A Study by Scott Sperling Psalm 40 For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.  1 I waited patiently for the LORD; He turned to me and heard my cry. 2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn 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 look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. 5 Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders You have done. The things You planned for us no one can recount to You; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.   6 Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but my ears You have pierced; burnt offerings and sin offerings You did not require. 7 Then I said, "Here I am, I have come-- it is written about me in the scroll. 8 I desire to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart."   9 I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, as you know, O LORD. 10 I do not hide Your righteousness in my heart; I speak of Your faithfulness and salvation. I do not conceal Your love and Your truth from the great assembly.   11 Do not withhold Your mercy from me, O LORD; may Your love and Your truth always protect me. 12 For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me. 13 Be pleased, O LORD, to save me; O LORD, come quickly to help me. 14 May all who seek to take my life be put to shame and confusion; may all who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace. 15 May those who say to me, "Aha! Aha!" be appalled at their own shame. 16 But may all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; may those who love Your salvation always say, "The LORD be exalted!"   17 Yet I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; O my God, do not delay.   At first reading, this psalm seems to speak of a child of God appealing to the Lord in his distress. And, as such, it is a very good psalm, as it speaks of the Lord's deliverance from "the slimy pit" (vss. 1-3), as it speaks of the blessedness of the man who waits on the Lord (vs. 4), as it speaks of the greatness of God's plan for us (vs. 5), as it speaks of the importance of obedience to God's law (vss. 6-8), as it speaks of the importance of preaching on attributes (vss. 9-10), and as it closes with a prayer for deliverance (vss. 11-17). However, there is more to this psalm than the foregoing reading of it. We are told this by the inspired writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews. He states: "Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said: `Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, "Here I am--it is written about me in the scroll--I have come to do your will, O God"'" (Heb. 10:5-7). So we see, Christ Himself spoke the words in vss. 6-8 of this psalm. Now, as we read this psalm, we find that there is no apparent change of narrator. Therefore, if Christ spoke vss. 6-8, then one can infer that He also spoke all of the verses. Knowing this, this psalm takes on a whole new meaning for us. Rather than just being a psalm about the experience of a child of God in distress, it becomes a psalm about the history of God's plan of salvation for mankind by chronicling the experiences of Jesus Christ. With this reading, this psalm first celebrates the deliverance of Jesus Christ from the grave, the exaltation of Jesus by His resurrection from the dead, and the great wonder of salvation that God has provided through the sacrifice of Christ. Then, it recounts the counsel of the Father with His Son concerning the plan of salvation. The psalm ends with a prayer of Christ from the cross, as He carries out this plan of salvation. Praise God that the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews shed light on the true meaning of this psalm, leading us to its true meaning! Granted, we can find a good lesson in this psalm if we read it as it applies to the child of God. However, if we read this psalm as it applies to Jesus, if we see (as does the writer of Hebrews) these words as being spoken by Jesus Christ Himself, we gain great insight into the gift of our salvation, which God has graciously given us.   Psalm 40:1-5 The Deliverance and Exaltation of Christ 1 I waited patiently for the LORD; He turned to me and heard my cry. 2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn 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 look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. 5 Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders You have done. The things You planned for us no one can recount to You; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.   