Behold, you have made my days hand widths. My lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely every man stands as a breath.”
Parallel Translations
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Behold, you have made my days hand widths. My lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely every man stands as a breath.”
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Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.
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(39-6) Behold, Thou hast made my days as hand-breadths; and mine age is as nothing before Thee; surely every man at his best estate is altogether vanity. Selah
Cross-references (15)
Passages linked to Psalms 39:5 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 89:47 Remember how short my time is, for what vanity you have created all the children of men!
- Psalms 144:4 Man is like a breath. His days are like a shadow that passes away.
- Psalms 62:9 Surely men of low degree are just a breath, and men of high degree are a lie. In the balances they will go up. They are together lighter than a breath.
- Psalms 90:9-10 For all our days have passed away in your wrath. We bring our years to an end as a sigh. The days of our years are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty years; yet their pride is but labor and sorrow, for it passes quickly, and we fly away.
- Ecclesiastes 2:11 Then I looked at all the works that my hands had worked, and at the labor that I had labored to do; and behold, all was vanity and a chasing after wind, and there was no profit under the sun.
- Job 14:1-2 “Man, who is born of a woman, is of few days, and full of trouble. He grows up like a flower, and is cut down. He also flees like a shadow, and doesn’t continue.
- Psalms 39:11 When you rebuke and correct man for iniquity, you consume his wealth like a moth. Surely every man is but a breath.”
- James 4:14 Whereas you don’t know what your life will be like tomorrow. For what is your life? For you are a vapor that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away.
- Psalms 90:4-5 For a thousand years in your sight are just like yesterday when it is past, like a watch in the night. You sweep them away as they sleep. In the morning they sprout like new grass.
- Genesis 47:9 Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my pilgrimage are one hundred thirty years. The days of the years of my life have been few and evil. They have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.”
- Job 7:6 My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and are spent without hope.
- Job 9:25-26 “Now my days are swifter than a runner. They flee away. They see no good. They have passed away as the swift ships, as the eagle that swoops on the prey.
- Ecclesiastes 1:2 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”
- Isaiah 40:17 All the nations are like nothing before him. They are regarded by him as less than nothing, and vanity.
- 2 Peter 3:8 But don’t forget this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Yet David offended in that that he reasoned with…
Yet David offended in that that he reasoned with God as though that he were too severe toward his weak creature.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 39:5 Behold, thou hast made my days [as]…
Psa 39:5 Behold, thou hast made my days [as] an handbreadth; and mine age [is] as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state [is] altogether vanity. Selah.
Ver. 5. Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth] i.e. Four fingers broad (which is one of the least geometrical measures, or a spanlong), as some interpret it. Now, to spend the span of this transitory life after the ways of a man’s own heart is to bereave himself of a room in that city of pearl, and to perish for ever. Or take it for a handbreadth; should a man, having his lands divided into four parts (answerable to those four fingers’ breadth), leave three of them untilled? should he not make the best of that little time that he hath, that he be not taken with his task undone? Themistocles died about a hundred and seven years of age; and when he was to die he was grieved upon this ground: Now I am to die, saith he, when I begin to be wise. But stultus semper incipit vivere, saith Seneca; and such complaints are bootless. Oh live quickly, live apace, and learn of the devil at least to be most busy, as knowing that our time is short, Rev 12:12. To complain of the miseries of life, and to wish for death, as David here seemeth to do (and as did Job, Job 3:19; Job 6:9; Job 7:15; and Moses, Num 11:11; Num 11:15; Elijah, 1Ki 19:4; Jeremiah, Jer 20:14; Jonah, Jon 4:3), is a sign of a prevailing temptation, and of a spirit fainting under it. We must fight against such impatience; and learn to do the like by life, as we do by a lease, wherein, if our time be short, we rip up the grounds, eat up the grass, cut down the underbrush, and take all the liberty the lease will afford.
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Mine age is as nothing] Heb. My world, that is, my time of abroad in the world, is but a magnum Nihil, as one saith of honour, Puncture est quod vivimus, et puncto minus; a mere salve vale, hello and goodbye a nonentity.
Verily every man at his best state] When he is best constituted and underlaid, set to live, as one would think, firmus et fixus, settled on his best bottom, yet even then be is all over vanity. Profecto omnimoda vanltas omnis homo est quantumvis constitutus maxime (Tremel.). All Adam is all Abel, as the original runs elegantly, alluding to those two proper names, like as Psa 144:3-4, Adam is Abel’s mate, or man is like to a soon vanishing vapour; such as is the breath of one’s mouth, {see Jas 4:14} a feeble flash, a curious picture of nothing.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain As an handbreadth, which is one of the least…
As an handbreadth, which is one of the least measures, i.e. very short. These and the following words are either,
1. A continuance of his complaint, that although his days were of themselves very short, yet God seemed to grudge him their natural length, and threatened to make them shorter, and to cut him off before his time. Or rather,
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2. A consolation, and correction of his last words, as if he said, Why am I so greedy to know the end of my life, seeing I do already know this, that my life cannot last very long, and therefore if my troubles be sharp, they will be but short?
Nothing; next to nothing for substance and for continuance.
Before thee, i.e. in thy judgment, and therefore in truth and reality; or, if compared with thee, and with thy everlasting duration: compare Psa 90:4; 2Pe 3:8.
Every man, prince or peasant, wise or fools, good or bad.
At his best state; Heb. though settled or established; when he stands fastest, and likely to continue longest, in regard of his health and strength, and all possible means whereby life may be secured, supported, or prolonged.
