But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.

“Life is short,” says the header of this Psalm in my Dutch Bible version. Although it doesn’t fully capture the content of Psalm 39, “Life is short” does express its central sentiment. A sentiment that isn’t too positive, frankly.

In Psalm 39, we read about suffering, scourge, transience, and mortality. “Everyone is but a breath,” and that’s exactly how life can feel too often. All those people perishing seemingly senselessly from cruel diseases, famine, natural disasters… And is there an end to the pain human beings inflict on each other? Psalm 39 states it twice, in verses 5 and 11, “Everyone is but a breath.”

Our Lord Jesus, who fulfilled all Scriptures, including this Psalm, knew like no one else what suffering is. He endured God’s righteous punishment for our sins. He, who was eternal God, even willingly accepted the burden of mortality that was the reward of our sins. He died to give us eternal life!

His name is Jesus, Yehoshua, meaning “the Lord is salvation.” In verse 8, David, the poet, exclaims, “Save me from all my transgressions.” The Good News is that Jesus did exactly that: He saved us from all our transgressions. That’s why our hope is in Him!

Strikingly, our verse is at the center of the Psalm. That little word, “hope,” sounds just right in the middle of the lamentation that is Psalm 39. “My hope is in you!” It’s a proclamation of light amid the darkness in which David finds himself.

“What do I look for?” asks today’s verse. Does that question ring in your heart today? Where do you look for hope? Let David’s answer be yours today: “Lord, my hope is in you!” Embrace that hope that reaches all the way into the future God has in store for us.

Yes, life is short. Everyone is but a breath. Yet, let’s use our God-given breath to praise the Lord for sending us His Son to save us and live with Him forever. Rather than lament, let us sing:

My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.

By Anton de Vreugd, Bible League International staff, the Netherlands