Psalm 40

Psa 40:1

SUPERSCRIPTION: "OF DAVID. A PSALM."

HISTORICAL: Details:
2. A horrible pit (figurative?)
3. A new song
9,10. Witness to a great congregation
12. A multitude of iniquities
14. Them that seek after my soul to destroy it
17. Poor and needy

Personal experience? The sort of sin for which all regular sacrifices are inadequate (v 6) -- ie the Bathsheba/Uriah affair?

See Lesson, Psalms, "Messianic" sin?

MESSIANIC: With many Messianic prophecies the primary fulfillment (in the life of David or Hezekiah?) goes smoothly enough, but the Messianic application is less obvious (eg Psa 38). On the other hand, the reverse experience is sometimes true (eg Psa 22, 72). In this instance, even if the NT did not insist on a Messianic application (Heb 10:5-9), there is still much in this psalm to proclaim that it belongs to Christ.

I WAITED PATIENTLY: "In waiting I waited" (AV mg). A Heb intensive. But not necessarily "patiently" (see v 17)! Rather, 'I waited anxiously!'

Psa 40:2

HE LIFTED ME OUT: "Whatever kind of a pit, and whether figurative or literal, matters little. What is certain is that this 'horrible pit and miry clay' suggests the experience was something extremely depressing. His particular pit might have been a mental depression brought on by grief, physical weakness, loneliness, or any of the evils which afflict mankind. To find oneself in such a pit is a fearful experience, and even the righteous can be trapped. They may be perfectly aware of the future joys of the Kingdom of God to which their footsteps are bent, yet somehow they slip in. They struggle to get out like a spider in a sink, only to fall back. Then the worrying starts. They become mournful and introspective, or fall to brooding on the contrasting fortunes of others more favourably placed. But what did David do? He waited patiently for the Lord. And he must have prayed, for he says that God inclined unto him and heard his cry. He was wise enough to know that he could not scramble out of that pit on his own. He had to wait and pray" (CM 7,8).

OUT OF THE SLIMY PIT: Cp Psa 69:2,14 -- another psalm of the Messiah. Note Mat 27:10: The "potter's field" was a place of clay. Jeremiah's confinement to a miry pit (Jer 38:6-13) was also a type of Messiah's experience.

OUT OF THE MUD AND MIRE: RV margin: "a pit of tumult", suggesting death from a hostile mob? See usage of the same word in Psa 65:7; 74:23; Isa 13:4; 17:12,13.

ROCK: "Sela", the "fortress" (Psa 18:2).

"Whatever kind of pit, and whether figurative or literal, matters little. What is certain is that this... suggests the experience of something extremely depressing. His particular pit might have been a mental depression brought on by grief, physical weakness, loneliness, or any of the evils which afflict mankind.

"To find oneself in such a pit is a fearful experience, and even the righteous can be trapped. They may be perfectly aware of the future joys of the Kingdom of God to which they footsteps are bent, yet somehow they slip in. They struggle to get out like a spider in a sink, only to fall back. Then the worrying starts. They become mournful and introspective, or fall to brooding on the contrasting fortunes of others more favourably placed.

"But what did David do? He waited patiently for the Lord (v 1). And he must have prayed, for he says that God inclined unto him and heard his cry. He was wise enough to know that he could not scramble out of that pit on his own. He had to wait and pray.

"And what a triumphal emergence was his, for God brought him up! His feet were set, not upon the crumbling edge, but on a rock. His 'goings' were established; in other words, a set way of progress was secured for him, and, moreover, a 'new song' was put in his mouth. This song, one of praise to God, was undoubtedly the seal of a perfectly restored and happy state of mind. David knew that this complete restoration would provide an example and stimulus to others in similar affliction" (CM).

Psa 40:3

HE PUT A NEW SONG IN MY MOUTH: This suggests resurrection for "the firstborn from the dead". Cp Psa 33:3n; Rev 5:9,10; 14:3-5; 15:3,4.

MANY WILL SEE AND FEAR: In Heb this is a lovely play on words. Compare the "hear and fear" concerning one who is cursed, as hanging on a tree: Deu 21:21,22.

