This psalm purports to be a Psalm of David, but the special occasion in his life when it was composed is not specified, and it cannot now be ascertained. It was evidently, like the previous psalm, in a time of affliction, but to what particular affliction it refers is unknown. It is, however, of so general a character, and expresses feelings which so often spring up in the mind of the afflicted, that it is adapted for general use in the world, and nothing would be gained, perhaps, if we could ascertain the particular trial in the life of the author of the psalm to which it had referred. On the meaning of the phrase in the title, “To the chief Musician,” see the notes at the title to Psalms 4:1-8. The addition to that in this place, “to Jeduthun,” implies, according to the rendering in our common version, that “Jeduthun,” at the time when the psalm was composed, occupied that position; and this is probable. The word Jeduthun means properly “praising, celebrating;” but here it is used evidently as a proper name, and designates someone who was placed over the music, or who had charge of it. The reference is to one of the choristers appointed by David. Jeduthun is expressly mentioned, among others, as having been appointed for this service, 1 Chronicles 16:41 : “And with them Heman and Jeduthun ... to give thanks to the Lord.” So, also, Psa 39:1-13 :42: “And with them Heman and Jeduthun, with trumpets and cymbals for those that should make a sound, and with musical instruments of God.” See, also, 1 Chronicles 25:6; 2 Chronicles 35:15. It would seem, also, from Nehemiah 11:17, that his descendants held the same office in his time.
The psalm was composed by one who was in trouble, and who had such thoughts in his affliction that he did not dare to express them for fear that they would do injury to the cause of religion. He was sad and dispirited. He could not understand the reason of the divine dealings. He did not know why he was thus afflicted. He did not see the justice, the propriety, or the benevolence of the divine arrangements by which the life of man was made so short and so vain, and by which he was called to suffer so much. There was, in his case, a conscious spirit of complaining against the divine arrangements; or there was so much that, in his view, was mysterious and apparently inconsistent with benevolence in the divine dealings, that he did not dare to express what was going on in his own mind, or to give vent to the secret thoughts of his soul; and he therefore resolved that he would keep silence, and would say nothing on the subject, especially when the wicked were before him. He bore this as long as he could, and then he gave vent to his suppressed emotions, and sought comfort in prayer.
The psalm, therefore, consists of two parts:
I. His purpose to keep silence; to say nothing; to suppress the emotions which were struggling in his bosom, or not to give utterance to what was passing in his mind, lest, by such an expression, he should strengthen and confirm the wicked in what they were thinking about, or in their views of God. So far did he carry this, that he says he resolved to hold his “peace even from good;” that is, he resolved that he would say nothing, lest he should be tempted to say something which would injure the cause of religion, and which he would have occasion to regret, Psalms 39:1-2.
II. The fact that he was constrained to speak; that he could not confine his thoughts to his own bosom; that he was in such anguish that he “must” find relief by giving utterance to what was passing in his soul. This occupies the remainder of the psalm, Psalms 39:3-13. This part of the psalm embraces the following points:
(1) The depth and anguish of his feeling; the fact that his feelings became so intense, like a pent-up fire in his bosom, that he could not but speak and make known his thoughts, Psalms 39:3.
(2) The utterance in words of the thoughts which he had been cherishing, which gave him so much trouble, and which he had been unwilling to express before the wicked, lest he should confirm them in their views about God and his dealings, Psalms 39:4-6. These thoughts pertained to his contemplation of human life - its brevity, its vanity, and its sorrows; to his doubts and perplexities about the purpose for which such a being as man was made; and to the darkness of his own mind concerning the reasons why God had made man thus, and why he dealt thus with him. Why was life so short? Why was it so vain? Why was it so full of sorrow?
(3) his calmest appeal to God in this state of mind, Psalms 39:7-13.
(a) He says that his only hope was in God, Psalms 39:7.
(b) He asks for deliverance from his transgressions - that is, here, from the calamities which had come upon him for his sins, Psalms 39:8.
(c) He says that he had been dumb before God, and had endeavored not to complain at his dealings, Psalms 39:9.
(d) He refers to the fact that when God undertakes to rebuke man for his iniquity, man cannot stand before him - that his beauty is made to consume away like a moth, Psalms 39:10-11.
(e) He earnestly cries, therefore, to God, and prays that he would deliver him, Psalms 39:12-13. He asks for strength in these struggles and trials, before he should go forth and be no more.
The psalm will be found to express feelings which often pass through the minds of even good men in regard to the mysteries of our condition here, and will be found to be adapted to calm down those feelings which often arise in the soul, and which could not be expressed without doing injury by paining the hearts of the good, and by confirming the wicked in their notions; to silence the complaints of the heart; and to bring the soul into a state of humble acquiescence before God under a recognition that all the events of life are controlled by his hand.