Altogether vanity; all that he is or hath is as light, and vain, and unstable as vanity itself; there is nothing but vanity and uncertainty in all his outward enjoyments, in the constitution of his body, yea, in the very temper and endowments of his mind: by which general condition of all mankind he endeavours to quiet and compose his mind to bear the common lot.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth,....…
Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth,.... These words, with the following clause, are the psalmist's answer to his own inquiries; or rather a correction of his inquiry and impatience, showing how needless it was to ask such questions, and be impatient to die, when it was so clear and certain a case that life was so short; not a yard or ell (forty five inches), but an handbreadth, the breadth of four fingers; or at most a span of time was allowed to man, whose days are few, like the shadow that declineth, and the grass that withers; by which figurative expressions the brevity of human life is described, Psa 102:11; and this is the measure made, cut out, and appointed by the Lord himself, who has determined the years, months, and days of man's life, Job 14:5;
and mine age is as nothing before thee; in the sight of God, or in comparison of his eternity; not so much as an handbreadth, or to be accounted as an inch, but nothing at, all; yea, less than nothing, and vanity; see Isa 40:17; that is, the age or life of man in this world, as the word (w) used signifies; for otherwise the age or life of man, in the world to come, is of an everlasting duration; but the years of this present life are threescore and ten; ordinarily speaking; an hundred and thirty are by Jacob reckoned but few; and even a thousand years with the Lord are but as one day, Psa 90:4;
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verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. As vanity may signify sin, emptiness, folly, falsehood, fickleness, and inconstancy; for man is a very sinful creature, empty of all that is good; foolish as to the knowledge of divine things; he is deceiving and deceived, his heart is deceitful and desperately wicked; and he is unstable in all his ways: he is "all vanity" (x), as the words may be rendered; all that he has, or is, or is in him, is vanity; his body, in the health, beauty, and strength of it, is subject to change; and so are his mind, his memory, his judgment and affections, his purposes and promises; and so are his goods and estate, his riches and honours; yea, all the vanity that is in the creatures, that is, in the vegetable and sensitive creatures, yea, that is in the whole, world, is in him; who is a microcosm, a little world himself: and this is true of every man, even in his "best settled" (y) estate; when he stood the most firm, as the word used signifies; it is true of men of high and low degree, of the wise, knowing, and learned, as well as of the illiterate and ignorant, Psa 62:9; even of those that are in the most prosperous circumstances, in the greatest ease and affluence, Luk 12:16; David himself had an experience of it, Sa2 7:1; yea, this is true of Adam in his best estate, in his estate of innocence; for he was even then subject to change, as the event has shown; and being in honour, he abode not long; and, though upright, became sinful, and came short of the glory of God: indeed, the spiritual estate of believers in Christ is so well settled as that it cannot be altered; nor is it subject to any vanity.
Selah. See Gill on Psa 3:2.
(w) "vitale aevum meum", Cocceius; "my worldly time", Ainsworth. (x) "universa, vel omnis vanitas", Pagninus, Montanus, Gejerus, Michaelis, Musculus, Cocceius; so Ainsworth. (y) "stans", Pagninus, Montanus, Cocceius; "quamlibet firmus consistere videatur", Tigurine version, Vatablus; "though settled", Ainsworth; so Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Before thee - If compared with thee, and with…
Before thee - If compared with thee, and with thy everlasting duration.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 5. My days as a handbreadth] My life…
Verse 5. My days as a handbreadth] My life is but a span; σπιθαμητουβιου.
And mine age is as nothing] כאין keein, as if at were not before thee. All time is swallowed up in thy eternity.
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Verily every man at his best state] כל אדם נצב col adam nitstab, "every man that exists, is vanity." All his projects, plans, schemes, &c., soon come to nothing. His body also moulders with the dust, and shortly passes both from the sight and remembrance of men.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Psa 39:5. Behold, thou hast made my days as…
Psa 39:5. Behold, thou hast made my days as a hand-breadth — The breadth of four fingers, a certain dimension, a small one, and the measure whereof we have always about us, always before our eyes. We need no rod, no measuring-line, wherewith to take the dimension of our days, nor any skill in arithmetic wherewith to compute the number of them; no, we have the standard of them always before us. “The age of man, or of the world, is but a span in dimension, a moment in duration; nay, it is less than both, it is as nothing,” before God — in God’s judgment, and, therefore, in truth and reality, or if compared with God’s everlasting duration, with “the unmeasurable extent and the unnumbered days of eternity.” Verily every man — Prince or peasant, high or low, rich or poor; at his best estate — Even when young, and strong, and healthful; when in wealth and honour, and the height of prosperity: Hebrew, נצב, nitzab, settled, or established: though he be never so firmly settled, as he supposes, in his power and greatness; though his mountain appear to him to stand strong, and, considering his health and strength, and possession of all the means whereby life may be supported, prolonged, and secured, though he may seem very likely to continue long, yet it is certain he is mere emptiness and vanity: yea, altogether vanity — The Hebrew is very emphatical, כל הבל כל אדם, cal hebel cal Adam, every man is every vanity: or, all men, or, the whole of man, is all vanity. He is as vain as you can imagine. Every thing about him is vanity; is uncertain; nothing is substantial, or durable, but what relates to the new man and to eternity. Verily he is so. This is a truth of undoubted certainty, but which we are very unwilling to believe, and need to have solemnly attested to us, as indeed it is by frequent instances. Selah is annexed as a note commanding observation. Stop here, and pause a while, that you may take time to consider and apply this truth, that every man is vanity. We ourselves are so.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth…
Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth - literally, “Lo, handbreadths hast thou given my days.” The word rendered “handbreadth” means properly the spread hand; the palm; the hand when the four fingers are expanded. The word is then used to denote anything very short or brief. It is one of the smallest natural measures, as distinguished from the “foot” - that is, the length of the foot; and from the cubit - that is, the length of the arm to the elbow. It is the “shortness” of life, therefore, that is the subject of painful and complaining reflection here. Who has not been in a state of mind to sympathize with the feelings of the psalmist? Who is there that does not often wonder, when he thinks of what he could and would accomplish on earth if his life extended to one thousand years, and when he thinks of the great interests at stake in reference to another world which God has made dependent on so short a life? Who can at all times so calm down his feelings as to give utterance to no expressions of impatience that life is so soon to terminate? Who is there that reflects on the great interests at stake that has not asked the question why God has not given man more time to prepare for eternity?
