I
said, “I will watch my ways, so that I don’t offend with my tongue.
I
will keep my mouth with a bridle while the wicked is before me.”
I
was mute with silence.
I
held my peace, even from good.
My
sorrow was stirred.
My
heart was hot within me.
While
I meditated, the fire burned.
I
spoke with my tongue:
“Yahweh,
show me my end,
what
is the measure of my days.
Let
me know how frail I am.
Behold,
you have made my days hand widths.
My
lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely
every man stands as a breath.”
“Surely
every man walks like a shadow.
Surely,
they busy themselves in vain.
He
heaps up, and doesn’t know who shall gather.
Now,
Lord, what do I wait for?
My
hope is in you.
Deliver
me from all my transgressions.
Don’t
make me the reproach of the foolish.
I
was mute.
I
didn’t open my mouth,
because
you did it.
Remove
your scourge away from me.
I
am overcome by the blow of your hand.
When
you rebuke and correct man for iniquity,
you
consume his wealth like a moth.
Surely
every man is but a breath.”
“Hear
my prayer, Yahweh, and give ear to my cry.
Don’t
be silent at my tears.
For
I am a stranger with you,
a
foreigner, as all my fathers were.
Oh,
spare me, that I may recover strength,
before
I go away and exist no more.”
Psalm 39