I Said, "I Will Guard My Ways"
Devotional
Companion to the Psalter
A Devotional Guide to the Psalms
Object:
I held my peace to no avail;
my distress grew worse ...
"LORD, let me know my end,
and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting my life is ...
And now, O Lord, what do I wait for?
My hope is in you ...
do not hold your peace at my tears.
For I am your passing guest,
an alien, like all my forebears...."
-- Psalm 39:2b, 4, 7, 12b
Theme: Trusting God without assurance
Outline
1-3 -- Tempted to complain, I kept silent as long as I could.
4-7 -- Lord, life is short and treasures are fleeting, but my hope is in you.
8-13 -- Forgive me and give me relief, so that I, your passing guest, may smile again!
Notes
• Lament
• This is a sequel to the preceding psalm.
• The biblical scholar, Heinrich Ewald, says this psalm is "indisputably the most beautiful of all the elegies in the psalter."
• A good prayer for the depressed or despondent.
• Notice his self-restraint in order to uphold the faith in a world of wickedness (v. 1b).
For Reflection
• A sad psalm by one on the edge of despair. But it is a cry of faith, still calling on God, exhibiting restraint in his words (v. 1), acknowledging his sin (v. 8).
• The psalmist was not given a hope of life beyond death, God did not reveal this part of his plan until Christ came. (See 1 John 5:13; John 17:3; and 2 Timothy 1:9-10.)
• Why does the psalmist still hope? Is faith in the Lord a kind of insurance policy, or is it a means to a living fellowship with him? (See 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11.)
Prayer
O God, when we are depressed or despondent, give us faith to share it with you in prayer, like the psalmist did. When our hopes are dashed, our expectations are still of your grace and power to redeem us for eternal life with you, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
my distress grew worse ...
"LORD, let me know my end,
and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting my life is ...
And now, O Lord, what do I wait for?
My hope is in you ...
do not hold your peace at my tears.
For I am your passing guest,
an alien, like all my forebears...."
-- Psalm 39:2b, 4, 7, 12b
Theme: Trusting God without assurance
Outline
1-3 -- Tempted to complain, I kept silent as long as I could.
4-7 -- Lord, life is short and treasures are fleeting, but my hope is in you.
8-13 -- Forgive me and give me relief, so that I, your passing guest, may smile again!
Notes
• Lament
• This is a sequel to the preceding psalm.
• The biblical scholar, Heinrich Ewald, says this psalm is "indisputably the most beautiful of all the elegies in the psalter."
• A good prayer for the depressed or despondent.
• Notice his self-restraint in order to uphold the faith in a world of wickedness (v. 1b).
For Reflection
• A sad psalm by one on the edge of despair. But it is a cry of faith, still calling on God, exhibiting restraint in his words (v. 1), acknowledging his sin (v. 8).
• The psalmist was not given a hope of life beyond death, God did not reveal this part of his plan until Christ came. (See 1 John 5:13; John 17:3; and 2 Timothy 1:9-10.)
• Why does the psalmist still hope? Is faith in the Lord a kind of insurance policy, or is it a means to a living fellowship with him? (See 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11.)
Prayer
O God, when we are depressed or despondent, give us faith to share it with you in prayer, like the psalmist did. When our hopes are dashed, our expectations are still of your grace and power to redeem us for eternal life with you, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
