PSALMS 42
We will begin by giving chapter 40 of Psalms in metre, to show
how easily it could bee sung.
THE PSALMS OF DAVID IN METRE
Chapter 40
Verse 1 "I waited long for God most High, And he inclined to hear my
cry; He took me from a fearful pit, And from the miry clay;
Upon a rock he set my feet, Establishing my way."
Verse 2 "He taught my mouth and lips to frame New songs to magnify
his name. This many seeing, filled with fear, Shall on the
Lord rely; Blest in their trust, they shun with care The
proud, and such as lie."
Verse 3 "O Lord my God, thy wonders wrought, And thy kind thoughts
exceed all thought No mind can their vast sum contain. If
them I would declare, And speak of them, the task is vain,
So numberless they are."
Verse 4 "Sin-offering thou hast not desired, Burnt sacrifice hast not
required. O Lord, thou opened hast my ears; I come, said I
to thee. Lo, this within thy book appears; There it is said
of me:"
Verse 5 "To do thy holy will aright, O Lord my God, is my delight;
Thy law within my heart doth reign, Thy justice I have
shown; that I my lips did not refrain, To thee, O Lord, is
known."
Verse 6 "I have not in my heart concealed, But to the saints thy
truth revealed; The righteousness which thou hast wrought,
And faithfulness make known; And thy salvation I have
taught, Thy love and truth have shown.
Verse 7 "I for thy tender mercies cried, O Lord, let them not be
denied; To me thy loving-kindness show, Thy truth be still
my stay. Let them preserve me where I go, and keep me every
day.
Verse 8 "Encompassed round with ills untold, On me my sins have taken
hold, They're more than hairs upon my head, And shame my
face hath veiled. Lord, save me, hast to give me aid, My
very heart hath failed."
Verse 9 "All those who seek my soul to kill, Together let confusion
fill. those who desire my hurt, O Lord, Drive backward in
their way; Make desolate as their reward, To me "aha" that
say."
Verse 10 "Let all who seek to see thy face Be glad and joyful in thy
grace; Let those who thy salvation love Continually
proclaim, "O praise the Lord who dwells above, and magnify
his name."
Verse 11 "I'm poor and needy, yet the Lord with kindest thoughts will
me regard. Thy helping grace thou wilt impart, and Keep me
in the way, Thou only my deliverer art, My God, do not
delay."
We will now begin the verse by verse study of the 40th chapter of
Psalms. Psalms 40:1 "{To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.} I
waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my
cry."
This is a virtue that very few have. To wait on the Lord is
blessed. David is speaking in the verse, but the verse is probably
prophetic in speaking of the great patience of our Lord Jesus. Jesus
cried out unto the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane, and God heard
His cry. God always hears the prayers of His own. He never turns a
deaf ear to us either. Perhaps, our problem many times is that we tire
of waiting.
Psalms 40:2 "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."
The Rock of our Salvation is Jesus Christ. He is the Rock that
the builders rejected. We must not build upon shifting sand, but on
the solid Rock who is our Lord. There never was a more horrible place
to be, than when our Lord took our sin upon His body on the cross. The
worst part of all was the fact that the Father turned away from Him
when He had the sin of the world on His body. Praise God! just a few
moments later, Jesus commanded His Spirit to Go to the Father. We may
be in a pit of hell, but Jesus will lift us up out of that pit and
establish our goings, if we will only repent of our sins and receive
Him as our Saviour. He is the Rock of my salvation. When we build upon
Him, we shall not be moved.
Psalms 40:3 "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."
Not only has this song come into my heart, but is springing forth
from my mouth, as well. I love the Scripture that says, Jesus sang a
song with the disciples. Probably, it was a Psalm that they sang
together. Verse 3 above leaves no doubt what this song is about. It is
a song of praise. I believe singing is a vital part of church
services. Praise and worship songs prepare the heart to receive the
sermon. Many a person has been saved by singing and hearing songs sung
in praise and worship. In one Sunday service, someone I know was
gloriously delivered of alcohol addiction while a prayer was being
sung. We will sing a new song of praise and thanksgiving around the
throne of God in heaven.
Psalms 40:4 "Blessed [is] that man that maketh the LORD his
trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies."
We should all know by now that, we can not trust the world or the
people in it. They will let you down. The only one worthy of our trust
is the Lord. The proud and liars are just about in the same boat. They
will do and say things for their own benefit. When you need them the
most, they will let you down. Our faith in God will move mountains.
Our faith in God is justified. He will not lie. What He has promised,
He will do. Isaiah 12:2 "Behold, God [is] my salvation; I will trust,
and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH [is] my strength and [my]
song; he also is become my salvation."
Psalms 40:5 "Many, O LORD my God, [are] thy wonderful works
[which] thou hast done, and thy thoughts [which are] to us-ward: they
cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: [if] I would declare and
speak [of them], they are more than can be numbered."
I agree with David, if I were to name off all the things the Lord
has done for me, there would not be time to do any more Bible studies.
I would spend the rest of my life naming them. The Word of God created
the universe and everything in it for a habitation for man. We have
been on His mind from the beginning. When we failed through sin, He
became our Saviour. Everything good that has ever happened in
my life is because of His blessing me. Why He loved us so much is
impossible to explain.
Psalms 40:6 "Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine
ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not
required."
Jesus fulfilled all the law and the offerings. His sacrifice
fulfilled and did away with any further need for sacrifice. He offered
Himself and fulfilled all offerings and sacrifices. I have said before
that, possibly, that is why the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed.