And mine age - Or, my life. The word used here - חלד cheled - means properly “duration of life,” lifetime; and then, life itself; Job 11:17.
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Is as nothing - That is, it is so short that it seems to be nothing at all.
Before thee - As over against thee; that is, in comparison with thee. Compare Isa 40:17, “All nations “before him” are as nothing;” that is, over against him, or in comparison with him. When the two are placed together, the one seems to be as nothing in the presence of the other. So the life of man, when placed by the side of the life of God, seems to be absolutely nothing.
Verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity - Margin, “settled.” The idea is, that every man is “constituted” vanity. Literally, “All vanity every man is constituted.” There seems to be nothing but vanity; and this is the result of a divine constitution or arrangement. The idea expressed in our common version, “at his best state,” however true in itself, is not in the original. The thoughts in the original are:
(a) that all people are vanity; that is, life is so short, and man accomplishes so little, that it seems to be perfect vanity; and
(b) that this is the result of the divine constitution under which man was made.
It was the fact that man has been “so made” which gave so much trouble to the mind of the psalmist.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain His prayer is answered in his obtaining an impressive…
His prayer is answered in his obtaining an impressive view of the vanity of the life of all men, and their transient state. Their pomp is a mere image, and their wealth is gathered they know not for whom.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 5. Handbreadth—Hebrew, hand-breadths, to correspond to days. A measurement…
5. Handbreadth—Hebrew, hand-breadths, to correspond to days. A measurement of four fingers’ breadth, proverbially used for a brief period.
Mine age is as nothing— “Age” is put for the whole period of life.
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Every man at his best state is… vanity—Hebrew, certainly altogether vanity is every man standing firm. His apparently firm, established state contrasts with vanity. His securest state, made so by health, wealth, power, and friends, is, however, wholly unreliable, it is itself vanity.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 5. as a handbreadth] Better, a few handbreadths long.…
5. as a handbreadth] Better, a few handbreadths long. The shortest measure is enough to reckon life by. The ‘handbreadth’ = four ‘fingers’ (Jer_52:21 compared with 1Ki_7:26) or less than half a ‘span.’
mine age &c.] The same word as that rendered ‘world’ in Psa_17:14, denoting life in its fleeting, transient aspect. In the sight of the Eternal man’s existence shrinks into nothing. Cp. Isa_40:17.
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verily &c.] The particle ak, which is characteristic of this Ps. and of Psalms 62, may be used affirmatively to introduce the whole clause (verily, or surely, as in Psa_39:6; Psa_39:11), or restrictively, to emphasise the words which immediately follow it (only). The order of the words points to the latter sense here. ‘Only altogether a breath’, i.e. nought but mere vanity are all men at their best estate: lit. when standing firm: however securely they may seem to be established. Cp. Psa_144:4; Jas_4:14.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (5) Handbreadth.—Better, some spans long. The plural without the…
(5) Handbreadth.—Better, some spans long. The plural without the article having this indefinite sense.
Mine age.—Literally, duration. (See Psa_17:14.) The LXX. and Vulg. have “substance.”
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Before thee.—Since in God’s sight “one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” “If nature is below any perception of time, God, at the other extremity of being, is above it. God includes time without being affected by it, and time includes nature, which is unaware of it. He too completely transcends it, his works are too profoundly subject to it, to be otherwise than indifferent to its lapse. But we stand at an intermediate point, and bear affinity with both extremes” (J. Martineau, Hours of Thought).
Verily every man . . .—Better, nothing but breath is every man at his best. (Literally, though standing firm.) Comp.
“Reason thus with life—
If I do lose thee, I do lose a thing
That none but fools would keep; a breath thou art.
SHAKESPEARE: Measure for Measure.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Behold, thou hast made my days as a handbreadth.…
Behold, thou hast made my days as a handbreadth. It seems inconsistent that one who professes to be weary of his life should then complain of life"s shortness. But such inconsistency is human. Job does the same. (Job_14:1, Job_14:2) And mine age is as nothing before thee. The short human existence can scarcely be regarded by God as existence at all; rather, it is mere nothingness. Verily every man living at his best state is but vanity . So our Revisers. But most moderns translate, "Verily every man living was ordained for utter vanity". (comp. Psa_62:9 Psa_144:4)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain Ver. 5. Behold, thou hast made my days as…
Ver. 5. Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth. Upon consideration, the psalmist finds little room to bewail the length of life, but rather to bemoan its shortness. What changeful creatures we are! One moment we cry to be rid of existence, and the next instant beg to have it prolonged! A handbreadth is one of the shortest natural measures, being the breadth of four fingers; such is the brevity of life, by divine appointment; God hath made it so, fixing the period in wisdom. The behold calls us to attention; to some the thoughts of life's hastiness will bring the most acute pain, to others the most solemn earnestness. How well should those live who are to live so little! Is my earthly pilgrimage so brief? then let me watch every step of it, that in the little of time there may be much of grace. And mine age is as nothing before thee. So short as not to amount to an entity. Think of eternity, and an angel is as a newborn babe, the world a fresh blown bubble, the sun a spark just fallen from the fire, and man a nullity. Before the Eternal, all the age of frail man is less than one ticking of a clock. Verily, every man at his best state is altogether vanity. This is the surest truth, that nothing about man is either sure or true. Take man at his best, he is but a man, and a man is a mere breath, unsubstantial as the wind. Man is settled, as the margin has it, and by divine decree it is settled that he shall not be settled. He is constant only in inconstancy. His vanity is his only verity; his best, of which he is vain, is but vain; and this is verily true of every man, that everything about him is every way fleeting. This is sad news for those whose treasures are beneath the moon; those whose glorying is in themselves may well hang the flag half mast; but those whose best estate is settled upon them in Christ Jesus in the land of unfading flowers, may rejoice that it is no vain thing in which they trust.
