Psalm 40: 2 - Part 1

OK, the study on Psalm 40 verse one now complete - here is the first of 3 parts on verse 2.

Read the verse from both the Authorised Version (KJV) and the English Standard Version as both are referred to and slightly different in wording. I'd recommend following each of the given links and checking the references... after all it was meant to be a bible study!!!!

“He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock and established my goings.” (KJV)



“He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog and set my feet upon a rock making my steps secure.” (ESV)

Context:

There are 2 states of man. Saved and unsaved. Those in a covenant relationship with God and those outside of this relationship, alien to the Lord.

Consequently the can only be 2 destinies for a man.

Salvation or destruction.

Out of the pit or in it.

Heavenly glory or eternal damnation.

Where are you? In the pit or out? Destined for heaven or destined for damnation?

David has in verse 1 outlined his standing before the Lord. One of patience and subjugation. He has cried out to the Lord in his spiritual and physical distress and discomfort. He is stood arms aloft waiting for the Lord to ‘incline’ to him and answer his prayer.

David has subjected himself to God’s will, this itself a foreshadowing of the Lord Jesus at Gethsemane. He has offered a prayer, cried out; he has subjected himself to the Lord’s will and has done so for God’s glory.

David has demonstrated in one verse how he stands before the Lord. Now here in verse 2 he demonstrates his understanding of what the Lord has done for him in salvation. He is reflecting on where he has been picked up from and where the Almighty is placing him spiritually. From a pit of despair to a solid ground of safety. From destruction to being set on the narrow path.

The picture I want you to keep in mind throughout this is one of the whole verse reflecting salvation. We are in the pit of sin and despair; we hear the call of the gospel of Jesus Christ and repent, turning to him. He lifts us up out of that slippery, dangerous, filthy pit of despair and sets us on the rock. The rock is Jesus and on him we can stand safe and secure and from such a vantage point we can see 2 things. The pit from where we were pulled and the black pitch of sin we have been washed of and also a narrow, yet solid, clear path that winds its way up the Holy hill mount Zion, at the top of which is Glory. Jesus calls us, we repent/turn, he lifts us up, plants our feet in safety and points us in the direction of paradise with the guide book that is the bible in our hands.

So with that image in mind we’ll look at the following points:

1. Dangerous footing

2. Muddy feet

3. Firm Footing
1. Dangerous footing

To be in the pit is to be in despair, to be headed face first into hell and eternal separation from God, eternal damnation waits. And it is to do so utterly blind to your end. Those in the pit are full of cursing and bitterness, they’re on a path of ruin, destruction and misery (Romans 3: 14 - 16).

These lost souls do not have the vantage point of the saved; those sinners won who can look back at the pit and know from whence they came. They cannot see the destruction that awaits them.

These souls who are lost ignore the helping hand that reaches down to them and the imploring sound of the gospel that asks them, pleads with them to grasp that hand of Jesus and be lifted to safety and salvation.

Jeremiah 38: 6 – Jeremiah was thrown into a ‘cistern’ (ESV) or a ‘dungeon’ (KJV) which supplied water. There was a small opening at the top and they were hollowed out to be larger under the hole. Such a pit would’ve been inescapable without help. In this pit there was no water, just a mire, or thick mud, in which it was hoped Jeremiah would starve or sink and suffocate.

This is a reflection perhaps of the wonderful picture of redemption from the pit David describes in verse 2. We have seen how in verse 1 he has waited faithfully on His loving Saviour. He describes how he cried out to the Lord awaiting his reply with confidence and patience. But here in verse 2 he turns his reflections to God’s grace to him in lifting him up in salvation first, but also continued rescuing in times where David has slipped and slid into a despairing state of sin and wandering from God. As with Jeremiah, the only way out was with assistance, not by his own means.

He explains fully the experience of every saved soul, not just in an eternal context in a one off saving act of grace, but also in a sense of our backslidings. Those times when we have erred and fallen, when sin’s blackness has clouded our sight of Him. And He once again comes to our aid.

The image of Christian salvation is though so very clear here.

