I was dumb, I opened not my mouth
This refers either to his former silence, before he broke it, (
Psalms 39:1
Psalms 39:2 )
, or to what he after that came into again, when he had seen the
folly of his impatience, the frailty of his life, the vanity of
man, and all human affairs, and had been directed to place his
hope and confidence in the Lord, ( Psalms
39:5-7 ) ; or to the present frame of his mind, and his
future conduct, he had resolved upon; and may be rendered, "I am
dumb"; or "will be dumb, and will not open my mouth" F5; that
is, not in a complaining and murmuring way against the Lord, but
be still, and know or own that he is God;
because thou didst [it];
not "because thou hast made me", as Austin reads the, words, and
as the Arabic version renders them, "because thou hast created
me"; though the consideration of God being a Creator lays his
creatures under obligation as to serve him, so to be silent under
his afflicting hand upon them; but the sense is, that the
psalmist was determined to be patient and quiet under his
affliction, because God was the author of it; for though he is
not the author of the evil of sin, yet of the evil of affliction;
see ( Amos 3:6 )
; and it is a quieting consideration to a child of God under it,
that it comes from God, who is a sovereign Being, and does what
he pleases; and does all things well and wisely, in truth and
faithfulness, and in mercy and loving kindness: this some refer
to the rebellion of Absalom, and the cursing of Shimei, (
2 Samuel
12:11 ) ( 2 Samuel
16:10 2 Samuel
16:11 ) ; or it may refer to the death of his child, (
2 Samuel
12:22 2 Samuel
12:23 ) ; or rather to some sore affliction upon himself;
since it follows,