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Psalm 39 v 12 said:
What is the Psalmist saying here? This verse speaks to me so deeply but I need help to understand it.
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Psalm 39 v 12
- Thread starter mindlight
- Start date
What is the Psalmist saying here? This verse speaks to me so deeply but I need help to understand it.
ittarter
Non-Metaphysical Christian Critic
JPS translates thus:
Despite the song's heading I would assume that this is from the pen of Jeremiah, during his term of captivity in Babylon, or perhaps in Egypt. If so, then I take him to mean here that he is among foreigners but still relies and "lives in" Yhwh.
Even if I'm mistaken about the original setting, the basic idea remains constant. We are at home with the Lord, as Paul says in his letter to the Philippians, only once we are absent in the body. And yet he is still with us, and we with him, while we are on earth, and thus he must attend to our tearful cries.
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BrotherDave
Regular Member
I understand this to be a cry out to God for salvation. In verse 6 he says how every man walks in vanity he may be very rich but our only hope is in the Lord. We are frail and weak without Him. Our days are numbered and we easily give into sinful desires.
In v 12 he calls himself a stranger or (alien) or sojourner as all his fathers were. This is the state of every person before God saves him. They are without Christ and have no hope (Eph 2:12, 19, 20). His sheep will follow his voice but not the voice of a stranger (John 10:5).
We all should cry to God for help and plea for mercy so that we can be part of his family (Luke 8:21) and no more strangers or aliens.
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The Psalmist is not saying that he is estranged from God but that he is a stranger on this earth as all believers are. Although the Psalms were written by particular people in particular situations they are written in such a way that they are not limited to the individual's experiences. You don't need to commit adultery to chant Psalm 51. They were the hymnbook of the OT church, the early NT church, and still are used in liturgical churches. In Psalm 39 David sees the prosperity of the wicked around him and calls upon God to forgive him of his sins.
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This psalm said to me....We must have hope that God will hear and answer our prayers.....That our Journey here on earth is not a easy one.....But we should keep our mind on what is up ahead.....For we are only passing through on our way to our Heavenly Father ....love Jane
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This view came closest for me. There is a vanity to this life and what is man anyway but a breath. We should hope in the Lord and he will lead us on to that heavenly city that is our only true home. We are strangers to a world such as this passing through on our way to a better place. There is also the perception of the Psalmist that God could make it easier for us than He has. But for whatever reason He has not made it easy our hope is in Him.
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