(To watch the video teaching on Psalm 40, click here).
If you’ve been following along with the Psalms study, you know that last time we looked at Psalm 88, the darkest Psalm in the Psalter.
In Psalm 88, the Psalmist is in utter turmoil. He describes himself as “going down to the pit” and the Psalm ends with the words “my companions have become darkness.” In the middle of the Psalm he says these words:
You have put me in the depths of the pit,
in the regions dark and deep. (vs. 6)
We were given this dark and dismal Psalm because the reality is, sometimes are lives are this dark and dismal and we need to be given the words to cry out to God for help.
But the good news for believers is, whether in this life or the next, Psalm 88 is always followed by Psalm 40.
Psalm 40, starts like this:
I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
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.
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. (vs. 1-3)
I have lived Psalm 88, but I have also lived Psalm 40. Although my life here on earth will never be without its pits, I know the one who delivers his children from pits. And I have experienced this deliverance.
Therefore I have a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God that I cannot help but sing to all who will hear. The same is true of King David, who wrote Psalm 40. Today we’re going to look at what this new song is, how to sing it, and how to overcome the obstacles that stand in our way of singing it. And after understanding Psalm 40 today, perhaps we will have a new song to sing in praise to our God so that many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.
Go and Tell
Before we begin and look at the Psalm verse by verse, I want us to draw out what I believe is the main theme of the Psalm. I will list the verses in which this theme is established. I wonder if you can see it?
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. (vs. 3)
I will proclaim and tell of them,
yet they are more than can be told. (vs. 5)
I have told the glad news of deliverance
in the great congregation;
behold, I have not restrained my lips,
as you know, O Lord.
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. (vs. 9-10)
The main theme of the Psalm is the proclaiming of the goodness and salvation of God. Evangelism is what David is reflecting on. It’s important to establish this upfront so that we can see why David chose some of the words he chose and why the Psalm seems to go abruptly from thanksgiving to lament. Keeping in mind the main theme of evangelism will help bring understanding to some of the trickier parts of the Psalm.
Deliverance
At the beginning of the Psalm, we see that David has received the long-awaited deliverance for which he prayed. We don’t know what the deliverance was from, but that’s the beauty of the Psalms. We don’t need to know the circumstances in which they were written to apply the words to our own circumstances. The Psalms are versatile in this way.
What we do see at the beginning of Psalm 40 is God acting in 5 different ways to bring about David’s deliverance:
he inclined to him – you can almost picture our big Almighty God drawing close to David and leaning in to offer his protection and his ear. I’m reminded of Psalm 34: 18 which says “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted.” While David was awaiting his deliverance in the pit, the Lord leaned in and drew near to him.
he heard his cry – The Lord was near to David in his despair and he was listening. Psalm 4:3 says: But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him. The Lord never ignores the cries of those who are his and David is assured of this.
he drew me up from the pit of destruction – The people of God in the old testament often envisioned the place of death as a pit (often referred to as Sheol). To go down to the pit is to be (or at least feel) near to death. This is where David says he was. But he did not remain there, God breathed new life into him and drew him out of the pit. God rescued him from the place of destruction.
he set his feet upon a rock, making his steps sure –not only did God release David from the pit, but he secured his footing. He gave him a firm foundation on which to stand and walk that he might not fall into the same pit again. We learn from Psalm 66, that to keep our feet from slipping means to keep our souls among the living (vs. 8-9). Establishing his feet upon the rock and securing his steps is an image of God’s salvation.
he put a new song in his mouth – once he has been heard, delivered, and established, David is given a new song to sing. Gone are the cries of desperation – this is a song of praise. It’s important to note that this song is given to him, it is not one he comes up with on his own. God has given David a message of salvation, tied up in the story of his own personal deliverance from the pit, and he has every intention of proclaiming this message. He is assured that because of the proclamation of this message of deliverance, this new song he has been given to sing, that many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord (vs. 3).
The Sacrifice of Self
After being given a new song to sing, David reflects on the way of the blessed man. The blessed life, David concludes is one in which God’s wondrous deeds and thoughts toward us are multiplied. How can one experience such goodness? By making the Lord his trust and turning away from the lies of the world that lead to pride. Such wondrous deeds and thoughts toward us are not to be kept to ourselves. David says he will proclaim and tell of them that others might experience the blessed life too.
In the next strophe, David reflects on what it is the Lord requires of him. Given the context of David’s desire to proclaim the wondrous deeds of the Lord, David is perhaps reflecting on how best to do this. What can he offer the Lord as he endeavors to proclaim his goodness and deliverance?
Perhaps giving an offering is the response required to experiencing and proclaiming the Lord’s deliverance? No, David reflects, the Lord does not delight in these. What could David offer God in gratitude for his deliverance?