The psalm starts with an overview of Christ's suffering, deliverance and exaltation. Jesus here looks back on his suffering: "I waited patiently for the LORD; He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire"  (vss. 1-2). Thank God that Jesus "waited patiently" in His trials. At any time, He could have called down His angels to save Himself, yet He chose to bore the sufferings of the cross all the way through to completion, "waiting patiently" until the time when the Father deemed that the price was paid. Where would we be if Jesus did not bear His afflictions patiently? We would be lost in our sins, headed for judgment. Jesus spent hours on the cross, and then three days in the grave, the "slimy pit", the "mud and the mire". Where would we be if Jesus did not wait patiently in His afflictions until the will of God was completed? Again, we would be lost. Should we not, then, wait patiently in our own afflictions? Should we not bear them with courage as we wait for the will of God to be fulfilled in our lives? The result of Jesus' patience was deliverance and exaltation: "He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God" (vss. 2-3). We are told that Jesus and his disciples sang a hymn after the first communion (see Matt. 26:30). If Jesus could sing a hymn of praise to His Father when He was facing the cross, what a new song of praise He can sing in His exaltation! "Justice magnified and grace victorious; hell subdued and heaven glorified; death destroyed and immortality established; sin o'erthrown and righteousness resplendent; what a theme for a hymn in that day when our Lord drinketh the red wine new with us all in our heavenly Father's kingdom!"[4] Jesus next speaks of the blessings we receive as a result of being redeemed and having fellowship with the Father: "Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD. Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders You have done. The things You planned for us no one can recount to You; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare" (vss. 3-5). Those of the world can see and be blessed by the wonders of God's creation, but we who are redeemed can, in addition to the wonders of the creation, glory in the greatness of God's redemption. Indeed, God's plan of salvation is the greatest of the "wonders [He has] done." And implicitly here is the promise of many wonders to come, as Jesus says: "The things You planned for us no one can recount to You; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare." Things here on earth can seem grim at times. But let us always look ahead to the glory that will follow this life. As children of God, we have "an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade", that is "kept in heaven for [us]" (I Pet. 1:4). This inheritance can be nothing but magnificent, because it is the inheritance of the child of God, coming from the riches of God's glory.   Psalm 40:6-8 God’s Plan of Salvation 6 Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but my ears You have pierced; burnt offerings and sin offerings You did not require. 7 Then I said, "Here I am, I have come-- it is written about me in the scroll. 8 I desire to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart."   According to the writer of the Epistle of Hebrews, the passage reads: "[W]hen Christ came into the world, He said: `Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body You prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings You were not pleased. Then I said, "Here I am--it is written about me in the scroll--I have come to do Your will, O God"'" (Heb. 10:5-7; see vss. 6-8 above). I will comment on this translation of these verses. This translation of these verses was taken from the Septuagent, which was a translation of the Old Testament into Greek that Hebrew scholars made before the time of Christ. The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews gives sanction to this translation of these verses which, though written before the time of Christ, is a clearer statement of the plan of salvation than the more recent translations of this passage. Actually, I do not need to comment much on this passage myself, because the writer of the Epistle of Hebrews himself makes clear its meaning: "First [Christ] said, `Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings You did not desire, nor were You pleased with them' (although the law required them to be made). Then He said, `Here I am, I have come to do your will.' He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" (Heb. 10:8-10). The original laws concerning "sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings" were not sufficient to truly remove the sins of the offerer, thus, God was not "pleased with them." Rather, those offerings were merely a shadow of the true Offering that would be sufficient to please God. Such an offering could only be made by one who was pure and blameless himself, thus Jesus resolved, as He came into the world, to be pure, sinless and blameless, saying: "Here I am, I have come--it is written about me in the scroll. I desire