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英文原文
David seems to have been in a great strait when he penned this psalm, and, upon some account or other, very uneasy; for it is with some difficulty that he conquers his passion, and composes his spirit himself to take that good counsel which he had given to others (Ps 37:1-40) to rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him, without fretting; for it is easier to give the good advice than to give the good example of quietness under affliction. What was the particular trouble which gave occasion for the conflict David was now in does not appear. Perhaps it was the death of some dear friend or relation that was the trial of his patience, and that suggested to him these meditations of morality; and at the same time, it should seem too, he himself was weak and ill, and under some prevailing distemper. His enemies likewise were seeking advantages against him, and watched for his halting, that they might have something to reproach him for. Thus aggrieved, I. He relates the struggle that was in his breast between grace and corruption, between passion and patience, Ps 39 1-3. II. He meditates upon the doctrine of man's frailty and mortality, and prays to God to instruct him in it, Ps 39 4-6. III. He applies to God for the pardon of his sons, the removal of his afflictions, and the lengthening out of his life till he was ready for death, Ps 39 7-13. This is a funeral psalm, and very proper for the occasion; in singing it we should get our hearts duly affected with the brevity, uncertainty, and calamitous state of human life; and those on whose comforts God has, by death, made breaches, will find this psalm of great use to them, in order to their obtaining what we ought much to aim at under such an affliction, which is to get it sanctified to us for our spiritual benefit and to get our hearts reconciled to the holy will of God in it.
1-6
Devout Reflections; Brevity and Vanity of Life
虔誠的省思；人生的短促與虛空
交與伶長耶杜頓。大衛的詩。
¹ （大衛的詩，交與伶長耶杜頓。）我曾說：我要謹慎我的言行，免得我的舌頭犯罪；惡人在我麵前的時候，我要用嚼環勒住我的口。 ² 我默然無聲，連好話也不出口；我的愁苦就發動了。 ³ 我的心在我裏麵發熱；我默想的時候，火就燒起，我便用舌頭說話。 ⁴ 耶和華啊，求你叫我曉得我身之終，我的壽數幾何，叫我知道我的生命不長。 ⁵ 你使我的年日窄如手掌；我一生的年數，在你麵前如同無有。各人最穩妥的時候，真是全然虛幻。（細拉） ⁶ 世人行動實係幻影；他們忙亂真是枉然；積蓄財寶，卻不知將來有誰收取。
大衛在此追憶並記錄下自己在患難之下心中的活動；這對我們也是好的，好使那些失當的思想得以修正，那些有益的思想在下次得以改進。
一、他記起自己與神所立的約，要謹慎行事，對自己所行所言都極其小心。每逢我們受試探要犯罪、且瀕臨跌倒之時，我們必須回想我們為對付罪、尤其為對付那正要犯的罪所立的莊嚴誓願。神能、也必提醒我們（耶 20:20：「你曾說：我必不背逆」），所以我們也當提醒自己。大衛在此正是如此行。
1. 他記得自己曾立定心意，總的來說要謹慎自己的行事（詩 39:1）：「我曾說：我要謹慎我的言行」；這話說得好，也是他永不反悔的，故此也絕不可違背。請注意：(1) 我們每一個人最大的關切，就是謹慎自己的道路，也就是周密地行事，當別人任意妄為之時。(2) 我們當堅定立誌要謹慎自己的道路，並常常更新這決心。綁得牢，找得著。(3) 既已立誌謹慎自己的道路，我們便當在一切場合提醒自己這決心，因這是一個不可忘記、當永遠銘記的約。
