Psalm 40

Psalm 40

The Pits

I. When life is the pits, we must trust patiently in God alone; so we must testify joyfully to His past deliverances and great goodness (Vv. 1-10)

a. David’s life, like all the lives of those of us who live in this sinful and broken world, was full of ups and downs. In the downs of David’s life, he often found himself in the deepest and darkest places of danger; not just in terms of physical threats to his life because of circumstances, but also the darkness of the pit of sinful temptation, defeat, loneliness, and exile, which were the result of his own misguided actions. But David continued to turn to the Lord in all these circumstances, and his experiences teach us that no matter how we end up in the pit, the means for enduring our time there, and ultimately getting out, is to trust patiently in God. In order to trust patiently in God, we must continually remember and testify joyfully to His goodness, which alone lifts us out of the pit. We also must remember that God’s timing and our timing are often quite different. David opens this psalm by stating literally that “To wait for, I waited for the Lord”, as we’d say, “I waited and waited for the Lord”. When things are going great in our lives, according to our understanding and desire for what great is, it seems like time flies by quickly; but when things aren’t going like we’d like them to, and we find ourselves sitting in the bottom of a muddy and miry pit, staring at the walls and exhausted from trying to climb out, it seems like a day is a year. David reminds us that in these times, even though they seem extra-long, God is not asleep, He hears us, and will be faithful to bring us up out of the pit, set our feet on solid ground, and give us a new song of hope and joy; but we must trust patiently in Him. (Vv. 1-3; Ps. 5:1-4; 33:20; 37:34; 38:15; John 15:18-16:2; Acts 14:22; 1 Cor. 4:9-13; 2 Cor. 4:7-10; 6:4-10; 11:24-28; 1 Thess. 3:3-4; 2 Tim. 3:12; Heb. 6:11-12)

b. So how do we continue to wait so patiently on God when the time in the pit seems as though it’s taking an eternity? First, we must remember God’s past deliverances and His present glory. The person who is content, fulfilled, satisfied, and happy in life, in the person who “has made the Lord” their trust; but our most vulnerable times, when we’re the most tempted to trust in the lies of others and even our own lies to ourselves, is when we’re in a pit. It’s in those times especially, when we must reflect on the amazing things we’ve seen God do in our lives, and the lives of others. The wonders of His mercy, grace, and love are too numerous to count, and no one and nothing can compare to Him! Second, we must live in obedience to His commands. David refers to several elements of sacrificial offerings to cover sin, reconcile one with God, and dedicate oneself to Him. But as David declared, God’s desire wasn’t sacrificed animals, but for our hearts to be given completely to Him, so that He could cleanse our ears to hear Him clearly and obey Him in fully. All these sacrifices were fulfilled in Christ, who grants us a new heart in Him that frees us to love God completely and delight in obeying Him. Finally, we must enthusiastically proclaim to others, the greatness of God’s righteousness, faithfulness, and compassionate grace. (Vv. 4-10; 1 Sam. 15:22; Ps. 1:1-3; 34:8; 50:8-15; 51:16-17; Prov. 21:3; Isa. 1:11-17; 50:5-7; Jer. 7:22-23; 31:31-34; Hos. 6;6; Mic. 6:6-8; Matt. 12:34-35; 13:15; 22:36-40; Mark 12:32-33; Luke 24:24-48; John 14:21-24; Acts 7:51, 57; Rom. 8:28; 12:1-2; Heb. 10:1-17; 1 John 5:3)

II. When life is the pits, we must trust patiently in God alone; so we must continue to trust God and testify to His great goodness when troubles arise again and again (Vv. 11-17)

a. Even in light of all David has said so far, we must understand along with him, that the reality of life is that we’ll find ourselves in the pits again. While we walk this planet, we never fully escape the physical and emotional reality that our sin can and will get the best of us at times, and those who oppose Christ will oppose us as well, and desire to see us fail miserably. But in Christ, we also never escape the much greater and eternal spiritual reality, that God won’t hold back His grace from us, and He’ll be faithful to continually set His children who wait faithfully and trust patiently in Him upright, both now, tomorrow, and eternally. David knew that all who truly seek after God and rejoice in Him, won’t just rejoice in His deliverance, but will be able to rejoice in Who He is, even when we can’t rejoice in our circumstances. So David tells us that the secret to trusting patiently in God, when life seems good and when life is the pits, is to continually seek more of Him, and to magnify Him in our lives and in the world; to know that even though we’re afflicted in many ways and at many times, God is our help and our deliver at all times and in all things. (Vv. 11-17; Ps. 25:4-6; 37:1-5, 39-40; 121:1-2; Isa. 44:2; Jonah 2:2; John 16:33; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 13:8; 1 John 1:9)