to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart" (vss. 7- 8). This is the essence of the Gospel, God's plan of salvation, which is the theme of the entire Bible, Old and New Testaments. As Jesus here says: "It is written about me in the scroll" (vs. 7). "The scroll" refers to the writings of the Old Testament. Jesus can be found on nearly every page of the Old Testament. On many pages, we see Jesus in types and shadows of things to come. When Abraham offered his son Isaac at the altar, this is a shadow of our Father in Heaven offering His Son. When Joseph was thrown into prison then exalted in the kingdom, this is a shadow of Christ going into the grave then being exalted in His kingdom. When the nation of Israel passed through the Red Sea and then faced forty years of testing in the desert, this is a shadow of Christ being baptized and then facing forty days of testing in the desert. And so on. Jesus is also seen in the Old Testament in the many prophesies concerning the Messiah. We see the sufferings of the Messiah, we see the glory of Messiah, and we see the coming in judgment of the Messiah. Indeed, "it is written about [Jesus Christ] in the scroll." This is, perhaps, the greatest objective evidence of the truth of Christianity that we have: that hundreds, even thousands, of years before He came to earth, Jesus Christ was written about in the Scriptures. "If any ask our reason for receiving Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah, we point to `the volume of the book' of God, and there find that Messiah was to be, to do and to suffer just what Jesus was, and did, and suffered, and that no other person, who has ever appeared on this earth bore those prophetic marks."[5]   Psalm 40:9-10 Proclaiming the Greatness of God 9 I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, as You know, O LORD. 10 I do not hide Your righteousness in my heart; I speak of Your faithfulness and salvation. I do not conceal Your love and Your truth from the great assembly.   After meditating on God's plan of salvation, it is natural and appropriate to next meditate on the greatness of God. Jesus goes beyond merely meditating on the greatness of God, though. He assertively proclaims God's greatness: "I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, as You know, O LORD. I do not hide Your righteousness in my heart; I speak of Your faithfulness and salvation. I do not conceal Your love and Your truth from the great assembly" (vss. 9-10). We should not be shy in proclaiming God's greatness. Though the greatness of God should be obvious to everyone, many (sadly) need to be reminded of it. So, I urge you reader, like Jesus, boldly "proclaim" the greatness of God! Jesus here tells of how He Himself proclaims God's "righteousness", "faithfulness", "salvation", "love", and "truth". What a great God we have! He is "righteous", but He "loves" us and in His "love", offer us His "salvation". Though we lack faithfulness to Him, He overflows with "faithfulness" to us. He is a God of "truth", always fulfilling His promises. Proclaim these things. The world needs to hear them. Many in the world have wrong ideas about God. Many do not consider God to be "righteous". They see evil in the world and wrongly conclude that God is evil. Many do not know God enough to have experienced His "faithfulness". They (sadly) have not been told clearly about God's great gift of "salvation". They have not felt God's "love". They have not read His "truth", as set out in the Bible. Again, boldly proclaim these things! Do not "conceal" these things. They are not meant to be hidden in your heart. Oh that we could all be able to say: "I do not seal my lips... I do not hide Your righteousness in my heart... I do not conceal Your love and Your truth..." The world greatly needs to know the truth about God. There are so many misconceptions about His character. It is our charter, as God's children, to proclaim the truth about the greatness of God, His "righteousness", "faithfulness", "salvation", "love", and "truth".   Psalm 40:11-17 A Prayer for Deliverance   11 Do not withhold Your mercy from me, O LORD; may Your love and Your truth always protect me. 12 For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me. 13 Be pleased, O LORD, to save me; O LORD, come quickly to help me. 14 May all who seek to take my life be put to shame and confusion; may all who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace. 15 May those who say to me, "Aha! Aha!" be appalled at their own shame. 16 But may all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; may those who love Your salvation always say, "The LORD be exalted!" 17 Yet I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; O my God, do not delay.     