2. 他記得自己特別曾立約防範舌頭的罪——不犯罪用舌頭，不說錯話，既不冒犯神，也不*「得罪那世代義人」（詩 73:15）。要不在思想上犯罪，並不如我們所期望的那樣容易；但若有惡念在心中升起，他便要用手捂口，將其壓製，使它不再向前；這是極大的成就，因為「若有人在話語上沒有過失，他就是完全人」；這也是極必需的成就，因為那「看來敬虔，卻不勒住他舌頭」的人，經上宣告說「他的敬虔是虛的」。大衛曾立定心意：(1) 他要時刻防備舌頭的罪：「我要用嚼環（或作：籠頭）勒住我的口。」他要給它戴上嚼環，如同戴在頭上；在操練中的警醒就是放在嚼環上的手。他要給它戴上籠頭，如同戴在一隻凶猛傷人的劣犬口上；藉著堅定的決心，敗壞便被約束，不再從嘴唇爆發出來，於是就被籠住了。(2) 當最易引起非議的危險之時，他對舌頭的罪要加倍防備——「當惡人麵前」。當他與惡人同處之時，他當小心，不說任何可能使他們心硬、或給他們褻瀆之機會的話。敬虔人若落入惡人之中，便當留心自己所說的話。或作：「當惡人麵前」*——在我心思之中。當他默想作惡之人的驕傲與權勢、興旺與昌盛之時，他便受試探說出錯話；所以那時他格外小心。請注意：對一樣罪的試探越強，對抗它的決心也當越強。
二、為履行這些誓約，他好不容易才勒住了自己的舌頭（詩 39:2）：「我默然無聲，連好話也不出口。」他的沉默是值得稱道的；挑釁越大，他的沉默越值得讚美。靠著神恩典的力量，警醒與決心在勒住舌頭一事上所能成就的，遠超我們所想像，儘管舌頭是不馴的惡物。但他連好話也不出口，我們當怎麼說呢？當惡人在場之時他抑製了好話，因他不願把珍珠丟在豬前，這是他的智慧嗎？我倒認為這是他的軟弱；因為既然不能說甚麼，他便索性甚麼都不說，於是走入極端，這對律法乃是個羞辱，因律法所規定的是兩個極端之間的中道。那禁止一切敗壞言語的同一律法，也要求「隨事說造就人的好話」（弗 4:29）。
三、他越少開口，便想得越多、越熱切。捆住患病的部分，反把體液引到那裏去了：「我的愁苦就發動了，我的心在我裏麵發熱」（詩 39:3）。他能勒住舌頭，卻不能控製自己的情緒；他雖壓住了煙，火卻如在他骨中，當他沉思自己的患難與惡人的興旺之時，火便燒起。請注意：那些性情暴躁、不滿的人不可多想，因為當他們任憑自己的思想停留在災禍的緣由上之時，他們不滿的火便得了燃料，燒得更猛烈。不耐煩是一種罪，其惡因在我們自己裏麵，就是沉思；其惡果也在我們自己身上，不亞於焚燒。所以我們若要防止不受管束之情的禍害，便須矯正不受管束之思想的弊端。
四、當他終於開口之時，卻是切中要害：*「我便用舌頭說話。」*有人把他所說的當作他美好決心的破裂，認為他在所說的話中犯了舌頭的罪；於是把下文看作一個激情的求死之願，如同以利亞（王上 19:4）和約伯（伯 6:8、9）。但我倒認為這不是他美好決心的破裂，而是他對自己行得過分之錯誤的改正；他先前對好話也保持沉默，但如今他不再如此沉默了。他對在場的惡人無話可說，因他不知道當如何對他們措辭；但在長久沉思之後，他所說的第一句話乃是一個禱告，也是一段虔誠的默想，其主題值得我們眾人多加思想。
1. 他求神使他能感悟人生的短促與無常，以及死亡的臨近（詩 39:4）：「耶和華啊，求你叫我曉得我身之終，我的壽數幾何。」他的意思不是：「主啊，讓我知道我還能活多久、何時會死。」我們不能憑信心作這樣的禱告；因為神沒有應許讓我們知道這事，反而憑智慧將這知識鎖在那些不屬於我們的隱秘事之中；而且知道這事對我們也沒有益處。但「求你叫我曉得我身之終」，意思是：「主啊，賜我智慧和恩典去思想它（申 32:29），並運用我所知道的。」「活著的人知道必死」（傳 9:5），但少有人願意思想死亡；所以我們需要禱告，求神藉他的恩典勝過我們敗壞心中對死亡之思想的厭惡。「主啊，叫我思想」(1)「死亡是甚麼。它是我的終局，是我生命以及生命一切工作與享受的終局。它是眾人的結局」（傳 7:2）。它是我們受試煉、預備之狀態的最終終結，也是進入報應之狀態的可畏入口。對惡人而言，這是一切歡樂的終結；對敬虔人而言，這是一切憂傷的終結。「主啊，求你叫我認識我的終局，更熟悉死亡，使之對我更為熟悉（伯 17:14），也讓我更深感受到那改變的浩大。主啊，求你叫我思想，死是一件何等嚴肅的事。」(2)「它有多近。主啊，求你叫我思想我年日的尺度，知道它們是在神的旨意中被量定的」（這終局是固定的終局，原文如此；「我的日子已經定了」，伯 14:5）「並且這尺度極短：我的年日即將被數算完畢、告終。」當我們把死亡看作遙遠之事，我們便受試探拖延必要的預備；但當我們思想人生何其短暫，我們便會看見自己當趁著手所作的工，不僅竭盡全力，更當盡速而行。(3) 它是不斷在我們裏頭作工的：「主啊，求你叫我思想我是何等脆弱，生命的存量何等微薄，那如同油一般維持這燈燃燒的精力何等微弱。」我們從日常經驗得知，這地上帳棚的房屋正在朽壞、走向衰敗：「主啊，求你叫我們思想這事，好使我們在不是人手所造的房屋中，为自己確保住处。」
2. 他默想人生的短促與虛空，以此向神懇求，作為在人生重擔之下得解脫的憑藉（約伯也屢屢如此行），也以此向自己懇求，激發自己盡人生的本分。
(1) 人在世的生命短暫而無常，這乃是我們當輕看它、為它的終局作準備的理由（詩 39:5）：「你使我的年日窄如手掌」——四指之寬，一個確定的、微小的度量，而且這度量我們總是隨身攜帶、常在眼前。我們不需要用竿、用杆、用繩來量我們的年日，也不需要算術的技巧來計算其數目。不，我們的標準就在指頭尖上，而且它不能加倍，總共不過一個手掌之寬。我們的時間短暫，而神使它如此，因為*「我們的月份的數目都在他那裏」。它短暫，他也知道它短暫：它「在你麵前如同無有」。他記得「我們的時間何等短少」*（詩 79:47）。「與你相比，它算不得甚麼」——有人如此解。一切的時間在神的永恒麵前都算不得甚麼，何況我們所分得的時間。
