What is the meaning of Psalm 39:13?

Turn Your gaze away from me

• David feels the weight of God’s disciplining hand (Psalm 39:10) and pleads for a pause, echoing Job 7:19 and Psalm 13:1.

• The request is not rebellion but an appeal for mercy from a loving Father whose gaze exposes and corrects (Hebrews 12:5–6).

• David knows that only God can lift the pressure; acknowledging this keeps his faith God-centered even in distress (Psalm 38:1; 1 Peter 5:6–7).

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that I may again be cheered

• Relief from chastening will restore the joy David once knew (Psalm 51:12; Psalm 34:5).

• True gladness is portrayed as a gift God actively grants, not mere positive thinking (Nehemiah 8:10; John 16:22).

• David expects renewed usefulness and praise once his spirit is brightened, showing confidence in God’s readiness to restore (Psalm 30:11–12).

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before I depart and am no more.

• Life’s brevity presses on David’s heart (Psalm 39:4–5; Psalm 90:9–10).

• “Am no more” speaks of disappearing from the earthly scene, not of annihilation; the afterlife is assumed elsewhere (2 Samuel 12:23; Psalm 16:10–11).

• The plea carries urgency: let me taste Your favor in this short span before death ends my earthly opportunities (Job 10:20–21; James 4:14).

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summary

David, keenly aware of sin, discipline, and life’s fleeting nature, asks God to ease His corrective gaze so joy can return before death closes the door on earthly experience. The verse teaches that God’s discipline is real, His mercy is near, and our days are few—so we seek restored fellowship quickly, rejoicing in His gracious willingness to grant it.