Psalms 40
Chuck Smith on Psalms 40
Verse by verse, the C2000, 1979 to 1985 and C3000, 1985 to 1999 series. Permission granted by The Word For Today.
C2000 · 1979 to 1985
Verses 1–2
I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of the horrible pit, out of the miry clay, he set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings (40:1-2).
Now his last prayer was, "Lord, help me, save me from the strokes and so forth," and now, "I waited patiently for the Lord. He inclined unto me; He heard my cry. He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, and out of the miry clay, and He set my feet upon a rock and established my goings." Oh, when I look back and see the horrible pit that God took me out of, how thankful I am. I realize I was sinking, I was going down, but God put my feet upon a solid rock. He established my life in Christ.
Verses 3–4
He has put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and reverence, and shall trust in the LORD. Blessed is that man that makes the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies (40:3-4).
As we were driving home this afternoon, we were driving down Newport Boulevard and I saw in the rear view mirror, a sharp, sharp, sharp, sharp, little Ford, probably a 1929 vintage or something that was really fixed up with a full blown type of a caddy engine in the thing. And, of course, everything was all chrome and everything was all opened, and this guy was just sitting there, you know, just... It was just perfection, you know. Everything was just so sparkling and shining and everything else, and he was driving down Newport Boulevard. And I saw him in the rear view mirror as he was coming past us on Kay's side, and I said, "Hey, Kay, take a look over to the right and see that fellow driving his god down the street." And you could tell by the way, that it was. And she looked over and then she looked back real quickly, she said, "I don't want to give him the satisfaction of staring at it." She said, "Because that's what he wants." And then she said, and she quoted this scripture, "Blessed is the man that respects not the proud." And she said, "He is proud of that thing and I don't want to respect him." And, "Nor such as turn aside to lies."
Verse 5
Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts towards us: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered (40:5).
You can't even number the thoughts that God has concerning you.
Verse 6
Sacrifice and offerings you did not desire; my ears hast thou opened (40:6):
Now, God doesn't really desire that you give to Him sacrifices and offerings as much as He desires that you submit to Him your life.
And this phrase, "My ear hath He opened." When a servant had served a six-year term, according to the law he had to be released. You could not keep a servant more than six years. The seventh year was the year of release and all of the servants were released from their bondage or from their servitude in the seventh year. Except if a servant would come to you and say, "I enjoy serving you. I am happy here. I don't want to go out free. I want to remain your servant." Then you would take an awl, and you would go over to the door post of your house and you would put his earlobe up against the doorpost, and you take this awl and pin him with the awl through the earlobe to the doorpost of your house. You just drive the pin through and just pin him there to the doorpost. Actually, it was just an ear-piercing process. And then they would put a gold ring in the hole that was made. So that if you saw a servant or a slave with a gold ring in his ear, you knew that he was a servant by choice. He was a servant willingly. He had offered himself. He had said, "I don't want to be set free. I want to be your servant for life."
Now God is saying, "Look, I really don't want sacrifice or offering. The ear, I want to open it. I want you to submit unto a life of service. I want your life." And so I am a servant by choice. Lord, I love serving You. Lord, I don't want to do anything else but serve You. There is no other life for me, Lord, than a life of service unto You. And so mine ear hath He pierced. I am a servant by choice.
burnt offerings, sin offerings you did not require (40:6).
Now a prophecy relating to Jesus. And, of course, this is all prophecy relating to Jesus. Mine ear hath He pierced. He was in the form of God, thought it not robbery or something to be grasped to be equal with God. But He humbled Himself and came in the likeness of man and as a servant. Humbled Himself, became as a servant. A servant willingly. "Mine ear hath He pierced."
Verse 7
Then said I (40:7),
and quoted of Jesus in the New Testament in the book of Hebrews,
Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me (40:7),
So, the volume of this book, the volume of the Old Testament is actually written concerning Jesus Christ. Jesus said to the Pharisees, "You do search the scriptures because in them you think you have life, but they actually testify of Me, but you will not come to Me that you might have life" (John 5:39-40). "I have come, as it is written of Me in the volume of the book, to do Thy will, O Lord" (Hebrews 10:7).
Verse 8
And I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart (40:8).
And that is what it means. When God has written His law in your heart, is that it becomes the delight and the pleasure of your life. Doing the will of God is not some horrible awful thing to me. It is not some cross that I have to bear or carry. Doing the will of God is the most exciting, delightful experience of my life. In fact, I really don't desire anything else. It is so glorious just doing God's will. For He has written His will in the fleshly tablets of my heart. That is, He has created the desires in my heart so that I delight doing His will. It's the delight of my life.