To end the psalm, we are taken back to the cross, as Jesus prays to His Father for deliverance. In this prayer, we are given insight into Christ's agony as, for the only time, He is burdened by sin. Of course, Jesus is not burdened by His own sin--He was sinless-- rather, He is burdened by our sins, as "God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us" (II Cor. 5:21). Peter tells us that Jesus "Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree" (I Peter 2:24). Here, we have Christ's words as He bears the weight of our sin: "For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head and my heart fails within me"  (vs. 12). We may possibly be able to imagine the physical pain of the cross. However, we who are sinners cannot possibly imagine the spiritual pain that Christ suffered on the cross, as He, the sinless one, bore the spiritual weight of all our sins. The gift of His life for us was the greatest gift ever offered to any man, yet some defiantly reject this gift. So Christ says from the cross: "May those who say, `Aha! Aha!' be appalled at their own shame" (vs. 15). To reject God's gift of salvation through Jesus Christ is indeed "shameful". As the writer of Hebrews points out: "Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?" (Heb. 10:28-29). But our Lord, in His grace, remembers too those who accept the gift of salvation. He prays for us: "But may all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; may those who love Your salvation always say, `The Lord be exalted!'" (vs. 16). ----------- Bibliography and Suggested Reading Alexander, Joseph Addison. The Psalms Translated and Explained.  Edinburgh: Andrew Elliot, 1864.  Anonymous.  A Plain Commentary on the Book of Psalms. Philadelphia:  Henry Hooker and Co., 1857. Barnes, Albert.  Notes on the Book of Psalms.  New York:  Harper & Brothers Publishing, 1871. Bonar, Andrew. Christ and His Church in the Book of Psalms.  New York:  Robert Carter & Brothers, 1860. Calvin, John.  A Commentary on the Book of Psalms.  3 Vols.  Oxford: D. A. Talboys, 1840. (Originally published in Latin in 1557).  Clarke, Adam. The Holy Bible with a Commentary and Critical Notes.  Vol. III.  London:  William Tegg & Co., 1854.  (Originally published in 1831).  Cowles, Henry.  The Psalms with Notes, Critical, Explanatory and Practical.  New York:  D. Appleton & Co., 1872. Darby, John Nelson.  Practical Reflections on the Psalms.  London:  Robert L. Allan, 1870. Delitzsch, Franz.  Biblical Commentary on the Psalms. Edinburgh:  T & T Clark, 1892. (Originally published in 1860). Dickson, David. An Explication of the Other Fifty Psalms, from Ps. 50 to Ps. 100. Cornhill, U.K.:  Ralph Smith, 1653.  Exell, Joseph S. and Henry Donald Spence-Jones, eds. The Pulpit Commentary. Vols. 17, 18, & 19. New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1884.  Hengstenberg, F. W.  Commentary on the Psalms.  Edinburgh:  T & T Clark, 1864. Henry, Matthew.  An Exposition of All the Books of the Old and New Testament.  Vol. II.  London: W. Baynes, 1806. (Originally published in 1710). Horne, George. A Commentary on the Book of Psalms.  New York:  Robert Carter & Brothers, 1854. Jamieson, Robert; Fausset, A. R.; Brown, David.  A Commentary: Critical, Experimental, and Practical on the Old and New Testaments.  Glasgow:  William Collins, Queen’s Printer, 1863. Kidner, Derek. Psalms (in 2 Vols.). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2008 (first published in 1975). Kirkpatrick, A. F. The Book of Psalms with Introduction and Notes – Books II and III (from The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges). Cambridge, UK: University Press, 1895. Lange, John Peter, ed. and Philip Schaff, trans.  A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical.  New York:  Charles Scribner & Co., 1865.  Maclaren, Alexander. The Psalms (in 3 Vols., from The Expositor’s Bible, ed. by W. R. Nicoll). New York: A. C. Armstrong and Son, 1901. Perowne, J. J. Stewart.  The Book of Psalms:  A New Translation with Explanatory Notes.  London:  George Bell & Sons, 1880. Plumer, William S.  Studies in the Book of Psalms.  Philadelphia:  J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1872. Scott, Thomas. Commentary on the Holy Bible, Vol. III. London: James Nisbet, 1866. Spurgeon, Charles.  The Treasury of David.  6 Vols.  London: Marshall Brothers, Ltd., 1885. Tholuck, Augustus.  A Translation and Commentary of the Book of Psalms.  Philadelphia:  Martien, 1858. Trapp, John.  A Commentary on the Old and New Testaments. Vol. II (Ezra to Psalms).  Edmonton, Canada: Still Waters Revival Books (www.PuritanDownloads.com). (Originally published c. 1660). VanGemeren, Willem A., (Gaebelein, Frank E., ed).  Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 5 – Psalms to Song of Songs.  Grand Rapids, MI:  Zondervan, 1991. -------- Many of these books (those in public domain) can be downloaded free of charge from:  http://www.ClassicChristianLibrary.com