Ver. 5. My days. Man's life is styled days because it is not conferred upon us by wholesale, by months and years, but by retail of days, hours, minutes, moments, as to check our curiosity in making enquiry how long we have to live Ps 39:4: so acquainting us with the brevity thereof, we may learn to depend upon God's bounty for the loan of our life, employ it for his glory, and every day prepare for the Bridegroom, Christ. Edmund Layfielde.
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Ver. 5. My days an handbreadth. That is one of the shortest measures. We need not long lines to measure our lives by: each one carries a measure about with him, his own hand; that is the longest and fullest measure. It is not so much as a span: that might possibly have been the measure of old age in the infancy of the world, but now it is contracted to a handbreadth, and that is the longest. But how many fall short of that! Many attain not to a finger breadth: multitudes pass from the womb to the grave; and how many end their course within the compass of childhood! Robert Leighton.
Ver. 5. Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth. The line wherewith our lives are measured, is made both of coarse and fine thread. 1. It is measured by itself, and considerable in its own frailty; so the just length of it is an handbreadth. 2. Secondly, with eternity, so it is found to be as nothing. Mine age is as nothing before thee....An handbreadth, and is that all? So he says, that exactly measures them all, and whatsoever else was created with its own hand. A handbreadth is one of the shortest kind of measures. There is an ell, a cubit, and a palm or handbreadth, whereof there be two kinds, the greater and the less. The greater handbreadth is the whole space betwixt the top of the thumb and the little finger, when the hand is extended, called a span, in account near twelve inches. The lesser handbreadth, in a more proper and strict signification, is the just breadth of the four fingers of the hand closed together, here chiefly intended, this interpretation best agreeing with the original, and complying most with the prophet's mind, by the unanimous consent of the choice interpreters. Edmund Layfielde.
Ver. 5. Mine age is as nothing before thee. 1. David might truly have said, Mine age is short in respect of Methuselah's; the days of Methuselah are said to be nine hundred and sixty and nine years; the days of David, by computation of the time when he began and how long he reigned, were not much above three score and ten, so that he lived not so many tens as Methuselah did hundreds. 2. David might have said, Mine age is very short in comparison of the age of the world. St. Paul saith of the fashion of this Macrocosm, it passeth away 1Co 7:31; but the age of the microcosm, man, passeth away far swifter. 3. David might have said, Mine age in this world is exceeding little in comparison of the duration of the other world.
4. Finally, David might have said, Mine age is scarcely anything before the angels, whose duration began with this world and shall continue in the world to come, and so is coaetaneous with both the worlds. But all these are far short of this comparison which he here maketh of his age with God which is eternal, both a parte ante, and a parte post, from everlasting to everlasting. Nathanael Hardy.
Ver. 5. As nothing. If a man be so diminutive a creature, compared with the fabric of that great world, and the world itself so little that it cannot contain the Lord, so little and light that he feels not the weight thereof upon the tip of his finger, man will well merit the name nothing, when he is placed before the Lord. The keel of man's life is laden with more vanity than verify and substance, if the searcher of the reins and heart come aboard to view it. Ten thousand of our days will not make God one year, and a thousand of our years in his sight are but "as a day wherein it is past, and as a watch in the night." As drops of rain are unto the sea, and as a gravel stone is in comparison of the sand, so are a thousand years to the days everlasting. Edmund Layfielde.
Ver. 5. Verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. The Holy Spirit is pleased elsewhere to speak more sparingly, as it were, in favour of man; he discovers the nakedness, but yet comes backward to cast a garment of lenity over it, that somewhat shadows the shame of it. "Man is like to vanity Ps 144:4; their days consume in vanity Ps 78:33; Man is vanity" Ps 39:11; but here with open mouth an unveiled terms full of emphasis, he proclaims every man to be abstracted vanity; and as if that were short he adds, he is all vanity; mere vanity, all manner of vanity, altogether vanity: nothing else, nothing less; yea, somewhat more than vanity, "lighter than vanity" Ps 62:9; and "vanity of vanities." Ec 1:2. And that no place of doubt may be left, he ushers the doctrine unto our hearts with a strong asseveration; assuredly, in truth, without all controversy, man is altogether vanity. Edmund Layfielde.
Ver. 5. Verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Bythner expounds it thus. Every man at his best state is altogether vanity; hoc est omni ex parte, ita ut vanitas et miseriea quae per alias creaturas frustratim spargitur in uno homine aggregata videatur; sic homo evadit compendium omnium vanitatum quae in creaturis extant: that is, he is the sink and centre of all the vanities in the world; he is as it were the universe of vanity. Quoted in William Reynold's Funeral Sermon for the Honourable Francis Pierrepont, 1657.
Ver. 5. "Every Adam standing is all Abel." See Hebrew Text.
