Psalm 40 Devotional

Lifted Out of the Mire

“He lifted me up from the pit of despair, out of the miry clay; He set my feet upon a rock, and made my footsteps firm.”Psalm 40:2 (BSB)

Psalm 40 begins with testimony. David waited patiently for the LORD, and God bent down and heard his cry. He lifted him out of the pit and the mud, set his feet on a rock, and gave him a new song of praise (40:1-3). God's wonders and plans for his people are more than anyone could count (40:5).

Then the psalm says something unexpected about what God wants. Sacrifice and offering were not his desire; instead he opened David's ears, and David delights to do God's will, with God's law in his heart (40:6-8). Hebrews hears these words on the lips of Christ, who came to do the Father's will and offered his own body once for all (Hebrews 10:5-10). Then, strikingly, the psalm turns back to need. Troubles without number surround David, and his sins have overtaken him (40:12). Being rescued once does not mean never needing rescue again. The psalm ends where many of our days do, poor and needy, asking God not to delay (40:17).

To think about: Where has God rescued you before, and how can that memory help you ask him for help again today?