(2) 人在世的生命虛空而無價值，所以迷戀它是愚拙，確保那更好的生命才是智慧。「亞當就是亞伯」（Adam is Abel，原文雙關：Adam=人，Abel=虛空）——「人都是虛空」——在他現今的狀態中。他不是他所顯出的樣子，也沒有他所盼望的。他和他一切的安慰都處在不斷的不確定之中；若沒有今生之後的另一生命，那麼綜觀一切，他的受造便是徒然。他是虛空；他是必死的，也是可變的。請留意：[1] 這真理在此表達得何等有力。第一，各人都是虛空，毫無例外；尊卑、貧富，都在此相同。第二，他*「最穩妥的時候」——當他年輕、強壯、健康、富足、尊榮、登峰造極之時；當他最安逸、歡樂、自信，以為自己的山立得穩固之時——也是如此。第三，他是「全然虛幻」，虛空到你能想像的極點。「全部的人全部都是虛空」（原文可如此讀）；他四圍的一切都不確定；除了與新人有關的以外，沒有一樣是真實而持久的。第四，「真是」如此。這是一個不容置疑的真理，但我們極不願相信，需要有人莊嚴地向我們作證，而事實上神也藉著頻繁的實例向我們作了證。第五，附有「細拉」，這是要求人留意的記號。「在此停頓，稍作歇息，好使你們能花時間思想並應用這真理——各人都是虛空。」我們自己也是如此。[2] 為證明人的虛空與必死，他在此提到三件事，並指出每一件的虛空（詩 39:6）。第一，我們的喜樂與尊榮的虛空：「世人行動實係幻影」——即便當他們氣派地行、享樂地行之時，也是在幻影中、在虛幻的形象中行走。當他顯赫一時，他的款式也要過去，他的盛大排場不過是盛大的幻想（徒 25:23）。這不過是一場戲，因此是一場虛空的戲，如同彩虹一般，其華美的色彩在它不過是雲、是蒸氣的基底上，必迅速消散無蹤；生命就是如此（雅 4:14），生命中的一切華美也是如此。第二，我們的憂愁與恐懼的虛空。「他們忙亂真是枉然。」我們的煩擾常常是毫無根據的（我們無故地折磨自己，我們煩惱的因由常常是我們自己的幻想與想像所捏造的），而且總是徒然的；我們白白地攪擾自己，因為我們無法以一切的煩擾改變事物的本性或神的旨意；無論我們為此如何煩擾，事物仍照舊。第三，我們的掛慮與勞碌的虛空。人費盡心力「積蓄財寶」，而這些財寶不過如同田間溝中的糞堆，除非散開便一無是處。但當他以自己的廢物裝滿自己的寶庫之時，他「卻不知將來有誰收取」，也不知他離去之後這些要歸給誰；因為他不能將這些帶走。他不問：「我勞碌是為誰呢？」這便是他的愚昧（傳 4:8）。但即使他問了，他也無從知道那將是智慧人還是愚昧人，是朋友還是仇敵（傳 2:19）。「這也是虛空。」*
英文原文
Devout Reflections; Brevity and Vanity of Life
To the chief musician, even to Jeduthun. A psalm of David.
¹ I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.
² I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good; and my sorrow was stirred.
³ My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue,
⁴ LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am.
⁵ Behold, thou hast made my days as a handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.
⁶ Surely every man walketh in a vain show: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.
David here recollects, and leaves upon record, the workings of his heart under his afflictions; and it is good for us to do so, that what was thought amiss may be amended, and what was well thought of may be improved the next time.
I. He remembered the covenants he had made with God to walk circumspectly, and to be very cautious both of what he did and what he said. When at any time we are tempted to sin, and are in danger of falling into it, we must call to mind the solemn vows we have made against sin, against the particular sin we are upon the brink of. God can, and will, remind us of them (Jer 20:20, Thou saidst, I will not transgress), and therefore we ought to remind ourselves of them. So David did here.
1. He remembers that he had resolved, in general, to be very cautious and circumspect in his walking (Ps 39:1): I said, I will take heed to my ways; and it was well said, and what he would never unsay and therefore must never gainsay. Note, (1.) It is the great concern of every one of us to take heed to our ways, that is, to walk circumspectly, while others walk at all adventures. (2.) We ought stedfastly to resolve that we will take heed to our ways, and frequently to renew that resolution. Fast bind, fast find. (3.) Having resolved to take heed to our ways, we must, upon all occasions, remind ourselves of that resolution, for it is a covenant never to be forgotten, but which we must be always mindful of.
