Psalm 39 from my book, "Praying the Psalms for the Unborn Child."

Psalm 39
Lamentations of a suffering man echoed in the cry of Jesus on the cross, "My, God, My God, why have You forsaken me?"⁷¹.

1 I said to myself, “I will watch what I do
and not sin in what I say.
I will hold my tongue
when the ungodly are around me.”
2 But as I stood there in silence—
not even speaking of good things—
the turmoil within me grew worse.
3 The more I thought about it,
the hotter I got,
igniting a fire of words:
4 “Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.
Remind me that my days are numbered—
how fleeting my life is.
5 You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand.
My entire lifetime is just a moment to you;
at best, each of us is but a breath.”

6 We are merely moving shadows,
and all our busy rushing ends in nothing.
We heap up wealth,
not knowing who will spend it.
7 And so, Lord, where do I put my hope?
My only hope is in you.
8 Rescue me from my rebellion.
Do not let fools mock me.
9 I am silent before you; I won’t say a word,
for my punishment is from you.
10 But please stop striking me!
I am exhausted by the blows from your hand.
11 When you discipline us for our sins,
you consume like a moth what is precious to us.
Each of us is but a breath.

12 Hear my prayer, O Lord!
Listen to my cries for help!
Don’t ignore my tears.
For I am your guest—
a traveler passing through,
as my ancestors were before me.
13 Leave me alone so I can smile again
before I am gone and exist no more.

Although the psalmist is in pain, he tries not to complain. He holds his tongue because unbelievers will scoff at his faith in a God who will not answer his prayers and rescue him. (Jesus suffered the same accusations on the cross: "If He is the son of God, let God save Him."). Nevertheless, his suffering gets the better of him and he cries out for relief (39:1-3). He laments that his life is just a passing shadow; all his preoccupation with worldly matters and efforts to amass wealth are of no value to him when he dies (39:4-6). Yet he never loses hope that God will answer his prayer (39:7): to ease his suffering, for life is too short and he would like to smile again before the end comes (39:8-13).

Prayer for life: My God, we have been waiting for years for our society to wake up and realize what an abomination abortion is. We hoped that they would abandon the self-pride that prompts them to place their right to kill innocent children above the rights of the unborn to the life You gave them. How long? How long, O Lord, before You intercede to end this senseless murder? Does not the blood of the innocent cry out for vengeance? Yet, we plead for Your forgiveness. We beg for mercy. Hold back Your sword of justice a little longer. Give us more time to see the error of our ways before You strike. Amen.

Have a blessed day!
John

⁷¹Reardon, Patrick. Christ in the Psalms. Ben Lomond, CA: Conciliar Press, 2000. 75. Print.

Scripture quotations (Psalms 37-41) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2010 by John P. Gross. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this material must be done in its entirety with the copyright notice intact. This book is not for sale, but is offered to the public free of charge in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary and for the glory of God.