Verses 9–15
I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest. I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy loving-kindness and thy truth from the great congregation. Withhold not thy tender mercies from me, O LORD: let thy loving-kindness and thy truth continually preserve me. For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart fails me. Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me: O LORD, make haste to help me. Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil. Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame that say unto me, Aha, aha (40:9-15).
There you have it again. Those dirty words that they were saying to David, whatever they might have meant.
Verse 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 (40:16).
Now this is a phrase, I don't know why it hasn't been taken up by the people of God, but surely it is a phrase that we ought to be using all of the time. Along with the "Praise the Lord," or, "Bless God," or whatever, there is a phrase that we should be using and that is the phrase, "The Lord be magnified." "Let those that love thy salvation say continually." It should be a constant phrase on our lips. When we are greeting each other and all we should be saying, "Hey, the Lord be magnified." "Let them say continually, 'The Lord be magnified.'" Now try and add that phrase to your vocabulary and start using it.
Verse 17
I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinks about me (40:17):
That is great.
thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God (40:17).
Verse 13 he says, "Help, make haste to help me." And now he says, "Don't tarry, Lord. Deliver me, make no tarry."
Now we are going to leave it at that. Next week we will take the next ten chapters from 41-50. We will go ten chapters a week for a while, as we have gotten into some of the longer psalms. And then when we get to 121 we'll take twenty chapters, because they are shorties. Or twenty psalms, they are really not chapters. They are... each one is a psalm, complete within themselves.
Shall we stand.
Now may the Lord be with you to watch over you and to keep you in all your ways. May your steps be directed of the Lord this week. That He might delight in the path that you take. And I pray that there are some of you that will come and say, "Lord, I want to serve You. I love You. I am satisfied. I don't want any other life. Go ahead, Lord, pierce my ear, open my ear. I am willing to take the mark of a bondslave of Jesus Christ." And may you know the joy and the delight and the blessing of serving the Lord. If some of you have come tonight and you haven't given your lives to Jesus Christ and you would like to do so, if you will go back into the prayer room, the pastors will be glad to pray with you back there and lead you to a real commitment of your life unto the Lord. Really living in this world today with all of its turmoil, with all of its problems, I don't know how a person can exist without a firm relationship with God, through Jesus Christ. I wouldn't want to try and even go on tomorrow without the strength and the guidance and the help of the Lord. And so I would encourage you to just open up your heart and life to Him. For He wants to help you, and to lead you into His path of righteousness. God be with you. Watch over, keep, bless, and use you as His servant this week. In Jesus' name.
C3000 · 1985 to 1999
Chapter introduction
Let’s turn now in our Bibles to Psalm forty as we continue our study through the Bible. Psalms forty is another one of the psalms that which are known as messianic psalms. That is, it is a psalm that has prophecy concerning Jesus Christ that was fulfilled in the ministry of Jesus Christ.
The New Testament recognizes David as a prophet. It also recognizes the words of David as being inspired by the Holy Spirit. As Peter said, “And David, by the mouth of the Holy Spirit, spake saying” and David prophesized it said. It was recognized that David was a prophet and many of the psalms have references to Jesus as Messiah. This is another one of the messianic psalms and the basic prophecies of this psalm are in verses six, seven and eight. However, there are those that see verses one and two as a prophecy. A prophecy concerning the resurrection where it is, as they see, Jesus speaking.
Verses 1–2
I WAITED patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings (40:1-2).
There are those who see that as prophetic of the resurrection. There are other psalms in which David did prophesy the resurrection. Peter, in chapter two of the book of acts quotes one of the psalms of David concerning the resurrection where he said,
“David by the mouth of the Holy Spirit said I will not leave my soul in hell. Neither will you allow the Holy One to see corruption and I testify to you that David was speaking not of himself, his sepulchre is still here but he was prophesying of Jesus Christ and we declare that God did not leave his soul in hell neither did he allow the Holy One to see corruption”.
When Jesus died for our sins, when God placed upon him our guilt and he died in our place, his spirit descended into Hades or Sheol or what is commonly known as hell in our English language. It was a place that was in the center of the earth that was divided into two compartments, the righteous dead and the unrighteous dead. The righteous dead with Abraham waiting for God to fulfill his promise of salvation.
