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by Katie Erickson

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)

I know it’s a bit of a longer psalm to write out here in this post, but it is such a good one (as are all the psalms, really). We often think of the psalms as isolated chapters, not necessarily being in context with each other. But one interesting thing with this psalm is it’s in context with Psalms 37, 38, and 39. Psalm 37, which I wrote about here, encourages us to trust in God and His Word no matter what, even when the evil ones around us prosper. In Psalm 38, King David deals with sin, guilt, anger, and ultimately puts his hope in God. In Psalm 39, David shares the realities and difficulties in his life, searching for meaning. In Psalm 40, all that waiting and patience is paying off and David is beginning to rejoice in God as his salvation.

As verse 1 tells us, “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.” Being patient means totally giving everything over to God. We generally want justice from God on our timeline and in the way we’d like it, but waiting patiently for God means knowing that He is the ultimate Judge and the one in control over everything. We need to let Him be God rather than trying to be God ourselves. It’s up to God how He wants to deal with each individual sinner.

David realizes he’s kind of a mess, and he’s asking God to save him from this mess. All he needs to do is have faith and wait for God to rescue him, to hear his cry and turn to him. We see that deliverance in verse 2: “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.”

David went through a lot of adversity in his life, but we see his testimony here that he waited patiently on God. No, David wasn’t perfect, but he continually turned back to God when he went astray. What kind of adversity are you going through in your life? People in our lives will see how we deal with adversity. We may mess it up and try and fix things on our own, but we need to remember these words of David and wait patiently on the Lord, and He will deliver us in His timing. Being patient and relying on God through it, as David did, is the most powerful testimony there is!

Verse 3 tells us, “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.” We’re not singing the same old song, but a new one! If we say or do the same thing over and over again, things won’t change. I had a professor in college who would always say, “If you do what you did, you’ll get what you got.” If we have a new song, though, something has changed! When we allow God to work in our life in His timing and sing His praises, we will sing that new song. Whatever adversity we’re going through may be taken away, thus giving us a powerful testimony about God’s work in our lives.

What is God doing in your life? Do you see Him working in your life, even in tough situations? When you’re going through difficult times, listen for the new song that God is giving you.

In verse 11, David writes, “Do not withhold your mercy from me, Lord; may your love and faithfulness always protect me.” Even though God has already rescued him, David realizes that he could very easily fall back into the sins he committed before. He recognizes that the only hope and freedom he can experience will come from God. He trusts that God’s love will always protect him.

The psalm closes in verse 17 with these words: “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.” In this psalm, we see that David has a humble boldness. If we’re living out the new song that God has for us, we too can approach God boldly and confidently, even in the midst of struggles, and yet with humility that He is the only one who can truly rescue us from the difficulties of this life. We know that we are nothing compared to God, yet He still loves us and will be our help and our deliverer when we trust in Him and wait patiently on Him.

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