Psalm 40: Great is Thy Faithfulness

 A prayer for future deliverance after recounting God’s past deliverances

This Psalm, written by David, is similar to Psalm 27 and Psalm 70. It is a royal prayer that begins with confidence and thanksgiving for what God has done. Then it moves to praying for the present difficulties that need divine intervention.

Our Bible study rule is:

RULE #3: Interpret each passage based on the grammar used in each sentence. Pay attention to the verbs (tenses: past, present, future), subjects, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, preposition, etc. Use a dictionary and an English grammar book for help. If the passage is difficult to understand, label the key words grammatically and note their relationships to each other.

Many of the psalms and other Old Testament passages are written with a special form that is called a chiasm. It has a special pattern that has greater emphasis on the information in the center (D. and D`.) and there are parallels throughout the literary unit (A and A,` B and B,` etc.).

A. A personal experience of divine salvation (vs. 1–3)

     B. The blessing of Yahweh’s protection (vs. 4–5)

          C. A statement of commitment (vs. 6–8)

               D. A proclamation of God’s character (vs. 9–10)

               D`. A prayer based on God’s character (vs. 11)

          C`. A confession of sin (vs. 12)

     B`. A prayer for God’s protection (vs. 13–16)

A`. A personal need of divine salvation (vs. 17)

  I. A personal experience of divine salvation (vs. 1–3)

     A. Waiting patiently was rewarded

     B. The rescue was accomplished by God

     C. Quick sand, Jeremiah in the pit

     D. This may have been a terminal illness from which David was healed 

     E. The nation of Israel was delivered by God just as David was

     F. The rock is a symbol of God’s protection and defense

    G. God’s salvation results in worship, singing thanksgiving unto God

    H. God’s interventions can be seen and results in reverence and trust in Yahweh

 II. The blessing of Yahweh’s protection (vs. 4–5)

      A. Reflection on the life of faith

      B. Pride and idols bring curses

      C. Faith and obedience bring blessings

      D. God’s supernatural providential interventions are the “wonders”

           (Daniel and his friends)

      E. The history of redemption records many deliverances

III. A statement of commitment (vs. 6–8)

     A. Dedication and gratitude show that mere formalism does not do the job

     B. Ritual are not enough; Saul offered a sacrifice wrongly and lost the kingdom

     C. These words go beyond David and are Messianic (Heb 10:5–10)

     D. The O.T. predicted the Messiah’s coming

     E. Loving God with all our heart is first and foremost

     F. The procedure without the heart is never good enough

IV. A proclamation of God’s character (vs. 9–10)

      A. Proclamation of God’s saving acts is a duty

      B. God is righteous, faithful, loving, saving, truthful

      C. Proclamation is to the worshiping assembly

      D. God acts for the benefit of His kingdom and His covenant 

 V. A prayer based on God’s character (vs. 11)

      A. Waiting on God again for deliverance

      B. A new crisis has arisen for David or the nation

      C. David needs God’s hesed (covenant love) and mercy

VI. A confession of sin (vs. 12)

       A. My iniquities or the nations has caused this chastisement

       B. The consequence of sin always involves pain

       C. David goes to God for help even when the problem is his fault because he is in a covenant 

            relationship with God

VII. A prayer for God’s protection (vs. 13–16)

       A. David needs immediate deliverance       

       B. My enemies need to be stopped by God

       C. Those that love God praise and worship Him

       D. Believers seek God and His glory

VIII. A personal need of divine salvation (vs. 17)

        A. My help my deliverer (savior) is the Yahweh

        B. He does not doubt God’s ability to save

Lessons to Live by:

• We are prone to quickly forget God’s past deliverances. When we are going through a new trial we should look back to God’s past acts in the Bible and in our lives

• God is faithful, righteous, true, and keeps His covenant promises

• We need to reaffirm our confidence in God and proclaim His greatness

• We need to trust God for salvation

• We need to confess our sins to God and take responsibility for our iniquities

• We need to go to God our Savior in prayer—He alone can deliver us

• Once we do our part, we need to wait on God