Jesus talks about this in Luke’s gospel chapter sixteen when he gives to us the story of the rich man Lazarus. How that Lazarus died was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom moreover the rich man died and in hell lifted up his eyes being in torment, seeing Abraham afar off and Lazarus there being comforted declared, “Father Abraham have mercy on me. Send Lazarus unto me that he might take his finger and dip it water and touch the tip of my tongue for I am tormented in the heat. Abraham said, “Son remember that you in your lifetime had the good things, Lazarus the evil. Now he is comforted while you are tormented and beside that there is this gulf that is fixed between these two places where you can’t cross over one from the other.” He said, “I pray thee then that if he cannot come to me send him back to the earth that he might warn my brothers lest they also come to this awesome place.” Abraham said, “They have the law and the prophets, if they will not believe them neither will they believe even if one should come back from the dead”.
Jesus descended into hell, “He who has ascended,” Paul tells us in Ephesians four, “Is the same one who first of all descended into the lower parts of the earth. But when he ascended he led the captives from there captivity. Jesus descended into hell. He preached to the souls that where in prison. When Jesus rose from the dead, Abraham and all of those righteous saints rose with him into the glorious eternal kingdom of God.
The promise though was to him by the Father, “I will not leave your soul in hell. I will not allow you to see corruption”.
Verse 1
I WAITED patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry (40:1).
Verse 2
It is possible that this is prophetic. It is also very true though of so many, many people. As we have waited patiently for the Lord but we have seen the answers to our prayers. So many can say that God took me out of a horrible pit, that life of the flesh, that life in bondage to sin and “he brought me out of the horrible pit and of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, upon Jesus Christ, and established my goings (40:2).
Verse 3
And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD (40:3).
We see how that the work of God in a persons life, the transformation, how when God lifts a person out of that horrible pit of sin, out of the miry clay in which they are sinking and he sets their feet upon the rock and he establishes them. We see the stories; we see the lives that are so transformed by the power of Jesus Christ. People who are going nowhere, people who were bound in drugs and alcoholism and the other evils and you see them set free and you see the change of their countenance in their lives; you hear now the new song that they are singing, the transformed life, the mouth is cleaned up the whole life is transformed and people see it saying, “There’s got to be something real, you just don’t change like that”. They recognize the power of God and they see it and they come to trust in the Lord. Many people are brought to Christ through the witness of the changed life of a friend who has been so transformed by the power of the spirit.
Verse 4
Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust (40:4).
The man who puts his trust in the Lord. The blessed happiness of committing ourselves to him.
Verses 4–5
and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, (40:4-5).
That’s an understatement for sure. Look around and see the wonderful works that God has done.
Verse 5
and thy thoughts which are to usward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered (40:5).
The amazing thing is that God thinks about us. David said, “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon, the stars which God hast ordained what is man that thou art mindful of him”. Who am I that God shall think about me? And yet he does. In fact the psalmist said that if I tried to number his thoughts concerning thee, I couldn’t do it. They are without number. In Psalms one thirty-nine David said, “Thy thoughts concerning me are as the sand of the sea in number” or number as the sand. God is continually thinking about you his child.
The thing that Jesus taught us concerning God is that though he is God over the universe, God over creation, he as the creator is the God over creation; he is mindful of his creation, he is mindful of the birds of the air, he is mindful of the grass of the field, in his creation he is mindful of it. He takes care of it and watches over it. Jesus said, “There is not a sparrow that falls”. He talks about sparrows; they’re cheap little things. You can buy two sparrows for a farthing and so for three cents you can buy a couple of sparrows. Yet he said, “There’s not a sparrow” as common as they are, “that falls to the ground but what your Father doesn’t notice it”. The argument was always from the less to the greater when Jesus was using the birds and the grass and the flowers. “If your Father,” he’s not the birth father he’s their creator but he’s your father, “will take care of the birds, will feed the birds and if your Father will clothe the grass of the fields, how much more will he take care of you because you are his child?” I love that argument; I love that analogy there. My father watches over his creation but I’m his child and as his child I have the right of sonship. If he takes care of that which is just creation, not related to him, how much more will he take care of me as his child? I love it. He thinks about me.
