Tuesday, September 5, 2023

Psalm, chapter 40, comments




Psalm 40:1 ¶  «To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.» I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. 2  He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. 3  And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD. 4  Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. 5  Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.

 

David states elsewhere the sentiments of verse 1.

 

Psalm 27:13  I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. 14  Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

 

Psalm 37:7 ¶  Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

 

Verse 2 shows something most of us can understand. David is here speaking of an ugly earthly fate that he was delivered from but we can attest to the fact that God drew us out of the mud and filth of our sin and set our feet on solid ground, giving us a path to take whether we took it with all our heart or not.

 

I’m not cross-referencing Davd here for verses 2 and 3 because we can claim this so obviously in regard to many of our past lives. He put a new song in our mouths, a praise of God. Our faith and our praise and giving God the glory is a tremendous witnessing tool that leads others to trust in the Lord.

 

We, like David, can stand in awe of the amazing power of God, the purpose of God, and the love that God has for us and share that with others.

 

Psalm 136:4  To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever.

 

Psalm 145:3  Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.

 

Psalm 40:6 ¶  Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. 7  Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, 8  I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart. 9  I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest. 10  I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation.

 

For verses 6, 7, & 8 consider this;

 

Psalm 51:14 ¶  Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. 15  O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. 16  For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. 17  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

 

Hebrews 10:7 ¶  Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. 8  Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; 9  Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.

 

There are a number of verses that verse 9 makes me think of and pray about;

 

Psalm 22:22 ¶  I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee…25  My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.

 

Psalm 35:18  I will give thee thanks in the great congregation: I will praise thee among much people.

 

Psalm 71:15  My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof. 16  I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only. 17  O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. 18  Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.

 

Consider these things David said and consider what Jesus commanded His disciples;

 

Mark 16:15  And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

 

I believe the book is the Bible itself and the testimonies we read of the men and women of God in the pages of the Book, in the volume of the Book, teach us and edify us, sanctifying us for God’s purpose.

 

Psalm 40:11 ¶  Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O LORD: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me. 12  For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me. 13  Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me: O LORD, make haste to help me. 14  Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil. 15  Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame that say unto me, Aha, aha. 16  Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The LORD be magnified. 17  But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.

 

Here is a plea from David for God not to keep back His tender mercies, those things that maintain us and bless us each day as we live and breathe and have our being.

 

When Christ faced God’s wrath on the Cross for our sins and the sins of the whole world from time immemorial to the end of history He would have reason to cry out like this. He quoted the first line of a Psalm He wanted us to see looked straight at Him. Read Matthew 27:46 and then note;

 

Psalm 22:1  «To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David.» My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?

 

Note this Psalm as well;

 

Psalm 69:13 ¶  But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O LORD, in an acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation…16  Hear me, O LORD; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.

 

We have all felt, most of us, at some time or another, verse 12. David is surrounded by enemies and his sins, too numerable to number, have gotten a hold on him so he is unable even to look up. His heart fails him. I can remember some of these times myself, the stress and the pain, the fear and the sense of impending doom. But, we have this comfort;

 

Hebrews 4:15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

 

David has pleaded before;

 

Psalm 38:4  For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me.

 

Psalm 25:17  The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my distresses. 18  Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins.

 

Consider Jesus, who knew no sin of His own.

Matthew 26:36 ¶  Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. 37  And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. 38  Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. 39  And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

 

David has a prayer against those who would destroy him.

 

Psalm 31:17  Let me not be ashamed, O LORD; for I have called upon thee: let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave. 18  Let the lying lips be put to silence; which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.

 

Psalm 35:4  Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul: let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt…26  Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion together that rejoice at mine hurt: let them be clothed with shame and dishonour that magnify themselves against me.

 

Psalm 70:2  Let them be ashamed and confounded that seek after my soul: let them be turned backward, and put to confusion, that desire my hurt. 3  Let them be turned back for a reward of their shame that say, Aha, aha.

 

David then goes on to glorify God, to express his desolate condition, and the desperation he feels in pleading for a speedy deliverance.

 

Genesis 49:18  I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.

 

Psalm 68:3  But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.

 

Psalm 105:3  Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.

 

David himself may not have been poor and needy in material wealth but he certainly was spiritually and in need of deliverance as we often find ourselves to be.

 

Psalm 34:6  This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.

 

Psalm 69:33  For the LORD heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners.

 

Psalm 70:5  But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou art my help and my deliverer; O LORD, make no tarrying.

 

And while these verses cannot be applied to Christ as they were to David and eventually to us we should consider this;

 

2Corinthians 8:9  For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

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