Ultimately however, he bent forward to receive my prayer. just a few moments later, Jesus commanded His Spirit to Go to the Father. We need to see that there is nothing we can do for our sins. If youre seeking the Lord and not just deliverance from your pit, you wont forget about God after He delivers you. If you have known the Lord for any length of time, you can think back to many times when you were brought low and the Lord delivered you. And which was written upon his heart, and which he perfectly obeyed. David cries for the Lord to make haste to help him. As used here, it refers to their purposes, and the wish or prayer is that they might be wholly unsuccessful. But, a prophet rebuked Asa for relying on the king of Syria instead of relying on the Lord (2 Chron. Imagery adds to the reader's understanding of a text and its themes. That he should die at the time which had been proclaimed by the prophets, and in such a mode as to make an atonement for sin. 5. Scripture is layered with images of sheep. But many years later, after a long reign that God had blessed, when the king of Israel came up against him, Asa sent tribute to the king of Syria and enlisted his help against the enemy. 40:2 "rock" See note at Psalm 18:1-3. . We should all know by now that, we cannot trust the world or the people in it. Psalm 40 is a psalm of David that continues the same line of thinking as psalms 38 and 39. Then, to be laid waste, or made desolate. Imagery is a literary device that evokes the five senses to create a mental image. Further, David understood that he was deserving of the just punishment for his sins. November 24, 2019. 9 though we are commanded to love our enemies (Matt. His sacrifice fulfilled and did away with any further need for sacrifice. It falls into two sections. In the first half (40:1-10), David tells how God got him out of one pit and he sings Gods praise for doing so. But he did not then live happily ever after. Rather, it is evident from the second half of the psalm (40:11-17) that he is in another pit, crying out to the Lord to deliver him from this one. Whether this psalm is connected to any of the previous psalms where David asked for Gods deliverance is unknown, but it does say that God did deliver him at one time, and David was sure to express his gratitude in the best method he knew: a song of praise. Why was he tempted. Arizona mud is especially sticky and slippery. They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. He ends that chapter in a similar vein (16:33), These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. This was not intended to boast or simply inform but to verbalize his loyalty to God in gratitude for Gods loyalty to him. beyond number; my iniquities have overtaken me, and I cannot see; they Second, by Christ fulfilling the law, he was able to set aside the first covenant with its condemnation for our sins and establish a new covenant that does take away our sins (sanctifies us). For these psalmists, Zion That Ps 46 makes use of the mythic imagery of the primeval, chaotic waters in presenting a battle between Yahweh and his adversaries has The worst part of all was the fact that the Father turned away from Him when He had the sin of the world on His body. (See notes on Psalms 35:4; 35:26). 2 He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the More literally, I am afflicted and poor. The language would describe the condition of one who was afflicted and was at the same time poor. David declares that he is able to put his trust in the Lord because of the great works that God has done in the past. Blakes Notice, the statement (mine ears hast thou opened). Partly by giving me new matter or occasion for a song; and partly by inspiring me with the very words of it. David is speaking in the verse, but the verse is probably prophetic in speaking of the great patience of our Lord Jesus in the preceding paragraph. ' We must always see that our lives are continually in a slimy, muddy pit. Of whom it is eminently true, and is here observed as an act of obedience. There was no more need for sacrifice, Jesus paid it all. Copyright 2002-2023 Got Questions Ministries. This is speaking of Jesus. All ____________ in the Lord preach righteousness to the unsaved world. Some versions say, You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you (ESV). The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work . Verse 10 says that it is by the second will that we have been sanctified. Our psalm gives us at least seven clues: The Hebrew of verse 1 is an intensified form of the verb, literally, Waiting, I waited. The New English Bible translates it, I waited, waited for the Lord. Its not a passive, ho-hum kind of waiting, like you do at the doctors office when you thumb through a bunch of magazines to pass the time. Psalm 40: When Youre in the Pit Related Media The late Supreme Court Justice, Louis Brandeis, said to his frustrated, impatient daughter, My dear, if you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. (Source unknown.) The Targum is, they shall, or let them rejoice, and be glad in thy word. September 2020 perception. December 2021 