Psalm 40

Waiting patiently for the Lord (vs. 1-3)--Good things usually happen when we do, and David mentions four of them in the first three verses: He hears (v. 1), He brings us out of a "horrible pit" and sets us upon a firm foundation (v. 2), and He puts a new song in our mouths, i.e., a new reason for living (v. 3). As a result, "many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord" (v. 3). Waiting patiently is not something most of us are good at; but we simply must have the faith to let God work out things in our lives according to His will.

The wonderful works of God (vs. 4-5)--For the man "who makes the Lord his trust" (v. 4), there are many wonderful works of God that open up to his vista. Verse 5 is lovely: "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." Our blessings are countless and innumerable; indeed, we don't even begin to know all of the things the Lord does for us. His works are truly wonderful. But only open eyes can see them.

The work of the Messiah (vs. 6-10)--These verses certainly refer to the Messiah; at least verses 6-8, because the writer of the book of Hebrews tells us so (Hebrews 10:5-9). Verse 6 is a frequent theme in both the Old Testament and New. While God does expect and demand worship, without a pure heart such worship is vain. The prophets speak almost endlessly of this (see Isaiah 1:10ff; Jer. 7:1-4; Amos 5:21-24). Verse 7 cannot refer to David: "Then I said, 'Behold, I come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me.'" And, again, the New Testament tells us these verses apply to Jesus. He certainly taught the word of God at every opportunity (vs. 9-10).

A final prayer (vs. 11-17)--We seem to return strictly to David in this section; verse 12, "My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of my head," can hardly apply to Jesus. David prays for the Lord's "tender mercies," and "lovingkindness" (v. 11); those are what he believes will save him from the "innumerable evils" that had surrounded him, and his own sins (v. 12). Whereas earlier in the psalm, David counsels patient waiting on Jehovah, in verse 13, he pleads, "O Lord, make haste to help me!" Verses 14-16 give us another grand example of "palilogical parallelism": "Let them be ashamed...let them be driven backward...let them be confounded...let all those who seek you...let such as love your salvation..." Again, this is for ease of memorization. David wants his enemies baffled and defeated, and all those who seek the Lord to rejoice, be glad, and praise Him. The Lord is our help and deliverer, yet David ends the psalm by again requesting, "do no delay, O my God." Well, David, follow your own advice of verse one and "wait patiently." But the human element, always so plain in the Psalms, is in evidence here. While we (and David) know that we should wait for the Lord's deliverance, which will come in His time, not ours, we still hope and pray that He will act soon. Thoughts such as this are what make the Psalms so valuable. They teach us grand lessons about the nature and actions of Jehovah, but they speak in such human language as well.