He Has Put a New Song in My Mouth! . Psalm 40

 

A Psalm of David                                                                Commentary Dennis Edwards

40:1-2 I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.

If we wait upon the Lord, which means, if we seek Him in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, He shall hear us and answer. He will lift us up out of whatever horrible pit we have fallen into; whether it be emotional, financial, or relational. Jesus is the Rock that our feet need to be set upon. He is the stone which the builders rejected that has become the chief cornerstone. If we build the house of our lives upon Him, by obeying and following His word, our ways shall be established and our house shall not be overwhelmed by the storms of life.

Psalm 40:3 And He has put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.

Even though at the moment you may feel down and discouraged, if you bring your problem to God in prayer, if you set your feet upon Jesus, the Rock, if you resolved to obey and follow His word, you will find joy again. God will bring you up out of the seemingly impossible situation, that horrible pit you are passing through and you will sing for joy once again. He will restore the joy of your salvation. Hold on. Fight the fight of faith with praise. “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you,” 1^st Thessalonians 5:18.

Psalm 40:4 Blessed is that man that makes the Lord his trust, and respects not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.

Help us not to desire to be like the rich and the proud who love the world. They desire the things of the world; the lusts of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life, which is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passes away, and the lusts thereof. But whosoever does the will of God abides forever, 1 John 2:16-17. They turn aside from God’s good word to the lies of men; to “philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ,” Colossians 2:8.  They turn aside to the lies of the father of lies, Satan himself, and their “minds become corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ,” 2 Corinthians 11:3. Lord, lead us away from temptation.

Psalm 40:5 Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done, and Your thoughts which are toward us: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto You: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.

Help us, Lord, to come into Your presence with praise and thanksgiving for the countless blessing You have bestowed upon us. If we count our blessings, and name them one by one, we will be surprised what the Lord has done. Praise is the voice of faith.

Psalm 40:6-8 Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; my ears have You opened: burnt offering and sin offering have You not required. Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do Your will, O my God: yea, Your law is within my heart.

The author of Hebrews quotes the above section from the Septuagint as the following: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; a body have You prepared Me.” The author argues that sacrifices and offering were merely a foreshadowing of Christ’s own sacrifice on the cross for the sins of mankind. He argues that the psalm is prophetic of Jesus, of the new and living way to enter into God’s presence through faith in the blood of Jesus who was slain from the foundations of the world. Jesus came as it was prophesised and delighted to do God’s will, not His own. Let us follow in His footsteps.  

Concerning why the Masoretic Hebrew text in translated differently from the Greek Septuagint text, the early church fathers accused the Jewish religious authorities in the first and second centuries of tampering with the Old Testament text. The religious authorities were believed to have done so, in order to hide the prophetic signs of the Messiah found therein which Jesus fulfilled. Where the Hebrew Masoretic text says, “My ears have You opened,” the Greek Septuagint text says, “A body You have prepared.” Since the Hebrew language does not use vowels when written, depending on which vowels you use, you can come up with different meanings. The author of Hebrews in the New Testament is quoting from the Greek Septuagint text and asserting that it was fulfilled in Jesus. He was the body God had prepared as the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of men.

Psalm 40:9-10 I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O Lord, You know it. 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 congregation.

Let us be faithful to not hide God within us, but to share the love and truth of the Gospel to all those God puts within our paths. “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ,” John 1:17. “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature,” Marc 16:15. “And the things that you have heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also, 2 Timothy 2:2.

Psalm 40:11-12  Withhold not Your tender mercies from me, O Lord: let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me.  For innumerable evils have compassed me about: my iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of my head: therefore, my heart fails me.

We can often fall into discouragement at our own failures to overcome our besetting sins, our personality failures, or our bad habits. But, as David does here, we need to cry out to God that He would preserve us, forgive us, and extend His tender mercies to us.

Psalm 40:13-15 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.

David prays against his enemies, and no doubt Christ prayed against His spiritual enemies. We, too, must rebuke the spiritual powers that attack us and try to bring our efforts to naught. We must wage spiritual warfare in prayer against the principalities, and powers, and the spiritual forces of darkness in high places that seek to destroy and hinder our important work for the Lord. We must put on the whole armour of God and resist the Devil. “Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil!” Ephesians 6:11.

Psalm 40:16-17 Let all those that seek You rejoice and be glad in You: let such as love Your salvation say continually, The Lord be magnified. But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinks upon me: You are my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.

May the lost and weary sheep searching for God find Him. May God send forth more labourers into the harvest, which is white and ready unto harvest, but the labourers are few. Lord, you are near to those of a broken heart, and you save such as be of a contrite spirit. Though many be our afflictions or problems, Lord, You have promised to deliver us out of them all, Psalm 34:18-19. Save us, O Lord. Deliver us from the hand of man and from those that would rise up against us. O Lord, tarry not, “come quickly. Even so, come, Lord Jesus,” Revelation 22:20.

Prayer: Lord, we look at the world today, a maddening mass of confusion. Evil men grow worse and worse deceiving and being deceived. Soon that Wicked One shall arise and the flood of iniquity shall break forth upon the earth. Thank you that it seems You have given us a reprieve through the new American government. Some seemingly good men have stood up and the flood of iniquity seems to have been temporarily stopped or slowed down. Continue to have Your way, Lord. Continue to strengthen and enlighten the people you have raised up. Help them to receive and follow the truth, come what may. Like Martin Luther King Jr said. Help them to follow the truth that You are showing them because that is the most important thing in life. Protect them from attacks of the enemy. Strengthen these leaders. Raise up more to join with them. Remove those who are hindering your plans and the spread of the gospel. Lord, prepare us for the battles ahead. Help us not be weary in well-doing. Be our strong tower, and light in the days to come. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

First published October 12th, 2024. Edited and republished February 22, 2025