To Jeremiah he said, “I know my thoughts concerning you, they are of peace and not of evil”. Satan will have you think that God only thinks of you in a negative way, he only thinks of you in terms of judgement or punishment or whatever; not so. God says, “My thoughts are to bring you to the expected end”. God thinks of you in the eternal and this is where the problem arises. As God is thinking about me and dealing with me, he always deals from the eternal perspective to bring you to the expected end. He looks down at the end of the path, the end of the road, and God deals with me from the eternal values and the eternal good.
There are some things that I may desire for a temporal advantage but they would be bad for me eternally. From a spiritual standpoint they could be destroying, damaging. So God withholds many times the temporal because he is considering the eternal, that expected end, that down the road, where it will lead. Thus we sometimes find ourselves not understanding the ways of God within our lives because it has brought me temporal discomfort. I don’t like this discomfort. God why do you allow this discomfort if you really love me. God is looking down the road, what is going to work out of me and what is going to work into me of his likeness because he is molding me into his image.
I can imagine that if a stone had feelings or a piece of marble could talk as Michael Angelo is chipping away with his hammer they say, “Ooh that hurts. Why are you doing that to me Michael? You are hurting me”. Yes but I am conforming you into an image that would cause all men to stand in awe as they look at you. God is conforming us into the image of his son, how vital and important that is. God looks at that end result. He’s always interested in the end result.
That’s the folly of man, we do so many things without considering the end result, so many things that are destructive because we don’t look down the road, we don’t see what it’s doing. Sometimes you want to shake these kids and say, “Wake up! Can’t you see what you’re doing? Where is this path leading you?” You see these poor little children with their black leathers and their colored hair and chewing the gum and walking down the malls and you say, “You poor little child, do you know where this path is leading you?” Your heart goes out to them. You wish that somehow you could talk sense to them, you could let them grasp the future or consider the future. Satan is always living for now; “eat, drink and be merry, tomorrow we die”. It’s living for the moment where God wants us to live for the eternal, that expected end.
Now we get into the prophecies concerning Jesus.
Verse 6
Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; (40:6).
This is quoted in the book of Hebrews as referring to Christ. Hebrews ten, five to seven is where this portion is quoted.
It is interesting that this was written by David at a time when the sacrifices were probably there most meaningful in the history of the Nation of Israel. The worship of God had pretty much come to a peak. It was not until Isaiah’s time after the spiritual declination of the nation that God spoke of his feelings concerning the sacrifices. Turn to Isaiah chapter one. The Lord said,
“To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or lambs, or of he goats. When ye come to appear before me, who required this that your hand to tread my courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination to me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. And when you spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will no hear: your hands are full of blood (Isaiah 1:11-15).
So God speaks of that time that came in the nations history where he was just sick of their sacrifices. You see, it is possible to start out in a real worship and move of God and to continue in a form but to lose the power, the meaning. Israel had offered the sacrifices to the Lord which the Lord required, but it came to the time when they were only perfunctory, they weren’t meaningful any longer. So they were no longer meaningful and God said they are an abomination to me, don’t bring me anymore sacrifices.
Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required (40:6).
God said to stop them, away with them, I am through with them.
“This my ear hast thou opened or pierced” (40:6). We read, concerning Jesus, in Philippians chapter two who though he was in the form of God and thought it not something to be equal with God, yet he humbled himself and took upon the form of man, came in likeness of man, as a servant obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. So Jesus took upon himself that of a servant. This ear, under the Jewish law, if you because of debts that you could not pay had to be sold as a slave in order to pay your debts, you would only be required to serve as a slave for six years. In the seventh year it was required that they set you free. However, if during that teenier of time that you were a servant you really enjoyed your position you would come to the master and say, “I enjoy serving you. I don’t want to be set free. I’m secure here, I enjoy the circumstances here. I want to become your slave”. He would take an awl and go to the door of the house and there on the door-post they would drive the awl through your ear and pin you to the door-post with that awl. When they would take the awl out they would put the gold ring in. You would see the gold ring and it was the sign of a servant, of a slave, a bond-slave. A slave by choice.
Jesus was a servant by choice. He said, “I did not come to do my own will but the will of him who sent me”. He humbled himself and became a servant, “obedient unto death, even the death of the cross”. So my ear have you opened is a prophecy of the fact that Jesus came as a servant to do the will of the father. As when in the garden he prayed, “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not what I will, thy will be done”. Submitting unto the father as a servant, my ear have you opened.
Verse 7
Then said I, (40:7).
These words are ascribed to Jesus again in Hebrews.
Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, (40:7).
