Psalm 39:9-13 “I was mute. I didn’t open my mouth, because you did it. Remove your scourge away from me. I am overcome by the blow of your hand. When you rebuke and correct man for iniquity, you consume his wealth like a moth. Surely every man is but a breath. Selah. Hear my prayer, LORD, and give ear to my cry. Don’t be silent at my tears. For I am a stranger with you, a foreigner, as all my fathers were. Oh spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go away and exist no more.”

In 1 Samuel 13:14 God calls David a man after His own heart. Some wonder if David lost that status later on because of his sin, particularly his sin with Bathsheba. But David wasn’t sinless before God chose him! Sin crops up in all of our lives, even though we try to do our best to follow God. When we sin, it puts up a barrier between us and Him, which is why David says, “for I am a stranger to you.” David continues to be a person after God’s own heart because, when he realizes the full extent of his sin, he turns to God in repentance.

2 Samuel 12:13 “David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the LORD.’ “

Psalm 51:3-4 “For I know my transgressions. My sin is constantly before me. Against you, and you only, I have sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight, so you may be proved right when you speak, and justified when you judge.”

For additional worship: I Need Thee, Precious Jesus

Psalm 39:1-8 “For the Chief Musician. For Jeduthun. A Psalm by David. I said, ‘I will watch my ways, so that I don’t sin with my tongue. I will keep my mouth with a bridle while the wicked is before me.’ I was mute with silence. I held my peace, even from good. My sorrow was stirred. My heart was hot within me. While I meditated, the fire burnt. I spoke with my tongue: ‘LORD, show me my end, what is the measure of my days. Let me know how frail I am. Behold, you have made my days hand widths. My lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely every man stands as a breath.’ Selah. ‘Surely every man walks like a shadow. Surely they busy themselves in vain. He heaps up, and doesn’t know who shall gather. Now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you. Deliver me from all my transgressions. Don’t make me the reproach of the foolish.’ “

Jeduthun was one of David’s chief musicians:

1 Chronicles 16:41-42 “and with them Heman and Jeduthun and the rest who were chosen, who were mentioned by name, to give thanks to the LORD, because his loving kindness endures forever; and with them Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those that should sound aloud, and with instruments for the songs of God, and the sons of Jeduthun to be at the gate.”

This is very similar to the previous Psalm. David is still experiencing difficulties, perhaps near the end of his life. Here he expresses his desire to not inappropriately express his angst and worry, especially in front of the wicked. He also requests to be reminded of the brevity of life and the weakness of humanity, so that he won’t hesitate to call on God in time of need. After all, our hope is in Him!

For additional worship: Psalm 39 (Show Me My Life’s End) [feat. Nick Poppens]

Psalm 38:17-22 “For I am ready to fall. My pain is continually before me. For I will declare my iniquity. I will be sorry for my sin. But my enemies are vigorous and many. Those who hate me without reason are numerous. They who render evil for good are also adversaries to me, because I follow what is good. Don’t forsake me, LORD. My God, don’t be far from me. Hurry to help me, Lord, my salvation.”

We come to God initially through repentance, recognizing our sin. The only way we can continue to have a right relationship with Him is by making sure we acknowledge when we’ve failed and plead for His help and forgiveness.

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

For additional worship: Come Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy | Reawaken Hymns

Psalm 38:9-16 “Lord, all my desire is before you. My groaning is not hidden from you. My heart throbs. My strength fails me. As for the light of my eyes, it has also left me. My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my plague. My kinsmen stand far away. They also who seek after my life lay snares. Those who seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and meditate deceits all day long. But I, as a deaf man, don’t hear. I am as a mute man who doesn’t open his mouth. Yes, I am as a man who doesn’t hear, in whose mouth are no reproofs. For I hope in you, LORD. You will answer, Lord my God. For I said, ‘Don’t let them gloat over me, or exalt themselves over me when my foot slips.’ ”

When we are having difficulty, sometimes our friends and family stay away. Perhaps it’s because they believe our trouble is a just punishment for what we’re experiencing. It might be because they don’t know what to say or how to provide comfort. It might be because they don’t want to experience the trouble we’re having! Regardless, it hurts, especially when others who aren’t our friends are piling on. I think that it’s instructive here that David didn’t respond to those insults, but instead appealed to the one who could defend him.

1 Peter 2:23 “When he was cursed, he didn’t curse back. When he suffered, he didn’t threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously.”

For additional worship: Psalm 38 (You Will Answer) by The Psalms Project

Psalm 38:1-8 “A Psalm by David, for a memorial. LORD, don’t rebuke me in your wrath, neither chasten me in your hot displeasure. For your arrows have pierced me, your hand presses hard on me. There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation, neither is there any health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have gone over my head. As a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. My wounds are loathsome and corrupt because of my foolishness. I am in pain and bowed down greatly. I go mourning all day long. For my waist is filled with burning. There is no soundness in my flesh. I am faint and severely bruised. I have groaned by reason of the anguish of my heart.”