Ver. 5. Selah. A little word, yet of no small difficulty to explain. Left out of the Bible by the vulgar translators, as though it were impertinent, where, let them consider, whether they come not within the verge of that malediction in Re 22:19. The ancient interpreters did not much meddle with it, and our editions leave it without interpretation. But seeing "whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope" Ro 15:4, and till "heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled" Mt 5:18, we have sufficient warrant after the example of the learned, and encouragement to make enquiry after the mind of the Holy Spirit, in that which he hath both commanded to be written, and hath commanded unto us. Wherein, like the crystal glass, I will rather present you with the true visage of antiquity, than use any newly framed feature or painting of my own.
Selah is mentioned seventy-four times in the Scripture, whereof seventy-one in the book of Psalms, and thrice in the prophet Habakkuk, which is written psalm wise; and it is ever placed in the end of a Psalm or verse, four places only excepted, where, like the sun in the midst of the planets, it is seated to conjoin the precedent words with the subsequent, and communicate splendour unto both. There was a threefold use of it in ancient times, whereof the first concerned the music; the second, the matter handled unto which it was affixed; and the third, the men or congregation assembled in the temple of the Lord, which two last may still have place among us Christians, who are ingrafted into the stock Christ, from whence the Jews were cut off, but from the first we cannot properly suck such nourishment as once they did.
First of the music. The king's choir (1Ch 25:1-6 Ps 62:1-12, Epigrafh>; 1Ch 16:41) learned five things by it:
First. To make a little pause, stop, or stay, when they came to Selah, and to meditate awhile upon the matter foregoing.
Second. They knew by that cessation and interval that King David as he was prophesying unto the people, and praising God upon the loud sounding cymbals, was at that instant inspired and taught some new lesson. Wherefore, as men being in serious discourse, when they hear a sudden noise hold their peace to listen, saying, hark! see, lo! so David's heart being smitten by the voice of God's Spirit, the music ceased, stopped, and he checked himself as it were thus: "Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth."
Third. It signifieth the change and variation of the music in some strains, or of the metre, or sense, or disjunction of the rhyme, or ceasing of some one sort of music, which howsoever St. Hierome makes some scruple of. The Septuagint, as often as they meet with Selah in the Hebrew text, in their Greek version translated it, the change of the song.
Fourth. It directed them to sing the same verse over again whereunto Selah was annexed. Lastly, it was their instruction to elevate and lift up their voices, praising God with louder voices and loud sounding cymbals. Selah called upon them for louder strains of music and shrillness of voice. But seeing the Jewish harmony and sweet melody is overwhelmed in the ruins of their glorious temple, we remain unskilled in their notes, which doth obscure our annotations upon it. Let this suffice for the "music."
II. Selah concerns the text of Scripture itself, or the matter handled, in five branches.
First. Some think it to be only an ornament of speech, to grace the language with a sweet emphasis; or a nonsignificant word to complete the harmony, lest the verse should halt for want of a foot, but this conjecture is inform, and many feet wide from the truth.
Second. It is not only an adorning of speech, but signifies an end of that verse, matter, or Psalm, where it is found, and it is ever in the end of Psalm and verse, these four places only exempted from this rule: Ps 55:19 57:3 Hab 3:3, 9. For as we write "finis" at the end of a book, song, or poem, so the Jews underwrite Selah, "Salome, "or "Amen, "at the end or finishing of any canticle or work. And the modern Jew at thus day, following the opinion of Aben Ezra, take Selah to be the same with "Amen, "using it at the end of their epithets and prayers twice or thrice indifferently; thus: "Amen, Selah, Amen, Selah, "which receives some credit from this that the particular Psalms end with Selah Ps 3:8, and the books of Psalms with "Amen." For whereas the Psalter is divided into five books, four of them end with "Amen" so be it. As you shall find: Ps 41:13, the end of the first book; Ps 72:19, the end of the second book; Ps 89:52, the end of the third; and Ps 106:48, the conclusion of the fourth.
Third. Selah is an hyperbole or illustration of the truth by way of excess in advancing and enlarging it, to make the truth and sense more clear and evident, as if we should say, `that is wonderful!' or, `that is excellent!'and sometimes by way of aggravation that is, `monstrous, '`intolerable, '`horrible!' `The Lord came from Teman and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah.' Hab 3:3. Selah. 1. God came with great dignity, excellency, and ample majesty. `Many there be that say of my soul there is no help for him in God. Selah.' Ps 3:2. Selah, as if he had said, Oh, monstrous, and horrible blasphemy, to excommunicate a child out of the favour of his heavenly Father; and limit his mercy whose hand is omnipotent to relieve all that rely upon him.
Fourth. It serves to declare the eternity of the truth revealed in that Psalm or verse, though perhaps it only began then to be manifested in the church, or more fully at that time than in former ages. Howsoever, the people unto whom it was published, or the persons unto whom it was sent, were otherwise persuaded at the first publication of it. That it was a truth from everlasting and shall continue for ever: instance Ps 3:8, `Salvation belongs unto the Lord, thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.' As if he had said, `This is a thing beyond all controversy true, that God hath ever delivered, and will for ever bless his people.' This doctrine is sempiternal and durable, that the mercy of the Lord endureth for ever. Psalm 136.