We see the unsaved sinner bumping around in the dark. He hears the gospel call and for the first time sees the nail pierced hands of the Lord Jesus Christ reaching down. John 12: 46 tells us “I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness” The sinner hears, repents and believes and is taken in the warm, firm grasp of the lord Jesus and the sinner is lifted from the pit into the light.

As he is lifted the sticky bog, the cloying mud of iniquity sucks at the sinner’s feet trying hard to claim its victim back. But Jesus lifts the sinner high and for the first time in the sinner’s life his feet are placed on solid ground. The feel is unfamiliar, not the shaky, slippery pit’s bottom but rock solid, safe, and unshakable. The rock is Jesus himself, the firmest of footholds. 1 Corinthians 10:4b “... and that rock was Christ.”

Psalm 18: 2 tells us “The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower”

It is only the Lord Jesus who can pull us from the pit of destruction. Only Jesus who can save. We can’t climb out. We can’t pull others out ourselves. Christ alone is the Saviour.

In hindsight the Christian can see from where he came, like David. We can see the pit that unbelievers live in. But this should not be a position of piety (as many Christians are accused of). But rather one of deep sorrow.

We should be imploring these lost souls to look for the hand of Jesus, telling them how we escaped the pit. Do we not love them enough to say so?! Do we not care that these people are going to hell?! If they slap that hand of Jesus away we should point them there again and again. It’s done in love of course, not piety or self satisfaction at ‘serving’, but out of love and genuine concern that so many we know are otherwise damned.

Amen.

As a footnote - It has thrilled me that this blog has been viewed from countries where the Church has such a battle and Christians are in danger due to their faith - Iran, Russia, China and curiously enough (more recently) Brazil! In the past there have also been hits from Turkey, Nigeria and Pakistan too.Many may have resulted from search engines referencing the blog due to one or two words - but as I said before, if only one hit helps then Glory to God!

I admit to being ignorant of the lives of those in the body of Christ in those countries, but I'm positive they don't enjoy the freedom of worship and abundance of literature we have in the UK.

So please pray for those brothers and sisters in Christ who are using this blog and other such websites as a way of feeding their faith, and too that the content of my posts is accessible and accurate (as not to mislead).

Next post: 'Muddy feet'.

Psalm 40 - part 3

I'll post the 3rd and last part of the bible study on Psalm 40 verse 1 below. Three more parts for 3 more studies to come, all on Psalm 40. The second is on verse 2, the third on verses 3 and 4 and the final one is on verses 6 to 8. Once again comments are welcomed!

You can read part 1 here and part 2 here.

Psalm 40 can be found here.

3. God will come.


So we wait and God inclines himself to us. He leans closely and assures us of His presence and good will, which David craved so greatly. He manoeuvres the chess pieces of our lives and we see His work in action. We cry out and he draws close ensuring that we know He has heard our cry. We can do so with full confidence.

David encourages us in Psalm 27: 14 to “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.”



As a child when you ran and fell on a gravel path skinning your knees and palms – the pain was pretty much secondary. Yes it stung and shocked and initially that was the painful thing. MUM! DAD! You’d cry out to them in distress.

Now Mum and/or Dad may have shouted from a distance “you ok?”, maybe they could have stood at the window and not said a word. Mum may have silently raised a marigold and gestured ‘ok?’ with a quizzical look. Both show concern and that you’ve been heard. Occasionally this is needed – a detachment of sorts so we learn to not be over dramatic in small things. It helped us grow and mature and develop our character.

But... but when they detected that you were really hurt. Really in distress. Really in need of that parental hug, that warm embrace. Then they ran. They ran to us and picked us up and held us tight saying ‘there there, Daddy’s here’, ‘don’t worry Mum’s got you’.

The worry eased, the tears were wiped away. The pain subsided and became bearable.

Isn’t that David here? He’s cried out, his arms are raised awaiting the Lord to draw near and embrace him. He knows God will come. He waits as a child waits for their parent.

