Psalm 40 - Continual Salvation from Continual Evils
- Chad Werkhoven
- 4 hours ago
- 5 min read
The LORD delivers you from the pit. Over and over and over again.
CONTEXT: In Psalms 38 & 39, "David was extremely ill, because he was under the discipline of the LORD as a result of his sin. To make matters worse, his family and friends had become his enemies. In that situation David put his hope in the LORD and prayed for help. In Psalm 39 David reveals more of his internal struggles in that situation, resolves to hope in the LORD, and asks for his cry to be heard.
The first half of Psalm 40, then, is a song of thanksgiving in response to God’s granting of help, while the second half is a prayer for deliverance from new troubles" (Mark Futato).
Psalm 40 (NKJV)
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
1 I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me,
And heard my cry.
2 He 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.
3 He has put a new song in my mouth—
Praise to our God;
Many will see it and fear,
And will trust in the LORD.
4 Blessed is that man who makes the LORD his trust,
And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
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.
6 Sacrifice and offering You did not desire;
My ears You have opened.
Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require.
7 Then I said, “Behold, I come;
In the scroll of the book it is written of me.
8 I delight to do Your will, O my God,
And Your law is within my heart.”
9 I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness
In the great assembly;
Indeed, I do not restrain my lips,
O LORD, You Yourself know.
10 I 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.
11 Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O LORD;
Let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me.
12 For 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.
13 Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me;
O LORD, make haste to help me!
14 Let 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.
15 Let them be confounded because of their shame,
Who say to me, “Aha, aha!”
16 Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
Let such as love Your salvation say continually,
“The LORD be magnified!”
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.
Belgic Confession
Article 28: The Obligations of Church Members
We believe that
since this holy assembly and congregation
is the gathering of those who are saved
and there is no salvation apart from it,
no one ought to withdraw from it,
content to be by himself,
regardless of his status or condition.
But all people are obliged
to join and unite with it,
keeping the unity of the church
by submitting to its instruction and discipline,
by bending their necks under the yoke of Jesus Christ,
and by serving to build up one another,
according to the gifts God has given them
as members of each other
in the same body...
Summary
David describes a difficult reality in the opening words or this week's psalm by using ugly adjectives: a horrible pit and miry clay. But even in the midst of this misery, he was able to wait patiently for the LORD. I'll confess that by God's grace, I haven't been in these conditions (David unpacks the horribleness of it even more in Psalms 38 and 39). So I'm wondering if it’s easier to wait patiently for the LORD when you’re trapped in the mire with no way out, than when you’re still knee-deep but surrounded by options that tempt you to pull yourself out instead of trusting Him. What do you think?
But after patiently waiting, deliverance comes. David uses vivid contrast, going from a pit and clay to having his fee set upon a rock with a new song put into his mouth. And although David was the primary beneficiary of this salvation, it benefits all who see it and are inspired to fear and trust the LORD.
The salvation that you've experienced - both the particular pits that God's delivered you from, and especially your salvation from the miry clay of sin and death that psalms like this ultimately point to, must be shared. David writes that he proclaims this good news, that he hasn't restrained his lips or hidden nor concealed the LORD's lovingkindness and truth. There's lots of places that you too can declare the LORD's faithfulness and salvation, but God has ordained one venue in particular: the great assembly - that is, the Church. The more you share this good news with those you meet with each Lord's Day, the easier it will be to share it with the world around you!
It's in the midst of the LORD's salvation that David restates the primary theme and message of the entire Psalter: that blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust. Those who delight to do His will - that is, who make God's will their business - and who put His law (Word) within their heart will truly enjoy the blessings God created us for, both in this world and the one to come.
Dig Deeper
It might seem like David should have ended Psalm 40 on a high note at the end of v10 where his prayer of praise and thanksgiving draws to a close. But instead of ending, he shifts the genre - from thanksgiving to lament, and from unpacking the LORD's salvation to begging that the LORD would not withhold His tender mercies, lovingkindness and truth which continually preserves us.
But that's how life in this broken world goes. God lifts us up out of one horrible pit, and we celebrate our salvation within the great assembly, but yet we're still surrounded by innumerable evils and overtaken by our own iniquities which drag us right back into the miry clay.
So make the final few lines of Psalm 40 your own ongoing prayer and song:
Let all who love your salvation say continually:
The LORD be magnified!
But I am poor and needy...
Do not delay, O my God.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, whose wonderful works are many, and whose thoughts toward us cannot be numbered;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that your first instinct, whether you find yourself in the pit or in a time of blessedness, will be to declare the good news of righteousness in the great assembly;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