2. He remembers that he had in particular covenanted against tongue-sins—that he would not sin with his tongue, that he would not speak amiss, either to offend God or offend the generation of the righteous, Ps 73:15. It is not so easy as we could wish not to sin in thought; but, if an evil thought should arise in his mind, he would lay his hand upon his mouth, and suppress it, that it should go no further: and this is so great an attainment that, if any offend not in word, the same is a perfect man; and so needful a one that of him who seems to be religious, but bridles not his tongue, it is declared His religion is vain. David had resolved, (1.) That he would at all times watch against tongue-sins: "I will keep a bridle, or muzzle, upon my mouth." He would keep a bridle upon it, as upon the head; watchfulness in the act and exercise is the hand upon the bridle. He would keep a muzzle upon it, as upon an unruly dog that is fierce and does mischief; by particular stedfast resolution corruption is restrained from breaking out at the lips, and so is muzzled. (2.) That he would double his guard against them when there was most danger of scandal—when the wicked is before me. When he was in company with the wicked he would take heed of saying any thing that might harden them or give occasion to them to blaspheme. If good men fall into bad company, they must take heed what they say. Or, when the wicked is before me, in my thoughts. When he was contemplating the pride and power, the prosperity and flourishing estate, of evil-doers, he was tempted to speak amiss; and therefore then he would take special care what he said. Note, The stronger the temptation to a sin is the stronger the resolution must be against it.
II. Pursuant to these covenants he made a shift with much ado to bridle his tongue (Ps 39:2): I was dumb with silence; I held my peace even from good. His silence was commendable; and the greater the provocation was the more praiseworthy was his silence. Watchfulness and resolution, in the strength of God's grace, will do more towards the bridling of the tongue than we can imagine, though it be an unruly evil. But what shall we say of his keeping silence even from good? Was it his wisdom that he refrained from good discourse when the wicked were before him, because he would not cast pearls before swine? I rather think it was his weakness; because he might not say any thing, he would say nothing, but ran into an extreme, which was a reproach to the law, for that prescribes a mean between extremes. The same law which forbids all corrupt communication requires that which is good and to the use of edifying, Eph 4:29.
III. The less he spoke the more he thought and the more warmly. Binding the distempered part did but draw the humour to it: My sorrow was stirred, my heart was hot within me, Ps 39:3. He could bridle his tongue, but he could not keep his passion under; though he suppressed the smoke, that was as a fire in his bones, and, while he was musing upon his afflictions and upon the prosperity of the wicked, the fire burned. Note, Those that are of a fretful discontented spirit ought not to pore much, for, while they suffer their thoughts to dwell upon the causes of the calamity, the fire of their discontent is fed with fuel and burns the more furiously. Impatience is a sin that has its ill cause within ourselves, and that is musing, and its ill effects upon ourselves, and that is no less than burning. If therefore we would prevent the mischief of ungoverned passions, we must redress the grievance of ungoverned thoughts.
IV. When he did speak, at last, it was to the purpose: At the last I spoke with my tongue. Some make what he said to be the breach of his good purpose, and conclude that, in what he said, he sinned with his tongue; and so they make what follows to be a passionate wish that he might die, like Elijah (1Ki 19:4) and Job, Job 6:8,9. But I rather take it to be, not the breach of his good purpose, but the reformation of his mistake in carrying it too far; he had kept silence from good, but now he would so keep silence no longer. He had nothing to say to the wicked that were before him, for to them he knew not how to place his words, but, after long musing, the first word he said was a prayer, and a devout meditation upon a subject which it will be good for us all to think much of.
1. He prays to God to make him sensible of the shortness and uncertainty of life and the near approach of death (Ps 39:4): Lord, make me to know my end and the measure of my days. He does not mean, "Lord, let me know how long I shall live and when I shall die." We could not, in faith, pray such a prayer; for God has nowhere promised to let us know, but has, in wisdom, locked up that knowledge among the secret things which belong not to us, nor would it be good for us to know it. But, Lord, make me to know my end, means, "Lord, give me wisdom and grace to consider it (De 32:29) and to improve what I know concerning it." The living know that they shall die (Ec 9:5), but few care for thinking of death; we have therefore need to pray that God by his grace would conquer that aversion which is in our corrupt hearts to the thoughts of death. "Lord, make me to consider," (1.) "What death is. It is my end, the end of my life, and all the employments and enjoyments of life. It is the end of all men," Ec 7:2. It is a final period to our state of probation and preparation, and an awful entrance upon a state of recompence and retribution. To the wicked man it is the end of all joys; to a godly man it is the end of all griefs. "Lord, give me to know my end, to be better acquainted with death, to make it more familiar to me (Job 17:14), and to be more affected with the greatness of the change. Lord, give me to consider what a serious thing it is to die." (2.) "How near it is. Lord, give me to consider the measure of my days, that they are measured in the counsel of God" (the end is a fixed end, so the word signifies; my days are determined, Job 14:5) "and that the measure is but short: My days will soon be numbered and finished." When we look upon death as a thing at a distance we are tempted to adjourn the necessary preparations for it; but, when we consider how short life is, we shall see ourselves concerned to do what our hand finds to do, not only with all our might, but with all possible expedition. (3.) That it is continually working in us: "Lord, give me to consider how frail I am, how scanty the stock of life is, and how faint the spirits which are as the oil to keep that lamp burning." We find by daily experience that the earthly house of this tabernacle is mouldering and going to decay: "Lord, make us to consider this, that we may secure mansions in the house not made with hands."
2. He meditates upon the brevity and vanity of life, pleading them with God for relief under the burdens of life, as Job often, and pleading them with himself for his quickening to the business of life.
