Psalm 40

POLAND - UKRAINE

SLIDE 1 Turn to Psalm 40. This is another psalm where the superscript doesn’t offer us much in the way of when and why it was written. The superscript states:

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

So, this was another psalm written by David. In it David offers praise to God for deliverance. Since David was often in trouble and needed a lot of deliverance – even as we do – that doesn’t help much either.

David begins the psalm with words of praise.

Jesus did the same thing in the Model Prayer when instructing the disciples on how to pray. The Model Prayer starts:

Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed by thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Before teaching us to ask for anything we first give God praise. What if we followed this example more closely? What if we didn’t ask for anything until after we offered worship and thanked God for what he’s already done? That’s what David does in this psalm.

Do you think about much less thank God for his answers to past prayers? We often forget about them and move on to the next need. I would encourage you to keep a list of your prayer requests and then keep a date when they are answered. This list can be a reminder to you about how God has answered your prayers. It will encourage you as you pray but it also follows the example we find in this psalm. Before he asks for something new, David offers praise for God’s previous answers to his prayers.

First, David says God heard him when he prayed.

1 I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. (Psalm 40:1)

A little boy was standing at the end of an escalator. The sales lady asked, “Son are you lost?” “No ma’am, I’m waiting for my chewing gum to come back.”

David says he waited for God. Have you ever had to wait on God? David did. He had talked about his waiting on God in several of the psalms we’ve already looked at. He waited because there wasn’t an immediate answer. But God did not disappoint. David declares God turned to him and heard him. The Hebrew here is interesting. Literally, David says he waited as he waited – “In waiting I waited.” David repeats the word “waited” to illustrate his diligence or patience. He double waited on God. Some have translated it as: SLIDE 2

With expectation I have waited (Douay-Rheims Bible)

Hoping, I have hoped (Aramaic Bible in Plain English)

Many wait impatiently on God. They give up waiting because they lose their hope and their expectation that God will answer, but not David. He waited even as he waited. That was the point of the parable Jesus told about the window and the unjust judge. Jesus told the parable to show us the need to pray always without giving up. And David’s patience was not in vain. God turned to him and heard him.

SLIDE 3 As we’ve seen before, the word “turned” (or “inclined” in some translations) pictures God bending down to listen to the prayers of his people. God isn’t so far away that he can’t hear us or help us. Isn’t it a great comfort to know that God hears us?

Second, David says God saved him.

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. (Psalm 40:2)

We don’t know of any time when David was thrown into a pit. We know the prophet Jeremiah was. The king didn’t like the prophecy he brought so he had Jeremiah thrown into a cistern. There was no water in it, only mud, and he sunk into the mud. He might have died there had the king not changed his mind. David was never physically dropped into a pit. However, that’s what his problems made him feel like. But God rescued him from him trouble and gave him a solid place to stand. His prayer for deliverance was answered.

Third, God gave David a new song.

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. (Psalm 40:3)

Not only did God deliver him, God gave him a new song with which to praise God. The song was from God and David gave it back to God when he sang it in worship of God. That is what God does. He gives his people the words they need to worship him. Four times in the Psalms we are instructed to sing a new song to the Lord. Isaiah tells us to sing to the Lord a new song. And twice in Revelation we read how God’s people will sing a new song to God. SLIDE 4

9 And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.” (Revelation 5:9)

We love the old songs, but God gives us news songs as well, new songs to express the new ways he delivers us and works in our lives. God continues to inspire his people to write new songs and words of praise.

I think of the old hymn “The Love of God.” The hymn starts by declaring the greatness of God’s love: SLIDE 5

The love of God is greater far

Than tongue or pen can ever tell

It goes beyond the highest star

And reaches to the lowest hell

Verse 2 then says: SLIDE 6

Could we with ink the ocean fill

And were the skies of parchment made

Were every tree on earth a quill

And every man a scribe by trade

SLIDE 7

To write the love of God above

Would drain the ocean dry

Nor could the scroll contain the whole

Though stretched from sky to sky

SLIDE 8 That means that as many songs have been written they have only begun to scratch the surface to describe the love and goodness of God. It also means that we will never be able to completely describe write or sing enough. At times we don’t even know how to express it, but God gives us the words we need. When we understand how right it is for us – those God created – to praise the Creator and for those who have been redeemed to worship the Redeemer we will thank God for the new song he gives us. Perhaps Psalm 40 is the new song God gave to David.

And notice the result of the new song. David says some of those who weren’t previously worshiping God would hear the song about what God had done, be amazed, and come to put their trust in God. David’s testimony of God’s deliverance will encourage others to call out to God as well.