How should we respond when we believe our trouble is actually the result of our own sinfulness? When our sin causes us anguish in both body and mind? David shows us the way in this Psalm that apparently accompanied a memorial offering. The memorial offering was an appeal to be remembered by God. After all, God is sovereign and we are completely dependent on His providence in our lives!

For additional worship: Lord, Hear My Cry — A Psalm 38 Worship Song

Psalm 37:35-40 “I have seen the wicked in great power, spreading himself like a green tree in its native soil. But he passed away, and behold, he was not. Yes, I sought him, but he could not be found. Mark the perfect man, and see the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace. As for transgressors, they shall be destroyed together. The future of the wicked shall be cut off. But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD. He is their stronghold in the time of trouble. The LORD helps them and rescues them. He rescues them from the wicked and saves them, because they have taken refuge in him.”

Generally, if the Israelites followed God as individuals or a nation, they could expect to reap rewards. However, that wasn’t always the case. God did promise blessings for His people, but those blessings were usually tied to their obedience. In addition, sometimes bad things happened to good people and bad people experienced prosperity. The issue of the prosperity of the unrighteous has always been recognized in Scripture. Here we’re reminded that, no matter what happens in life, death comes to all, and only the righteous are promised salvation and a future.

For additional worship: Beyond the Sunset

Psalm 37:30-34 “The mouth of the righteous talks of wisdom. His tongue speaks justice. The law of his God is in his heart. None of his steps shall slide. The wicked watch the righteous, and seek to kill him. The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged. Wait for the LORD, and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.”

God’s people should love His Word so much that they marinate in it until it seeps out of every pore! Then our words will be filled with wisdom and righteousness, and we will follow God with our lives.

Proverbs 15:2 “The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools gush out folly.”

Psalm 119:11 “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”

The “land” we inherit is future. While there are many blessings we experience in life when we follow God, the blessing of a physical kingdom comes later.

Isaiah 62:4 “You will not be called Forsaken any more, nor will your land be called Desolate any more; but you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD delights in you, and your land will be married.”

For additional worship: Beulah Land (Casting Crowns)

Psalm 37:22-29 “For such as are blessed by him shall inherit the land. Those who are cursed by him shall be cut off. A man’s steps are established by the LORD. He delights in his way. Though he stumble, he shall not fall, for the LORD holds him up with his hand. I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his children begging for bread. All day long he deals graciously, and lends. His offspring is blessed. Depart from evil, and do good. Live securely forever. For the LORD loves justice, and doesn’t forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. The righteous shall inherit the land, and live in it forever.”

We have been blessed by God through Jesus Christ. When we know Him we have a present and future inheritance. When we follow Him we are more likely to have good lives, filled with honor and favor, because even the act of following God means that we’ll end up in less trouble! However, even the trouble we do experience is nothing compared to the hope that we have for the future.

Romans 8:18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which will be revealed towards us.”

So, how do we live? We depart from evil, we follow God, we do good, and we experience and look forward to God’s blessing in our lives!

For additional worship: How Firm a Foundation (Reawaken Hymns)

Psalm 37:14-21 “The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, to kill those who are upright on the path. Their sword shall enter into their own heart. Their bows shall be broken. Better is a little that the righteous has, than the abundance of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous. The LORD knows the days of the perfect. Their inheritance shall be forever. They shall not be disappointed in the time of evil. In the days of famine they shall be satisfied. But the wicked shall perish. The enemies of the LORD shall be like the beauty of the fields. They will vanish— vanish like smoke. The wicked borrow, and don’t pay back, but the righteous give generously.”

We need to understand the end from the beginning to believe that righteousness is better than wickedness. Wickedness will always be punished, but that punishment will happen in God’s timing. If it seems like they have an abundance now we need to understand that’s all they’ll get! Being righteous means having an eternal inheritance and an eternal reward. It means not being infatuated with the earthly and material. It means being so satisfied with the little we have that we are willing to share it with others.

For additional worship: Leave it There (Bradley Walker)

Psalm 37:8-13 “Cease from anger, and forsake wrath. Don’t fret; it leads only to evildoing. For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land. For yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more. Yes, though you look for his place, he isn’t there. But the humble shall inherit the land, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. The wicked plots against the just, and gnashes at him with his teeth. The Lord will laugh at him, for he sees that his day is coming.”

Remember: ungodly anger and wrath lead to unrighteousness. We need to avoid them at all costs.

Matthew 5:22 “But I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause will be in danger of the judgement. Whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ will be in danger of the council. Whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of Gehenna.”

Ephesians 4:26 “‘Be angry, and don’t sin.’ Don’t let the sun go down on your wrath.”

Romans 12:19-21 “Don’t seek revenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to God’s wrath. For it is written, ‘Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord.’ Therefore ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing so, you will heap coals of fire on his head.’ Don’t be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Matthew 5:3-5 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.”

For additional worship: Give to the Winds thy Fears