FOR THE DIRECTOR of music. Of David. A psalm.
1I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
2He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
3He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the LORD.
4Blessed is the man
who makes the LORD his trust,
who does not look to the proud,
to those who turn aside to false gods.
5Many, O LORD my God,
are the wonders you have done.
The things you planned for us
no one can recount to you;
were I to speak and tell of them,
they would be too many to declare.
6Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but my ears you have pierced;
burnt offerings and sin offerings
you did not require.
7Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—
it is written about me in the scroll.
8I desire to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.”
9I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly;
I do not seal my lips,
as you know, O LORD.
10I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;
I speak of your faithfulness and salvation.
I do not conceal your love and your truth
from the great assembly.
11Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD;
may your love and your truth always protect me.
12For troubles without number surround me;
my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails within me.
13Be pleased, O LORD, to save me;
O LORD, come quickly to help me.
14May all who seek to take my life
be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin
be turned back in disgrace.
15May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
be appalled at their own shame.
16But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation always say,
“The LORD be exalted!”
17Yet I am poor and needy;
may the Lord think of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
O my God, do not delay.
Original Meaning
LIKE PSALMS 37, 38, and 39, Psalm 40 is a plea for deliverance from suffering as the consequence of personal sin. Because the final five verses of this psalm are practically identical with the whole of Psalm 70, some have considered the psalm a composite psalm, in which two distinct compositions have been imperfectly joined.1 Others consider the first sixteen verses of Psalm 40 to have been written to incorporate the verses from Psalm 70.2 In this case the final composition, while not entirely original, exhibits an intentional and thoroughgoing unity. Still others consider Psalm 40 to be the original version of the psalm, a portion of which was then adapted at a later date for use as Psalm 70, where it functions as an introduction to Psalm 71.3
The question of the original form of Psalm 40 probably cannot be resolved, although it certainly seems possible—upon examination of the whole Psalter—that bits and pieces of psalmic compositions (whether large or small) were reused and recombined in new and later compositions. This process seems to have been common and did not seem to decrease the value of the compositions made up of parts of previous works. In the commentary that follows, I assume a unity of Psalm 40 and seek to understand and expound the movement of the whole.
Besides the more obvious division between the thanksgiving of the first twelve verses and the lament of the final five verses (the ones parallel to Ps. 70), there is little consensus about the structure of this psalm. It begins with a description of past deliverance experienced by the psalmist (40:1–4), continues with an avowal of personal faithfulness and witness (40:5–10), offers a transitional description of the need for divine aid (40:11–12), and concludes with a plea for speedy delivery (40:13–17).
The Heading (40:0)
NO NEW TERM appears in the heading to Psalm 40, which is referred to “the director of music” and described as both Davidic and a mizmor.4
Description of Past Deliverance (40:1–4)
THE THEME OF “waiting” for Yahweh in the midst of trouble that began in Psalm 37 and continued through Psalms 38 and 39 is sounded once again in 40:1.5 It seems significant that the enduring expectancy commanded in 37:34, affirmed by the psalmist’s commitment in 38:15, and reflected in the narrative of Psalm 39, should reach such a definite conclusion in the emphatic construction of 40:1. The use of the Piel infinitive construct of qwh (“wait for”) together with the Piel perfect of the same root adds strength and emphasis to the action described. Whereas in the former psalms Yahweh’s response was anticipated and hoped for, here it is an experienced reality: “He turned to me and he heard my cry.”
He lifted me. The psalmist proceeds to describe in imaginative terms the deliverance experienced. The sufferer has been lifted from the slippery muck and mire where no secure footing is possible and has been placed on the solid rock—“a firm place to stand” (40:2). I am reminded of the opening scenes of a motion picture about World War I called The Blue Max. In these scenes, a young German infantryman is enmeshed in the muck and mire of seemingly endless trench warfare and looks up from his muddy fox hole into a pristine blue sky to see a biplane engaged in a dogfight with the enemy. In the next scene, our young soldier has volunteered for flight training!
It is this contrasting sense of hopeless and helpless enmeshment in the slime and then being transported to a secure and safe (and clean) environment that the psalmist captures in these opening verses. Yahweh is deliverer! This brings a “new song” to his lips (40:3)6 in response to this new act of divine deliverance. This new song is a “hymn of praise” (tehillah); note that the plural form of this word (tehillim) forms the Hebrew title of the whole book of Psalms. In an unusual way, then, the psalms—whether lament or praise, thanksgiving or wisdom—are considered a collection of “new songs” that break from the thankful heart of a delivered people.
