\\INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 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
use of in public service; since Jeduthun was, with his
sons, appointed by David to prophesy with harps and
psalteries, and to give praise and thanks unto the Lord,
\\#1Ch 16:41,42 25:1,3\\; he is the same with
Ethan {s}. The occasion of it is thought, by some, to
be the rebellion of his son Absalom; so Theodoret
thinks it was written when he fled from Absalom, and
was cursed by Shimei; or rather it may be some sore
affliction, which lay upon David for the chastisement
of him; see \\#Ps 39:9, 13\\; and the argument of the psalm
seems to be much the same with that of the preceding
one, as Kimchi observes.

\*Ver. 1. \\I said\\, &c.] That is, in his heart; he purposed
and determined within himself to do as follows;
and he might express it with his mouth, and so his
purpose became a promise;
\*\\I will take heed to my ways\\;
as every good man should; that is, to all his actions,
conduct, and conversation: it becomes him to take
heed what ways he walks in; that they are the ways
of God, which he directs to; that they are the ways
of Christ, which he has left an example to follow in;
and that they are according to the word of God; that
he walks in Christ, the way of salvation, and by faith
on him; that he chooses and walks in the way of truth,
and not error; and in all, the commandments and ordinances
of the Lord blameless; and in the path of
holiness, in which, though fools, they shall not err:
and it is also necessary that he should take heed that
he does nothing, either by embracing error, or going
into immorality, by which the ways of God, and Christ,
and truth, are evil-spoken of, blasphemed and reproached;
and that he does not depart out of these ways, nor
stumble, slip, and fall in them;
\*\\that I sin not with
my tongue\\; which is a World of iniquity, and has a
multitude of vices belonging to it; not only in profane
men, but in professors of religion; whom it becomes
to take heed that they sin not with it, by lying one to
another, by angry and passionate expressions, by corrupt
communication, filthiness, foolish talking, and
jesting, which are not convenient; by whispering, tale-bearing,
backbiting, and by evil-speaking one of another:
particularly there are vices of the tongue, which
the saints are liable to under afflictive providences, and
seem chiefly designed here; such as envious expressions
at the prosperity of others; words of impatience
under their own afflictions, and murmurings at the hand
of God upon them; such as these the psalmist determined,
within himself, to guard against; in order
to which he proposed to take the following method;
\*\\I will keep my mouth with a bridle\\: that is, bridle his
tongue, that being an unruly member, and to be kept
in with bit and bridle, like an unruly horse; see \\#Jas 1:26 3:2-5,8\\;
\*\\while the wicked is before
me\\; or %against me% {t}; meaning either whilst Ahithophel
and Absalom were conspiring and rebelling against
him, and Shimei was cursing him, under which he behaved
with great silence, calmness, and patience; see
\\#2Sa 15:25,26 16:5-12\\; or whilst he had the
flourishing condition of wicked men in his view, and
was meditating on it; or rather, when any one of them
came to visit him in his affliction, he was determined
to be wholly silent, that they might have no opportunity
of rejoicing over him, nor of reproaching him,
and the good ways of God: and indeed it is proper for
the people of God to be always upon their guard, when
they are in the presence of wicked men; and be careful
what they utter with their lips, who watch their words
to improve them against them, and the religion they
profess.

\*Ver. 2. \\I was dumb with silence\\, &c.] 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 \\#Ps 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 any thing that was good, lest
evil should come out along with it; though this may
be considered as carrying the matter too far, even to
a criminal silence; saying nothing of the affliction he
laboured under as coming from the hand of God, and
of his own desert of it; nor praying to God for the removal
of it, nor giving him thanks for his divine goodness
in supporting him under it, and making it useful
to him; though it seems rather to have respect to his
silence concerning the goodness of his cause before
men; be said not one word in the vindication of himself;
but committed his cause to him that judgeth
righteously. The Targum and Jarchi interpret it of
his silence and cessation %from the words of the law%: he
said nothing concerning the good word of God; which
sense, could it be admitted, the words in \\#Jer 20:9\\;
might be compared with these and the following;
\*\\and my sorrow was stirred\\; this was the issue and effect of
his silence; his sorrow being pent up, and not let out
and eased by words, swelled and increased the more;
or the sorrow of his heart was stirred up at the insults
and reproaches of his enemies, as Paul's spirit was
stirred up by the superstition and idolatry of the city
of Athens, \\#Ac 17:16\\.

\*Ver. 3. \\My heart was hot within me\\, &c.] Either
with zeal for God; or rather with envy at the prosperity
of wicked men, and with impatience at his own
afflictions;
\*\\while I was musing the fire burned\\; not
the fire of the divine word, whilst he was meditating
upon it, which caused his heart to burn within him; nor
the fire of divine love, the coals whereof give a most
vehement flame, when the love of God is shed abroad
in the heart, and the thoughts of it are directed by the
spirit of God to dwell in meditation on it; but the fire
of passion, anger, and resentment, whilst meditating
on his own adversity, and the prosperity of others;
\*\\[then] spake I with my tongue\\; and so broke the resolution
he had made, \\#Ps 39:1\\; he spoke not for God, though
to him; not by way of thankfulness for his grace and
goodness to him, in supporting him under his exercises;
but in a way of complaint, because of his afflictions;
it was in prayer he spoke to God with his tongue, and
it was unadvisedly with his lips, as follows.

{s} Vid. Hiller. Onomastic. Sacr. p. 513, 805.
{t} \^ydgnl\^ %adversum me%, V. L. %contra me%, Cocceius; so the Targum.