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The Bible · 517 of 1189
Psalms 39
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 an 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 shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.
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.
Asked of Guide
Why does the psalmist ask God to “make me to know mine end”?
The psalmist asks God to “make me to know mine end” because he wants perspective on life’s brevity so he can live rightly; he names the aim plainly: “that I may know how frail I am.” The request follows his silence and inner turmoil and leads him to recognize that days are “as an handbreadth,” pressing him toward dependence on God rather than on riches or appearances.
This chapter treats mortality as clarifying truth: awareness of death turns hope toward the Lord and prompts repentance and humility. The theme echoes Ecclesiastes, which also uses life’s shortness to reorient conduct and trust toward God.
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