Our hearts can indeed be strengthened and we can be of good courage with such as parent. We can rely on Him in everything and wait in full assured confidence of His coming. That childlike faith shines through here doesn’t it? Unblinking, (if teary eyed) confidence that he’ll come for me.

When we pray – He will answer.

The pain can be in the wait. But utter joy lies in the comfort and the boundless love that comes when the Lord Jesus draws near to us, holds us to Him and assures us that we are indeed Christ’s alone and in his justifying, atoning blood sacrifice we are lifted from the miry clay and our feet set upon the rock of the Lord Jesus enabling us to see from our new vantage point the blackness of the bog we have left behind and the heavenly glow atop Mount Zion which we will one glorious day ascend to.

There is no firmer foothold. There is no other way out of the boggy clay. Cry out to Jesus, He will hear you. Of that the Christian can be no more certain.

Amen

Next post - Psalm 40: 2

Psalm 40 - part 2

As I was sat sipping my coffee I browsed through the 'audience' statistics, which never cease to surprise me. My blog doesn't get read by that many people. I've yet to beak a 1000 views total. However I'm not bothered about that - those who read it read it and I hope they are are blessed or encouraged somehow. What thrills me is seeing where the hits have come from - worldwide! Just this morning I noticed 3 hits from Iran, a country where I cannot imagine the gospel is readily accepted. If one post was read there then all the unread posts were worth it!

So here's part 2 of the first study in Psalm 40. Read the first part here.


David’s prayer.


So why was David writing such a psalm? He was in trouble (again).

The miry clay of verse 2 is an indication that he had been thrown into a spiritual, or even physical ‘pit’. Matthew Henry, on this psalm says this:

“We have reason to think it was some inward disquiet and perplexity of spirit that was now his greatest grievance. Despondency of spirit under the sense of God’s withdrawal and prevailing doubts and fears about the eternal state are indeed a horrible pit and a miry clay, and have been so for many a child of God.”

While this explains the reason for David’s sense of waiting and his reason for crying out – his faith in God’s longsuffering and faithfulness to him doesn’t dwindle. Neither did the Lord Jesus waiver one iota in the garden of Gethsemane or on the cross itself. He was burdened and tested and hurting, but his faith remained in God’s perfect will.

So as Jesus was bogged down by our sins in that garden his prayers reflected that he indeed waited on the Lord as he subjected himself utterly and fully to the Father’s will to pour that cup of wrath fully on Him.

Jesus prayed because he was anxious.

Jesus asked for the burden to be lifted.

Jesus subjected himself to God’s will.

David’s psalm 41 reflects many aspects of his own and also Jesus’ Gethsemane prayers.

a) Both present their worries. Their anxieties and spiritual concerns are presented openly and unreservedly. In our private prayers we should be unabashed in our repentance, praise and supplications.

Hebrews 5: 7 tells us “Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;”

Phil. 4: 6 “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”

b) They pray for the burden to be lifted/eased. Provided we pray with contrite hearts we can ask God for anything. We should pray expectantly, anticipating God’s intercession in our problematic lives. The prayers won’t always be answered how we would like them to be, but they will be answered according to His will.

Mark 14: 36 “And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.”

c) David and Jesus subject themselves utterly to God’s will. They accept that God’s perfect will is what matters and that their feelings, emotions and discomforts are not what matters most. They know that God will be glorified in their subjection to His Sovereign will.

John 17: 1 “These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee”

Subjecting ourselves to God’s will may not be pleasant an experience bodily, but from it comes great spiritual growth and maturity. God proves His faithfulness daily and our unbelief is of us, never as a consequence of His failing us.


Next: God will come. Read it here.

Psalm 40 - part 1

I have once again been neglecting my blog - apologies for to the 3 people who read them regularly (i.e my Mum... three times).

I prepared and delivered 4 bible studies in March, so while I consider 'blogging' properly during May, I'll post notes for each of the bible studies here - they read like essays so they should make sense!? While I'm doing so hopefully I'll get back in the groove of posting regularly.

So here's Part 1:

First off read Psalm 40

Psalm 40: 1


“I waited patiently on the Lord and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.”

