A Sinner's Faith-- Psalm 40

For the leader. A psalm of David.
Psalm 40 is one of the most popular psalms in modern times. There have been numerous songs written about it (not least U2’s “40”).

I waited constantly for Yahweh
And He inclined toward me and heard my cry.
He brought me out of the watery, roaring pit, from the miry clay
And he set my feet on a rock, securing my steps.
He put a new song in my mouth, praise to our GodThe Psalmist here is remembering God’s deliverance in times past. We do not know any of the details, but the metaphors that he is using are particularly horrific. The Psalmist sees himself in a whirlpool in a deep pit, but God pulls him out and places him on solid ground. God must have delivered him from a terrible calamity.

Many will see it and will fear and trust in Yahweh
Blessed is the man who makes Yahweh his trust
Who turns not to the arrogant and those who turn to falsehood.
The psalmist here is taking his experience and saying that it acts as a basic principle for everyone’s life. If there is anyone who trusts in God, God will not fail him or her, but deliver him. He also says that we shouldn’t listen to people who want to lie to us and say that God can’t help us.

Many deeds have you done, Yahweh, my God--
Wonders and thoughts toward us.
(No one can compare with You)
If I were to relate and speak of them
They would be too many to say.
This passage reminds us of all the great things that God has done, so many that it could not be spoken. But some of God’s deeds are: healing the sick, delivering people out of prison, teaching the ignorant, helping the poor, feeding the hungry, encouraging the depressed and on and on and on…..

Sacrifice and meal offering you do not desire
My ears you have opened
Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.
Then I said, "Behold I have come
In the scroll of a book it is written of me
To do your will, my God, is my desire
Your law is within my heart.
It seems as if the psalmist were saying that God doesn’t want any kind of sacrifice. But in this passage, as well as many other prophetic passages (such as Isaiah 1), God is not refusing sacrifices and offering so much as saying that other things are more important. Here, the psalmist is talking about obedience as being more important than trying to take care of sin after the fact. When he says “My ears you have opened” it speaks of one’s ears as clay that is blocked up, but God opened it up to be able to hear God and obey. The scroll the psalmist brings to God instead of a sacrifice is his biography. The psalmist isn’t just bringing a dead goat or some grain. Rather, he is offering his life, his whole self to God, every action he does.

I proclaimed righteousness in the great assembly;
I did not restrain my lips-- Yahweh, you know this.
I have not hidden your righteousness in my heart;
I have spoken of your faithfulness and deliverance;
I have not refrained from speaking of your lovingkindness
And fidelity before the Great Congregation.
You, O Yahweh will not withhold your mercy from me
And your kindness and fidelity guard me always.
Because of God’s greatness, and because of the psalmist’s commitment to God, he proclaims God’s greatness in a public forum. He has appointed himself the one to remind others to turn to God, to love God and to remember what God has done. He speaks of his life and God’s actions in his life.

For evils without number surround me
My sins have overtaken me, till I cannot see
They are more than the hairs of my head
And I have not heart to go on.
Suddenly, Psalm 40 turns into a different psalm. Up until this point, the psalm is a symphony of gratitude and of acts of commitment. Now the psalm turns into a common Davidic psalm—“I’m in trouble again, Lord, please help me!” In this case, the psalmist recognizes that his trouble is his own fault—he has sinned, and so, he is facing a lot of trouble. But the amazing thing is the little word “for” at the beginning of this verse. The psalmist was in trouble from the beginning of the psalm and he was just leading up to this cry for help. He expressed all of his commitment and joy and thanks, knowing he was already in trouble. Knowing that he was in crisis. This is similar to Jesus’ statement to those facing persecution: “Rejoice!” he says. Recognize your pain and trouble and then be happy about it because God is getting ready to deliver you. In this psalm, however, the psalmist is saying, “I am doing all these things for you, Lord, because I want to. You are a great God, and even though I’m in despair, I will commit myself wholly to You, in the midst of my sorrow and pain.”

Show your grace, O Yahweh, to deliver me;
Make hast, O Yahweh, to help me.
Let those who seek my life to destroy it be ashamed and humiliated
Let those who seek my misfortune be turned back and dishonored.
Let those who taunt me with "Aha! Aha!"
Be made desolate because of their shame.
The trouble the psalmist is in is due to his enemies. Probably people he has wronged, but refuse to forgive him. They hate him so much that they are interested in having him die. The psalmist just wants to be back on top where he was so he could show them. This could very well be David’s concern when he was defeated by Absolom.

Let those who seek You rejoice and be glad in you.
Those who long for Your deliverance always say
"Yahweh be magnified!"
But I am lowly and needy;
Yahweh will show concern for me
You are my Help and Deliverer
My God, do not delay.
So the psalmist returns to his concerns at the beginning of the psalm, showing that it was no accident that these two psalms were “put together”. The psalmist wants to make it clear that no matter what, whatever the outcome, he will praise and commit himself to God. He has confidence in God’s help of the needy, but in the end, God’s help isn’t the point of the psalm. It is the commitment of the psalmist to God, no matter how terrible the circumstance, no matter how many enemies, no matter how many sins he committed and that came back on Him. He is confident in God, not himself or his life.