13 But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth.
13 I am like the deaf, who cannot hear, like the mute, who cannot speak;
13 But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear, like a mute man who does not open his mouth.
13 But I'm deaf and mute to it all, ears shut, mouth shut.
13 But I, like a deaf man, do not hear; And I am like a mute who does not open his mouth.
13 But I am deaf to all their threats. I am silent before them as one who cannot speak.
14 Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs.
14 I have become like one who does not hear, whose mouth can offer no reply.
14 I have become like a man who does not hear, and in whose mouth are no rebukes.
14 I don't hear a word they say, don't speak a word in response.
14 Thus I am like a man who does not hear, And in whose mouth is no response.
14 I choose to hear nothing, and I make no reply.
(Read Psalm 38:12-22)
Wicked men hate goodness, even when they benefit by it. David, in the complaints he makes of his enemies, seems to refer to Christ. But our enemies do us real mischief only when they drive us from God and our duty. The true believer's trouble will be made useful; he will learn to wait for his God, and will not seek relief from the world or himself. The less we notice the unkindness and injuries that are done us, the more we consult the quiet of our own minds. David's troubles were the chastisement and the consequence of his transgressions, whilst Christ suffered for our sins and ours only. What right can a sinner have to yield to impatience or anger, when mercifully corrected for his sins? David was very sensible of the present workings of corruption in him. Good men, by setting their sorrow continually before them, have been ready to fall; but by setting God always before them, they have kept their standing. If we are truly penitent for sin, that will make us patient under affliction. Nothing goes nearer to the heart of a believer when in affliction, than to be under the apprehension of God's deserting him; nor does any thing come more feelingly from his heart than this prayer, "Be not far from me." The Lord will hasten to help those who trust in him as their salvation.
9 I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because thou didst it.
9 I was silent; I would not open my mouth, for you are the one who has done this.
9 I am mute; I do not open my mouth, for it is you who have done it.
9 I'll say no more, I'll shut my mouth, since you, Lord, are behind all this.
9 I was mute, I did not open my mouth, Because it was You who did it.
9 I am silent before you; I won't say a word, for my punishment is from you.
(Read Psalm 39:7-13)
There is no solid satisfaction to be had in the creature; but it is to be found in the Lord, and in communion with him; to him we should be driven by our disappointments. If the world be nothing but vanity, may God deliver us from having or seeking our portion in it. When creature-confidences fail, it is our comfort that we have a God to go to, a God to trust in. We may see a good God doing all, and ordering all events concerning us; and a good man, for that reason, says nothing against it. He desires the pardoning of his sin, and the preventing of his shame. We must both watch and pray against sin. When under the correcting hand of the Lord, we must look to God himself for relief, not to any other. Our ways and our doings bring us into trouble, and we are beaten with a rod of our own making. What a poor thing is beauty! and what fools are those that are proud of it, when it will certainly, and may quickly, be consumed! The body of man is as a garment to the soul. In this garment sin has lodged a moth, which wears away, first the beauty, then the strength, and finally the substance of its parts. Whoever has watched the progress of a lingering distemper, or the work of time alone, in the human frame, will feel at once the force of this comparison, and that, surely every man is vanity. Afflictions are sent to stir up prayer. If they have that effect, we may hope that God will hear our prayer. The believer expects weariness and ill treatment on his way to heaven; but he shall not stay here long : walking with God by faith, he goes forward on his journey, not diverted from his course, nor cast down by the difficulties he meets. How blessed it is to sit loose from things here below, that while going home to our Father's house, we may use the world as not abusing it! May we always look for that city, whose Builder and Maker is God.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Psalm 38:13
Commentary on Psalm 38:12-22
(Read Psalm 38:12-22)
Wicked men hate goodness, even when they benefit by it. David, in the complaints he makes of his enemies, seems to refer to Christ. But our enemies do us real mischief only when they drive us from God and our duty. The true believer's trouble will be made useful; he will learn to wait for his God, and will not seek relief from the world or himself. The less we notice the unkindness and injuries that are done us, the more we consult the quiet of our own minds. David's troubles were the chastisement and the consequence of his transgressions, whilst Christ suffered for our sins and ours only. What right can a sinner have to yield to impatience or anger, when mercifully corrected for his sins? David was very sensible of the present workings of corruption in him. Good men, by setting their sorrow continually before them, have been ready to fall; but by setting God always before them, they have kept their standing. If we are truly penitent for sin, that will make us patient under affliction. Nothing goes nearer to the heart of a believer when in affliction, than to be under the apprehension of God's deserting him; nor does any thing come more feelingly from his heart than this prayer, "Be not far from me." The Lord will hasten to help those who trust in him as their salvation.