Many will see and fear. The purpose of the new song is testimony. It will draw others to “fear” Yahweh. The paralleling in this verse of the phrase “fear [Yahweh]” with the later “put their trust in [Yahweh]” supplies important clarification to our understanding of this significant theological concept. When Israel talks about fearing Yahweh, she decidedly does not mean to be afraid of him. This is particularly clear in Exodus 20:20, where Moses tells the children of Israel at Mount Sinai: “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” They are not to “be afraid,” and yet the purpose of God’s coming is that they should learn “the fear of God.”7
In our passage, the positive content of fearing Yahweh is put forward as “trust” in him (40:3) and is clarified further by the blessing in 40:4: “Blessed is the [one] who makes the LORD [Yahweh] his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.” Those who fear Yahweh (who assume the appropriate relationship of loyalty and dependence) are contrasted with those who “look to the proud” and “turn aside to false gods” (lit., “go astray after a lie”)—both references to forsaking Yahweh to worship other gods. Perhaps the primary hope the psalmist holds out for divine mercy is that while he has indeed sinned, he has not forsaken Yahweh like those who no longer “fear him.” Fearing Yahweh, then, does not expect perfect sinlessness but demands a baseline loyalty and dependence on him that brings the sinner back again and again to seek God’s forgiveness and blessing.
Avowal of Personal Faithfulness and Witness (40:5–10)
AS IS OFTEN the case in the biblical psalms, the aphoristic blessing in 40:4 both illuminates the call to fear Yahweh in the preceding verses and opens the way to the psalmist’s affirmation of faith in the verses that follow. This transition is accompanied with a change in his grammatical reference to Yahweh from third person to second person, signifying direct address in 40:5–10.
In this new section the psalmist testifies to the “wonders” Yahweh has done (40:5–6) and declares personal loyalty to him (40:7–10). The “wonders” of Yahweh are too numerous to detail (40:5) as his plans for us are too vast to enumerate.
There is a bit of awkwardness in this section, and most translations have availed themselves of some rearrangement of the words—most relatively minor. Literally the Hebrew goes something like this:
Many (things) you have done, you (yourself)
O Yahweh, my God, your wonders and your plans for us.
There is none to arrange them for you (or compare to you, or call you to account)8
If I should (attempt to) make them known or declare them,
They are too vast to number (or to tell).9
Sacrifice and offering. Verses 6–8 are often taken as a general condemnation of the sacrificial system of Israelite temple worship and are compared with such passages as 1 Samuel 15:22; Jeremiah 6:20; and Amos 5:22. More contemporary commentators resist the idea that the psalm definitively rejects sacrifice, preferring to understand these verses in some other way. Kraus speaks of a shift in emphasis from sacrifice to the song rather than the rejection of sacrifice.10 Craigie explains the tension as the result of liturgical movement in which the king participated, who, having offered sacrifices at the appropriate point of the liturgy, moves on to another part of the liturgy in which “the offering of sacrifices alone was not enough; more was required of him.”11
Of these three possibilities (rejection of sacrifice, shift of emphasis to the song, and liturgical movement), the view of Kraus seems more persuasive—at least in a modified form. If Psalm 40 and its statements about sacrifice are taken to be a response to life after the destruction of the temple and the cessation of the sacrificial system, then the shift of emphasis is more understandable and even necessary. We know that after the destruction of the second temple by the Romans in A.D. 70, the rabbis taught that the lack of sacrifice could be compensated for by study of the Torah, faithful prayer, fasting, and deeds of kindness.12
Perhaps another way to understand these seemingly harsh words about sacrifice is to take them as referring only to the specific experience of the psalmist and as another example of the incomparable wonders performed by Yahweh. In this case the psalmist is testifying that rather than demanding gifts and sacrifices as payment for the psalmist’s sin, what Yahweh really wanted was “open [pierced] ears” of the psalmist attentive to God’s instruction (40:6) and a heart willing to allow the torah (“law”) to guide it (40:8).
