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John Gill
INTRODUCTION TO Psalms 39 To the chief Musician, [even] to Jeduthun, a Psalm of David. Some take Jeduthun to be the name of a musical instrument, as Jarchi, on which, and others the first word of a song, to the tune of which, this psalm was sung, as Aben Ezra; though it seems best, with Kimchi and others, to understand it as the name of the chief musician, to whom this psalm was sent to be made...
John Gill
I was dumb with silence,.... Quite silent, as if he had been a dumb man, and could not speak; so he was before men, especially wicked men, and under the afflicting hand of God; see Psalms 39:9; thus he put his resolution into practice; I held my peace, [even] from good; that is, he said neither good nor bad: this expresses the greatness of his silence: he did not choose to open his lips, and say...
Matthew Henry
David seems to have been in a great strait when he penned this psalm, and, upon some account or other, very uneasy; for it is with some difficulty that he conquers his passion, and composes his spirit himself to take that good counsel which he had given to others (xxxvii.) to rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him, without fretting; for it is easier to give the good advice than to give the...
Charles H. Spurgeon
I was dumb with silence, “I did not speak, I could not speak: ‘I was dumb with silence.’” Psa_39:2. I held my peace, even from good; David’s conduct proves that, even when we are doing something which is right, we are apt to overdo it, and so we stray into a vice while pursuing a virtue. You can run so close to the heels of a virtue that they may knock out your teeth; you may be so ardent for one...
Charles H. Spurgeon
I was dumb with silence, Ah, me! How often we do wrong even when we try to do right! He tried not to sin with his tongue, so he was silent, but silence itself may be a sin of the tongue. God forgive our idle silence, and silence our idle words! I do not think we often sin this way; but silence may sometimes be more wicked than speech even though at other times speech is silvern and silence is...
Charles H. Spurgeon
I was dumb with silence, — “I was as silent as if I had been dumb. I did not say a word.” It seems to me that this silence of the psalmist was partly sullen and partly judicious: “I was dumb with silence,” — Psa_39:2. I held my peace, even from good; — He was a total abstainer from all speech. Perhaps he felt that he could not speak a little without speaking too much, and so he refrained from...
Charles H. Spurgeon
I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good; and my sorrow was stirred. We all know that, unless our grief can find expression, it swells and grows till our heart is ready to break. We have heard of a wise physician who bade a man in great trouble weep as much as ever he could. “Do not restrain your grief,” he said, “but let it all out.” He felt that only in that way would the poor...