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.
Introduction to Psalm 40:
We say in the Lord’s Prayer, Thy will be done. Does God really have a will. Yes, and the Bible makes it plain. First of all, II Peter 3:9 says that it is God’s will not to send the final judgment until the last minute because he is not willing that any should perish, but that all should be saved. It is God’s will that people accept Christ, and come to a knowledge of the truth. To know God’s will for your life, you must be saved, and you must be Spirit filled. Every believer has the Holy Spirit living within, but not every believer is filled with the Spirit. If you were filled with the Spirit, your entire week would have the hallmark of worship and communion with God, you would consider like David that the best part of the week would be in the House of the Lord, listening to God’s Word proclaimed. “I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the House of the Lord. The fullness of the Spirit comes as you pray and read God’s Word and apply God’s Word to your heart. Today’s Psalm will enable us to look at some of the requirements and some of the benefits of doing God’s Will.
Thoughts on Psalm 40:1-3—Requirements and Benefits of Doing God’s Will
A. Our Condition Prior to Finding God’s Will (v. 2)
1. Darkness—in the pit there is darkness—absence of God’s light. He was fallen low—in a pit, speaking of being sunk in guilt and corruption. Wow, when you are there in the darkness it is hard to trust God. One wise individual has said: Never doubt in the darkness what God has shown you in the light.
2. Distress—“horrible pit” means “a cavern, deep and dark, where the waters roar, and which seems to be filled with horrors.” Sin brings horrors upon us. One of the young men told my wife of the horrors that he experienced in jail, life changing experiences that scar him for life.
3. Helplessness—“miry clay” shows that we are totally unable to do anything to effect our own deliverance—we cannot save ourselves from sin and its consequences. Clay stains you, and clay holds you.
B. Four Benefits from Waiting on God to Reveal His Will (vv. 1-3) The condition that we see David in verse 2 is already remedied in verse 1—In distress to find God’s Will in a horrible situation he prayed. Prayer is a test of our humility and of our obedience. Also, David trusted in God’s mercy as he prayed. This trust allowed him to wait patiently for the Lord. It is good to wait, without murmuring, for answers of peace from God’s throne. David waited an agonizing 13 years from being anointed king to actually taking the throne, Abraham waited 25 years from the promise of a son to the actual birth of Isaac, Job waited in agony of body and spirit for God to explain why he was in such a bad situation—but all three of these examples are similar in that all trusted God completely while they waited. In these verses we see:
1. We are lifted out of despair—that horrible pit of darkness
2. We are set on firm ground—away from the miry clay in which we were sinking.
3. We have our way confirmed—our steps are set in order so that we are going down the right path.
4. We have a new occasion for praise to God in song—how thankful we should be for the hymns of our redemption
5. Dr. Alan Redpath in his book Getting to Know the Will of God, said that he at one point had to decide whether to enter the ministry or stay in his successful profession as a chartered accountant of the Imperial Chemical Industries. He made a chart of every reason to stay at his job, and asked the Lord to show him Bible verses that would counter or affirm the reasons listed. Lord, he prayed, “I am not here to evade you. I am here because I want to know your will. Day after day verses would be found that argued against staying in the business he was in. He was not in a hurry though, and he was willing to wait. After about a year, all the arguments were answered with Scripture, and he changed his career. See the key words—wait on the Lord. (Remember our discussion this week on waiting on the Lord!)
Regarding this subject of the Will of God, here are some comments by great Christians of the past. John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church said: God generally guides me by presenting reasons to my mind for acting in a certain way.. A. W. Tozer who wrote much on the subject of prayer said: The man or woman who is wholly and joyously surrendered to Christ can’t make a wrong choice—any choice will be the right one. And Paul Little wrote in Affirming the Will of God: “Has it ever struck you that the vast majority of the will of God for your life has already been revealed in the Bible.” That is the crucial thing to grasp. More on Psalm 40 awaits tomorrow…
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