What appears to be a clear affirming parallelism in the first and third lines of 40:6:
Sacrifice and offering you did not desire . . .
burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require
is rather awkwardly interrupted by the difficult phrase: “but my ears you have pierced” (ʾoznayim karita li). Kidner mentions a possible connection with the ceremony in which a servant attached himself to his master in perpetuity by having an awl driven through one ear into the door post (Ex. 21:6), but he prefers the alternative translation of the verb krt as “dug,” as in digging a well.13 This would yield the sense of “open up” ears or “dig (new) ears” so that one can hear.14 The new openness acquired by the psalmist through God’s action is apparently mirrored in his willingness to do the divine will (40:8), occasioned by a new awareness that sacrificial ritual is not enough to satisfy Yahweh.
The balanced affirming parallelism represented by the outer lines of verse 6 need further comment. The forms of sacrifice mentioned combine to form a sort of merism15 intended to encompass the whole of sacrificial ritual and experience. The first two forms of sacrifice—zebaḥ and minḥah—are essentially positive sacrifices, celebrating communion with God through a shared meal in the first instance and by means of a grateful gift to God in the second. The second two forms—ʿolah and ḥaṭaʾah—describe offerings primarily designed to remove the effects and consequences of human sin. The ʿolah is the whole “burnt offering,” in which no communion meal is possible because the whole offering is burned on the altar to God. The ḥaṭaʾah is clearly identified by its name as a “sin offering.” These two sets of offerings, then, mark the opposing ends of the spectrum of sacrificial experience in Israel, implying in this context that it is the entire sacrificial system that is at issue here, not just certain sacrifices.
In the scroll of the book. Having established in the preceding verses that God’s desire and requirement is an inner awareness and attentiveness rather than the fulfillment of external ritual, the psalmist now claims personal adherence to that ideal. He is one who responds to the wonderful works of Yahweh with inner commitment (40:8) and outer testimony (40:9–10).
Verse 7 remains somewhat enigmatic because of a lack of clarity regarding the identity of the “scroll.” Besides this verse, this phrase occurs only in two other contexts in the Old Testament. The first refers to the “scroll” in which Baruch son of Neriah recorded the prophecies of Jeremiah in order to present them to the king of Judah after Jeremiah had been prohibited from prophesying. The king burned that scroll so that Jeremiah had to record his prophecies a second time (Jer. 36). The second is found in Ezekiel 2–3, where Ezekiel is presented with a “scroll” containing words of “lament and mourning and woe” from God. The prophet is instructed to eat this scroll and then to proclaim the words it contains to the rebellious people. If these two uses define “the scroll,” it contains the words of God as revealed to the prophets.
Other possibilities offered by commentators include: (1) a scroll containing the petition of the psalmist that was laid up in the temple to serve as a testimony when the plea was later fulfilled,16 (2) a scroll of Mosaic Torah,17 (3) a scroll containing an account of the psalmist’s “debit” because of sin,18 (4) a scroll detailing the responsibility of kings in Deuteronomy 17:14–20 (assuming the royal character of this psalm),19 or (5) a personal copy of the scroll mentioned in Deuteronomy to which the king committed himself at his coronation.20 The wild divergence in interpretation illustrates the ambiguity of this phrase and leaves us with no sure way to determine its meaning in this context.
Whatever solution one chooses, it seems clear that the psalmist, having experienced a new awareness and understanding as the result of divine opening of his ears (40:6), now perceives the “scroll” as speaking directly to his circumstance (40:7). As a result he becomes willing to do Yahweh’s will (40:8). The “scroll,” then, challenges the psalmist to internalize Yahweh’s instruction in his heart and to “proclaim righteousness in the great assembly” (40:9). The remaining verses of this section repeat his commitment not to conceal this newfound understanding but to proclaim Yahweh’s righteousness to the faithful community (40:9b–10).
