Psalms 39 - Introduction

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‘For the Chief Musician, for Jeduthun. A Psalm to/for David.'

This Psalm is offered to the person responsible for the sacred music, or the choirmaster, and is of the Davidic collection. ‘To (or ‘for') David' may indicate that it was dedicated to David, written for the Davidic house, or even written by David himself.

Jeduthun's name appears also in the headings of Psalms 62, 77. He is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 16:41 ff; 1 Chronicles 25:1 ff; 2Ch 5:12; 2 Chronicles 35:15, along with Heman and Asaph, as one of the directors of the music in the Temple, and his descendants continued to officiate after the Exile (Nehemiah 11:17). His other name Ethan was probably his name before he was appointed (1 Chronicles 6:44 ff; 1 Chronicles 15:17; 1 Chronicles 15:19).

The Psalm appears to have been written while the Psalmist is going through a ‘near death' illness, and divides into four sections:

1) The Psalmist is determined not to say anything in the presence of the unrighteous that might give him occasion to criticise God. Once he is alone, however, he cannot keep silent (Psalms 39:1).

2) His concern is with his awareness of his own frailty and of the fact that life appears on the whole to be vain and that a man does not know what will happen to the possessions that he has built up once he is dead. Thus as he lies on his sickbed it raises the question of the very meaning of life (Psalms 39:4).

3) His solution lies in hoping in YHWH and walking rightly before Him, being delivered from all his transgressions. Meanwhile therefore he prays that YHWH will restore him to health, while recognising that he himself through his illness experience is being corrected for his own sins (Psalms 39:7).

4) Recognising the brevity of a man's life on this earth in comparison with God's he prays that he may be restored and given a little more time before his life is finally over so that he can make good use of it.