The Brevity of Life

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Psalm 39

This Psalm invites us to think about life and its brevity.  We live in a culture which does everything it can to make us NOT think about the brevity of life.  The last thing our great enemies; the world, the flesh and the devil want us to do is think about how short our lives are when compared to eternity.  David has 3 distinct remarks regarding the shortness of life:

“O LORD, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting

I am!”—Verse 4

Psalm 39 challenges our thoughtless culture which enamors itself with amusements and entertainment by calling God’s people to ponder the brevity of life in order that we may apply ourselves to the knowledge and wisdom of God.

It makes perfect sense Psalm 39 would follow after 38 because in 38 David laments a terrible sickness with no end in sight and it’s usually during or after times of great illness when we stop and consider how short life really is. 

Let us consider the brevity of life in order that we, like David, can come to understand the true meaning of life!

This Psalm begins with a lament against the emptiness and temporal nature of life then moves to an oracle concerning the true meaning of life!  

1. The Brevity of Life in Verses 1-6
   1. The Brevity of Life Can Render Us Speechless in Verse 1b and 2a— “I will not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle…I was mute and silent…”  Why is David so concerned about not saying the wrong thing?  Because he was surrounded by the enemies of God who would misconstrue his words.  When we stop to consider how short life really is it causes us to carefully weigh our words because we are surrounded by wicked people who will use our words against us.  Here are 4 things we can learn from David here: (Social Media)
      1. It is incredibly easy to sin with our mouths
      2. Sometimes it’s better not to say nothing at all than to say the wrong thing.
      3. We should not to too quick to share how we feel…even with other Christians.
      4. We should bring all our troubles to God…because He can handle them.
   2. The Brevity of Life Causes us to Boil Over Inside in Verse 2c— “…my distress grew worse…”
   3. The Brevity of Life Forces Us to Learn About Ourselves in Verse 3a— “My heart became hot within me.  As I mused, the fire burned…”  But also, we learn how difficult it really is to control our emotions.
   4. The Brevity of Life Compels Us to Speak…to the Lord in Verse 3b and 4a—” …then I spoke with my tongue: O Lord…”  David was in deep thought and meditation about how short life was when it compelled him to go to God with His thoughts and emotions.
   5. The Brevity of Life is Vanity in Verses 5-6. “Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”—Ecclesiastes 1:2.—James 4:13-16.  Both Solomon and James reference this Psalm to teach that life is short and the corresponding emptiness that accompanies that acknowledgement.  As Dr. Boice notes, king David is not king MacBeth.  Instead of being consumed and dejected by humanity’s brief, vain existence David takes his concerns to God and therefore finds the true meaning of life.  As J. J. Stewart Perowne expressed it, “Make me rightly to know and estimate the shortness and uncertainty of human life, that so, instead of suffering myself to be perplexed with all that I see around me, I may cast myself the more entirely upon thee.”
   6. The Brevity of Life is Meaningful in Verse 5— “Behold, you have made my days as a few handbreadths…”.  Life may be brief but it is filled with meaning because it is God Who has ordained the length of our lives in order that we would cry out to God for the meaning of it all.  God uses the brevity and vanity of human existence to draw sinners unto Himself.
2. The True Meaning of Life in Verses 7-13.
   1. The True Meaning of Life is Found in Fellowship with God Himself in Verse 7— “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you” All David’s musing and introspection has resulted in a deeper knowledge of Who God is. 
   2. The True Meaning of Life is Realized in our Sinful Nature in Verse 8—” Deliver me from all my transgressions. Do not make me the scorn of the fool” Remember, the words of Augustine “the beginning of knowledge is to know oneself to be a sinner”.   
   3. The True Meaning of Life is Understood in Silence Before God in Verse 9— “I am mute; I do not open my mouth, for it is you who have done it”.  Here is a good prayer; “Lord, I don’t understand everything that is happening right now but I trust you in quiet submission”.
   4. The True Meaning of Life is Obtained Through God’s Convicting Power in Verses 10-11—Those who live for the sake of living are crushed by the meaninglessness and brevity of their existence.  God never leaves us like he found us.
   5. The True Meaning of Life is Eternal Life in Verses 10-11—God does not leave us like He found us because we are created in His image and for His glory.  
   6. The True Meaning of Life is a Pilgrim Life in Verses 12-13— “For I am a sojourner with you, a guest, like all my fathers” David views himself as a foreigner in a country that is not his own.
      1. For Example, Abraham was a pilgrim.—Genesis 23:4
      2. Rolf A. Jacobson summarizes the final thought of the Psalm as thus “For I am a clanless visitor, like all my ancestors”

When we are confronted with the brevity and vanity of our meager life on earth we must remember that God is behind the scenes ordering all things for His glorious purposes in Christ.  When we feel the isolation and as if we are a clanless stranger let us cling ever closer to the God who gives true meaning to life!