Fifth. It did instruct them to meditate seriously upon those themes where Selah was engraven, as containing matter worthy of singular observation, meditation, and remembrance, as either concerning Christ, "Who is the King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah." Ps 24:10. The mysteries of grace. "The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah." Ps 46:7. Man's duty Ps 4:4 32:5, or frailty Ps 9:20 32:4. That as the diamond is of greater value than other precious stones, and the sun is more glorious than the planets, so those sentences are more resplendent, than other parcels of Scripture. Which though at the first bare view, it doth not always so appear, there being other texts of Holy Writ more excellent (if it were meet to make any comparison) where Selah is not found, yet if we dive into the occasion, scope, and nature of the sentence, we shall more willingly accept, when we consider, that it is an usual custom of the Holy Spirit, for our singular instruction and benefit, to propound things of a low and inferior nature to our deepest meditation. Instance Ps 9:16. "The Lord is known by the judgment which he executeth; the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands, "which is shut up with "Higgaion Selah, "meditation Selah, as if he had said, here is a matter worthy of observation and eternal meditation; the righteous should never forget this, that the wicked perish in their own counsels, and are taken in their own net. An observation worthy to be engraven in every religious person's bosom, that God will one time or other be known among the wicked by his most severe judgments executed upon them, though they would never learn by his patience and mercies to acknowledge him for their Lord. Thus far of the matter. Now it remains for a conclusion to unfold the several instructions which Selah afforded unto the congregation, which are these six.
First. It served as a note of attention and intention of the mind to what was sung or said, Ps 3:2-8, that wheresoever they cast an eye upon Selah, they might conceive they heard the Lord's voice from heaven speaking. "Hear this, all ye people, give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world. Both high and low, rich and poor together." Ps 49:1-2. That as their voices were lift up in singing, so much more their hearts and affections might be elevated, that their voice and hearts being both in tune, the joint harmony might be sweet in the ears of the Lord.
Secondly. It was a note of affirmation, whereby they declared their consent and assent unto the truth delivered, as we say when we approve of another's speech; right, just, you say truly, it is most certain. So their Selah was as much as true, certain, excellent. Instance Ps 3:4, "I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill." Selah, i.e., It is most certain that the Lord knows the secrets of our hearts, and is the judge of the quick and dead, and will pass most righteous sentence upon us, giving to every man according to his deeds in the flesh, whether good or evil. Ps 52:3. "Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah" that is to say, undeniable, we all confess it, our own experience and sorrows have made us know this, that those who have not the fear of God before their eye love to speak and do all the mischief they are able against God's people, to hurt them rather than help them, to wound their innocent reputation rather than preserve it.
Thirdly. It was a devout ejaculation of the heart and soul unto God, wishing and desiring the accomplishment of what was spoken or promised. Instance, Hab 3:13. "Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people. Selah." As if he had said, Lord, I beseech thee, evermore, go out so to deliver thine anointed. Ps 55:17-19. "Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice. He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me; for there were many with me. God shall hear, and afflict them, even he that abideth of old. Selah, "i.e., O Lord, I entreat thee, ever bow down an ear unto my humble suit, and rise up against them that rise up against me.
Fourthly. It denoted their admiration at some strange unusual effect, whether the work of God, or wickedness of man. Ps 57:3. "He shall send me from and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah, "i.e., Oh, wonderful and admirable goodness of God, that is pleased to send sometimes his angel from heaven, always his mercy and truth to deliver his poor perplexed servants from them that are too strong and mighty for them, Ps 54:3. "Strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my soul: they have not set God before them Selah, "i.e., Oh, horrible impiety and cruelty to hurt after the life of the saints, and cast the God of life and his remembrance behind their backs.
Fifthly. Of humiliation and consternation of their mind, by the consideration of God's incomprehensible majesty, and their own great frailty and misery. Instance, Ps 65:7. "He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah, "i.e., here is a matter of humiliation before the King of all the world, Ps 68:7, 8. "O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, when thou didst march through the wilderness. Selah, "i.e., my very heart trembled to consider; I am moved out of my place, to reflect upon that majesty before whom "the earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God; even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel." Ps 39:11. "When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity. Selah." As if he should say, this may humble the proudest heart in the world, and cast him down to the ground.
Sixthly. It was a note of Doxology and praising of God in a special manner, not much unlike, or the very same with this, "For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever." As for example, "All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee, they shall sing to thy name. Selah, "Ps 66:4. "Yea, Lord, in thee will we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever. Selah, "Ps 44:8. "Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; so be it, even so be it." Ps 72:18-19. Edmund Layfielde.
Ver. 5. (last clause). Man is vanity, i.e., he is mortal, he is mutable. Observe how emphatically this truth is expressed here.
1. Every man is vanity, without exception, high and low, rich and poor.
2. He is so at his best estate; when he is young, and strong, and healthful, in wealth and honour, etc.
3. He is altogether vanity, as vain as you can imagine.
4. Verily he is so.
5. Selah is annexed, as a note commanding observation.
Matthew Henry.
Psalms 39:6*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Behold, Thou hast made my days as an handbreadth:…
Psa_39:5
Behold, Thou hast made my days as an handbreadth: and mine age is as nothing before Thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity.
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The brevity and vanity of human life
These simple words have an energy in them which none but a dying man can fully understand. We may, indeed, have felt something of their meaning, as we have heard them read over the corpse of a beloved friend, but then this feeling has been neither deep nor lasting. The cares or pleasures of the world have again called for and had our whole attention. The psalmists words lead us to consider--
I. Why he calls the days of life our days. Strictly speaking, they are not so, not one of them, but--
1. They bring to us innumerable mercies as they hurry on.
2. And they are allowed to us that in them we may work for eternity.
3. We have to account for them hereafter. They are recorded in the Book of God.
II. Their shortness. They are so by comparison.
1. With the period once allotted to the life of man.
2. With the duration of many objects around us.
3. With the eternity of God.
4. With the work we have to do.
How diligent, then, should we be. And how silently our years pass away. There is also another painful thought connected with the silent rapidity of time--the longer we stay in the world, the swifter does its flight appear. A year to a man is not more than a few months to a child. Our days seem to rush on with a more silent and rapid motion the nearer they draw to the goal of death, as though they were eager to bear us away unawares to our destined eternity. The fact is, that time, correctly speaking, is nothing more than a succession of ideas; these ideas are less numerous, and the impressions they make less deep and permanent in old age than they are in youth; and consequently the road of life has fewer marks to remind us of our progress.
