Welcome back to Bible Study Wednesday! This year God has pressed upon my heart to study the book of Psalms. Each Wednesday we take a closer look at a new chapter. Today we are going to chapter 40. If you have not done so, please take the time to read through these 17 verses. I will be sharing some thoughts about today's passage and break down this chapter below. Please pray and ask Holy Spirit to open your spiritual eyes and ears to receive everything He has to teach you in today's passage. Let's begin!
This particular Psalm of David is about how God has answered his prayers in the past and a request for God to be faithful again. It is a testament of God's goodness and mercy. David knows he can trust and rely on God because God has never failed him. God has been faithful and just and Holy all through David's life. He knows that God is with him and helps him. Before we dive in fully to this study today, let's reflect on what we are asking God to do for us, and let's not forget the times He came through for us when we had nothing and no one else.
Verse 1
Are we patiently waiting for God to answer us, or are we impatiently waiting? There is no middle ground here, but one day can vary from the next. Some days I am waiting patiently for God to work everything out so we can have our own home again. I am content in knowing that I am in a temporary situation and it will soon end.
Other times, I am impatiently waiting. I have been guilty of going to God in prayer and in exasperation. I submit a list of good things I have done that should somehow hurry God up to get us to our intended destination. Yet, my works and my good effort has nothing to do with how God is working things out. He is moving things and changing things and rearranging things so that it will all fall into place up to the very smallest and last detail. How could I possibly be of any help to Him?
I have grumbled and complained and tried to change my circumstances on my own. God allowed me to try. He knew the outcome would not be what I wanted but it would show me that He is in control and I am not; and He has a far better plan than I do. He wants me to have a wonderful, blessed, and full life, but it includes storms, pain, suffering, and hardship. That is not what I had in mind at all, and yet the toughest valleys and darkest days were some of the best times of training and learning the character of God.
The last part of this first verse is God listened and heard David's pleas. He is listening to us. We are His children and He loves us. Of course He is listening to us, but David was patiently waiting. It is something for us to pause and think about. How are we waiting for what we asked God to do?
Verses 2-3
David said God brought him up out of a horrible pit. Sometimes the pits we fall into are despair, suffering, lack, hunger, loneliness, and anger. What horrible pit has God pulled you up out of?
David said the pit he was in had miry clay for the bottom. Mire is deep slushy mud. I do not know about you but I deeply dislike getting dirty, and that includes getting mud on me. I will walk out of my way to avoid mud and dirt. This pit David says he was in is not a physical pit, though it could have been. Think of the situations that felt dirty, chaotic, disorganized, unpleasant, and where you felt like you were on a merry-go-round or roller coaster spinning out of control. Maybe you felt like nothing you did gave you any traction. David said he was there and God took him out of that environment and set his feet upon a rock.
There's something comforting about standing on a solid rock. I was at the ocean in Alabama and I had been on some uneven rocks and sand and it was hard to walk on. I was slowing down my pace so I didn't hurt myself or fall. But once I felt the cold rock beneath my bare feet I felt secure and steady. I smiled and I could hold my head up again and look at the beauty around me. I was no longer so careful to stare at the ground in front of me and watch each step I took.
David said God established his goings once he was on the Rock. The Rock is the revelation of who Jesus Christ is. Jesus asked His disciples who He was. Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Matthew 16:17-19 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the Kingdom of heaven and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Not only did Jesus change Peter's identity and give him a new name, but He gave him the power to bind and loose things on earth and in heaven. David was granted his requests when he went to the Rock of Ages with his petitions.
God never blesses us for us alone. It is always so we can bless others. We can encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ who are struggling along that we can make it with God's help! We can witness to unbelievers and tell them of the goodness of God. Like, David we will have a new song to sing. We will praise God so that many will see it and fear God and come to trust in Him.
Verse 4
David tells us that those who trust in God are blessed. When we do not put the prideful and arrogant on a pedestal, or think highly of dishonest and corrupt leaders, we are blessed. There is no benefit to walking with those who dishonor God. There is no blessing tied to their lifestyle or beliefs. We are to trust in God alone to help us be successful and kind and share the message of His Kingdom with everyone we know.