Context:

This is the penultimate psalm in the first of the 5 books of psalms. It bears many similarities with the next, psalm 41. The theme of the first book is introductory in some sense and they are in main prayers that have stemmed from situations of distress punctuated with statements of confidence in God’s singular ability to save.

Psalm 40 and 41 are pretty much an exclamation mark on this collection of prayers and songs. There are too reflections on ethics and worship in the previous 39.

Here David writes the first 10 verses as a reflection on past mercies to be thankful for and in verses 6 to 8 he reminds the Old Testament reader (and us) that the sacrificial system was worthless if separated from faith, repentance and obedience. Religiosity is being guarded against and reminds us that we must be cautious in our obedience not to be trying to placate God.

We are going to look at 3 things contained in verse 1.

1. David’s wait.

2. David’s prayer.

3. God will come.

__________________________________________________________________________________

1. David’s wait.

What does it mean to ‘wait’ on someone? Or rather to ‘wait patiently’? One hardly gets the impression here that David is tapping his foot with his arms folded, hence the ‘patiently’, but it neither gives the impression that David is casual in his waiting either. He is though waiting with a degree of confidence. He can be patient as he knows the Lord will arrive.

We in this modern age are impatient. At traffic lights, in queues we tap our toes or the steering wheel and we tut and harrumph. With each other we are emotionally impatient and easily frustrated by others actions, manner, behaviour, traits and individualisms. It has been said that now the average time we will wait for the PC egg timer is a mere 15 seconds. After this we start tapping and re-tapping buttons, shortly after this we consider shutting the computer down. Utter madness. Sit in someone’s company for 1 minute and say nothing and do nothing. Many cannot.

But here David takes the pace out of his expectations; he waits on an eternal God, to whom time does not apply. Time is our measurement of events in an order we can understand and relate other events to. God has no need for this as all events and all time is his to do with as he pleases. He controls nature – the Red Sea parting. He controls the sun – when it paused in the sky for Joshua (Joshua 10), He controls nature and animals – the ark, Elijah’s ravens, the plagues on Egypt.

He IS the creator God – Colossians 1: 16 tells us –

“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:”

So David explains to us what we know, but we often fail to recognise fully. We can be patient and confident in our Lord. He is longsuffering, utterly Holy... He is the God of glory, love, grace, goodness wrath and mercy. He is immutable/unchanging. He is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent and Sovereign over all.

When we have a God who is all these things, why should we concern ourselves with if, when and how he will answer our prayers... He surely knows better than us?!

David’s experiences of God here have always been that in every instance God’s will is carried out and prayers are answered. His patience in waiting on the Lord is borne of faith, despite the fact that as David writes this it shows us that he has been sat on this concern for sometime and it was wearing on him greatly. David knows well that He will incline to us and hear our cries – we can know this ourselves when we read 1 John 5: 13 – 15

“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”

This inclination of God “unto me” suggests also a personal relationship that God takes seriously. On David’s part it demonstrates a deep reverence and an almost astonishment that the Almighty creator God would stoop to hear his petitions. Yet it also lends itself to David’s understanding that God WILL do so when he cries out to Him. David realises that God’s inclining to him is utterly unmerited and gracious, but also that He is not a fickle God and will faithfully lean close to him when David waits on Him.

We can see this reverence of and trust in the Lord in Psalm 17: 6, 7 where David had previously called upon the God who hears and inclines to us.

The patience stems not from an assumption that David is in a queue, but rather that as a Sovereign God He will incline himself to answer David’s prayer when the Lord wills it to be right, not at David’s convenience. We can, can we not, be so petulant and spoiled in our petitions? This reverential deference to God’s good will is an example to us all that our prayers are not a list of demands; they are not negotiations with the Almighty. David here understands that he is subject to God and His will and cannot demand that the Lord should respond.

He is rather saying ‘I’m crying out Lord. I’m putting my trust in you in these things, I know you will listen and answer and that your Sovereign will be done’.



Next post: David's Prayer. Read it here.