(1.) Man's life on earth is short and of no continuance, and that is a reason why we should sit loose to it and prepare for the end of it (Ps 39:5): Behold, thou hast made my days as a hand-breadth, the breadth of four fingers, a certain dimension, a small one, and the measure whereof we have always about us, always before our eyes. We need no rod, no pole, no measuring line, wherewith to take the dimension of our days, nor any skill in arithmetic wherewith to compute the number of them. No; we have the standard of them at our fingers' end, and there is no multiplication of it; it is but one hand-breadth in all. Our time is short, and God has made it so; for the number of our months is with him. It is short, and he knows it to be so: It is as nothing before thee. He remembers how short our time is, Ps 79:47. It is nothing in comparison with thee; so some. All time is nothing to God's eternity, much less our share of time.
(2.) Man's life on earth is vain and of no value, and therefore it is folly to be fond of it and wisdom to make sure of a better life. Adam is Abel—man is vanity, in his present state. He is not what he seems to be, has not what he promised himself. He and all his comforts lie at a continual uncertainty; and if there were not another life after this, all things considered, he were made in vain. He is vanity; he is mortal, he is mutable. Observe, [1.] How emphatically this truth is expressed here. First, Every man is vanity, without exception; high and low, rich and poor, all meet in this. Secondly, He is so at his best estate, when he is young, and strong, and healthful, in wealth and honour, and the height of prosperity; when he is most easy, and merry, and secure, and thinks his mountain stands strong. Thirdly, He is altogether vanity, as vain as you can imagine. All man is all vanity (so it may be read); every thing about him is uncertain; nothing is substantial and durable but what relates to the new man. Fourthly, Verily he is so. This is a truth of undoubted certainty, but which we are very unwilling to believe and need to have solemnly attested to us, as indeed it is by frequent instances. Fifthly, Selah is annexed, as a note commanding observation. "Stop here, and pause awhile, that you may take time to consider and apply this truth, that every man is vanity." We ourselves are so. [2.] For the proof of the vanity of man, as mortal, he here mentions three things, and shows the vanity of each of them, Ps 39:6. First, The vanity of our joys and honours: Surely every man walks (even when he walks in state, when he walks in pleasure) in a shadow, in an image, in a vain show. When he makes a figure his fashion passes away, and his great pomp is but great fancy, Ac 25:23. It is but a show, and therefore a vain show, like the rainbow, the gaudy colours of which must needs vanish and disappear quickly when the substratum is but a cloud, a vapour; such is life (Jam 4:14), and therefore such are all the gaieties of it. Secondly, The vanity of our griefs and fears. Surely they are disquieted in vain. Our disquietudes are often groundless (we vex ourselves without any just cause, and the occasions of our trouble are often the creatures of our own fancy and imagination), and they are always fruitless; we disquiet ourselves in vain, for we cannot, with all our disquietment, alter the nature of things nor the counsel of God; things will be as they are when we have disquieted ourselves ever so much about them. Thirdly, The vanity of our cares and toils. Man takes a great deal of pains to heap up riches, and they are but like heaps of manure in the furrows of the field, good for nothing unless they be spread. But, when he has filled his treasures with his trash, he knows not who shall gather them, nor to whom they shall descend when he is gone; for he shall not take them away with him. He asks not, For whom do I labour? and that is his folly, Ec 4:8. But, if he did ask, he could not tell whether he should be a wise man or a fool, a friend or a foe, Ec 2:19. This is vanity.
