Psalm 40

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;
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.
Many will see and fear the Lord
    and put their trust in him.
Blessed is the one
    who trusts in the Lord,
who does not look to the proud,
    to those who turn aside to false gods.
Many, Lord my God,
    are the wonders you have done,
    the things you planned for us.
None can compare with you;
    were I to speak and tell of your deeds,
    they would be too many to declare.
Sacrifice and offering you did not desire—
    but my ears you have opened—
    burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.
Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—
    it is written about me in the scroll.
I desire to do your will, my God;
    your law is within my heart.”
I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly;
    I do not seal my lips, Lord,
    as you know.
I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;
    I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help.
I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness
    from the great assembly.
Do not withhold your mercy from me, Lord;
    may your love and faithfulness always protect me.
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.
Be pleased to save me, Lord;
    come quickly, Lord, to help me.
May all who want to take my life
    be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin
    be turned back in disgrace.
May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
    be appalled at their own shame.
But may all who seek you
    rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who long for your saving help always say,
    “The Lord is great!”
But as for me, I am poor and needy;
    may the Lord think of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
    you are my God, do not delay.

• Psalm 40:1-17

Type of Psalm

Imprecatory psalms: Asking for vengeance against enemies.  From the two examples above, these requests for vengeance are usually not specific in how God does it.  I have written about this type of psalm or prayer in that they are legitimate requests to God.  We know that God will eventually stamp out all evil in the world.  Praying that God would do as He promises that He will eventually do is legitimate, but when a face is applied to that evil, our first reaction should be one of forgiveness and mercy.

Prophetic psalms: Prophetic psalms are those psalms containing prophecy that is not specifically Messianic prophecy.

Psalms of thanksgiving for God’s mercies to individuals:  Giving God thanks as noted.

Matthew Henry’s Summary

“It should seem David penned this psalm upon occasion of his deliverance, by the power and goodness of God, from some great and pressing trouble, by which he was in danger of being overwhelmed; probably it was some trouble of mind arising from a sense of sin and of God’s displeasure against him for it. In this psalm, I. David records God’s favour to him in delivering him out of his deep distress, with thankfulness to his praise, ver. 1-5. II. Thence he takes occasion to speak of the work of our redemption by Christ, ver. 6-10. III. That gives him encouragement to pray to God for mercy and grace both for himself and for his friends, ver. 11-17.”

• Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm40:12 : ” ‘The payment for sin is death. But God gives us the free gift of life forever in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Romans 6:23). We have a problem: We are not holy, and ‘anyone whose life is not holy will never see the Lord’ (Hebrews 12:14).
“Our deeds are ugly. Our actions are harsh. We don’t do what we want to do, we don’t like what we do, and what’s worse-yes, there is something worse-we can’t change.
“We try, oh, how we try. But ‘Can a leopard change his spots? In the same way, Jerusalem, you cannot change and do good, because you are accustomed to doing evil’ (Jeremiah 13:23).
“We, like Adam, were under a curse, but Jesus ‘changed places with us and put himself under that curse’ (Galatians 3:13).
“The sinless One took on the face of a sinner so that we sinners could take on the face of a saint.”

• Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails

My Thoughts

David waited on the Lord and the Lord plucked him from the muck and mire and placed him on a rock, solid ground.  God put a new song of praise in his heart.

David speaks of his ears opened to God’s voice.  David does not look at the proud.  This is interesting.  Whenever you are at a low point, the proud seem to come out of the woodwork to mock you and shame you.

But David has done what is right, yet for his sins, he begs for God’s mercy.

Then the imprecatory verses speak of shame and confusion upon those who mock him.  And this is immediately followed by an intercessory verse for those who seek God.  May they rejoice and be glad.

For those who dislike any form of imprecatory verses, this is extremely even handed.  For those enemies who never seek God, they should be put to shame and those, even the enemies, who seek God and repent should be given the Grace of rejoicing and Joy.

Psalm 41

Blessed are those who have regard for the weak;
    the Lord delivers them in times of trouble.
The Lord protects and preserves them—
    they are counted among the blessed in the land—
    he does not give them over to the desire of their foes.
The Lord sustains them on their sickbed
    and restores them from their bed of illness.
I said, “Have mercy on me, Lord;
    heal me, for I have sinned against you.”
My enemies say of me in malice,
    “When will he die and his name perish?”
When one of them comes to see me,
    he speaks falsely, while his heart gathers slander;
    then he goes out and spreads it around.
All my enemies whisper together against me;
    they imagine the worst for me, saying,
“A vile disease has afflicted him;
    he will never get up from the place where he lies.”
Even my close friend,
    someone I trusted,
one who shared my bread,
    has turned against me.
But may you have mercy on me, Lord;
    raise me up, that I may repay them.
I know that you are pleased with me,
    for my enemy does not triumph over me.
Because of my integrity you uphold me
    and set me in your presence forever.
Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and Amen.

