The first question to ask when reading any psalm is, what kind of psalm is it? Psalm 40 is a fascinating blend of praise and petition.
In nearly every case, the first verse tells us the purpose and general theme of the psalm. In this case, I don’t think we get such a clear answer. In the beginning of the psalm, I actually find verse 3 is the clearest statement of purpose for this psalm. The “new song” of verse 3 is most likely a reference to the psalm itself, and it is a “song of praise”. What is the purpose of this song? It was written so that “many will see and fear and will trust in the LORD” (v. 3). It is, in fact, a testimony of deliverance, so that others will trust in God to deliver them in the same way.
Verses 4-5 continue with a similar tone, focusing on the theme of trust. This is consistent with the tone of verse 1; the “man who has made the LORD his trust” is “blessed” (v. 4), and in fact David writes this psalm so that others would hear about his fortune and trust in God as well. Verse 2 is a clear past-tense deliverance that has already happened, and David is praising God for it.
The imagery in this passage is remarkably similar to Psalm 18. The notion of being “drawn out” of a pit of destruction is very similar to the “cords of Sheol” and “the snares of death” in Psalm 18:4. Psalm 18:16 has David “drawn out” of the many waters, and Psalm 18:19 has David placed in a “broad place”, given a strong and secure dwelling place, much like the “rock” and the “firm footsteps” of v. 2 here.
Where things get a little strange is in v. 6-8. This is a powerful passage, deeply reminiscent of 1 Samuel 15:22-23. In that passage, Samuel himself poetically declares that obedience is better than sacrifice. Verses 6-8 have the same meaning: after saying that God did not “desire” or “require” sacrifices, the psalmist says “I delight to do your will… your law is within my heart”. Doing God’s will and obeying the law is better than sacrifices by far. God doesn’t even desire sacrifices compared to obedience.
Why it’s strange to me is not the content of the message, which is powerful, but trying to understand why the psalmist places it here. Why is David saying this now? What does it have to do with his deliverance earlier in the psalm, or (as we will see) his continued trials and struggles later in the psalm? I admire this passage while struggling to contextualize it.
Verses 9-12 seem to go together. The way I read this passage is that there is an equivalence drawn between verses 9-10 and 11-12. In 9-10, David says “I have not hidden your righteousness”, by which he means declaring the works of God and righteousness of God to the people around him. In 11-12, David petitions for God to not “withhold your compassion”. In other words, David is saying that he did not withhold the praise of God in the midst of the congregation, doing his part by declaring God’s wonders, and now he’s asking God to do God’s part by not withholding compassion and love to “preserve” David. If David does not hold back, God should not hold back either.
In verse 12, David makes it quite clear that he is still in need of God’s deliverance and strength. Quite apart from the “rock” of v. 2, David is in a lot of trouble. That’s what I find so fascinating about this psalm. In the beginning, David is so obviously triumphant, exulting over his enemies and declaring the praises of God that “many will see and fear”. By the end of the psalm, “evils beyond number have surrounded me” (v. 12). This simultaneous reality that David is surrounded by evils, overtaken by his iniquities, and yet God has already drawn him out of the pit and placed him on the rock. You would think, if we analyzed this rationally, that David would first pray for the removal of his many enemies, and then secondly, perhaps at a later time, praise God for saving him from the aforementioned enemies.
This looks like a reversal of the typical prayer psalm. A typical prayer psalm has three parts: the problem statement, the petition for deliverance, and praise in anticipation of God’s response. This psalm, for no reason that I can easily discern, appears to reverse that flow. It begins with praise, not in anticipation of God’s response, but seemingly as an outflow of God having already delivered David. Then, after asking God to maintain his faithfulness (v. 11-12), David finally concludes with a petition for relief in v. 13-17. An obvious question is why; why does David re-order things here?
I don’t think I can offer any definitive answers. One possibility is that the deliverance of v. 1-5 is from a different problem as v. 13-17. That is, maybe David is praising God for an earlier victory as a reminder that God can deliver him from his present struggles as well. Another alternative is that the prayer psalm format is simply more malleable and fluid than I recognize, and that David reordered the elements of the psalm to suit his own literary preferences. Or possibly there is some other explanation that I cannot identify.
Do you have any ideas? If so, comment below and let me know what you think!
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