Psalm 40:1-5
I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth— Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the Lord. Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust, And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works Which You have done; And Your thoughts toward us Cannot be recounted to You in order; If I would declare and speak of them, They are more than can be numbered. Psalm 40:1-5 (NKJV)
David is celebrating God’s deliverance from one of his many failures. We don’t know if it is too a specific failure or a song of praise for the many savings. There are several stories in the Bible of David’s human weaknesses and falling away from God, only to be followed by his laments begging for forgiveness and then celebrating when God seems to make everything right again. I wonder if this is where the theme “it’s better to ask for forgiveness then permission”. David sure lived in that world. I confess I probably do also.
Why is it that we seem to always go to God in prayer when we are already in the “pit”, or knee deep in the “mud” of our own making? It sure seemed like the right thing to do at the time, or did I just not see what was coming, or did I just choose to ignore the signs or cautions from friends and family. It’s always easy to have hindsight but difficult to have foresight.
David is asking the Chief Musician, choir director, to create a song from his words of praise and Thanksgiving. It seems appropriate that I’m writing this devotion on Thanksgiving Eve when we celebrate all the blessings that God has given us throughout the previous year and to ask for continued blessing into the next year. David is celebrating God as his savior, divine rescuer, just as we celebrate Jesus as our savior and divine rescuer on the cross. The following verses 6-8 are referenced to Jesus by Paul in Hebrews 10:5-10.
The Psalm is also reminding us that prayer is not a one-time event, only to be used when we are really in trouble, but a continuous expression of trust in God’s grace and love. God has the power to help even when we are at our weakest, and the grace to help even the most unworthy. His love is so much greater than our ability to fall from faith.
David wants his song of Thanksgiving to be sung so that everyone can hear and remember to stay faithful to God. The Psalm reminds us today that when we sing His praise, celebrate His love, act with mercy and love to others, and share the good news we are emulating God’s grace to others. Go and do likewise.
Questions for Reflection:
- Are your prayers for help as powerful and earnest as your prayers of thank you and celebration? Should they?
Prayer:
Dear Lord, we celebrate all that You have done in our lives. Help us to be a mirror to others of Your love and grace. Even though we have not earned it by our actions, it helps us to celebrate it by our actions. If it be Your will and in Your name. Amen.
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