Psa 40:4

Trust in the Lord is equivalent to justification by faith -- faith in the righteousness and resurrection of Christ.

THE PROUD: Heb "Rahab", poss ref to "Rahab", the code name for Egypt (See Lesson, Rahab (Egypt)), but more likely simply to proud men.

TO FALSE GODS: AV "lies".

Psa 40:5

THE WONDERS YOU HAVE DONE: See Eph 1:18-20.

THE THINGS YOU PLANNED FOR US NO ONE CAN RECOUNT TO YOU: "Thy thoughts... more than can be numbered" (AV). Is there some link here with Rev 7:9, where "numbered" = being atoned for (see Exo 30:12-16)? ("Which no man could number": cp Psa 49:7).

Two innumerable things: God's mercies (here) and man's sins (v 12)! "Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound" (Rom 5:20). No matter how high the "mountain" of man's sin, the depths of God's love can still swallow it up (Mic 7:19; Mat 21:21; Eph 3:18,19).

THEY WOULD BE TOO MANY TO DECLARE: Sacrifices (v 6) can be set in order or array before the Lord (Lev 1:7,8,12), but cannot be reckoned or imputed for redemption.

Psa 40:6

Vv 6-8: All kinds of sacrifices are covered here. "Sacrifice" = zebach, used of the peace offering (Lev 3:1,3,6; 4:10,26; 7:11-13). "Offering" = minchah, the meal offering (Lev 2; 6; 23). Then follows, in the text, "burnt offering" (olah) and "sin offering" (chataah). Yet none of these sacrifices are of any avail in themselves (Heb 10:4) but only when linked by faith with the sacrifice of Christ; hence all the passages in even the OT which appear to belittle the need or effect of Mosaic offerings (eg Psa 50:9-13; 51:6,16; 69:30,31; 1Sa 15:22; Hos 6:6; cp Heb 13:15; Hos 14:1,2). But how true that God has delight in that which they symbolize!

MY EARS YOU HAVE PIERCED: "Opened" (AV). Lit, digged or bored -- an allusion to Exo 21:5,6 (and Deu 15:16,17): the bondslave who loves his Master so much that he has no wish to be free from his service. The acted parable: a holy dedication to the perpetual service of a much-loved Lord, symbolized by a pierced ear at the door of God's house, emphasizes a willingness to hear and obey every word of instruction and command (cp Isa 50:4,5).

Psa 40:7

IT IS WRITTEN ABOUT ME: The Heb is, more precisely, "because of me". Hence RV mg: "prescribed to me" (Luk 24:44).

IT IS WRITTEN ABOUT ME IN THE SCROLL: Hence in the volume of the book (Exo 21, but not only there), it is written of me... I delight to do thy will, O my God. The entire passage, quoted in Heb 10 with ref to Christ, is introduced with: "when he cometh into the world" (v 5), a phrase which is quite inappropriate to the Lord's birth or resurrection or second coming, but which fits his baptism perfectly (cp Joh 17:12,18), when the Father declared, "My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased (the word for an acceptable sacrifice: ct v 6 here)." The quotation is rounded off with: "He taketh away the first [covenant so] that he may establish the second" (Heb 10:9). Christ, the perfect slave or servant of God (Isa 42:1,6; 49:1-7), is at the same time the "husband" of his spiritual "bride" and the "father" of spiritual "children" (Isa 53:10). This family has been given to him by his "Master" (Joh 17:2,6). When confronted with the choice of personal freedom or self-inflicted bondage, Jesus chooses to stay in his Master's service because of his great love for his Master, his "wife", and his "children". He says, in effect, in Gethsemane and upon the cross, "I will not go out free, or alone!" And therefore, symbolically, his ear is pierced or opened at the door of his Master's house, he being ever attentive to his Master's will (Psa 40:8).

But why, in the Heb (NT) quotation, is there such a seemingly drastic change to "A body hast thou prepared me"? This, like all the other OT quotations in Heb, is from the LXX, where the translators have very neatly interpreted the Heb idiom: The Greek "soma" (the word for "body") is a double-meaning word; it also means "slave" (as in Rom 6:6; 7:24; 8:23; Rev 18:13; Jude 1:9) -- probably in the sense that under Roman law the "slave" was something less than human, having no real rights, in short... just a "body" or piece of equipment!

