In Praise Of Our Reliable God (Psalm 40:1-17) Series

Today, we have the privilege of working through Psalm 40. Let's start by reading verses 1-4 (Hebrew numbering throughout, my apologies):

Of/for the director. Of/for David. A Psalm.

(1) Surely, I waited for Yahweh,

and He stretched out to me,

and He heard my cry for help,

(2) and He brought me up from the pit of destruction,

from the mud of the mire,

and he caused my feet to stand on a rock.

He secured my steps,

(3) and He set in my mouth a new song-- praise to our God/Elohim.

May many see,

and may they fear/revere,

and may they trust in Yahweh.

The psalmist begins by reminding himself of a dark moment in his past. He recalls a time when life fell apart for him. He was living in something like a mud pit. Imagine being trapped in a mud pit, even 20 feet below ground, after it's rained. It's cold, and wet, and filthy. But the worst part of mud pits, is that there's no real way out. You try to climb up, and out, and you get halfway, before sliding down again. It's hopeless, and gross.

What you need, in that situation, is help. You need someone with a rope, or a long arm, who can rescue you.

And the psalmist reminds himself of what he did, when he was in that mud pit. He knew he needed help, and what did he do? Who did he turn to? Verse 1:

"Surely, I waited for Yahweh, and He answered me."

We talk a lot about having "faith" in God. We say that we trust him to provide for us, and protect us, and rescue us. But when we find ourselves in hardship, there is nothing automatic about faith. Faith makes a conscious decision, to trust God, and rely on Him. Faith chooses to call on God, instead of something or someone else.

And after you call out to Yahweh, there is something else that faith has to do. Faith has to decide, did God hear? Is help coming?

The psalmist here is reminding himself of two things, really. First, he reminds himself of what he did, in placing his trust in God. And second, he reminds himself of what God did in response-- God heard, and answered, and rescued him. He pulled him out of the pit, and set him on solid ground.

God proved himself to be utterly reliable.

And when God rescued the psalmist, He also did something else at the same time. In verse 4, the psalmist says that God put a song in his mouth.

When you trust God to rescue you from something, and then He does it, you will want to thank him. And you'll find that a simple prayer isn't enough. Words, by themselves, will feel inadequate. What you need, is a song.

God knows that's how you'll feel. And so God, in a second act of grace and kindness, will also place a song in your mouth. You walk around, after God has rescued you, in constant praise. Singing words to a song that you don't know, to a tune that's unfamiliar to you. Where did that come from? That song, is God's gift to you. And so the psalmist is thankful, not just for God's rescue, but for the song, as well.

The psalmist ends verse 3 with a prayer for his people. I'll reread it:

"May many see,

and may they fear/revere,

and may they trust in Yahweh."

When you go through hard times in life, the people around you will often know about it. Maybe they know, because you told them. You are fighting some disease or sickness. You have marital problems, or job problems, or money problems. You have a powerful enemy, who won't stop harassing you. And you can't help but tell people, when you see them. You are hoping someone will show sympathy, even if they can't help.

At other times, you suffer alone. You don't want anyone to know what you're going through. You're ashamed, maybe. Or too proud to admit life is falling apart, maybe. But even then, sometimes, people can see through you, and they know something is wrong. They know you are very obviously caught in a mud pit, of one type or another.

What's less obvious, sometimes, is when your life comes back together. You are freed from cancer. You get more hours at work, or a better job. Your mortal enemy moves away, or you make peace with him/her. Or if it's your marriage, you find yourself looking at your spouse one day, and thinking, "I kind of like you." Whatever your problem was, God rescued you, when you called on him, and waited for him to help.

So here you stand, on solid ground. Life is good. The psalmist prays that many people will look at his life, and realize what God did for him. These problems didn't just go away, or fix themselves. God did this. So in verse 3, the psalmist prays that many people will do three things: