on earth often at the expense of others. There is something both liberating and missionally focusing when we live in light of our own mortality. The psalmist’s prayer expresses his desire to live in the constant awareness of how fleeting this life is and makes a prayerful effort to prepare for the life to come. He concluded this psalm with another prayer for mercy and forgiveness, rising out of a profound sense of his own approaching death. 

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. (v.12)

Photo iStock Images

There is something about living with the acute awareness that we could enter into eternity at any moment that helps us show mercy to others for we know our own need for it as well. 

Psalm 39, through the agony and irony of the psalmist's experience, reminds us that we are not God, but thankfully we can be honest with the One who lives forever and ever (See Hebrews 7:25)! 

So in this season, if we encounter those who want to accuse us, or engage in “foolish, ignorant controversies,” let us not focus so much on silence and self-control as on speaking honestly to God asking for his perspective, and allowing him to draw us close

As pastors and Christian leaders, we should learn to count our days as few and fleeting and trust wholly in the mercy of Christ who allows us to participate in his mission of reconciliation. And to that end “may we not sin with our tongue.” 

Who knew that a sense of mortality could be a source of gratitude for all concerned?