Holding your tongue even when those around you are doing or saying the wrong thing – we Southerners are really good at that. But underneath our veneer of politeness, behind all the smiles and pleasantries often lies a hot temper. And what we really want to say to those who make our lives miserable is anything but “Well, bless your heart!”

David experienced the same frustration. Sure, he was the king, but that meant that everything he said could have tremendous political or diplomatic effects. So, unless he wanted to alienate a powerful noble or start a war with a foreign country, sometimes he had to hold his tongue even while he was burning up inside (Psalm 39:1-3).

But when David finally opened his mouth, it wasn’t to blast those wicked people who had made him angry. Instead, in verse 4, he speaks to God. And strangely enough, he doesn’t ask God to punish the wicked who doubtless have it coming to them.

Why not? In part because David knew that he had racked up plenty of guilt himself. So, instead of praying that God would bring justice on the wicked, he begs God for the mercy he knew he himself needed so much (Psalm 39:10).

And this knowledge of his own sin naturally led David to ask God not to let him fall into the sins he could see so easily in others. So, instead of envying the wicked for their ill-gotten gains, David seeks a proper perspective on worldly wealth (Psalm 39:6). In fact, he seeks a larger perspective on all of life, an understanding that, because life on this earth is short, it should not be spent in the pursuit of passing pleasure (Psalm 39:4-5).

So, what is the point of life? David tells us in verse 7: “And now, Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You.” That means God Himself is truly the antidote to both envy and self-righteous anger. For if God Himself is our greatest joy, then of course we won’t follow the example of the wicked, focusing only on the things of this world. And if God Himself is the true goal of our life, it should be easier for us to have patience, even pity, toward those who reject the permanent for the fleeting, those who are running away from the greatest blessing anyone can hope to have. So, may our hope be in God alone today.

Psalm 39 (NASB)

For the choir director, for Jeduthun . A Psalm of David. I Said, “I will guard my ways, That I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth as with a muzzle, While the wicked are in my presence.”
2 I was dumb and silent, I refrained even from good; And my sorrow grew worse.
3 My heart was hot within me; While I was musing the fire burned; Then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “LORD, make me to know my end, And what is the extent of my days, Let me know how transient I am.
5 “Behold, Thou hast made my days as handbreadths, And my lifetime as nothing in Thy sight, Surely every man at his best is a mere breath. Selah.
6 “Surely every man walks about as a phantom; Surely they make an uproar for nothing; He amasses riches, and does not know who will gather them.
7 “And now, Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in Thee.
8 “Deliver me from all my transgressions; Make me not the reproach of the foolish.
9 “I have become dumb, I do not open my mouth, Because it is Thou who hast done it.
10 “Remove Thy plague from me; Because of the opposition of Thy hand, I am perishing.
11 “With reproofs Thou dost chasten a man for iniquity; Thou dost consume as a moth what is precious to him; Surely every man is a mere breath. Selah.
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 Thee, A sojourner like all my fathers.
13 “Turn Thy gaze away from me, that I may smile again, Before I depart and am no more.”