Ps 39

Ps 39:1 I said, “I will guard my ways, lest I sin with my tongue; I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle, while the wicked are before me,”

:2 I was mute with silence, I held my peace even from good; and my sorrow was stirred up.

:3 My heart was hot within me; while I was musing, the fire burned. Then I spoke with my tongue:

:4”Lord, make me to know my end, and what is the measure of my days, that I may know how frail I am.

:5 Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, and my age is as nothing before You; certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah.

:6 Surely every man walks about like a shadow; surely they busy themselves in vain; he heaps up riches, and does not know who will gather them.

:7 “And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You.

:8 Deliver me from all my transgressions; do not make me the reproach of the foolish.

:9 I was mute, I did not open my mouth, because it was You who did it.

:10 Remove Your plague from me; I am consumed by the blow of Your hand.

:11 When with rebukes You correct man for iniquity, You make his beauty melt away like a moth; surely every man is vapor. Selah

:12 “Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; do not be silent at my tears; for I am a stranger with You, a sojourner, as all my fathers were.

:13 Remove Your gaze from me, that I may regain strength before I go away and am no more.”

This is headed as Prayer for Wisdom and Forgiveness

David had a lot of questions. But he also had answers. His question, Lord, what do I wait for? Answer, my hope is in Your. David was under the discipline and rebuke of the Lord as he wrote, but he knew that eventually God would bring him out into a place of joy and peace. That's what we need to keep in mind when life seems empty and meaningless. When God is involved, nothing is wasted, no act is worthless. The problem is we don't always see the impact we have. Most of our influence for good and for God won't be revealed until we stand before Christ.

Sin erects a wall between us and God. In the last verses of this psalm David says he feels like a stranger in God's presence. Like someone who doesn't belong or who doesn't have the right to come close to God. If you feel far away from God, He hasn't moved, you feel that way because of disobedience. The good news is when we turn back to God in repentance and confession, we find He is willing to restore us to a close relationship with Him. We may still suffer the consequences of our sinful choices, but God walks through those difficult times with us.