Sunday Devotional 19th of March, 2023
by Bruce Billington
We are continuing to explore the knowledge of God as expressed in the Psalms. This week we will continue to explore Psalm 40 – a Psalm of David.
Note
Just a quick note before we get into the Psalm. This Psalm describes not only the relationship that David had with His Lord God, and describes how David presented himself before the Lord with a strong awareness of the need to be holy – but it also points to the only one who ever achieved this in its fullest sense – our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. This is quoted in Hebrews 10.
Psalm 40:1–3 – “I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear And will trust in the LORD.”
Patience, as we all know, is a virtue and one that was a special characteristic of the Lord Jesus Christ during His time on the earth. Not once during His time on the cross, did He cry out for revenge nor make any expression of self-pity or regret for the horrors He was experiencing. This is amazing considering that unlike those who had suffered before and after Him – that no one ever experienced the utter God-forsakenness and horror of His being made sin on our behalf (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Here in V1 David teaches us that if we wait patiently, we will be heard and will never be forsaken. We have this confidence because of what God purposed through His Son Jesus Christ – that He suffers rejection so that we, despite all being sinners, never have to. We must arm ourselves with this truth as we despair as to what is going on in our lives or around us.
Jesus sets the complete example for this. When He was put to death on the cross, He was made to be sin and cast down into the deepest and most horrible darkness imaginable. It seemed that nothing could rescue Him from such a fate. Yet God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, reached into this black pit and resurrected Him, re-establishing Him to the place of supreme glory – as the Rock and Lord of all.
Today, our Lord not only stands on an unshakeable foundation, but He also brings all those in Christ, to this same place with Him. From this place He saves to the uttermost, all that come to God through Him.
Charles Spurgeon makes a great statement about this. He says,
Jesus is the true Joseph taken from the pit to be Lord of all. It is something more than a “sip of sweetness” to remember that if we are cast like our Lord into the lowest pit of shame and sorrow, we shall by faith rise to stand on the same elevated, sure, and everlasting rock of divine favour and faithfulness.
V3 – He has put a new song in my mouth. We burst into praise at His faithfulness to us and His deliverance of us from our predicament. This is a great witness and will cause many to see, fear, and trust in the Lord. All these wonderful works reflect God’s constant love and attention that He pours out upon us, and this cannot help but be noticed by those around us. In whatever way it pleases God to respond to us, all He asks back is that we express our gratitude by way of worship and that we remember what He has done for us.
Many will see and “fear” And will trust in the LORD. Why is the word “fear” used? Because are clear witness will be made to those who are watching on – they will also see the way He nullifies those who would seek to oppose us when we are walking in His ways. It is always a fearsome thing to see God aroused at the presence of our enemies. It is as we are armed with this knowledge and stand in this position, that we can stand with the apostle Paul and say with confidence
But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us – Romans 8:37.
May God bless you.
Bruce Billington