Psalm 40:1–3: “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.”

February 15th, 2024 by Pastor Ed in devotional

In this psalm, David recalls a hopeless and helpless situation he had fallen into, and how he waited on the Lord. He then describes how God leaned over, stooped down, and listened to his cry, just as a father would to his young child. That God condescends to lower Himself, to stoop to listen to His children, is one of the greatest wonders revealed in Scripture. Even though we are small and insignificant, the Creator of all chooses to dwell on and be concerned with us. President Abraham Lincoln said it this way:

That the Almighty does make use of human agencies and directly intervenes in human affairs, is one of the plainest statements of the Bible. I have had so many evidences of His direction, so many instances when I have been controlled by some other power than my own will, that I cannot doubt that this power comes from above.

David describes his situation as being in “a horrible pit,” stuck in a “miry clay.” He felt lost, trapped, unable to rescue himself. Many people have experienced the terrifying feeling of nearly drowning. Beach lifeguards often pull people out of surf that the person could have stood up in, but they were so scared they panicked. That sense of inescapable fear is the picture David is painting here. But God intervened; He came to David’s rescue and “set [his] feet upon a rock.” God’s grace took him from a place where he had no footing to a place of solid ground, where he could stand.

Do you feel like you are drowning today, like you’ve fallen into a pit you can’t escape? Do you feel like you’ve lost your sense of direction? We must wait patiently on the Lord and seek Him, two actions that, when we trust Him, work together. Then we will experience His rescue, as He stoops down and sets our feet on solid footing once again.

“LORD, we wait on and seek for You this day.”

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Psalms 40 KJV

¹ I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. 

² He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, andestablished my goings. 

³ And he hath put a new song in my mouth, evenpraise unto our God: many shall see it , and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.

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

⁵ Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which areto us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them , they are more than can be numbered. 

⁶ Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. 

⁷ Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,

⁸ I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law iswithin my heart. 

⁹ I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest.

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.

¹¹ Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O LORD: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me.

¹² For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me.

¹³ Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me: O LORD, make haste to help me.

¹⁴ Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil.

¹⁵ Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame that say unto me, Aha, aha.

¹⁶ Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The LORD be magnified.

¹⁷ But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.