The Old Testament, the volume of the book, is written of Jesus Christ. He is found throughout the entire Old Testament. Jesus one day said to the Pharisees, “Search the scriptures for in them you’ll think you have life but actually they are testifying of me”. You can find the witness of Jesus Christ throughout the entire Old Testament. “The volume of the book” he said “is written of me” (40:7).
Verse 8
I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart (40:8).
That is, it is my desire to obey they law, I delight to do thy will.
What a wonderful thing it is when God plants his law in our hearts and when doing the work and the will of the Lord is the joy and the delight of our lives. What a rich beautiful life it is when you’re no longer straining, when you’re no longer pressing against the bit but when you have surrendered yourself to the Lord, committed yourself to him and to just to do the will of God is the chief goal of your life; it’s a joyful life, it’s a delightful life, I delight to do thy will O Lord.
Then Jesus continues to testify.
Verse 9
I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest (40:9).
How he cried to the multitudes of people declaring to them the truth of God.
Verse 10
I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart: I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation (40:10).
The marvelous themes that Jesus addressed as he spoke to the multitudes concerning the Father, the love of the Father, the kindness of the Father, the faithfulness of the Father, the righteousness.
Verses 11–13
Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O LORD: let thy loving kindness and thy truth continually preserve me. For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me. Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me: O LORD, make haste to help me (40:11-13).
I like David. He’s sort of like me, he lacked patience, he wants God to work immediately. Make haste or hurry up Lord, deliver me, help me.
Verse 14
Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil (40:14).
David didn’t learn the lesson of turning the other cheek. It hadn’t been taught in his day. He wants God to take care of them.
Verse 15
Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame that say unto me, Aha, aha (40:15).
I don’t know what aha really means but it must be bad. David refers to it in several cases and it was always a term of derision of malicious delight of an enemy. If something really bad happens to you and your enemies say, “Aha” it’s a derisive malicious delight of the enemies as they see your difficulties. So David is saying that those guys who say, “Aha” take care of them Lord.
Verse 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 (40:16).
Now I am surprised that this hasn’t caught on. We hear people all the time saying, “Praise the Lord” and there are other terms or religious jargon that we use. Here is a phrase that we should be using, it should be a common kind of an exclamation among us even as praise the Lord or bless the Lord or Maranatha or whatever, this is one that should be a very common phrase among the believers. David said, “Let those who love your salvation say continually the Lord be magnified” (40:16). It’s a great thing to declare. “Oh magnify the Lord with me” David said, “Let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord and he heard me and delivered me out of all my fears”.
Everytime I come through the Psalms and read this I think I’m going to start saying that and then I forget it. So I come again, “I’m going to start saying this more”. The Lord be magnified. I love his salvation so David said if you do, then you ought to be saying all the time that the Lord be magnified. I like that. Good.
Verse 17
But I am poor and needy; (40:17).
Now he’s not talking about a pauper. David is far from a pauper, he’s not a beggar. David was, of course, probably the wealthiest man in his day. He contributed millions of dollars for the building of the temple out of his own personal bank account. He donated millions upon millions of dollars in the building of the temple. So he is not poor in the sense of broke, he’s talking about it in the sense that Jesus talked about it in the Sermon on the Mount when Jesus said, “Blessed are poor in spirit”. That man that doesn’t think more highly of himself than he ought to be thinking, that man who is not proud, that man who is humble, “I am poor and needy” is a beautiful expression of David’s humility.
I am shocked and surprised at the deep humility of the really great people that I know. I think that one of the most disarming characteristics that I discovered when I came to know Billy Graham was his tremendous humility. If God used me like he used Billy Graham, I don’t know if I’d even still be talking to people. All of that notoriety and everything else. The humility of the man is the outstanding characteristic of his life, beautiful.
But I am poor and needy; yet (40:17).
The amazing thing, though I am really nothing.
the Lord thinketh upon me: (40:17).
I love it. The God who created the universe, who controls and governs the universe thinks about me. Really, when you look like at the world in which we live, we are such an insignificant part of the world; one in five billion specks of dust that are walking around breathing and eating. The earth is just a small little planet out here in this far corner of the Milky Way Galaxy orbiting around the sun which is one of the millions of stars in our Milky Way Galaxy which is only one of the billions of galaxies in the Universe. Here I am so insignificant and nothing. Somewhere between the atom and the universe, just about halfway I guess if you go way on down inside and then you go out to the universe man is somewhere halfway in between and yet God thinks about me.
thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God (40:17).