This week’s “Wednesday Word” is a summary of an exposition of Psalm 40 from Trent Hunter given on Sunday August 17, 2008.

Psalm 40 is a Psalm of David found in the first of five books of the Psalter. Of the seventy-three Davidic psalms, thirty-seven of those appear in the opening book (Pss. 1-41). Like many of these introductory psalms, Psalm 40 is a passionate plea for God’s intervention and deliverance. Today we will organize our thoughts around three questions that will help us consider the riches of this inspired song.

First, why did David ask for deliverance?

Though we cannot decipher the exact historical setting that evoked David’s cries for deliverance–the biblical narrative leads us to many speculations–our own personal experience(s) can resonate with his pleas. Living in the same sin cursed world, we who walk by faith know the self-loathing effects of sin (v. 12), the anguish of godless aggressors (v. 14-15), and the spiritual warfare of dodging Satan’s fiery darts (cf. Eph. 6). The miry pit is David’s term which embodies the biblical imagery of chaos, isolation, abandonment, and bondage. In our day we have our own idioms. Perhaps, we are view our lives as a trainwreck, or buried in an avalanche, or marooned on an island. Whatever imagery you may want to employ, David has experienced the devasting effects of “the miry bog” and he shows us that deliverance is possible, which leads to a second question.

Second, how was David’s deliverance possible?

The miry pit is where David begins, but the mercy of God is demonstrated in rescuing him from the pit and setting his feet upon the rock (v. 1). But how? Verses 6-7 tell us that it is not by means of sacrifice or burnt offering. Though the mercy seat of God was established in the midst of Israel, it was never designed to atone for high-handed sins or sins of active rebellion against God. This is why in Psalm 51, after David fornicated with Bathsheba and made plans for the death of her husband, the penitent king did not find solace in the sacrificial system (51:16-17). He instead cried out for God’s unfailing mercy and steadfast love (51:1ff). As in Psalm 51, David’s hope in Psalm 40 is in God’s grace (40:11). It is not because of religious works, nor is it by legal obedience. Verse 8 says, that the law fills David’s heart, yet simultaneously David’s sin militates against his obedience. Like Paul, he is a wretched man (cf. Rom. 7). So how is it that David is delivered?

Nestled in verse 6, we find the key. God who rich in mercy has given David an “open ear.” In the midst of the miry pit, David cries out and God hears. In accordance with YHWH’s covenantal faithfulness to Israel, God hears from heaven and forgives (cf. 1 Kings 8). But how? How can a holy God forgive? The text doesn’t say explicitly, but the rest of the Scripture is clear. God who is faithful to his promise, sent a suffering servant, Isaiah 53 says, to bear the marks of sin in his body and to assuage the wrath of God. Isaiah 53:12 concludes,”he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.” This is the good news to which David looks: God forgives (Ps. 32:1) and has made a way of deliverance for those who cry out to him (Ps. 50:15). We have a mediator who intercedes for us. In time, the Scripture reveals that this advocate is none other than Jesus Christ (1 John 2:1-2). He is our suffering servant, our great high priest, and our conquering redeemer. So, this deliverance leads to a final question.

Third, what was David’s deliverance for?

David’s deliverance was not random or aimless. Like the people of God before him (Israel the Exodus) and the people of God after him (the church, you, and me), the deliverance that David experienced was for the praise of his glorious grace (cf. Ex. 20-24; Eph. 1). It is not incidental that Psalm 40, which keys in on God’s powerful deliverance, is filled with escalating praise and proclamation in light of God’s goodness. Consider verses 9-10 and listen for the “speaking” words:

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.

In this psalm and throughout the Bible, the liberating work of deliverance accomplished by God on behalf of his people is the source of all praise! In fact, singing a “new song” as David rejoices in verse 3 is directly related to the Lord’s work of salvation. In Psalm 96:1 and Revelation 5:9, a new song is sung as a response to God’s “new” work of salvation. The result, through the ages, is the same. God’s people are filled with joy and perpetual praise. In this the divine design of God is manifest. God so loved the world that he sent his only son to die in order to make all who believeth in him infinitely glad!

What about you? Is your heart filled with a new song? Are you walking in the joy of the Lord? May we read Psalm 40 this week and consider the depths from which the Lord has lifted us and praise Him with a new song.

Sola Deo Gloria, dss

Audio from Trent Hunter’s Lesson: Psalm 40