7-13
Confidence in God; David Pleading with God
對神的信靠；大衛向神懇求
⁷ 主啊，如今我等候甚麼呢？我的指望在乎你。
⁸ 求你救我脫離一切的過犯，不要使我受愚頑人的羞辱。
⁹ 因我所遭遇的是出於你，我就默然不語。
¹⁰ 求你把你的責罰從我身上免去；因你手的責打，我便消滅。
¹¹ 你因人的罪孽，用責罰管教人的時候，叫他的美容如蛀蟲一般消化。誠然，世人都是虛幻。（細拉）
¹² 耶和華啊，求你聽我的禱告，留心聽我的呼求；我流淚，求你不要靜默無聲；因為我在你面前是客旅，是寄居的，像我列祖一般。
¹³ 求你寬容我，使我在去而不返之先，可以力量復原。
詩人既已默想生命的短暫和無常、並一切生活安慰所附帶的虛空和煩惱，便在這些經文中把眼目和心意轉向天上的方向。當受造之物中找不到踏實的滿足時，惟有在神裡面、在與他的相交中才能尋見；我們在世上失望，反被驅到他面前。大衛在此表明，
一、 他對神的倚靠（詩 39:7）。既看見萬事虛空，連人自己也是虛空，1. 他對世上事物的幸福絕望，並撇棄對它的一切期望：「*主啊，如今我等候甚麼呢？*在感官和時間的事物中一無所候；我對這地沒有甚麼可願望、沒有甚麼可盼望的。」當注意，對人生虛空和脆弱的思想，當淡化我們對今世事物的欲望，並降低我們對它的期望。「世界若就是這樣一個東西，求神救我脫離在其中有所分、或在其中尋求我的分。」我們不能指望常保健康繁榮，也不能指望任何關係中的安慰；因為這一切都如我們在世的日子一樣不確定。「我雖然有時愚昧地對世界有所應許和期望，如今卻改了念頭。」2. 他抓住在神裡面的幸福和滿足：*我的指望在乎你。*當注意，當受造物的信靠失敗時，我們的安慰是還有一位可投靠的神、可信靠的神；我們當受此激勵，更加緊緊地以信心抓住他。
二、 他對神的順服，並對神聖旨意的甘心默然同意（詩 39:9）。我們若為另一世界的幸福而指望神，便能坦然與神在我們今世一切護理的安排上和好：「我默然不開口抱怨、發怨言。」他如今又恢復了在詩 39:2 受了擾亂的寧靜和沉著。無論他被剝奪了甚麼安慰、背負了甚麼十字架，他都願安然。「因我所遭遇的是出於你；這不是偶然發生，乃是按你的命定。」我們在此可看見，1. 一位良善的神行作萬事，安排關乎我們的一切事件。對每一事件我們都可說：「這是神的手指；這是耶和華所作的」，無論誰是工具。2. 一位良善的人因此不發一言反對。他如啞巴，無可反對，無可質詢，無可爭論。神所作的一切都作得好。
三、 他向神的心願，並他所獻上的禱告。有人受患難嗎？就該禱告，正如大衛在此所作的，
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為罪的赦免和免於羞辱而求（詩 39:8）。他在詩 39:10 祈求把你的責罰從我身上免去之前，先在詩 39:8 祈求：「求你救我脫離一切的過犯，脫離我所招致的罪咎、我所當受的刑罰、我所被奴役的腐敗權勢。」神赦免我們的罪時，便救我們脫離罪——救我們脫離這一切。他懇求說：*不要使我受愚頑人的羞辱。*惡人就是愚頑人；當他們以為借譏誚神的百姓來彰顯機智時，正是他們最顯出愚頑之時。大衛求神赦免他的罪、不使他蒙羞，這當理解為良心平安的祈求（「主啊，不要把我交在憂鬱的權下，免得愚頑人因此笑我」），也是恩典的祈求——求神永不把他撇下任憑自己到一個地步，作出甚麼使他在惡人眼中蒙羞的事。當注意，這是我們當儆醒禱告抵擋罪的好理由：因為我們信仰的聲譽與我們正直的保守密切相關。
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為患難的解除而求，使他可以速速脫去現今的重擔（詩 39:10）：*求你把你的責罰從我身上免去。*當注意，當我們在神責打的管教之下時，我們的眼目必須朝向神自己——不是朝向別處——以求救助。惟獨那擊打的手能將它移去；當我們的罪得著赦免時（賽 38:17），又當患難已經成聖、已經作成它的工、我們在神手下謙卑之時（如此處），我們便可憑信心、滿足地求告患難得以移去。
(1) 他以患難使他陷入的極大窘境為懇求，這使他成為神憐憫最恰當的對象：因你手的責打，我便消滅。他的疾病到了如此地步，以致精神衰敗、力量耗盡、身體消瘦。「你手的責打，或衝突，已把我帶到死亡的門口。」當注意，最剛強、最大膽、最好的人，也不能在神的忿怒之下挺立，更不能抵擋。這不是他獨有的情形；任何人都要發現自己與全能者較量並不相稱（詩 39:11）。當神隨時與我們爭論，當他以責罰管教我們時，〔1〕我們不能質疑他爭論的公道，倒要承認他在其中是公義的；因為每逢他管教世人，都是為罪孽。我們的道路和我們的行為為自己招來患難，我們是被自己手所造的杖所責打。那是我們過犯的軛，雖是用他的手綁上的（哀 1:14）。〔2〕我們不能抵擋他爭論的果效，他必勝過我們。我們既無法提請中止他的判決，也無法逃避執行。神的責罰使人的美容如蛀蟲一般消化*；我們常看見、有時也感覺到，身體如何在短短時間內因疾病而衰弱敗壞；面貌改變了；那紅潤的臉頰和嘴唇、那炯炯有神的眼睛、那活潑的神情、那含笑的臉容哪裡去了？取而代之的，正是這一切的相反。美貌是何等可憐的東西！那些以它為榮、或戀慕它的人何等愚昧——它必將如此被消化，且可能很快就被消化！有人以蛀蟲比作人，人如蛀蟲一般，被指頭一觸即被壓碎（伯 4:19）。也有人以蛀蟲比作神的責罰，它靜悄悄地、不知不覺地消磨我們，如同蛀蟲蛀蝕衣服。這一切都充分證明他先前所說的話：誠然，世人都是虛幻——軟弱無助；當神來與他爭論時，他必被顯為如此。
(2) 他以患難在他身上留下的良好印象為懇求。他盼望患難被差來所要達到的目的已經作成，因此它必在憐憫中被移去；除非患難已經作成它的工，雖可被移去，卻不是在憐憫中被移去。〔1〕它使他流淚，他盼望神留意這一點。當主神呼召人哀傷時，他響應了這呼召，順應了這安排，因此能憑信心求告：主啊，我流淚，求你不要靜默無聲（詩 39:12）。那不甘心使世人受苦的神——更不甘心使他自己的兒女受苦——必不對他們的眼淚靜默無聲；他要麼為他們說出拯救（他若說話，事就成了），要麼在這期間對他們說安慰的話，使他們聽見喜樂歡欣。〔2〕它使他起來禱告；患難正是為激動禱告而差來的。患難若產生這效果——當我們受患難時比從前禱告得更多、禱告得更好——我們便可盼望神聽我們的禱告、留心我們的呼求；因為那借他護理給予機會、又借他恩典之靈所感動的禱告，必不徒然返回。〔3〕它幫助他從世界中淡出，把他的情感從其中挪去。如今他比從前更開始看自己是此處的客旅和寄居者——如他列祖一般——在今世並非在家，乃是經過此世前往另一個更美之處，並要等到到了天堂才看自己是在家。他以此向神懇求：「主啊，求你垂念我，垂念我的缺乏和重擔；因為我在這裡是客旅，所以遇見客旅所受的待遇；我被輕看被欺壓如同客旅；我除了從你——從我所屬的那另一個國家——以外，還能從哪裡期望救助呢？」
- 他求再寬容他片時（詩 39:13）：「求你寬容我——放鬆我、使我從這病中抬起頭來，使我可以力量復原——身體和心靈都得著力量，使我可以進入更寧靜安祥的心境，並更預備好迎接另一個世界，在我去而不返之先——就是死後不再在這世上。」有人把這話看作迫切的願望：求神速速幫助，否則便太遲了，如伯 10:20,21 所說。但我寧可把它看作敬虔的禱告：求神使他仍留在世上，直到借恩典使他合適離去為止，並使他在生命結束之前完成生命的工作。求你存留我的性命，我便讚美你。
英文原文
Confidence in God; David Pleading with God
⁷ And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.