There was no more need for sacrifice, Jesus paid it all. Notice, the
statement {mine ears hast thou opened}. Jesus, in this, has revealed
the secret of the offerings and sacrifices and has made us able to
hear and understand. He had said before, they have ears to hear and
cannot hear. This is the reverse of that. We have ears to hear and He
has made us understand in our ears of our heart. The offerings and
sacrifices in the temple and in the tabernacle were but a shadow of
the one true Sacrifice: Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalms 40:7 "Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book
[it is] written of me,"
This is speaking of Jesus. The entire Bible, from Genesis to
Revelation, is about Him. He is the focal point of the whole Bible. He
is the subject of the wheel within the wheel. He is the hub, that all
must revolve around.
Psalms 40:8 "I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law
[is] within my heart."
Jesus said it all, when He said, Not my will but thine be done.
This should be our statement, too. If Christ liveth in us, then the
Law of God is in our heart. It is a pleasure, not a chore, to do the
will of the Lord.
Psalms 40:9 " I have preached righteousness in the great
congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest."
You do not have to be an ordained minister to preach the gospel.
All believers in the Lord preach righteousness to the unsaved world.
The great congregation is the world and all who are in it. David never
ceased telling others of the wonderful things the Lord had done. He
said the truth, when he said Lord thou knowest. God knows every word
that you have uttered, bad or good. He especially takes note when you
are trying to get others into the kingdom of God. The Bible says that
the angels in heaven rejoice when one sinner comes to Him. How much
more would the Lord rejoice for finding the one sheep that has
strayed?
Psalms 40:10 "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."
David not only told everyone he saw about God and His goodness,
but he even wrote these Psalms proclaiming to all future generations
the goodness of the Lord. This can prophetically be speaking of Jesus,
who brought salvation to the world. Jesus formally preached three and
one half years while He was on the earth. His message is just as alive
today, as it was during that time. Jesus explained to the disciples
that He had not kept secrets from them. He had told them fully of
Himself and the Father.
Psalms 40:11 "Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O
LORD: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me."
David, in these verses, is jumping back and forth from his own
situation to the prophetic message of Jesus. We see, in this, the
beautiful assurance that the Lord's lovingkindness and truth are not
withheld from us, when we seek them. Ask, and it shall be given you.
Seek, and ye shall find.
Psalms 40:12 "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."
Jesus had no iniquities. These are David's. Evils, however, did
compass the Lord Jesus. The worst evil that Jesus had against Him was
the unbelieving leaders of the temple. David expresses, in this, that
he had so many iniquities, it even kept him from looking up. Truly,
up to the Lord is the only place to look in time of need and time to
repent. We must look to Jesus from whence cometh our help.
Psalms 40:13 "Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me: O LORD, make
haste to help me."
David cries for the Lord to make haste to help him. I cry for the
Lord to help the church today. If the Lord does not deliver us, there
is no hope. Be pleased, O Lord to restore the church unto Your Self.
Psalms 40:14 "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."
This is a prayer from David, and could very well be a prayer for
true believers today. This could, also, be a prophecy of the soldiers
who came for Jesus in the garden. When He spoke the words, I am He,
they fell backward to the ground. John 18:6 "As soon then as he had
said unto them, I am [he], they went backward, and fell to the
ground."
Psalms 40:15 "Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame
that say unto me, Aha, aha."
You can tell from the 2 ahas that, they felt that through their
wit they have destroyed Him. I wonder how they felt when it became
dark in the middle of the day, and the earth became to shake? We know
that some said, surely this was the Son of God. I believe that the
verse above is saying, it will be hard for them to find a way to
repent of this. It does not mean that they could not repent. It means
they probably would not seek repentance, because they knew at this
point, what a terrible thing they had done. We can look back at them
and say how bad they were, but in all reality, you and I had just as
much to do with His crucifixion as they did. My sins nailed Jesus to
the cross. O, Lord, please forgive me.
Psalms 40:16 "Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in
thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The LORD be
magnified."
What a wonderful Saviour is Jesus our Lord. He forgave us of our
sin and washed us in His precious blood. How could we ever stop
magnifying the name of the Lord? The LORD be magnified for ever more.
Questions 42
1. What is a virtue that very few have?
2. He brought me up out of a horrible pit, and set my feet on the
____.
3. Who is the Rock?
4. Jesus will establish our goings, if we will do what?
5. Where did David say God had put a new song?
6. What kind of a song is verse 3 speaking of?
7. Why should we have praise, and worship music, and song before
preaching?
8. Blessed is the man that maketh the Lord his _____.
9. Who is the only one worthy of our trust?
10. Quote Isaiah chapter 12 verse 2.
11. God's thoughts are upon whom?
12. When we failed through sin, He became our ________.
13. Verse 6 says 2 things God did not desire, what are they?
14. Who fulfilled the offerings and the sacrifices for all time?
15. Why does the author believe the temple in Jerusalem was
destroyed?
16. What does the statement {mine ears hast thou opened} mean?
17. What is the volume of the book?
18. Who is the focal point of the Bible?
19. I delight to do thy ____.
20. If Christ liveth in me, the ___ of ___ is in my heart.
21. It is a ______ to do the will of God.
22. Where did He preach righteousness?
23. All __________ in the Lord preach righteousness to the unsaved
world.
24. The angels in heaven rejoice when ___ ______ comes to Christ.
25. How long did Jesus preach formally?
26. The Lord's ______________ and _____ are not withheld from us.
27. How many iniquities did David say he had?
28. What happened to the soldiers, when Jesus answered them {I am He}?
29. What did some say when the earth began to shake and the light
turned dark in the middle of the day at the crucifixion?
30. What a wonderful Saviour is ______ __ ____.
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