Psalms 39:3 - Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

My heart was hot within me Though I said nothing, I could not but have many affecting thoughts: and “the fire of divine charity, thus prevented from diffusing itself for the illumination and warmth of those around it, presently ascended, in a flame of devotion, toward heaven.” While I was musing While this fire “continued to be fed, and preserved in brightness and vigour, by meditation on the goodness of God, and the ingratitude of man; the transient miseries of time, and the durable glories of eternity;” the fire burned My thoughts kindled into passions, which could no longer be confined. Then spake I with my tongue The ardour of my soul broke forth into such expressions as these that follow. “It is remarkable,” says Dr. Dodd, “in the poetical parts of Scripture, that the whole energy and beauty of the passages are frequently spoiled by the addition of connective particles, which are not in the Hebrew. There is a remarkable instance in this verse, which, in the original, is very expressive, My heart grew hot within me while I was musing, the fire flamed out: I spake with my tongue.