1I waited patiently for the Lord;
And He inclined to me,
And heard my cry.
2He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
Out of the miry clay,
And set my feet upon a rock,
And established my steps.
3He has put a new song in my mouth—
Praise to our God;
Many will see it and fear,
And will trust in the Lord.
4Blessed is that man who makes the Lord
his trust,
And does not respect the
proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
5Many, O Lord my God, are
Your wonderful works
Which You have done;
And Your thoughts toward us Cannot be recounted to You in order;
If I would declare and speak
of them,
They are more than can be
numbered.
6Sacrifice and offering You did not desire;
My ears You have opened.
Burnt offering and sin
offering You did not require.
7Then I said, “Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me.
8I delight to do Your will, O my God,
And Your law is within my
heart.”
9I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness
In the great assembly;
Indeed, I do not restrain my
lips,
O Lord,
You Yourself know.
10I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;
I have declared Your
faithfulness and Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your
lovingkindness and Your truth
From the great assembly.
11Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O Lord;
Let Your lovingkindness and
Your truth continually preserve me.
12For innumerable evils have surrounded me;
My iniquities have overtaken
me, so that I am not able to look up;
They are more than the hairs
of my head;
Therefore my heart fails me.
13Be pleased, O Lord, to
deliver me;
O Lord, make haste to help me!
14Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion
Who seek to destroy my life;
Let them be driven backward
and brought to dishonor
Who wish me evil.
15Let them be confounded because of their shame,
Who say to me, “Aha, aha!”
16Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
Let such as love Your
salvation say continually, “The Lord be magnified!”
17But I am poor and needy;
Yet the Lord thinks upon me.
You are my help and my
deliverer;
Do not delay, O my God.
Commentary
Vs. 1-3 1I waited patiently for the Lord;
And He inclined to me,
And heard my cry.
2He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
Out of the miry clay,
And set my feet upon a rock,
And established my steps.
3He has put a new song in my mouth—
Praise to our God;
Many will see it and fear,
And will trust in the Lord.
Psalm 40 opens with a declaration of answered prayer, of one’s patient resolve being rewarded, of the faithful child of God who has put their trust in the Lord now being delivered and being established, established by God’s Hand. And so, such is our delight in His excellent works towards us, that He has done this for us, but He has also given us a new song to sing, a song of praise to Him coming from deep within us for Him. Therefore, not only does His deliverance bear an undeniable witness to those who observe us, but we ourselves also bear witness to the same, through our worship of Him. Therefore, many people will see this and fear, fear the Lord who only could’ve accomplished this, our salvation which is self-evident then will bring others to also trust in the Lord.
Vs. 4 “Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust,
And does not respect the
proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.”
Truly then blessed is everyone who makes the Lord their trust, who puts their faith in Him, who does not respect the proud who think they need nothing from Him, nor those who turn aside to lies, that is those who instead turn to all manner of falsehoods and lies, religious or otherwise that will not bring them, nor anyone else God’s grace and salvation.
Vs. 5 “Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works
Which You have done;
And Your thoughts toward us Cannot be recounted to You in order;
If I would declare and speak
of them,
They are more than can be
numbered.”
Reflecting upon the Lord our God and all His wonderful works towards us fills us with gratitude, with awed thanksgiving. For all His thoughts towards us are always His seeking to extend His grace and truth to us. Such then are His marvelous Works towards us that they cannot all be declared and recalled, for they simply cannot be numbered! Therefore, remember this when things go south or sour, for every sour and bitter thing that comes in our lives there is always countless good things that He has done and is doing and is always working out for us.
Vs. 6-8 6Sacrifice and offering You did not desire;
My ears You have opened.
Burnt offering and sin
offering You did not require.
7Then I said, “Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me.
8I delight to do Your will, O my God,
And Your law is within my
heart.”
The Psalm now moves into the Messianic realm, here clearly foretelling of Christ’s coming (see Heb. 10:5-9), which He did but not as a mere priest, but as God's Son come to fulfill God’s Word and Will for the Redemption of believing humanity from sin and death, because His delight is and will always be to do the Father's will, upholding every dot and tittle of the Law, while bringing forth in a perfect union grace and truth.
Vs. 9-10 9I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness
In the great assembly;
Indeed, I do not restrain my
lips,
O Lord,
You Yourself know.