⁸ Deliver me from all my transgressions: make me not the reproach of the foolish.
⁹ I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because thou didst it.
¹⁰ Remove thy stroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of thine hand.
¹¹ When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity. Selah.
¹² Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.
¹³ O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more.
The psalmist, having meditated on the shortness and uncertainty of life, and the vanity and vexation of spirit that attend all the comforts of life, here, in these verses, turns his eyes and heart heaven-ward. When there is no solid satisfaction to be had in the creature it is to be found in God, and in communion with him; and to him we should be driven by our disappointments in the world. David here expresses,
I. His dependence on God, Ps 39:7. Seeing all is vanity, and man himself is so, 1. He despairs of a happiness in the things of the world, and disclaims all expectations from it: "Now, Lord, what wait I for? Even nothing from the things of sense and time; I have nothing to wish for, nothing to hope for, from this earth." Note, The consideration of the vanity and frailty of human life should deaden our desires to the things of this world and lower our expectations from it. "If the world be such a thing as this, God deliver me from having, or seeking, my portion in it." We cannot reckon upon constant health and prosperity, nor upon comfort in any relation; for it is all as uncertain as our continuance here. "Though I have sometimes foolishly promised myself this and the other from the world, I am now of another mind." 2. He takes hold of happiness and satisfaction in God: My hope is in thee. Note, When creature-confidences fail, it is our comfort that we have a God to go to, a God to trust to, and we should thereby be quickened to take so much the faster hold of him by faith.
II. His submission to God, and his cheerful acquiescence in his holy will, Ps 39:9. If our hope be in God for a happiness in the other world, we may well afford to reconcile ourselves to all the dispensations of his providence concerning us in this world: "I was dumb; I opened not my mouth in a way of complaint and murmuring." He now again recovered that serenity and sedateness of mind which were disturbed, Ps 39:2. Whatever comforts he is deprived of, whatever crosses he is burdened with, he will be easy. "Because thou didst it; it did not come to pass by chance, but according to thy appointment." We may here see, 1. A good God doing all, and ordering all events concerning us. Of every event we may say, "This is the finger of God; it is the Lord's doing," whoever were the instruments. 2. A good man, for that reason, saying nothing against it. He is dumb, he has nothing to object, no question to ask, no dispute to raise upon it. All that God does is well done.
III. His desire towards God, and the prayers he puts up to him. Is any afflicted? let him pray, as David here,
1. For the pardoning of his sin and the preventing of his shame, Ps 39:8. Before he prays (Ps 39:10), Remove thy stroke from me, he prays (Ps 39:8), "Deliver me from all my offences, from the guilt I have contracted, the punishment I have deserved, and the power of corruption by which I have been enslaved." When God forgives our sins he delivers us from them, he delivers us from them all. He pleads, Make me not a reproach to the foolish. Wicked people are foolish people; and they then show their folly most when they think to show their wit, by scoffing at God's people. When David prays that God would pardon his sins, and not make him a reproach, it is to be taken as a prayer for peace of conscience ("Lord, leave me not to the power of melancholy, which the foolish will laugh at me for"), and as a prayer for grace, that God would never leave him to himself, so far as to do any thing that might make him a reproach to bad men. Note, This is a good reason why we should both watch and pray against sin, because the credit of our profession is nearly concerned in the preservation of our integrity.
2. For the removal of his affliction, that he might speedily be eased of his present burdens (Ps 39:10): Remove thy stroke away from me. Note, When we are under the correcting hand of God our eye must be to God himself, and not to any other, for relief. He only that inflicts the stroke can remove it; and we may then in faith, and with satisfaction, pray that our afflictions may be removed, when our sins are pardoned (Isa 38:17), and when, as here, the affliction is sanctified and has done its work, and we are humbled under the hand of God.
