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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, I opened not my mouth,.... This refers either to his former silence, before he broke it, Psalms 39:1, 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; or to the present frame of his mind, and his...
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, I opened not my mouth, because thou didst it. This verse should read, “I will be dumb, I will not open my mouth, because thou hast done it.” That is a better silence than the first, for the psalmist is getting into a right state. This is the proper silence, the other was brazen, this is golden. God help us to know how and when to practice it! Never speak against God whatever he does,...
Charles H. Spurgeon
Make me not the reproach of the foolish. I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because thou didst it. That is fine silence when a man will not complain because his affliction comes from the hand of God. There is something better even than that when a man breaks the silence, and begins to praise God under the rod. A mute Christian smarting under the rod is a wonder of grace; but a singing Christian...
Charles H. Spurgeon
I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because thou didst it. You will understand this verse much better if we read it in another tense as it should be: “Now I will be dumb, I will not open my mouth, because thou didst it.” David was wrong the first time when he was dumb, but he is right this second time. Two things may be very like one another outwardly, yet very different inwardly. There is a...
Charles H. Spurgeon
Deliver me from all my transgressions: make me not the reproach of the foolish. I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because thou didst it. It is always a blessed reason for resignation when we can say of any bereavement or affliction, “The Lord has done it.” Shall he not do as he wills with his own? Then let us say, with Job, “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the...