The Song of Breath

Psalm 39 is one of three psalms addressed “To Jeduthun,” who is named in 1 Chronicles 16 as one of the chief musicians appointed by David to lead public worship. He may even be the “choirmaster” named here and elsewhere. Yet despite the mention of corporate worship in the title, the psalm itself is deeply personal. It begins, “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.’” David is struggling and wants to speak, but he has resolved to restrain his words. We’re not yet told what’s causing this struggle, but David knows that if he says it in the presence of wicked people, it’ll cause more problems. Maybe enemies will take his words and twist them, or maybe the wicked themselves are the issue and David doesn’t want to speak rashly toward them. Whatever it is, David has to be on guard; he even uses a unique word for an animal muzzle that only shows up here in the Old Testament. Still, the pent-up protest gets harder and harder to hold back. “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…” David had good intentions of silence so as not to sin, but repressing his speech leads to this powerful tension that burns within him. The word for “mused” is translated in Psalm 5 as “groaning,” the unspoken pain that wells up inside of us. David uses the image of a fire slowly incinerating his ability to keep his struggle internal. Finally, he speaks, but when he does, he speaks to the Lord in worship and prayer. This is an important lesson for the wise to learn: as the author of Ecclesiastes puts it, there is a time to keep silence, and a time to speak. Neither is the way of wisdom in all situations, but whether we feel it’s best to restrain our tongue or to loosen our lips, we are to do so in a way that pleases God.

When David finally speaks, here is what he says: “O LORD, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!” Surprisingly, David asks God not to relieve him of his distress directly (whatever it may be); he asks God to teach him about his mortality. He wants to understand the brevity and frailty of life. Verse 5: “Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah Surely a man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!” Notice the repetition of the word “surely,” an emphatic word that batters down our illusions of immortality. Yes, our lives are short, like the width of our palms. Yes, we are as fleeting as a shadow. One scholar comments, “A comparable saying might be that our life is measured in inches rather than yards.” Wordplay abounds in these verses; the words translated “fleeting,” “lifetime,” and “breath” are the Hebrew words khadel, kheled, and hevel. David piles up poetic terms for the shortness of life. That last word, hevel, literally means “breath, smoke, vapor.” It’s the key word of Ecclesiastes, where it’s often translated “meaningless” or “vanity.” We build up our lives as great and mighty and wealthy and eternal, but blow out the candle and watch our lives drift away. We might ask, “Why is this helpful for David? How does this resolve his distress?” It’s telling where he goes next in verses 7-11: “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you. 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. Remove your stroke from me; I am spent by the hostility of your hand. When you discipline a man with rebukes for sin, you consume like a moth what is dear to him; surely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah” Again, the circumstances are vague, but it seems like David is suffering from the consequences of his sin, specifically the discipline and correction of God. This theme of God’s severe mercy that pulls us back from our rebellion connects strongly to the previous psalm, as do the topics of silence, suffering, and hope. For example, the word for God’s “stroke” (like being beaten in discipline) is the same word translated “plague” in Psalm 38. David’s line of thought goes like this: “I have sinned, and because God has brought suffering into my life because of that sin, he is also the one who can bring relief.” We feel David’s mixed emotions with these uncomfortable truths, but we also see his faith in bringing these struggles to the Lord. Ultimately, then, the meditations on the frailty of life are reminders that our hope must be for God to remake and renew us, for the rebirth and redemption of all things. These are deep truths, so it’s unsurprising that David inserts the word “selah” both times that he uses the word hevel. Pause, slow down, sit with the fragility of your life, and ponder the depths of God’s grace.

The last section of Psalm 39 is a humble plea and prayer: “Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; hold not your peace at my tears!” Notice how David started the psalm in silence, and he ends by asking God not to be silent. He goes on, “For I am a sojourner with you, a guest, like all my fathers.” Here David uses two key words that echo the story of Abraham and his family, who were foreigners in Canaan until God gave them the land as a permanent dwelling. The writer to the Hebrews wrote, “By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.” By alluding to this story, David imagines himself like an immigrant in the presence of God. He relies on the hospitality and mercy of his host. In this brief and temporary life, as we so often wander from the righteous path into sin, David laments his rootlessness and asks for a home in God. The final verse is a desperate cry that might sound strange to us: “Look away from me, that I may smile again, before I depart and am no more!” Why would David ask God to look away? Shouldn’t we want the attention of God as he makes his face to shine upon us? Throughout the Bible, the Lord’s gaze can be tender or stern depending on what we need. When we need comfort, he is a comforter. When we need correction, his discipline is uncomfortable. David is also alluding to Job’s request that God not look at him anymore in anger but in mercy. When we become aware of our sin, the proper response is to repent and long for judgment to end, and this is exactly what David is doing. In a song about mortality, it’s fitting that David ends with the phrase “no more, nothing.” When we are apart from our God, we are dust in the wind. When we have the favor of God, we have life and breath and a home.