Psalm 40

Psalm 40

Rachel Mason

January 9, 2016

1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.

2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.

3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many willsee and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord.

4 Blessed is the man who makes
the Lord his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after a lie!

5 You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
none can compare with you!
I will proclaim and tell of them,
yet they are more than can be told.

6 In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,
but you have given me an open ear.
Burnt offering and sin offering
you have not required.

7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come;
in the scroll of the book it is written of me:

8 I delight to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.”

9 I have told the glad news of deliverance
in the great congregation;
behold, I have not restrained my lips,
as you know, O Lord.

10 I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
from the great congregation.

11 As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain
your mercy from me;
your steadfast love and your faithfulness will
ever preserve me!

12 For evils have encompassed me
beyond number;
my iniquities have overtaken me,
and I cannot see;
they are more than the hairs of my head;
my heart fails me.

13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me!
O Lord, make haste to help me!

14 Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether
who seek to snatch away my life;
let those be turned back and brought to dishonor
who delight in my hurt!

15 Let those be appalled because of their shame
who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”

16 But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
say continually, “Great is the Lord!”

17 As for me, I am poor and needy,
but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
do not delay, O my God!

When we spend time with the Lord, where does our conversation start? Do we start with our requests, with the needs of others, with the Word?

Though David says "troubles without number surround me" (v. 12), he does not reference his troubles until this twelfth verse, near the end of the psalm. He spends the first ten verses of this seventeen verse psalm declaring who God is and what God has done for him. His starts his time with Jesus with declaring who Jesus is.

As we have the privilege of entering boldly before the throne, we too should focus first on what God has done and who God is, before declaring our needs and requests. This both gives our majestic King the glory He deserves and reminds us (who are often, like the Israelites, forgetful of the works God has done in our lives in the past) of God's power, mercy, and faithfulness.

In the first three verses, David shares a testimony - what God has done in his life and how his life has been changed. He starts by declaring God's faithfulness (v.1), "He turned to me and heard my cry." Before he requests for the Lord to deliver him from his troubles, he remembers that God has been faithful in the past.

Verse 2 summarizes what Jesus has done for every believer by transforming our old sin nature, the old man, into a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). David declares that the Lord has lifted him out of the miry clay and set his feet upon the rock (v.2).

The psalm is filled with outpourings of a heart who truly adored and trusted God. As we read each verse, we should consider where our heart is and, ask the Lord to fill us with adoration, praise, trust, and love of Him.

Verse 5 declares that the wonders of God are numerous, indeed uncountable, from His works in Creation to the works He has performed in each of our lives.

In verse 8, David makes the proclamation that we all want to be true of our hearts, "I desire to do your will, O my God." May we in all things desire to do His will. When our motivation for everything we do is to do God's will, we will go where we are meant to go and do what we are meant to do, and He will get the glory.

Lord,

"May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say 'The Lord be exalted!" (v. 16). For we desire to your will, and your Word is on our heart (v. 8).

In Jesus' Precious Name,

Amen.