Month: November 2024

Psalm 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 did not hide God’s righteousness, nor did he conceal God’s lovingkindness and truth from the people. Instead he declared openly God’s faithful love and salvation for all people. God’s righteousness is granted freely to all, for Christ died for all. We respond by doing everything we can to support and promote the preaching of the Gospel to the whole world. We can’t keep it to ourselves. We want everyone to know God’s love. Therefore, we declare.

The faithful love and truth of God for us has been seen in the coming of Christ into the human sphere to die and rise for us. “Tell everyone what He has done.” We have within us God’s passion to make disciples of all nations. God did it for us, and we want others to know He did it for them, too. So we contribute to the mission work of the church to declare His righteousness and salvation through the Gospel.

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

The man is truly blessed who makes the Lord his trust. He does not trust in himself or in his own reason or strength, nor in the world and the things, nor in military strength, nor any other god or source of help. He places his trust in the Lord alone and looks to Him alone for blessing and good.

Everything else but God alone will let you down and you end up cursed. Every kind of blessing comes from the Lord, the Creator and Savior. God is good, all the time. We can respond to His Word by placing all our eggs in the Easter basket. When we fear, love, and trust in God above all things we can expect blessings. We don’t see it, but faith sees. And faith comes by hearing the Word of Christ.

Psalm 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.

God, the Holy Spirit, has worked faith in Jesus into our heart, which produces the result of a new song and praise to God with our mouth. By speaking out loud about how good God is many will see it and believe the Lord. The new song in the heart comes out through the mouth. People will notice and come to fear and trust in the Lord.

The Christ in us sings a new song of praise, singing psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, and making melody in our heart to the Lord. The New Man is continually rejoicing in the Lord. He goes through the day singing a new song. The Gospel message is always with us and for us, and so the rejoicing response is always present. Praise is a way of life.

Psalm 40:1 I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.

Waiting in faith gives the patience to wait for the Lord to act upon our prayers and meet our need. I cry unto Him and He does listen to my prayer and hear my cry. He begins to act and put into motion the answer to my prayers. In His timing and in His way He listens and answers.

Faith is a gift worked in us by the Spirit through the Gospel. Patience is part of the fruit of the Spirit that flows from the faith. This gracious response is a natural response in the believer’s life. We have a problem. We pray. We believe. We wait. Because of Christ God hears and acts. Sometimes He answers our prayers in such a way that we don’t even recognize it. But we wait in faith anyway. This is an amazing work of Grace.

Psalm 39:1-2 Behold, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me. I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good; and my sorrow wa stirred.

As a response to my enemies and the trouble I”m in, I will pay attention to my ways so that I do not sin with my tongue. The temptation is to defend myself and seek revenge when surrounded with wicked enemies. It takes faith to entrust matters and troubles into God’s hands, take my hands off, shut up, and let God handle it. David had two chances to kill his enemy, Saul, but did not. He let the Lord take care of him.

It is not easy to bridle my tongue and let God take care of the matter. Jesus remained silent for us when falsely accused, tortured, and crucified. He did not defend Himself or escape the danger. He commended His spirit to the Father, and God raised Him up again. All for the love of us. Our response to the enemies we endure is to give it to God. “Thy will be done.”

Psalm 38:17-18 For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me. For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin.

During David’s prayer for rescue and protection from his enemies, he seeks God’s mercy, knowing that within him is no good thing that deserves blessing. He has genuine, godly sorrow over his own sin and boldly confesses his iniquity. Genuine repentance and godly sorrow for our sin, not the sins of others, is our true response to God when things get tough and our spiritual enemies threaten.

We do not claim any merit for which we deserve help from God, for real faith in His Word knows otherwise. God’s Word convicts us of sin and guilt and reveals to us our desperate need for mercy, grace, and forgiveness. Fortunately, God is mercy and covers us with forgiveness because of Christ. Pray that the Word and the Spirit will grant a penitent and sorrowful heart that seeks and finds forgiveness, life, protection, and blessing in Christ Jesus. The penitent goes down to his house justified rather than the other. So we ask for godly sorrow, for when the Lord makes us truly sorrowful for our sins, then we are overjoyed by the Gospel.

Psalm 38:15 For in thee, O Lord, do I hope; thou wilt hear, O Lord my God.

in the face of all our daily troubles we, like David, respond with hope. Hope springs eternal in the human heart, and hope in the Lord is never dashed. It is not a vague hope, like “I hope so,” but it is a sure and certain knowing, hope like an anchor of the soul, grounded in the sure promises of God. And it is hope in the Lord, and not in self, in others, in the world, or anything else.

We hope in the Lord because we know He will hear. We are not praying to a void or a vapor. Because of the Gospel of Christ we know we have a compassionate God who knows, hears, and cares. Therefore, we never lose hope. The Lord is always near with His forgiveness and mercy, His love and a listening ear. So we hope in Him.

Psalm 38:4, 6 For mine iniquities are gone over mine head; as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me….I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly, I go mourning all the day long.

In this life we become troubled and heavy burdened because we are sinners living in a sinful world. At times the burdens and troubles become very heavy and hard. What we don’t want to admit is that it is my sin (mine iniquities) that is the major cause of my problems. It is sin in the world and the sins of others also, but it is my own sin that is the biggest burden weighing on me. I am the problem. We could blame others or the world for our burdens, but that doesn’t take away the guilt or lift the burden.

Confession of my sins, repentance and faith lightens the burden and relieves the guilt. It is like the Pilgrim beginning his journey by kneeling at the cross and he feels the heavily burdened backpack rolling away. He is free. Matthew 11:28-29: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest….You will find rest for your souls.” A heart lightened by the Gospel is better than a heavy heart burdened by the Law. Therefore confess, repent, believe.