Psalm 39 (NKJV)

Prayer for Wisdom and Forgiveness

To the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

1 I said, “I will guard my ways, Lest I sin with my tongue;
I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle,
While the wicked are before me.”
2 I was mute with silence,
I held my peace even from good;
And my sorrow was stirred up.
3 My heart was hot within me;
While I was musing, the fire burned.
Then I spoke with my tongue:

4 “LORD, make me to know my end,
And what is the measure of my days,
That I may know how frail I am.
5 Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths,
And my age is as nothing before You;
Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor.

Selah

Psalm 39:1-5

• Lord, when I do not know how to pray or what to ask You, give me wisdom.
• I do not want to speak vain words or ask for something that is not appropriate. Therefore, I will be quiet until I know what to say.
• Then, Lord, I will ask the desires of my heart and let the words that passionately speak in my heart to be uttered.
• I am uncertain about my end, and the disposition of my days.
• How long will I live? What will I accomplish? Is my life worth much to You?
• Help me, O LORD, not to be a life lived in vain.
• I will ponder what my life is worth to You.

6 Surely every man walks about like a shadow;
Surely they busy themselves in vain;
He heaps up riches,
And does not know who will gather them.

7 “And now, Lord, what do I wait for?
My hope is in You.
8 Deliver me from all my transgressions;
Do not make me the reproach of the foolish.
9 I was mute, I did not open my mouth,
Because it was You who did it.
10 Remove Your plague from me;
I am consumed by the blow of Your hand.
11 When with rebukes You correct man for iniquity,
You make his beauty melt away like a moth;
Surely every man is vapor.

Selah

Psalm 39:6-11

• Lord, when I look around I see futility and worthless pursuits.
• People work and gather and do not have. They labor in vain.
• Lord, I long to be productive and useful unto You.
• Deliver me from vanity and sin.
• Let my name be synonymous with success and excellence.
• Let my life be free from plague and allow me to take Your rebuke and live better.
• My life is short. All men and women live brief lives like a vapor that passes quickly.
• I grow old in short time and my looks fade away.
• However, I trust in You alone, O LORD, and my hope is in You.

12 “Hear my prayer, O LORD,
And give ear to my cry;
Do not be silent at my tears;
For I am a stranger with You,
A sojourner, as all my fathers were.
13 Remove Your gaze from me, that I may regain strength,
Before I go away and am no more.”

Psalm 39:12-13

• Lord, hear me when I call upon You.
• I am just a passing traveler in this life.
• Do not punish me in Your anger, but have mercy on my sins.
• Deliver me from Your disapproving gaze by forgiving me in Your grace.
• I will live for You and be strong in Your grace. Thank You, Lord, for loving me!

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