Maundy Thursday The word here employed means to be astonished or amazed. Of David. Let us always be mindful and thankful for the forgiveness of sins that has been extended to us despite our sins. To wait on the Lord is blessed. How can we determine the balance between trusting completely in the Lord versus using legitimate means or methods? I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart., The thought of verses 6-8 in the context is (I am following J. J. S. Perowne, The Book of Psalms [Zondervan], p. 335), My heart is full of Your abundant goodness towards me. Mine ears hast thou opened: Literally ears or two ears You have dug for me. The devil will tempt us to give up trusting in the Lord and to seek fulfillment in other ways. WebImagery is a literary element that provides vivid, detailed descriptions and communicates a specific perception of an object or scene to a reader. Christ is concerned for the joy of his people (John 15:11). They dont recognize or admit any personal weakness. Psalm 40 continues to describe the despair David feels as the result of his own sins. As we examine this psalm, we will notice a layout that some may consider backward. The first section of the psalm describes God delivering David. Righteousness The great congregation is the world and all who are in it. There may be an allusion here to Absaloms end, which was probably followed by a certain number of executions. 10:5-7). And shall trust in the Lord: Shall confide in God. I cry for the Lord to help the church today. Previous: Psalm 39, The Brevity of Life Rather, God wants us to desire to do His will and have His law in our hearts (vs. 8). We want to do better and we have great intentions to improve our lives, but it just is not working out how we would like. The first sentence of this psalm shows us that David is practicing what he has been preaching in the past two psalms. We are to magnify the Lord and His great salvation to a world that shrugs Him off, while they waste their lives watching inane TV shows or pursuing riches that will perish at their deaths. web design faculty. Or rather in the book of the law, the five books of Moses, since these were the only books or volumes that were composed at the writing of this psalm. 5:44), we pray for Gods kingdom to come, which includes the petition that God will vindicate his own and avenge his enemies. How many times do we find Paul in terrible circumstances? The scripture says He came to abolish the first in order to establish the second. The synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa. He offered Himself and fulfilled all offerings and sacrifices. The angels in heaven rejoice when _____ __________ comes to Christ. He will not lie. I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have spoken of Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not concealed your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great congregation.. Many times the circumstances of our lives are the pits. (6-10) Prayer for mercy and grace. By seeking the Lord alone, when the Lord answers, He gets the credit. This psalm is simply titled To the Chief Musician. His petition is a plea for deliverance from his enemies, but it is wider than that. And this not by change of place, but by assumption of nature. I agree with David, if I were to name off all the things the Lord has done for me, there would not be time to do any more Bible studies. Verses 6-8: The author of Hebrews dramatically applies these verses to the Greater David (10:5-7). Revelation 21 Seems To Be After The Millennium Where It Says There Will Be No Pain Or Tears. This should be our statement, too. But that is not the point. Lets dive in. He is the hub, that all must revolve around. We were hiking in the rain in Nepal when Marla slipped and hurt herself. Historical precedent and prayers for a present plight move the psalm along from beginning to end. He is the Rock of my salvation. He can take the mud of our sinful clothes and give us holy, white robes. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but Gods kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Learn how to talk about despair because of our sins. If you have not yet cried out to God to save you from judgment and eternal punishment for your sins, then you are in a deep pit with no human way out. Then I said, Behold, I come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me. In Psalm 40:7-10 David shifted to himself, recounting the things that he had done for God. WebWe are Imagry, an autonomous technologies software provider, and we have created a mapless autonomous driving solution. Get our Question of the Week delivered right to your inbox! The Bible says that the angels in heaven rejoice when one sinner comes to Him. This is a virtue that very few have. A new song (see note on Psalm 33:3). And thy thoughts which are to us-ward: Gods thoughtfulness for man, his consideration and providential care, deserve praise and thanks equally with his wondrous acts. Theyre like the guy I mentioned last week, who saw himself as a good sinner. Good sinners may admit that they need a little assistance now and then, but they