Psalms 39:9

9 I am silent; I do not open my mouth, for it is you who have done it.

Psalms 39:9 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 39:9

I was dumb, I opened not my mouth
This refers either to his former silence, before he broke it, ( Psalms 39:1 Psalms 39:2 ) , or to what he after that came into again, when he had seen the folly of his impatience, the frailty of his life, the vanity of man, and all human affairs, and had been directed to place his hope and confidence in the Lord, ( Psalms 39:5-7 ) ; or to the present frame of his mind, and his future conduct, he had resolved upon; and may be rendered, "I am dumb"; or "will be dumb, and will not open my mouth" ^F5; that is, not in a complaining and murmuring way against the Lord, but be still, and know or own that he is God;

because thou didst [it];
not "because thou hast made me", as Austin reads the, words, and as the Arabic version renders them, "because thou hast created me"; though the consideration of God being a Creator lays his creatures under obligation as to serve him, so to be silent under his afflicting hand upon them; but the sense is, that the psalmist was determined to be patient and quiet under his affliction, because God was the author of it; for though he is not the author of the evil of sin, yet of the evil of affliction; see ( Amos 3:6 ) ; and it is a quieting consideration to a child of God under it, that it comes from God, who is a sovereign Being, and does what he pleases; and does all things well and wisely, in truth and faithfulness, and in mercy and loving kindness: this some refer to the rebellion of Absalom, and the cursing of Shimei, ( 2 Samuel 12:11 ) ( 2 Samuel 16:10 2 Samuel 16:11 ) ; or it may refer to the death of his child, ( 2 Samuel 12:22 2 Samuel 12:23 ) ; or rather to some sore affliction upon himself; since it follows,

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FOOTNOTES:

F5 (xtpa al) "non aperiam", Pagninus, Montanus, Piscator, Gejerus; so Ainsworth.

Psalms 39:9 In-Context

7 "And now, O Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you.

8 Deliver me from all my transgressions. Do not make me the scorn of the fool.

9 I am silent; I do not open my mouth, for it is you who have done it.

10 Remove your stroke from me; I am worn down by the blows of your hand.

11 "You chastise mortals in punishment for sin, consuming like a moth what is dear to them; surely everyone is a mere breath. (Selah)