1. The brevity of life 39:1-6

39:1-3 David harbored some strong feelings that he refrained from expressing publicly. As a fire within him they burned to come out, but he held them in fearing that he might regret his words. His feelings arose out of his discipline at God's hand (v. 9).

39:4-6 Finally David found relief in expressing his frustration to God. He prayed that God would allow him to appreciate the brevity of human life (cf. 90:10, 12). Evidently David was an old man at this time. His life seemed very short looking back on it. People measured short distances with handbreadths in David's time (v. 5). The pursuits of life are relatively insignificant in view of the short time we live.