III. Their vanity. But here, perhaps, it may be said, What if the period of life is thus transitory? Man is a great and noble being, and has powers that enable him to crowd into this short existence a consequence and dignity suited to his greatness. The words before us however speak no such language. There is another truth declared in them, which pours contempt on all human greatness. They tell us, not only of the shortness of life, but of the vanity, the utter nothingness, of man. This is the testimony they give, Verily, every man, at his best state, is altogether vanity. Therefore--
1. How precarious and how little worth are all our earthly blessings. Death soon carries them away.
2. And so of all our schemes and prospects. How forcibly, then, are we reminded of the great duty of consideration, of serious thoughts on our life and responsibility; how great an evil is sin, and how great a necessity is our trust in God. (C. Bradley, M. A.)
The vanity of man at his best state
I. Thy subject of the psalmists meditation. Every man in his best state. How glorious was the condition in which man was created. But from that he fell. Still, through Gods mercy in Christ, his condition is one of many blessings. He may have the Divine favour, and he may dwell in the Divine presence here. But the psalmist was thinking of man in the state in which he possesses the greatest share of worldly advantages, and in which other men are wont to call him most happy. Picture such a man--thee citizen, the philosopher, the monarch.
II. Hear what is said of such an one, the humiliating fact that he is altogether vanity. For death at any moment may come and strike down the sturdiest frame, the possessor of the greatest prosperity. Remember this, and prepare for the eternal life.
III. The emphatical manner is which it is urged on our attention. Verily, every man at, etc., etc. And we need that the truth should be enforced, manifest and common as it is. (W. Curling, M. A.)
The vanity of man
I. Mans existence without immortality is vanity.
1. It is vain in the sense of hollowness. It is an empty fiction, an inflated bubble.
(1) It lacks inner satisfaction.
(2) It lacks endurance.
2. It is vain in the sense of worthlessness. On the assumption that there is no immortality, what useful purpose is answered by our existence? I appreciate the literary productions of genius, but the best of them I feel are unworthy of our creation.
II. Mans existence with a godless immortality is vanity.
1. It is an existence eternally pursuing a phantom.
2. It is an existence eternally producing injury. Learn--
(1) The infinite worth of the Gospel.
(2) The infinite folly of the Gospel-rejector. (Homilist.)
The brief duration of human life
I. Life is short, in respect of the great work which it is given us to perform. Man in his best estate here below is still an improvable condition. There is no perfection on this side the grave.
1. The man of the loftiest attainments in virtue is but elevated to a position whence he has a more enlarged discovery than others of the miserableness and defects of his present standing. The attainments of man in virtue and in piety affect him in a manner similar to what is produced by the other acquirements of life--the more that there is gained, the more is there that presents itself to be desired. The Christian, in his best estate, ever feels clogged in his career, and is ever laying aside those weights which retard him in his motion.
2. As it is with the attainments of piety, so is it with those of knowledge. The longest life is found too short to compass the knowledge of what God has revealed to us in His Word. To some, the duration of mortal existence has proved too short for the attainment of any substantial good. They were cut off in the midst of resolutions of amendment. For this, life was amply sufficient; but, as Seneca has it, We complain of its shortness, because of the waste of it which is made.
II. Life is short in a comparative point of view; and it is in reference to the consideration of the subject in this light, that the comparison in our text of life to an hand-breadth is peculiarly appropriate.
1. To the child in the dawn of life, when reason begins to expand, and thought to measure out the prospect of happy days spread before it, through all the stages of its earthly career, the anticipated term of years appear so vast as to fill its imagination with wonder, and rack its powers of comprehension. But, with the progress of years, the allotted term of human life ever appears to shorten.
2. But when the psalmist skid, Thou hast made my days as an handbreadth, he must have thought of the Eternal of ages, whom he addressed, with whom a thousand years are as one day, and compared with whose immeasurable duration our existence here may well be likened to an hand-breadth. Our days is a phrase employed in Scripture to denote the term of our existence here, which is measured by the revolution of days, contrasted with our future being, when time shall be no longer. The psalmist thought of the great, the boundless eternity which lay before him; of that never-ending succession of ages through which we should live, increasing in knowledge and in happiness; and turning his eye to the comparatively puny, limited, and circumscribed being which he now enjoyed, yet considering the vast result that hung upon it, he exclaimed, Thou hast made my days as an handbreadth. Such language is appropriate to human life. We have received a place among the things which have foundation. Our immortal souls exist in God, who has imparted to them, in reference to futurity, an attribute to Himself--Eternity. (John Watson.)
The vanity of human life and nature
I. The force and emphasis of the text.
1. The psalmist gives us here a very emphatic description of the measure of his days,
(1) A handbreadth, or the breadth of four fingers was one of the least geometrical measures among the Jews; which we may fitly call an inch or two of Time. But alas! the thread of life is as slender as it is short; and often breaks before this inch or two is run off.
(2) The psalmist speaks of it in yet more diminishing terms when he adds, My age is as nothing before Thee.
2. The psalmist gives us a much more diminishing description of the frailty of our nature than he does of the measure of our days. For, verily, every man at his best state is altogether vanity.
(1) He is so in himself, both in body and mind. His body is but a living lump of earth, making haste to deformity and dust. How feeble, contracted and low, are the very best powers of his mind; how weak his reason, how cramped his understanding!
(2) His pursuits and desires are vain.
(3) His enjoyments are vain--riches, pleasures, honours.
(4) His life is vain--transient, short, uncertain.
