Fathers

Psalms 39

Tap a verse to read the Fathers. Press and hold, then drag, to make a card.

I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me. I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good; and my sorrow was stirred. My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue, LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah. Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them. And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee. 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. Remove thy stroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of thine hand. When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity. Selah. Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were. O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more.

About · Privacy · Credits · Support VRSZ

What the Fathers say

Psalms 39:1

Western Saints

Augustine of Hippo

"I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue" [Psalm 39:1]. ...For it is not without reason that the tongue is set in a moist place, but because it is so prone to slip. Perceiving therefore how hard it was for a man to be under the necessity of speaking, and not to say something that he will wish unsaid, and filled with disgust at these sins, he seeks to avoid the like. To this difficulty is he exposed who is seeking to "leap beyond."... …

Exposition on Psalm 39 ↗

Ambrose of Milan

Have no doubt about it, when people annoy and torment you when you are doing the right thing, those people are the lackeys of the wickedest sinner of all. They are slaves of the author of every evil deed. David saw this with prophetic eyes and recognized the face of the evil one. So he kept quiet. He had no wish whatever to do the will of the evil one. So he kept quiet. He had no wish whatever to do the will of him who ruins one's peace of mind. He simply said nothing. …

Commentaries on the Twelve Davidic Psalms ↗

Thomas Aquinas

The Psalmist has confessed that he suffered his affliction on account of his sin; here, however, he promises caution for the future. The title is as follows: "Unto the end, a canticle of David, for Idithun." And this is not new, although the title is new, because as is found in the history of 1 Chr. …

Exposition on the Psalms of David ↗