Fourth, David says God blessed 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. (Psalm 40:4)

David trusted in God and God blessed him. If we want to be blessed by God all we need to do is trust him.

I was thinking recently about what it means to have a saving faith in God and believe in him. At Christmas we hear people talking about believing in Santa Clause. What does it mean to believe in Santa Clause? It means you believe he exists and that he brings presents to those who have been good and to those who’ve been bad, coal. Of course we don’t believe in Santa Clause. Or at least most of us don’t. There may be one or two that still do. Or what does it mean to believe in George Washington? We acknowledge that he lived and that he was the first president, but we don’t think he’s going to do anything for us. To believe in God is not to just acknowledge that God exists – James says even demons do that – but to trust him. We must place our hope and trust in God if we want to be blessed by God.

Charles Spurgeon wrote:

A man may be as poor as Lazarus, as hated as Mordecai, as sick as Hezekiah, as lonely as Elijah, but while his hand of faith can keep its hold on God, none of his outward afflictions can prevent his being numbered among the blessed, but the wealthiest and most prosperous man who has no faith is accursed, be he who he may.

The blessing of God is worth more than anything we can receive from this world.

Notice though that David connects our trust in God with moral conduct. Our faith and trust in God will dictate how we live. God will not bless the proud or those who don’t trust him and turn to something else. The NIV talks about “false gods” but the Hebrew word means lies and deceptive things. That would include idols or false gods but it means much more than that. It means trusting in anything other than God. Santa Clause didn’t die for my sins. George Washington can’t forgive my sins. No person, company, or government can give eternal life. Those only come from God. To trust in anything else is like using corn stalk for a walking cane. You put your weight on it and it will break. It might even end up hurting you. God is the only one we can trust.

David continues:

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. (Psalm 40:5)

Think again about that hymn “The Love of God.” Were the skies the paper upon which we wrote the things God has done the skies would not be large enough to contain all that could be written. That’s what David is saying as well. He could spend the rest of his life declaring what God had done for him and die before he finished. That’s how good God is.

In the NIV we read about “the things you planned for us.” I think other translations word it better when they say: SLIDE 9

You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us. (Psalm 40:5a, ESV)

David is amazed that God thinks about him.

SLIDE 10 Think of some famous person you’d like to meet. If you were able to meet them, do you think they’d ever think about you again?

More than ten years ago I was able to spend an afternoon with Jeff Walling. You probably don’t recognize his name. I know Gina and Mary Anne know who he is. Jeff has preached at the TCTC several times. I enjoy the preaching of Jeff Walling and I’ve attended a few workshops he’s given on preaching. In fact, he was at Poplar Ridge this past summer for a preaching workshop. But ten years ago I met Jeff at a retreat in Indiana. One afternoon we were given some free time. Jeff, two other preachers and I piled into my two-door Chevy Caviler and drove to a state park to do some hiking. At least it was only a couple of miles. The four of us spent the afternoon hiking and talking. When I saw him over the summer at Poplar Ridge I went to shake his hand and he asked if we’d met before. I recalled the afternoon we’d spent hiking. He remembered the event but he didn’t remember me. And why should he? He meets thousands of people every year. He can’t remember every person he meets. Jeff has met me but he doesn’t know much less think about me. But God does. In Psalm 8, David: SLIDE 11

3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? (Psalm 8:3-4)

SLIDE 12 When David considered the greatness of the universe he was amazed that God would think about people at all, but he does. God knows us and thinks about us. How wonderful is that, to think that God knows you by name and thinks about you? Additionally, his thoughts about you are loving.

Because of all that God has done for him, David makes a pledge.

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.” (Psalm 40:6-8)

David mentions that his ears have been opened. David isn’t talking about being about to hear God better. That’s what we say though. We talk about opening our ears so we can hear better. David wasn’t referring to the ear canal and hearing, he was referring to the ear lobe and the ear being pierced.

In the Old Testament law God made provisions for those who fell on desperate times and couldn’t make ends meet. The law allowed for you to sell yourself into slavery but it wasn’t to be permanent. At a specified time you were to be released. However, if you liked your situation and didn’t want to go free, you master would pierce one of your ears thus opening it. David didn’t want one ear pierced; he wanted both of them pierced in order to show his complete devotion to God.

In verse 6 David mentions four kinds of offerings given to God. First there is the sacrifice. This is an offering of an animal that involved the shedding of blood. Second, there is the offering that does not require the shedding of blood. These include grain offerings. Third, there are burnt offerings. Those symbolized total consecration where everything was consumed by fire on the altar. And fourth, there are sin offerings which were made to atone for sin.

