If he be a man indeed, he must always go on, he must always endure.”
–Louis L’Amour (Galloway)
“You said, ‘Woe is me now! For the Lord has added grief to my sorrow. I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest.’”
–Jeremiah 45:3 (NKJV)
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In Psalm 39, we see David trying to cope with some situation that has brought him severe distress. Maybe it was one large event or a series of setbacks. Whichever, he is not handling the situation very well. He goes so far as to blame God.
8 – Deliver me from all my transgressions; do not make me the taunt of fools.
9 – I am speechless; I do not open my mouth because of what You have done.
10 – Remove Your torment from me; I fade away because of the force of Your hand.
11 – You discipline a man with punishment for sin, consuming like a moth what is precious to him; every man is only a vapor. Selah
12 – “Hear my prayer, Lord, and listen to my cry for help; do not be silent at my tears. For I am a foreigner residing with You, a temporary resident like all my fathers.
13 – Turn Your angry gaze from me so that I may be cheered up before I die and am gone.” (HCSB)
One of the things David does here is to recognize his need to talk with God. Many when faced with unsettling situations get bitter and turn from God. David continues to pray, seeking the Lord. He does not try to hide from God as Adam did in the Garden, but earnestly seeks for the Lord to hear his prayer.
This Psalm is different from others for David does not end on a high note. He is so overwhelmed in his despair and depression that he says, at least don’t be angry before I die, then you can leave me alone. George O. Wood puts it this way, “The final sentence in this psalm shows us that we can sometimes get up from a place of prayer without real victory or without good theology in our heads and heart.”
I see this Psalm as one about reality, about life. We pray and hear nothing from the Lord. Life, our situation, goes on with no answer. But there is something here–we see the faithfulness of God for despite David’s situation, and the seemingly no answer, God was there. That should give us hope, as David confessed in verse 7, “Now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You.”
“I once was an outcast stranger on earth,
A sinner by choice, and an alien by birth;
But I’ve been adopted, my name’s written down,
An heir to a mansion, a robe, and a crown.”
–Harriet E. Buell