"To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord.
4 Blessed is the man who makes
the Lord his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after a lie!
5 You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
none can compare with you!
I will proclaim and tell of them,
yet they are more than can be told.
6 In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,
but you have given me an open ear.
Burnt offering and sin offering
you have not required.
7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come;
in the scroll of the book it is written of me:
8 I delight to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.”
9 I have told the glad news of deliverance
in the great congregation;
behold, I have not restrained my lips,
as you know, O Lord.
10 I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
from the great congregation.
11 As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain
your mercy from me;
your steadfast love and your faithfulness will
ever preserve me!
12 For evils have encompassed me
beyond number;
my iniquities have overtaken me,
and I cannot see;
they are more than the hairs of my head;
my heart fails me.
13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me!
O Lord, make haste to help me!
14 Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether
who seek to snatch away my life;
let those be turned back and brought to dishonor
who delight in my hurt!
15 Let those be appalled because of their shame
who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”
16 But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
say continually, “Great is the Lord!”
17 As for me, I am poor and needy,
but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
do not delay, O my God!"
Psalm 40
The sequence of thought presented in the first half of the Psalm is impressive. First of all, the blessing of deliverance (1-3a) affords a wonderful picture of redeeming grace. This is the stuff of which true spiritual experience is made: if a man has not known himself to be down there in the pit, and felt the woe and despair of it, if he has not known the lifting power of the gospel, true religion has not yet begun in his life. How wonderful that God hears the cries of the needy as they cry for salvation! Then, there is the praise and the thanksgiving (3b-5), the new song that none but God's redeemed can learn. This is the great characteristic of God's salvation: it sets people singing with a great new joy. And that song will inevitably make an impact on those outside, and lead others to trust in God also. When salvation is a reality in a fellowship, it has a healing and life-giving influence on all who come in contact with it. Nor is the rejoicing merely lightsome, for as 4, 5 indicate it is accompanied by a reverent attitude of worship and holy awe as a sense of the mystery of the divine salvation grips the soul. Next, the consecration of life to the will of God (6-8). As Maclaren says, 'If God's mercies thus baffle enumeration and beggar praise, the question naturally arises, 'What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits?'' The only adequate expression of gratitude to Him for His grace and goodness is consecration to His good and perfect will, in a total self-giving (cf Romans 12:1, 2). Then, inevitably (9, 10), the proclamation and witness. It is in the context of consecration to the will of God that witness becomes necessary, possible and effectual. This is the ultimate issue of the gospel: God for us, and God in us will inevitably lead to - God through us. But a life dedicated to the will of God will not have it easy (11-17): there will be dangers to face, and innumerable evils will compass it about. Full deliverance is not yet: there are still more battles to be fought. And the evil one's attacks are always related to consecration. But clad in the divine armour we will be led to greater blessings (16, 17). Best of all, poor and needy though we be, the Lord thinks upon us. Blessed be His Name.