For David to say that God does not desire sacrifices and offerings seems strange. Of course God desires them. Just read the book of Leviticus. God goes into great detail about the kinds of sacrifices and offerings he desires and requires. So, what is David saying? David understood that the sacrifices and offerings were really just a sign of what was in the heart. It is the heart that really matters.

I’ve gone over this story recently so I’m sure you remember. God sent King Saul out to fight the Amalekites. Saul was instructed to kill every living thing but Saul allowed his men to talk him into sparing the best of the livestock. When Samuel confronted Saul about it Saul claimed they often kept them alive so they could offer them as sacrifices. SLIDE 13

But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.” (1 Samuel 15:22)

SLIDE 14 Does God want us to confess our sins and repent when we sin? Yes. Does it please him when we confess our sins and repent after we sin? Yes. Does that mean that we should go out and sin so that we can confess it and repent so it and make God happy? Of course not. By the way, Paul’s going to discuss this kind of thinking in our passage from Romans this Sunday. That kind of thinking doesn’t make sense and David understood that. More than sacrifices and offerings, God desires our hearts. David says that God’s law has been written on his heart. His desire is to obey God. That’s what pleases God most. He wants our complete devotion to him.

David makes this devotion to God known to everyone. He says:

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. (Psalm 40:9-10)

David didn’t want to keep it to himself, he wanted everyone to know what God had done for him.

I mentioned how Jeremiah was thrown into a pit for giving a prophecy from God which the king didn’t like. At one time Jeremiah decided he’d just stop prophesying. If that was the reception he’d receive who bother? Jeremiah wrote: SLIDE 15

8 Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the LORD has brought me insult and reproach all day long. SLIDE 16 9 But if I say, “I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot. (Jeremiah 20:8-9)

SLIDE 17 Jeremiah says if he prophesies he is persecuted but if he tries not to speak the words God gives him they become like a fire in his heart so that he can’t keep them in. David doesn’t want to keep what to keep what God has done for him to himself; he wants to share with everyone.

Having said all of this, David then makes four petitions.

First, David asks God to protect him.

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. (Psalm 40:11-12)

Since God had delivered him in the past, David knew he could trust God to deliver him in the future. That’s why he asks God to protect him. He was constantly relying on God and humbly asked God for his continuing protection.

David acknowledged that he didn’t deserve God’s protection. He was aware of his sins even as we are. We only know of two of David’s sins but David says they outnumbered the hairs on his head. Just thinking about them made him faint. This admission shows he had a proper view of God’s righteousness and his own sinfulness. David trusts in God’s love for him to protect.

Second, David asks God to save him.

13 Be pleased to save me, Lord; come quickly, Lord, to help me. (Psalm 40:13)

Even though David is waiting patiently, he wants God to come quickly. Help delayed too long is help denied.

Third, David asks God to defend him.

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!” (Psalm 40:14-16)

He once again refers those who want to harm him. They think they have caught him, thus their “Aha!” But David asks God to turn the tables on them. May they be the ones to be trapped and in their entrapment be shamed for trying to harm him. But those who seek God will rejoice.

And fourth, David asks God to remember him.

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. (Psalm 40:17)

David didn’t want God to forget about him – not that God would.

David also mentions his poverty. David was king. He was not poor – at least not materially. So, he’s not talking about material poverty but spiritual poverty. That’s what Jesus talked about in the beatitudes. SLIDE 18

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3)

SLIDE 19 We must recognize our true spiritual condition as we come before God.

Lloyd John Ogilvie served as the chaplain to the U.S. Senate from 1995-2003. After retiring he experienced a particularly difficult year. He underwent five major surgeries plus the radiation and chemotherapy that followed. Several of his staff members departed. Large problems loomed on every side. As you can imagine, all this caused a major emotional discouragement and despondency to come crashing down upon him.

As he reflected back on that crisis, Ogilvie wrote of the abundant joy he found in the Lord:

The greatest discovery that I have made in the midst of all the difficulties is that I can have joy when I can't feel like it. When I had every reason to feel beaten, I felt joy. In spite of everything, [God] gave me the conviction of being loved and the certainty that nothing could separate me from him. It was not happiness, gush, or jolliness but a constant flow of the Spirit through me. At no time did he give me the easy confidence that everything would work out as I wanted it on my timetable but that he was in charge and would give me and my family enough courage for each day: grace. Joy is always the result of that.

This is precisely the joy that is available to all who place their trust in God. David found such joy in the midst of his difficulties as well. In the midst of this ordeal, David put his trust in God, calling upon the name of the Lord. The result was God’s deliverance and a new song into David’s heart. God may not give you a song, but like Ogilvie, he can give you a peace and a joy the world just can’t understand.