(1.) He pleads the great extremity he was reduced to by his affliction, which made him the proper object of God's compassion: I am consumed by the blow of thy hand. His sickness prevailed to such a degree that his spirits failed, his strength was wasted, and his body emaciated. "The blow, or conflict, of thy hand has brought me even to the gates of death." Note, The strongest, and boldest, and best of men cannot bear up under, much less make head against, the power of God's wrath. It was not his case only, but any man will find himself an unequal match for the Almighty, Ps 39:11. When God, at any time, contends with us, when with rebukes he corrects us, [1.] We cannot impeach the equity of his controversy, but must acknowledge that he is righteous in it; for, whenever he corrects man, it is for iniquity. Our ways and our doings procure the trouble to ourselves, and we are beaten with a rod of our own making. It is the yoke of our transgressions, though it be bound with his hand, La 1:14. [2.] We cannot oppose the effects of his controversy, but he will be too hard for us. As we have nothing to move in arrest of his judgment, so we have no way of escaping the execution. God's rebukes make man's beauty to consume away like a moth; we often see, we sometimes feel, how much the body is weakened and decayed by sickness in a little time; the countenance is changed; where are the ruddy cheek and lip, the sprightly eye, the lively look, the smiling face? It is the reverse of all this that presents itself to view. What a poor thing is beauty; and what fools are those that are proud of it, or in love with it, when it will certainly, and may quickly, be consumed thus! Some make the moth to represent man, who is as easily crushed as a moth with the touch of a finger, Job 4:19. Others make it to represent the divine rebukes, which silently and insensibly waste and consume us, as the moth does the garment. All this abundantly proves what he had said before, that surely every man is vanity, weak and helpless; so he will be found when God comes to contend with him.
(2.) He pleads the good impressions made upon him by his affliction. He hoped that the end was accomplished for which it was sent, and that therefore it would be removed in mercy; and unless an affliction has done its work, though it may be removed, it is not removed in mercy. [1.] It had set him a weeping, and he hoped God would take notice of that. When the Lord God called to mourning, he answered the call and accommodated himself to the dispensation, and therefore could, in faith, pray, Lord, hold not thy peace at my tears, Ps 39:12. He that does not willingly afflict and grieve the children of men, much less his own children, will not hold his peace at their tears, but will either speak deliverance for them (and, if he speak, it is done) or in the mean time speak comfort to them and make them to hear joy and gladness. [2.] It had set him a praying; and afflictions are sent to stir up prayer. If they have that effect, and when we are afflicted we pray more, and pray better, than before, we may hope that God will hear our prayer and give ear to our cry; for the prayer which by his providence he gives occasion for, and which by his Spirit of grace he indites, shall not return void. [3.] It had helped to wean him from the world and to take his affections off from it. Now he began, more than ever, to look upon himself as a stranger and sojourner here, like all his fathers, not at home in this world, but travelling through it to another, to a better, and would never reckon himself at home till he came to heaven. He pleads it with God: "Lord, take cognizance of me, and of my wants and burdens, for I am a stranger here, and therefore meet with strange usage; I am slighted and oppressed as a stranger; and whence should I expect relief but from thee, from that other country to which I belong?"
3. He prays for a reprieve yet a little longer (Ps 39:13): "O spare me, ease me, raise me up from this illness that I may recover strength both in body and mind, that I may get into a more calm and composed frame of spirit, and may be better prepared for another world, before I go hence by death, and shall be no more in this world." Some make this to be a passionate wish that God would send him help quickly or it would be too late, like that, Job 10:20,21. But I rather take it as a pious prayer that God would continue him here till by his grace he had made him fit to go hence, and that he might finish the work of life before his life was finished. Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee.
大衛寫本篇時似乎身處極大的困境，且因某種緣故十分不安；因為他費了一番力氣才制服自己的怒氣，平靜自己的心靈，去遵行他從前給別人的忠告（詩 37:1-40）——倚靠耶和華，耐性等候祂，不心懷不平；因為給人好的勸告容易，在受苦中活出安靜的好榜樣卻難。大衛如今所處的爭戰究竟是由何種特殊患難引起，並未顯明。也許是某位摯友或親人的離世試驗了他的忍耐，並引發了他這些關乎人生道德的默想；同時看來，他自己也身體虛弱多病，正受某種頑疾所困。他的仇敵也在伺機尋隙對付他，窺探他的失腳，好有所藉口來毀謗他。在如此受困之中：一、他述說胸中所爆發的恩典與敗壞、血氣與忍耐之間的爭戰（詩 39:1-3）。二、他默想人的脆弱與必死之道，並求神將這事指教他（詩 39:4-6）。三、他向神祈求赦免罪過、除去患難，並延長他的壽數，直等到他預備好面對死亡（詩 39:7-13）。這是一首葬禮詩篇，極合乎此用；我們歌唱時，當使自己的心深受人生的短暫、無常與災禍之境所感動。那些因死亡而在安慰上有所虧損的人，會發現本篇對他們大有幫助，使他們得以達成我們在這樣的患難中當極力追求的目標——使患難成為我們屬靈的益處，並使我們的心在其中與神聖潔的旨意相和。