Pearls of the Word

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Like a deaf man

by Jean-Louis Coraboeuf

"But I, like a deaf man, do not hear; and I am like a mute who does not open his mouth" (Psalm 38:13).

Facing the wicked and those who laid him a trap, David made himself deaf and dumb. He chose not to hear the malicious words in order not to be tempted to replicate these bad talks. As David knew his God he could count on Him, so he asked Him to answer them back (Psalm 38:15 Interlinear).

Therefore he has chosen to restrain his mouth with a muzzle as long as the wicked are before him (Psalm 39:1) and to keep silent before his enemy. But as his heart grew hot within him he spread it before the Lord under the form of questions (Psalm 39:2-5).