ALL MAN IS A BREATH*

Psalm 39: 1-14
Verse Key 39: 6b
This psalm is the continuation of Psalm 38. He speaks of the mutism that the author has chosen in his life. If anger is a choice (Ps 37), silence is also a choice.
1. Lest I sin by my tongue (1-6)
David chose to remain silent. When the enemy slanders, he is tempted to utter defensive and offensive words. But he struggles in the interior by renouncing his desire to speak. It is like a devouring fire that burns the heart. Then comes the speech in his language. It is not language that comes from men, but it is a language given by God. He who expects God thus struggles by holding on to the tongue until God gives his own word. Then comes knowledge. The ecclesiast saw that all that is on earth and under heaven is vanity. God gives knowledge about the life of man. It is only a width of one hand. Every standing man is only a breath (6b).
2. Do not be deaf to my crying (7-14)
The author contemplates his life still in depth. The more he thinks about it, the more it recognizes that it is fragile (5b). Man is like a shadow. He agitates and picks up, but he disappears without taking anything from it. All this resembles a judgment of God towards man. He chastises the man and gnaws all his possession and carries him away like the wind. Man is truly an ephemeral existence. In the overwhelmed feeling, nevertheless, the psalmist raises his head to contemplate God. He finds that the word remains eternally. He finds that God does not abandon his followers in the gulf of death. Hence his persevering prayer. He does not know when God recalls him, but his desire is that before he goes, he is delivered from the judgment of God and assured of eternal salvation. Then the face lights up, for he sees further from death.
Prayer: Lord, make me keep my tongue cleanly, lest you sin against you. In life so ephemeral, I expect you and pray: save me.
One Word: Listen to My Prayer
* google version