This leads me to believe that what the psalmist perceived in the “scroll” was the reality of his sin and the righteousness of Yahweh’s punishment. If so, then these verses are tantamount to a confession of sin—the psalmist does not conceal Yahweh’s righteousness but proclaims it—coupled with an affirmation of Yahweh’s faithfulness, salvation, love, and truth (40:10). Thus, whereas the psalmist was tempted to explain away the suffering experienced as undeserved and therefore to cast aspersion on God, the change of heart wrought by his new understanding led to confession, submission, a desire for obedience, and a public acknowledgment of divine righteousness.21
Proclaim righteousness. The psalmist’s determination to proclaim Yahweh’s righteousness to the congregation of the faithful is the practical equivalent to the New Testament proclamation of the gospel. The underlying Hebrew verb (bśr) means “to bring (in this case good) news,” which is the primary meaning of the Greek underlying the word “gospel” (euangelion [“good news”]).22 The psalmist does not keep the “good news” of God’s righteous and faithful saving love under wraps but publishes it abroad.
Not conceal. The psalmist’s struggle is intensified by the variety of ways used to describe his temptation to conceal the righteousness of Yahweh. He did not “seal” his lips, “hide” God’s righteousness, or “conceal” (lit., “efface”23) Yahweh’s faithfulness and truth.24
The Need for Divine Aid (40:11–12)
AFTER ESTABLISHING A foundation of personal faithfulness, the psalmist appeals to Yahweh for mercy, asking God to apply in his case those very characteristics of “love” (ḥesed) and “truth” (ʾemet) that he so freely praised in the congregation of the faithful (40:9–10). In 40:9, the psalmist has declared, “I do not seal my lips” from testifying to the wonderful acts of Yahweh; now he appeals to Yahweh, “Do not withhold your mercy from me.”
This appeal also includes the psalmist’s desperate circumstances as justification for divine deliverance, using imagery normally reserved for descriptions of pounding surf. Many troubles “without number” and “more than the hairs of my head” surround the psalmist while his own sins overtake him like waves crashing down on a shipwrecked survivor in the open sea. The tumult is so great that, like the imperiled swimmer, he is no longer able to see beyond the immediate life-threatening circumstances (40:12). Isolated and desperate, the psalmist is on the brink of losing all hope (“my heart fails”).
Speedy Delivery (40:13–17 = 70:1–5)
AS A CONCLUDING plea for deliverance, the psalmist uses five verses that are—except for a few significant variations—identical with the freestanding Psalm 70. By its position before Psalm 71 (which has no psalm heading), Psalm 70 serves as an introduction to the far more extended plea for deliverance in the following psalm.25 There has been considerable debate concerning which version of these verses (40:13–17 or 70:1–5) is earlier, with most concluding that Psalm 70 is an original, independent poem adapted for use at the end of Psalm 40. This seems a more persuasive argument than the alternative explanations offered for splitting these verses off from an original context. There is also a great deal of verbal linkage between Psalms 70 and 71 that suggests an intimate association between them (see comments on 70–71).
Moreover, the one significant variation of 40:13–17 from the parallel verses of Psalm 70 seems to support the view of Psalm 40 being a later adaptation. Consider the following comparison of the verses in question:
Ps. 40:17 | Ps. 70:5 |
Yet I am poor and needy; | Yet I am poor and needy; |
may the Lord think of me. | come quickly to me, O God. |
You are my help and my deliverer; | You are my help and my deliverer; |
O my God, do not delay. | O LORD, do not delay. |
The italicized portion highlights the variant renderings offered by these two psalms. Psalm 40 is distinguished not only by its use of distinctive words here but also by a rather abrupt shift from direct address of Yahweh in the second-person singular (initiated in 40:5 and continuing without break to this point) to an internal reflective reference to Yahweh in the third-person singular. This does not seem as natural as the consistent address of Psalm 70. The abrupt shift in 40:17 can be explained as a way of fitting these verses into the “new” context of Psalm 40 by adapting this verse to reflect the third-person reflective mode with which the psalm begins (cf. 40:1–4, in which Yahweh is also referred to in the third person).
A second variant in 40:13 is consistent with an adaptation of these verses to the context of Psalm 40. The lack of an imperative verb at the beginning of 70:1 leaves the reader to supply the lack from the urgent imperative ḥušah (“hasten”) in the second line.26 This establishes a mood of rather demanding urgency that is repeated in 70:5 and again in 71:12. By contrast, the use in 40:13 of the much less demanding verb in initial position (rṣh [“be pleased”]) and heightens the element of humble entreaty that is appropriate for one seeking removal of the consequences of personal sin.