dont need a Savior. Remember Psalm 40:8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law [is] within my heart.. The NIV Application Commentary offers fantastic background to the meaning of instruments in Psalms. And which those who believe in Christ and have no respect to, but hates both them and the encouragers of them. King Asa was a classic example of a good man who fell into this trap. , . Psalm 40:16 Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The LORD be magnified.. But Paul describes your future this way (2 Thess. So that I am not able to look up: This is not the exact idea of the Hebrew word. Imagery engages the readers senses to draw them more deeply into the writing. The implication is that all that God has done for us is so numerous that no one could remotely recount it all. Which was to die, and that a most shameful, and painful, and cursed death (see Luke 12:50; John 10:18; Heb. He also pointed to Gods desire for a relationship with humans. Powerful imagery can even provoke an emotional response in the reader. David beseeches God, whose loving-kindness is so great (verse 10), not to withhold from him those tender mercies which he lavishes so freely. 15:22), Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Easter The idea is that they were innumerable, the hairs of the head, or the sands on the seashore; being employed in the Scriptures to denote what cannot be numbered (see Psalm 69:4; compare Gen. 22:17; 32:12; Joshua 11:4; 2 Sam. They have peace in their own souls now, and shall enjoy eternal happiness with him hereafter. But more important, God can do something about our lives. And yet I never heard any newsman giving thanks to God for preserving us from destruction! I heard recently that a meteorite came uncomfortably close to earth. Because he did not have the indwelling Holy Spirit, he was genuinely concerned that God could finally reject him, something that Christians never have to fear, so he prayed for Gods grace and mercy to be poured out to him again. Psalm 40:7 Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book [it is] written of me,. David described it as a slimy pit, mud, and mire. All of us have and will endure times that are truly the pits, just as David describes. On the personal level, David had seen God deliver him from the bear and the lion, not to mention from Goliath and from Sauls repeated attempts to kill him. Verses 3-4: Trust in the Lord the Lord his trust: The verb and the noun forms of this important Hebrew root connote a faith of confident commitment, here in the right object, God alone (compare the teaching of Jer. The evils here referred to, understood as being those which came upon the Messiah, were sorrows that came upon him in consequence of his undertaking to do what could not be done by sacrifices and offerings (Psalm 40:6). Turn to the Lord. This is the reverse of that. Thou art my help and my deliverer: Implying the highest confidence (see notes at Psalm 18:2). Compare the psalmists pleasant frustration (in Psalm 139:12-18). May 2022 As understood of the Messiah, this would refer to the times when his life was in danger, as it often was, before the full period had arrived for him to die (John 7:6; Matt. When what was written was finished, it was rolled about a stick in the manner of a cylinder; and in this form is the book of the law with the Jews to this day (see notes on Luke 4:17). But he doesnt exactly say what the first pit was, except to describe it as a pit of destruction and the miry clay (40:2). Either in general (John 5:39; Luke 24:27; or particularly in Psalm 1:1). For a reward: The word used here eqeb means the end, the last of anything. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. I suppose that this is designed to represent his afflicted and humble condition as a man of poverty and sorrow. It is a ____________ to do the will of God. He can be the replacement to help us overcome our destructive habits. Now the writer of Hebrews explains what it means for Christ to fulfill Gods will (covenant). 3:12), many that profess to know Christ stumble and fall away when they get hit with various trials. And in the recollection that God had kept him in those sorrows, and had brought him up from such a depth of woe to such a height of glory. Psalm 18:2, Psalm 40:2, Matthew 7:24-27. We have previously noticed in these psalms of David that we must draw near to God for God to draw near to us. Psalm 24:4 is an example of a synecdoche. We have the tendency to think God cannot make these radical changes in our lives. If you want to get a mate, why keep waiting on the Lord? When we build upon Him, we shall not be moved. There is no sin in the wish that the wicked may not be successful in their plans, and may not be suffered to injure us. But if you think about Gods many wonders and how He has worked in the past to deliver His people, you will wait with expectant hope in Him. The movie was full of biblical imagery. (Verse 3 above), leaves no doubt what this song is about. This may be understood here rather as a confident expectation than a wish or desire. 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