David says that God has given him an open ear. David also reflects that he “delight[s] to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” God has given David an open ear to hear the words of life and he has written words of life within his heart. What then would be the proper offering of the one who knows the words of life? The obedient sharing of those words. David knows that no traditional sacrifice will do, so David offers himself to do the will and work of God. Given the context of the Psalm, one of the works of God that David is called to do is to share what he has heard and proclaim the wonders of God in the congregation. The next strophe shows him acting on this calling.
In verses 9 – 10, we see David doing what he has said he would do. He has told the congregation the glad news of deliverance. He has offered himself in obedience to the will of God and has not restrained [his] lips. God’s deliverance has been too wondrous, his deeds too good to keep them to himself. Therefore, he unfetters his tongue and proclaims God’s faithfulness, salvation, and steadfast love to the great congregation. He must share God’s goodness with all who will hear.
Hindering the Message
Unfortunately, with all the good work that God has called us to do as we offer our lives in obedience to him, there are obstacles that stand in our way.
If full disclosure, I cannot find a commentary that agrees with my interpretation of this next section. Every message I listen to and every commentary I read seems to take a different perspective on verses 11-17. It is true that the Psalm shifts quickly from thanksgiving to lament in verse 12. But unlike most of the commentaries I have read, I don’t find the thanksgiving part of the Psalm and the lament part of the Psalm to be disconnected. I don’t think that in verses 11-17, David is lamenting the general troubles he faces in his life. I believe, that as David is reflecting on the work he has been given to do, to proclaim the Lord’s wondrous deeds and deliverance to the congregation, David is lamenting the things that stand in the way of him doing this good work, namely: his own sins and the people who want to silence his message.
After David has reflected on the good words that God has written in his heart and how he’s shared those words with the congregation, he is lamenting how difficult it is to go about the work of proclaiming the goodness of God. In verse 11, he reminds himself that God will not restrain [his] mercy from him as he goes about proclaiming God’s deliverance. In thinking about the difficulty of his task, he remembers that God’s steadfast love and [his] faithfulness will ever preserve me! He can’t do this hard work on his own.
He knows that he needs God’s steadfast love and faithfulness because there are two things that hinder him from proclaiming the goodness of the Lord as he ought. The first hindrance is his own sinfulness. He says evils have encompassed me beyond number; my iniquities have overtaken me, and I cannot see (vs. 12). Even the good work God has called us to do is tainted by our own sinfulness. And often we are blind to the sin that hinders our good work. David laments that his sin is more than the hairs of my head (vs. 12). Thinking of all of the ways that his sin hinders his proclamation, David is discouraged and he says: my heart fails me.
But David’s sin is not the only thing that stands in opposition to his message of deliverance. There will always be people who wish to silence any proclamation of God’s goodness. David asks for deliverance from these people. The people who wish to silence David are willing to do so at the cost of his life. David asks that God would put them to shame, let them be disappointed, turn them back, bring them to dishonor, be appalled because of their shame. The consequences David is asking for are appropriate for the people who are trying to silence David’s message. He asks that they would feel shame for what they are trying to prevent and that all their plans to prevent David’s preaching would be disappointed.
David ends the Psalm by praying for those who seek God, those whom his message will reach. He prays that they would love the salvation that David proclaims and say continually, “Great is the Lord.”
But even as he prays for the salvation of those who will hear his message, David remembers that he is a broken vessel. He is poor and needy. As we see all throughout the Scriptures, it is the poor and needy that God uses to proclaim the good news and bring others to himself. So David, poor, needy, and broken as he is, is glad that the Lord takes thought for [him].
In the last verse, David is asking for God to come quickly to his aid and continue to be his deliverer that he might continue to be a vessel that shines the light of God’s salvation to the watching world.
Jesus and Psalm 40
If you’ve been following along in this Psalms study then you may have noticed that every Psalm points to Jesus. Psalm 40 is no exception. We see Jesus in Psalm 40 from the beginning to the end.
Jesus inclined to us and heard our cry by becoming human and walking among us.
Jesus drew us up from the pit of destruction by descending to the pit of destruction himself.
Jesus himself is the firm rock on which we stand.
Jesus is the offering of which verses 7 and 8 speak. It is Jesus who has come as it is written in the scroll. It was Jesus who delighted to do God’s will that he might become a sacrifice to cleanse the world of its sin.
Jesus told the glad news of deliverance to the congregation.
Our evils and iniquities encompassed Jesus on the cross that he might bear the wrath of God on our behalf.
Those who snatched away Jesus’ life and the life of his followers will be put to shame and disappointed on the day of Judgment.
Jesus became poor and needy for our sake that he might bring the light of God into a world full of darkness.
Jesus is the new song that we sing. When we sing this new song to the congregation we are proclaiming the salvation of Jesus so that all who seek him might rejoice and be glad in him and say continually, “Great is the LORD.”