• Psalm 41:1-13

Type of Psalm

Psalms of Affliction: Psalms where the psalmist is crying out in pain or distress, asking God where He is in the psalmist’s time of need.  But no matter how dire the circumstances or how long the lament, there seems to always be a word of praise.  Otherwise, why do we go to God in such times, other than to recognize Him as the only one who can help us?

Matthew Henry’s Summary

“God’s kindness and truth have often been the support and comfort of the saints when they have had experience of man’s unkindness and treachery. David here found his enemies very barbarous, but his God very gracious. I. He here comforts himself in his communion with God under his sickness, by faith receiving and laying hold of God’s promises (ver. 1-3) and lifting up his heart in prayer, ver. 4. II. He represents the malice of his enemies against him, ver. 5-9. III. He leaves his case with God (ver. 10-12), and so the psalm concludes with a doxology, ver. 13. Is any afflicted with sickness? let him sing the beginning of this psalm. Is any persecuted by enemies? let him sing the latter end of it.”

• Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm 41:6 : ”This hypocritical ‘sick call’ really adds insult to injury.  The visitor lies to the sick one and gathers ‘information’ for more slander.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

My Thoughts

David starts this psalm with a general statement of how God takes care of the weak.  But then David makes it personal.  “Oh, God, I am weak with an illness.”

If it were not for the dire circumstances of being extremely ill, this is almost comical, but it is instructive.  Even in this relatively short psalm about being ill and wanting God’s help, praise is given before any supplication on the psalmist’s part.  We can take heed of that prayer structure.  It is not reminding God that He helps the weak; it is praise to God.

But David’s enemies are gloating.  They are getting ready to take over once David is dead.  He even has slanderers visit to gather information that can be “manipulated” to make the circumstances more dire.

David begs for God’s mercy.

But as David seems to always do, regardless of how bad the circumstances are in a lament, there is a section of praise.  Thanking God beforehand, in a sense.

Psalm 42

As the deer pants for streams of water,
    so my soul pants for you, my God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
    When can I go and meet with God?
My tears have been my food
    day and night,
while people say to me all day long,
    “Where is your God?”
These things I remember
    as I pour out my soul:
how I used to go to the house of God
    under the protection of the Mighty One
with shouts of joy and praise
    among the festive throng.
Why, my soul, are you downcast?
    Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
    for I will yet praise him,
    my Savior and my God.
My soul is downcast within me;
    therefore I will remember you
from the land of the Jordan,
    the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.
Deep calls to deep
    in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
    have swept over me.
By day the Lord directs his love,
    at night his song is with me—
    a prayer to the God of my life.
I say to God my Rock,
    “Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about mourning,
    oppressed by the enemy?”
My bones suffer mortal agony
    as my foes taunt me,
saying to me all day long,
    “Where is your God?”
Why, my soul, are you downcast?
    Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
    for I will yet praise him,
    my Savior and my God.

• Psalm 42:1-11

Type of Psalm

Psalms of Affliction: Psalms where the psalmist is crying out in pain or distress, asking God where He is in the psalmist’s time of need.  But no matter how dire the circumstances or how long the lament, there seems to always be a word of praise.  Otherwise, why do we go to God in such times, other than to recognize Him as the only one who can help us?

Matthew Henry’s Summary

“If the book of Psalms be, as some have styled it, a mirror or looking-glass of pious and devout affections, this psalm in particular deserves, to be so entitled.  Gracious desires are here strong and fervent; gracious hopes and fears, joys and sorrows, are here struggling, but the pleasing passion comes off a conqueror. Or we may take it for a conflict between sense and faith, sense objecting and faith answering. I. Faith begins with holy desires towards God and communion with him, ver. 1, 2. II. Sense complains of the darkness and cloudiness of the present condition, aggravated by the remembrance of the former enjoyments, ver. 3, 4. III. Faith silences the complaint with the assurance of a good issue at last, ver. 5. IV. Sense renews its complaints of the present dark and melancholy state, ver. 6, 7. V. Faith holds up the heart, notwithstanding, with hope that the day will dawn, ver. 8. VI. Sense repeats its lamentations (ver. 9, 10) and sighs out the same remonstrance it had before made of its grievances. VII. Faith gets the last word (ver. 11), for the silencing of the complaints of sense. The title does not tell us who was the penman of this psalm, but most probably it was David, and we may conjecture that it was penned by him at a time when, either by Saul’s persecution or Absalom’s rebellion, he was driven from the sanctuary and cut off from the privilege of waiting upon God in public ordinances.”

• Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm 42:9 : “Thy have you forgotten me?” (Ps. 42:9). This question comes to the lips of all Christians when everything stands against them, when all earthly hope has been shattered, when in the course of great world events they feel totally lost, when all of life’s goals seem unattainable, and everything appears pointless. Then, however, it depends where they direct this question: not to a dark fate but to the God who is and remains my Rock, the eternal Ground on which my life rests. When I fall into doubt, God remains solid as a rock When I waver, God remains unshakable. When I become unfaithful, God remains faithful…. To endure humiliation and to be mocked for the sake of the faith-that has been a distinction of the godly for centuries. It hurts body and soul that no day passes without the name of God being doubted and blasphemed. Where, then, is your God? I confess God before the world and before all enemies of God when in deepest need I believe in God’s goodness, when in guilt I believe in forgiveness, when in death I believe in life, when in defeat I believe in victory, when in desolation I believe in God’s gracious presence. Those who have found God in the cross of Jesus Christ know how wonderfully God hides himself in this world and how he is closest precisely when we believe him to be most distant.”

• Dietrich Bonhoeffer, I Want to Live These Days with You, devotional compiled from several of his writings

My Thoughts

First, Matthew Henry claims that there is no attributed author, but the footnotes at the beginning of the psalm attribute the author as “the sons of Korah.”  Was there a manuscript discovery after the writing of M. Henry’s Commentary?

A poetic analogy between the deer panting and the author panting for God, but then the rest of the psalm seems a lot like the last two, but maybe a little more upbeat.

The author’s soul is downcast.  The author wants to meet with God.  Enemies are taunting where is your God?  Why has God forsaken him?

But again, the question about why you are downcast, but this time with the answer.

Put your hope in God.

It ends with praises to God, even while the troubles continue.  As mentioned above, like saying thank you ahead of time, fully confident faith that God will be the Savior and Deliverer.

Some Serendipitous Reflections

Psalm 40

“1. When God seems to take too long to help you, what ‘false gods’ offer tempting alter­ native solutions? What happened the last time you relied on one of those gods?
“2. What in your life feels like a ‘slimy pit’? Where are you: (a) Knee-deep? (b) ‘Waisted’ (c) One foot out? (d) Standing up to it?
“3. Which helps you most with present troubles: Remembering God’s actions in the past? Or claiming God’s promises for the future? Why?
“4. The New Testament puts verses 6-8 into the mouth of Jesus (see Heb 10:5-9). Do you see any other foretastes of Jesus in the psalm? What sacrifice does God require from you?
“5. Which is the greater pressure you right now: The external opposition of others? Or the internal weight of your sin? What from this psalm most helps you in dealing with this pressure?”

Psalm 41

“1. Do you consider yourself strong or weak? What does it mean to you to show regard for the weak?
“2. Have you secretly rejoiced at another’s trouble? What does that say about you? What will Judas be forever remembered as?
“3. What one word describes your life in relation to God’s promises: Incongruity? Integrity? Blessed? Never -say ­die? Illustrate with an experience from this past month.”

Psalm 42-43

“1. What causes God to seem far away at times? Who moved, God or you? How might this psalm help you in times when you wonder where God is?
“2. In dealing with his depression, this man freely cried (42:3), talked to himself (42:5,11; 43:5), reminded himself of God’s nature (42:6,8) and prayed honestly (42:9; 43:2). By comparison, how do you deal with depression? What from this man’s example might help you lace times of spiritual dryness in your life?
“3. Of the adjectives and titles which this man ascribed to God, which ones best describe your relationship with God? Is the possessive pronoun ‘my’ one that you readily use in relation to God? Why or why not? How has God been ‘yours’ in recent weeks?”

• Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups

There is one set of questions each for Psalms 40 and 41.  There is one set of questions for Psalms 42 and 43 combined as the themes overlap.

Substitute whatever group for any reference to a small group or ask who could come to your aid.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.