Psa 40:8

I DESIRE TO DO YOUR WILL: The very words are quoted by Paul in Rom 7:22, and echoed in idea by Jesus in Joh 4:34: "My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work."

YOUR LAW IS WITHIN MY HEART: The Hebrew is "my bowels", emphasizing either that the law of God has been eagerly devoured (Eze 3:3; Rev 10:9; cp Joh 4:34), or else that the teaching of God's law has captured his emotions. The Septuagint reads "heart" (ie mind, of course), as in v 10. This prepares the way for Heb 10:16: In the New Covenant, men are made like Jesus, the one who makes the New Covenant possible, by having his law put into their hearts (Jer 31:33).

To what extent was this really true of Jesus, that God's law was within his heart? In him was certainly the true and perfect realization of the law of Deu 17:18-20, commanding the king of Israel to write his own copy of the law. The ones who observed this law could probably be counted on the fingers of one hand, but no doubt Jesus fulfilled this law in the best possible way. It is reasonable to infer that at some time during the days of his flesh (perhaps in the hidden years, from twelve to thirty: Luk 2:47) Jesus wrote out his own copy of the law, and probably memorized it as well! Everything about the spontaneous suitability of all he had to say in his handling of the Word of God suggests this. And so for Jesus the law was written not upon cold tables of stone or upon perishable parchments, but in the warm and living table of the human heart (Deu 6:6; Pro 3:3; 7:3; 2Co 3:3). Written there, it colored and affected every aspect of his life, and -- through him -- that same law touches the hearts of all of us!

Psa 40:9

I PROCLAIM RIGHTEOUSNESS: "I have told the good news of deliverance" (RSV).

I PROCLAIM: I do not hide (v 10).

RIGHTEOUSNESS: Very often (as in v 10) in Psalms and Isa, this is used as a synonym for God's redeeming salvation. The righteousness of God is declared in the sacrifice of Christ (Rom 3:21,22).

ASSEMBLY: "Congregation" = "ekklesia" in LXX: v 10; Psa 22:26; 35:18. The great multitude of the redeemed.

Psa 40:10

Vv 10,11: "Faithfulness... love... truth... mercy": all of which are idiomatic expressions for God's covenants of promise (Mic 7:20; Gen 24:27; 32:9,10; Psa 85:10; 115:1; etc).

Psa 40:11

"I have not hid... I have not concealed" (AV), but rather I have borne witness unto the truth (Joh 18:37; Luk 4:18,19).

Psa 40:12

"Mine iniquities have taken hold upon me" (AV). The recurring problem in Messianic prophecy: How can such phrases (eg Psa 6:7; 31:9; 38:4; ct v 8 here and also Psa 18:20-23) fit a sinless Messiah? See Lesson, Psalms, "Messianic" sin?

AND I CANNOT SEE: "So that I am not able to look up" (AV). As the publican in the parable of Jesus (Luk 18:13).

THEY ARE MORE THAN THE HAIRS OF MY HEAD: But even that number is known to God (Mat 10:30; Luk 12:7)!

Psa 40:17

I AM POOR AND NEEDY: Here is "the poor in spirit", whom Christ calls blessed (Mat 5:3; Luk 6:20,24). The man who is truly "poor in spirit" has learned the important lesson: all that a man has by inheritance, or which he has acquired by his own effort, is worth little or nothing before God. But the man who comes to God, truly realizing his abject weakness and total unworthiness -- that man will find help and deliverance from the Lord, and an abundant entrance into the kingdom of heaven.

O MY GOD, DO NOT DELAY: A breathtaking hint of impatience even in the Son of God that the fulfillment of the divine purpose might be hurried forward (cp Luk 12:50; Joh 13:27; see also Isa 46:13; Dan 9:19; Hab 2:3; 3:2; Heb 10:37).

SUBSCRIPTION: "FOR THE DIRECTOR OF MUSIC."