For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.
Passage: Psalm 40
1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
and put their trust in him.
4 Blessed is the one
who trusts in the Lord,
who does not look to the proud,
to those who turn aside to false gods.
5 Many, Lord my God,
are the wonders you have done,
the things you planned for us.
None can compare with you;
were I to speak and tell of your deeds,
they would be too many to declare.
6 Sacrifice and offering you did not desire –
but my ears you have opened; –
burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.
7 Then I said, ‘Here I am, I have come –
it is written about me in the scroll.
8 I desire to do your will, my God;
your law is within my heart.’
9 I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly;
I do not seal my lips, Lord,
as you know.
10 I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;
I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help.
I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness
from the great assembly.
11 Do not withhold your mercy from me, Lord;
may your love and faithfulness always protect me.
12 For troubles without number surround me;
my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails within me.
13 Be pleased to save me, Lord;
come quickly, Lord, to help me.
14 May all who want to take my life
be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin
be turned back in disgrace.
15 May those who say to me, ‘Aha! Aha!’
be appalled at their own shame.
16 But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who long for your saving help always say,
‘The Lord is great!’
17 But as for me, I am poor and needy;
may the Lord think of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
you are my God, do not delay.
A. Find Out:
- What had the Lord done for David? v.1-3
- What is David thus able to say about the Lord? v.5
- In what attitude did he come to God? v.6-8
- What did he say he did? v.9,10
- Yet what did he feel and what did he ask? v.11-16
- How did he describe the Lord? v.17
B. Think:
- How is this first a psalm of thanks to the Lord?
- How is it also a psalm of submission?
- Read Heb 10:5-7 How does that change our view of this psalm?
C. Comment:
First this is a psalm of David, then it is a prophetic messianic psalm, a cry through history from the messiah.
David had been in a bad place and had cried to the Lord and the Lord had then lifted him out of that situation (v.1-3). As a result David knows that it is the man who trusts in the Lord and not on other clever men who is the man who is blessed (v.4). He feels God has done so much for him (v.5). This sense of gratefulness evokes in David a desire to simply be available to the Lord (v.6-8). David will speak out publicly (v.9,10) of the Lord’s greatness, yet he is still aware of his enemies round about and sins within (v.11,12).
He cries to the Lord, save me (v.13), turn back those who are against me (v.14,15) and let me able to rejoice in you (v.16). Despite his deliverance and knowledge of God’s goodness and desire to do His will, he is still aware of his own weakness and need (v.17).
The writer to the Hebrews shows us that this is also the cry of the messiah; David has caught the Lord’s heart. This is the cry of the humanity of Jesus who knows Father in heaven as deliverer on whom he completely relies. He’s come to do Father’s will and has taken on the frailty of humanity. He needs the Father’s help throughout.
D. Application:
- David was aware of God’s greatness and his weakness.
- Jesus was aware of the Father’s greatness and his weakness.