Verse 5
How many answered prayers have you received from God in your lifetime? How often has God turned bad situations into good for you? How many times has He healed your body or your loved one's body because you prayed and asked? Think of all the times God protected and rescued us from dangers we never saw coming! I love this verse. David says, "MANY are the works of You God and they are WONDERFUL and Your thoughts toward us are so plentiful that if we began to count them and put them in order, they could not be numbered for the bountiful blessings You have given us!"
I used to sing a song at church called I Have Been Blessed and part of the verse says:
If the pen of a writer, could write everyday
Even this world could never contain
How I've been blessed.
The chorus says,
I have been blessed God's so good to me.
Precious are His thoughts of you and me.
No way I could count them.
There's not enough time.
So I'll just thank Him for being so kind.
God has been good, so good, I have been blessed.
Verses 6-8
God is not asking us to sacrifice everything and offer up special gifts to Him. He enjoys when we give and do things for Him, but He wants our heart. He wants our attention and our time. David says, "I delight to do Your will God, and Your Law is within my heart." I want to echo that. May my life be a love story to God about how much I adore Him and serve Him. He is worth loving. He is worth getting to know and to understand His ways as best as we can, David says God has opened his ears. Are your ears open to the voice of Holy Spirit? Are you tuned in to His still small voice? Are you hearing His instructions?
Verses 9-10
David preached Righteousness in the great congregation. King David had BIG influence and the people loved him. He has an opportunity to promote himself but he chooses to promote God and His power and love and goodness. He said, "God You know I have not refrained my lips from speaking the truth." We must ask for boldness to witness to our unsaved coworkers and neighbors. If David can share the Good News with a whole nation, we surely can share the goodness of God with those we come into contact with. David says, "I have not kept Your faithfulness, salvation, lovingkindness, and Your truth a secret. I shared it God." Can we say that? Let's pray that we have a desire to share the Good News of Jesus with everyone!
Verses 11-13
David makes a plea to God for deliverance. The situation he is in feels overwhelming and he feels outnumbered. Have you ever been there? Has the problems seemed to outweigh the good? Run to God. Let your prayer be the same as David's. "God, let it please You to deliver me. Hurry to help me God." Yes, I pray that today.
Verses 14-15
David wants his enemies to be ashamed and confused that try to destroy his soul. We have an enemy who is trying to destroy our souls, but God has placed us in the palm of His hand and we are untouchable from the enemy. The devil can wear us out and beat on us in this world, but he cannot destroy our soul! One day he will be banished forever! Revelation 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. One day it will be all over for the devil.
Verse 16
Do you love God? Is Jesus your Savior? If so, then this verse is for you! Let's exalt His Name on high. Let's say, "The LORD be magnified!" I exalt the name of Jesus. I praise Him for what He has done for me. I thank Him that He saved me and chooses to use me. I am nothing apart from Him. He is the reason I am here today. I love Him so much. I praise Him and I could not even get through today's Bible study without a praise and worship session of how wonderful God is to His children. He is wonderful in all of His ways. Even when we are in circumstances we can't see how we will make it through, we can worship Him and love Him because He is worthy of all praise and honor. Our situations don't change God's worth and as we worship Him and thank Him for all He is doing in our lives, we will see the miraculous happen as He begins to turn around all the evil for good in our lives! I have seen it happen over and over again.
Verse 17
I love the way this psalm ends. I am poor and needy, yet You think about me, God. You choose to think about me and love me. You have not forgotten about us. God when the days turn to weeks and the weeks into months, and the months into years, may we never forget that You have Your eyes on us and You are working everything out. Thank You Jesus for thinking about us and being mindful of us. What a wonderful and kind Risen King You are!
Friends, I hope this has been a thought-provoking study. I want us to take away from today's study that God sees us and loves us and is blessing us. He is going to make all things new and sometimes it hurts to go through the pruning process but in the end we will yield so much more fruit. Let me know in the comments if you are enjoying studying the Psalms with me this year. I always appreciate your feedback and love studying with you each week! My prayer is something you have read today has given you strength for your journey and light for your way. God bless you!
~Bridgett Owens
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