Psalm 40:1-17 NKJV
40 I waited patiently for the Lord;
And He inclined to me,
And heard my cry.
2 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
Out of the miry clay,
And set my feet upon a rock,
And established my steps.
3 He has put a new song in my mouth—
Praise to our God;
Many will see it and fear,
And will trust in the Lord.
4 Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust,
And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
5 Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works
Which You have done;
And Your thoughts toward us
Cannot be recounted to You in order;
If I would declare and speak of them,
They are more than can be numbered.
6 Sacrifice and offering You did not desire;
My ears You have opened.
Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require.
7 Then I said, “Behold, I come;
In the scroll of the book it is written of me.
8 I delight to do Your will, O my God,
And Your law is within my heart.”
9 I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness
In the great assembly;
Indeed, I do not restrain my lips,
O Lord, You Yourself know.
10 I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;
I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth
From the great assembly.
11 Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O Lord;
Let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me.
12 For innumerable evils have surrounded me;
My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up;
They are more than the hairs of my head;
Therefore my heart fails me.
13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me;
O Lord, make haste to help me!
14 Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion
Who seek to destroy my life;
Let them be driven backward and brought to dishonor
Who wish me evil.
15 Let them be confounded because of their shame,
Who say to me, “Aha, aha!”
16 Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
Let such as love Your salvation say continually,
“The Lord be magnified!”
17 But I am poor and needy;
Yet the Lord thinks upon me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
Do not delay, O my God.
In Psalm 40, we encounter a heart-felt prayer that resonates deeply with the sufferings of Christ. Martin Luther highlights how this psalm speaks to the heart of the Gospel, revealing Christ’s lament for deliverance from death and His unwavering commitment to fulfill God’s will. Luther writes:
“The 40th Psalm… clearly prophesies that He alone does God’s will and fulfills the law and that this is written about Him in the book of Moses [v. 8]. He dissolves and abolishes the old law with its sacrifices and its holiness by which God’s will was not fulfilled. All these things must be done for us by Himself alone, not by our work or sacrifices. He therefore promises and establishes the New Testament in which the justification of the believers will be preached in the great congregation, that is, in the entire world, and not the justification by sacrifices or our works. For works and sacrifices (as he says in verse 5), make only arrogant and false saints whose hope lies not in God, nor in His grace, but in their lies and false holiness.”
The psalmist’s plea echoes our own struggles and the need for divine intervention in times of trouble. Luther emphasizes that Christ, through His obedience, dissolves the old law that required sacrifices and self-righteousness. Instead of relying on our own works—often tainted by pride and false holiness—Christ invites us to rest in His completed work of atonement. He establishes the New Covenant, proclaiming justification through faith alone, not through the futile attempts of human efforts.
As we meditate on verses 5-6, we are reminded that true righteousness is found not in ritual or sacrifice but in a heart aligned with God’s grace. The call to trust in His mercy and not in our own accomplishments is a foundational truth that we must embrace daily. Let us pray: Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus Christ, who fulfilled the law and established a new way of righteousness through faith. Help us to turn away from our reliance on our works and to place our hope fully in Your grace. May we echo Christ’s willingness to do Your will, and may our lives reflect the faith and humility that comes from trusting in You alone. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.