Verses 13–17 bring Psalm 40 to a conclusion in an unexpected fashion. The earlier part of the psalm was directed to the psalmist’s testimony to the faithfulness of God before the congregation and desire for deliverance from the unspecified troubles that have resulted from sin. Now, without previous mention, these final verses focus on his enemies, whom the psalmist wants Yahweh to recompense for their attacks. What seems natural and integrated in the context of Psalms 70–71 here seems an unanticipated change. The one link with the earlier portion of Psalm 40 is the continuing theme of trusting Yahweh, mirrored by the psalmist’s patience in 40:1 and exhorted of the reader in 40:3–4. In this context, 40:16—“May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say, ‘The LORD be exalted!’ ”—is seen as a blessing on those who trust in Yahweh (cf. 40:4).27
Bridging Contexts
WAITING PATIENTLY. As noted above, the theme of waiting for divine deliverance binds together Psalms 37–40. There are two kinds of waiting envisioned here. (1) The first (associated with yḥl) emphasizes patient endurance over a long time. Such waiting assumes that God does not always act quickly but that his deliverance is sure and worth waiting for. The noun toḥelet is built on this root and describes one’s enduring hope and expectation that does not fade over the long haul (39:7).
(2) Along with this durable waiting, the psalmists encourage expectant anticipation. It certainly seems possible that those exiles of the Diaspora looking to the Psalter for encouragement that God would deliver them might grow weary with the long wait and might see their confidence erode. Thus, the second verb (qwh) speaks to the need to maintain anticipation and expectation in the face of a long delay. Those who ultimately experience the salvation of God are those who endure faithfully and expectantly. This kind of waiting is akin to that exhorted of the ten virgins waiting for the coming of the bridegroom in Matthew’s parable. All ten virgins endured until the coming of the bridegroom. All ten virgins fell asleep while the waiting drew out overnight. But only five of the virgins endured expectantly as indicated by their readiness with extra oil. Those who endured expectantly were prepared when the bridegroom came to usher them into the banquet, while the others missed out on the festivities (Matt. 25:1–13).
Stuck in the muck. Deliverance in Psalm 40 is viewed as being set on a secure rock with firm footing (40:2). This is not an uncommon image for salvation and is often associated with the need for room and stability in hand-to-hand military combat. Here, however, the picture is that of one hopelessly bogged down in miry muck, like a truck stuck up to the hubs in mud.
The psalmist is seeking deliverance from sin (40:12), so it is interesting to see how its consequences are described as being mired down in a slippery place, with no secure footing or ability to escape. Several images are attached to the vocabulary used here. (1) One appears to refer to the clay (ṭiṭ/ṭiṭim) pounded out into a smooth surface in building village streets.28 While in most circumstances this must have provided a relatively hard surface, on occasions of rain or perhaps the spilling of blood in battle, the clay could become slippery and muddy (cf. Zech. 10:5).
(2) A second image connected with the slippery mire is the shifty sediments of the sea bed. Isaiah 57:20 describes the restless sea that tosses up slimy seaweed (repeš) and mud (ṭiṭ). Similarly, Psalm 69:14 describes the desperate plight of one who is sinking into the mire (ṭiṭ) while the sea waves crash over him.29
(3) The final image associated with slippery mud refers to the sediment left in the bottom of an abandoned cistern or pit. Jeremiah 38:6 describes the circumstances in which the prophet was abandoned to die by his enemies in a cistern having “no water in it, only mud [ṭiṭ], and Jeremiah sank down into the mud.” When the king learned of Jeremiah’s fate, he sent men with ropes to draw him up out of the muck and mire of the pit. Similarly Joseph’s brothers threw him into an empty cistern before drawing him out in order to sell him to passing Midianites (Gen. 37:19–28).30 Lamentations 3:53 describes the poet being thrown into a cistern and left to die while the “waters closed over my head.” Apparently these accounts draw on a common practice of using cisterns for imprisonment. Isaiah uses the image to envision the eschatological capture of the kings of the earth, who “will be herded together like prisoners bound in a [pit]” (Isa. 24:22), while in Zechariah 9:11, God offers hope to exilic Israel when he promises, “I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit.”
Of these three related images employing ṭiṭ/ṭiṭim the last seems most appropriate as the background of Psalm 40:2, where the term “slimy pit” is used.31 Sin casts a sinner into a pit from which there is no escape. Secure footholds are gone on slippery ground so that the sinner is threatened with submersion and death.