II. Why our common sentiments of human life are so very different from these of the psalmist.
1. Men do not steadily attend to the nature, consequence, and final issue of things; but confine their views to present objects and appearances, which are sure to deceive them.
2. Sense and appetite too often corrupt the judgment. It is a hard thing for men to believe what they would not have to be true. The truth is, their affections are engaged, and they cannot help thinking well of what they love; they do not care to hear those things disparaged which they exceedingly value; nor can they be easily persuaded to think that what they have fondly set their hearts upon is so altogether vain.
III. We shall soon be convinced of the justness of this description if we but duly consider two things.
1. What man is in comparison of what he shall be. Do we not look upon one single moment of time as a mere point, when compared with the many years we have a]ready lived? But one single moment of time bears an infinitely greater proportion to the period of human life than the whole period of human life does to eternity. How concerned, then, should we be by a course of steady piety and virtue to add a value to this nothing, by improving our transient years to the purposes of eternal bliss I Because on this moment of time depends eternity.
2. We shall be more sensible of the justness of this description which the psalmist gives us of the vanity of mankind, if we consider in what manner they generally act in comparison of what they should do.
(1) In what manner they ought to live as reasonable creatures in a state of trial and preparation for an eternal world. Impressed with this thought, would they not be very careful to watch their heart and behaviour, and daily examine their temper and conduct by that rule of righteousness which God hath given them for their direction and guide; lest they should be unawares seduced into sin, to the danger and detriment of their immortal interest?
(2) Do we find that they really do live in this manner? Is not the general course and conduct of their lives often just the reverse of this? How rarely are they disposed to think of another world! How unattentive to the government of their lives and passions!
IV. Improvement.
1. Seeing we know these things, let us beware lest we also be led away with the error of the wicked.
2. The text, if well considered, must surely be a sovereign cure for envy; unless vanity, folly, and wretchedness be the proper objects of it.
3. Is man in his best state altogether vanity? what is he, then, in his worst state?
4. Let us learn hence to rectify our sentiments of human life and all its vanities.
(1) What do We think of them under a grievous fit of pain or sickness? When all of them together cannot purchase for us so much as one moments ease.
(2) What should we think of them at death? It is then that men always form the truest thoughts of human life.
(3) Suppose we were to judge of them by the general character of those who possess the most of them; and see the pernicious effects they generally have upon the minds of men; what shall we think of them then?
5. Are these things really vain; it is time, then, that we seek out for some more substantial good. (J. Mason, M. A.)
Of vanity
Take man in all the variety of his behaviour and humours, in his best and most settled estate (for so much the original imports); nay, in the best managements of his affairs, in the subtilty and strength of all his designs and projectings; even in the pre-eminence of his reason and pretended excellency of his wisdom; when he designs to look and speak wisest, and put off the face of vanity; when he thinks he is most in the right, and his achievements are most successful; take him with all his advantages, and dress him up above nature, with all the improvements of art and sciences, and he is still the veriest fop in the creation, and the merest antic that appears upon the stage of the world.
I. Consider man in his civil and secular capacity. The greatest confidence that men usually have in the things of the world arises from a great estate of wealth and treasure. But what is the foundation of this confidence, but a greater portion of the earth we tread on, or some refined part of it, some rubbish taken out of its bowels, burnished and made shining (to please the fool), and stamped with some image and superscription. But observe the vanity; are we children when we play with trifles, and wise men when we please ourselves with these greater toys? Or rather to confirm our vanity, are we not like them, given to change, and throw away one foolery to take up another? The difference can be no more than that the one is the pleasure and divertisement of children, and the other of men; but both the same vanity.
II. Examine him as to his moral and divine estate, as he is the son and disciple of virtue, and wisdom, and religion; as he is guided by reason, and pretendedly governed by conscience; there, too, he is vanity.
1. The original dignity of man above other creatures is that tie is endowed with a rational soul, a pure immaterial substance that cannot die or be extinguished; by this tie claims kindred with the angels, nay, a certain affinity to God Himself, being created after His image, and cannot but think immortality essential to his very being; but, alas I to invert the words of the apostle, this immortal may put on mortality, and this incorruptible may put on corruption.
2. If we venture a strain higher, even to the best effects of reason; to the high-flown pretences of wisdom and learning, we shall make much the same discoveries. The wisdom of men is not only foolishness with God, but really in itself; and knowledge is as truly but science falsely so called.
III. To fix upon a state and condition of life really the best and the only one not subject to vanity is easy, and in few words to be discovered, in contemplation at least, though experience hath proved the practice to be very rare and difficult. If we should meet and confer together, and discourse this great point one with another in the next world, some little space before our trial comes on at that great tribunal of God, what, I pray, would you call wisdom? What would you call exemption from vanity and folly? Be sure not that by which in the preceding world we got a great estate; for, alas! that is quite gone and lost to us and our posterity, nothing of that nature can escape the general conflagration. No! nor that by which we once got fame and renown, for that is vanished too, and perhaps is really inglorious and base in the esteem of all at that day; for then be sure our judgments will be more discerning, and we shall have other thoughts and apprehensions of things. No I nor that by which we attained to arts and sciences, were statesmen or politicians; for we shall have no manner of use of them, neither in heaven nor in hell. Our knowledge must, then, be of another nature, of much greater perfection, or we cannot be happy; and sinner, too, the more sagacious and discerning they then become, the more fitted and qualified (as we may say) will they be for their due punishment; their remorse and torments will be the sorer and more pungent. We shall infallibly then pronounce upon the debate, That we were altogether vain in She other world, and that that was the truest wisdom which exerted itself in all the previsionary means for this great and terrible day of judgment, to secure the grand interest of everlasting life. (John Cooke, M. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.