Waiting on the LORD (Psalm 40

Believers are to wait upon the LORD (v. 1a)

The psalmist was experiencing some type of crisis and he understood that his role was to wait upon the Lord. This type of waiting doesn’t mean to sit back and do nothing until God shows up. We are to continue trusting and serving and doing those things which are required. To wait upon the Lord means to trust in His timing and in His ways and means.

God delivers His own (v. 1b -3)

Look at the action verbs on God’s part in the next several verses:

God comes to us; He hears our cry; He picks us up out of the mess, He is the One who sets us on a secure foundation; He is the One who gives purpose and meaning; and He causes us to rejoice with new songs to sing!

This is not to be understood as a free ticket out of trouble as if God is a genie in a bottle. God does deliver all of His children, but He doesn’t do the delivering on our timetable nor does His deliverance always fit our pre-conceived notions. Sometimes God’s deliverance takes place in the next world, not this one.

Christians with years of walking with Christ have had the LORD deliver them out of bad situations. (ASK: any volunteers want to share a deliverance story?)

We learn to trust Him and love Him more when He shows up as Deliverer!

We strive (or we should!) to be like the person who is described in the next several verses:

He is blessed (v. 4)

He is not a respecter of persons, especially of those who are proud (v. 4) The psalmist was just delivered out of a bad situation by God. The psalmist knew that he didn’t get out on his own efforts - he was stuck! Maybe he had asked a friend who bragged about his abilities, and yet when asked, this proud person was unable to help

He is a person of integrity - he doesn’t hang out with liars (v. 4)

He is a person of praise (v. 5) He willfully and joyfully praises God for being such a great God.

We are called to Obedience as a result of being delivered

He listens to the Voice of God and obeys God (v. 6). He actively seeks to know the will of God and when it is revealed, he obeys. He is not just a hearer of the Word, but a doer (James 1:25).

God was the One who instituted the Sacrificial system. The psalmist is not confused about God’s laws of the sacrifice and offering. He has understood the limitations of the system in that killing animals in and of itself does not remove the guilt of sin. Going through the ritual was not the answer. God wants our hearts. King Saul discovered this truth when the prophet Samuel chastised the king for his unlawful sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22-23)

He delights in the law of God (v. 8). Knowing his dependence upon God and being thankful for being delivered, this person has a desire to know God even more. He or she is not interested in a casual acquaintance, this person is seeking an intimate relationship. (Matt 5:6)

NOTE: Jesus fulfilled this aspect of Obedience perfectly. The writer of Hebrews quotes verses 6 through 8 in reference to the perfect obedience of Christ (Hebrews 10:5-9). We should also note that verse 7 highlights the Truth that the Bible is about Jesus: He is the One who is discovered in the volume of the Book.

The One who has been delivered will pray and continue to rely on God (vv. 11-17).

We live in a fallen world and the struggle is a continual one. We have experienced the goodness and power of God in the past, but we also realize that we will encounter future difficulties. The psalmist is asking for God’s renewed comfort in light of his sins and shortcomings (11-13); and he is asking God for help from his enemies (14-15); and ends with a general plea for God to supply his needs because he is a needy person (17)