A new song. See the discussion of “new song” in the comments on 33:3.
Contemporary Significance
I DO NOT seal my lips. At the heart of Psalm 40 stands the narrator’s self-description as one who has proclaimed God’s “righteousness in the great assembly” (40:9). Immediately preceding this claim is the rather enigmatic statement of 40:7–8: “Here I am, I have come—it is written about me in the scroll. I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” These earlier verses seem to reflect the self-awareness of the Judahite kings that they were bound in covenant relationship with Yahweh through their ancestor David and that their responsibilities were recorded in a “scroll” that each king was to keep with him for ready reference and reminder.32 The purpose of the scroll was to keep the monarch grounded in spiritual reliance on Yahweh rather than on military, political, and financial power. It was also intended to encourage him to “revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees” (Deut. 17:19). Obedience to these decrees was the condition of long and continued rule.
Immediately following these verses recalling the “scroll” and the covenant relationship on which the kingship is founded, the speaker—who must be the king—describes in repeated terms how he has proclaimed righteousness in the great assembly. In his mind this must be appropriate fulfillment of the expectations laid out in the scroll. The righteousness proclaimed is not that of the king but of God. Even in the midst of trouble occasioned by his own sin (40:12), the king takes care to make sure that the gathered people know that God is in the right.
Like the king and like the narrator of the preceding Psalm 39, we often have a tendency to remain silent while suffering the consequences of our own sin. Perhaps we are afraid of public condemnation, or we think our failure may undermine the confidence or faith of others, or perhaps the wicked will see our punishment and be encouraged to strengthen their ridicule and opposition. For whatever reason, however, we hesitate to make our failings known, preferring to “put a muzzle” on our mouths (39:1), or in the words of 40:9, to “seal [our] lips” rather than to speak openly and honestly.
While such self-imposed silence may save us some public embarrassment, it does so at the cost of much inner anguish and destruction (as 39:2–3 notes). It also has the negative effect of obscuring or effectively denying the “righteousness of God” that Psalm 40 proclaims. First John 1:8–10 is straight to the point: “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. . . . If we claim we have not sinned, we make [God] out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.”
The psalmist/king does not seal his lips but proclaims God’s righteousness in the great assembly. This means acknowledging the sinfulness that justifies God’s discipline. Only by confession is the narrator able to proclaim God’s “faithfulness and salvation” (40:10). To deny his own failing is to “conceal [God’s] love and . . . truth” from those who most need to hear it. When the psalmist goes on to plead for divine mercy and forgiveness in 40:11, he knows that it is the very “love and . . . truth” that he proclaims in confession that saves him. Similarly, 1 John encourages the reader: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
While the 1 John passage does not spell out how to carry out the confession—privately or publicly—Psalm 40 leaves no doubt that the proclamation of God’s righteousness is a public act within “the great assembly.” What are our great assemblies today? Is it the congregational worship service? The Sunday school class or Bible study/support group? I tend myself toward the latter, although appropriate moments of confession in congregational worship are important reminders to all those present that those gathered are no sinless perfectionists but sinners forgiven by God’s grace. Like the king, it is not enough for us to “hide [God’s] righteousness in [our] heart” (40:10a); it needs to be spoken abroad.
Our communities of worship and faith must take care that the important role of confession as a means of proclaiming God’s righteousness, truth, and salvation does not become the exclusive domain of Twelve-Step groups and other psychological support groups. We need to be able to say to one another and to those who stand outside looking in: “I am poor and needy [and a sinner]; may the LORD think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; O my God, do not delay” (40:17).
The author of Hebrews (10:1–10) quotes a variant of Psalm 40:6–8 in support of the contention that Jesus has fulfilled the purpose of the Old Testament sacrificial tradition. Although the law requires animal sacrifices to be made (10:8), bulls and goats are unable to take away sin (10:3). Jesus, about whom it is written prophetically in the “scroll” of the Old Testament (10:7), came to do God’s will by offering himself as the perfect sacrifice for those who believe throughout all time (10:9–10). It is interesting to note that the author of Hebrews, who is describing Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament law, stops his quotation of Psalm 40:10 short of the statement in the latter half of the verse, “your law is within my heart” (40:8b).