10I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;
I have declared Your
faithfulness and Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your
lovingkindness and Your truth
From the great assembly.
David when he wrote these verses under Divine Inspiration and by Divine Guidance, he did not yet know the Gospel. Yet he himself had a longing heart for it, wanting to both hear and proclaim it. And so, he proclaimed the revelation he had, the good news of righteousness in the great assembly to all his brethren, declaring then God's faithfulness and God's salvation, His lovingkindness and His truth to one and to all! For true passion for the Lord can never remain silent. That said, the Lord Jesus Christ’s Divine Purpose as it is being revealed here through David was then to be the One to first declare the Gospel; first to Israel, then to all the world; before He Himself fulfilled it by His death on the Cross then Resurrection from the dead. And so here this is being related to us as the good news of God’s righteousness, which is now imputed to everyone who believes in Him. No longer then must anyone try to stand before Him based on their own works or merits, (which can never be enough, nor could anyone ever be good enough to stand justified before God). Therefore, everyone and anyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ shall have remission of all their sins and everlasting life (John 3:16), because it is the Lord Jesus Christ and His Righteousness alone that makes us righteous in the sight of God (Rom. 5:1). Therefore, only in the Lord Jesus Christ is found all of God’s lovingkindness and truth, which connects us to all of His faithfulness and thus to His eternal salvation, which saves everyone and anyone who believes in Him (Acts 4:12). This Testimony then of who the Lord Jesus Christ is and what He has done, and what He will do, belongs then not just to Him to declare, but to us all, to freely share and declare with one and with all what He has done for us all!
Vs. 11 “Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O Lord;
Let Your lovingkindness and
Your truth continually preserve me.”
This appeal then in many ways transcends David’s own appeal for mercy but belongs to every repentant individual who also is seeking God's mercies and salvation.
Vs. 12-13 12For innumerable evils have surrounded me;
My iniquities
have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up;
They are more than the hairs
of my head;
Therefore my heart fails me.
13Be pleased, O Lord, to
deliver me;
O Lord, make haste to help me!
In David’s own troubles we can also see our own. For no child of God is promised a life free of sin and failure (1 John 1:6-10), of never again needing to come to the throne of grace (Heb. 4:14-16). And here David is most graphic about his need and his person, and his souls tormented state. Therefore, he does not turn away from the Lord when troubles or torments or calamity befalls him. Instead, he once again returns to Him, laying it all out before Him. For that is the measure and depth of a man's faith, not during his prosperity and ease, but when things go south and when he himself must face what he himself has done. And in this David's heart remains tender and humble towards the Lord.
Vs. 14-15 14Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion
Who seek to destroy my life;
Let them be driven backward
and brought to dishonor
Who wish me evil.
15Let them be confounded because of their shame,
Who say to me, “Aha, aha!”
David’s appeal here then is that the Lord now look upon those who were looking upon him, but not for his good. Who like opportune snakes lay hiding in the brushes waiting to leap out and strike their prey. For he was being surrounded by evil people who were now seeking to destroy his life, just as he was well aware that there were now many people who were wishing him evil, who were taking great delight in his fall, who even though they had their own sins and transgressions were only watching him and saying, Aha, aha! As if finding fault with him removed their own.
Vs. 16 Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
Let such as love Your
salvation say continually,
David then by His faith in the Lord transcends them all; for he now moves past them all who have rejected the Lord to looking out for and looking forwards to rejoicing once again in the great assembly of believers drawn from every generation. Therefore, he now asks the Lord to let all those who seek Him rejoice and be glad in Him, that everyone who loves His salvation which he has sought to proclaim say, "The Lord be magnified!”
Vs. 17 “But I am poor and needy;
Yet the Lord thinks upon me.
You are my help and my
deliverer;
Do not delay, O my God.”
Now in closing David once again declares his own need for the Lord, identifying himself as poor and needy, just as every humble person does, who sees themselves as they really are. For it is in that state of honest humility that the Lord looks most favorable upon us (Luke 18:9-14). Therefore, when we do, He is our help and our deliverer, for he is who is more than willing and able to save anyone from eternal damnation when one turns to Him, for “anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Rom. 10:13.
Scripture Quotations
New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson.
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