Psalm 40:1-11 for Sunday, January 20, 2008

Translation:
(1)To the director: a song of David
(2)I waited forever, the Lord stretched out to me, he heard my cry for help
(3)He lifted me from a roaring pit, from a muddy mire.
He stood my feet upon a crag and my step was set.
(4)He put a new song of praise in my mouth for our God
Many saw, and they feared and they trusted in the Lord
(5)Happy are those who put their confidence in the Lord
and do not turn to the proud, and swerve from deception.
(6)You have done much, O Lord my God, your wonderful things
And your thoughts toward us, none can compare to you.
I declare and I proclaim, they are too many to count!
(7)You do not delight in sacrifices or gifts, you gave me opened ears, you do not ask for burnt offering or sin offering
(8)Then I said, "Here I come!"
in the scroll of the book it was written about me
(9) I will delight in doing your will, my God; your laws are in the midst of my inmost parts
(10)I bear tidings of righteousness among the great congregation
behold, my lips will not be shut up, O Lord you know
(11)Your righteousness I have not concealed in my heart
of your faithfulness and your deliverance I have spoken; I have not hidden your steadfast love and your truth from your great congregation
(12)Lord, do not withhold your compassion from me
Your steadfast love and truth always guard me.

First, inquiring minds will want to know if I made a mistake. I advertised verses 1-11 here, but there appear to be 12 verses. Not a mistake, but a versification issue: Hebrew Bibles make the superscription its own verse. The superscription is the part that says "To the director: a song of David." English Bibles roll this statement into the beginning of the Psalm, which makes every English Psalm appear one verse shorter than every Hebrew Psalm. Confusing? Of course! That's what makes it fun!

The Psalms have long been recognized as a unique part of the Bible. Some have elevated them to the status of the "Bible in miniature," which is quite a statement! For millennia, they have been prayed and sung as a indispensible part of thousands of prayer lives. Somehow, the words of the Psalmist can easily become our words. Even as the world around us has changed, somehow these words are still applicable.

The Psalms have long since been put in many different categories as they all seem to serve different purposes. Just take a minute to read Psalm 137 and then read Psalm 150 and you'll know what I'm talking about. Psalm 40:1-11 seem to be a thanksgiving psalm. The Psalmist is thanking God for remaining faithful through a rough time.

The Psalmist was once in a pit--not just any pit, because there are lots of Hebrew words for pits. But, this is the same word for "pit" that is used in the Joseph story (when Joseph's brothers throw him into the pit, Genesis 37:22). This is the kind of low point that defines the direction in a person's life (as it certainly did for Joseph!). It was a chaotic pit, with roaring water, and sticky mud. And God remained close and even pulled the Psalmist out of this pit and put him on steady ground (in contrast to the mud that threatens to pull him under). As a result, the Psalmist is eager to proclaim God's praise, eager to do God's will. In verse 7, the English is best rendered as "you gave me opened ears," but the Hebrew literally says "you dug ears for me," a very physical acknowledgment that the Psalmist is now ready to do whatever God has ahead of him. He is ready to hear God. Likewise, the Psalmist does not keep his joy to himself, silently praising God, but shares it with the community.

It seems likely that anyone who reads this psalm can instantly relate. Haven't we all experienced at time in our lives when we were stuck in a pit? When the mud seemed so deep and thick and ready to swallow us up that there was no way out except through God? And for those of us that have emerged from these experiences, we sometimes do feel like praising God, sharing our story. For anyone that has been delivered from some calamity, it is hard to keep the story shut up inside. And it is hard for the community not to listen--we all love a story that gives hope.

For me, this psalm reminds me of times that I have been in the pit. It reminds me of the joy felt from emerging from a dark place. It also gives me a chance to remember that we all find ourselves at a different place on this continuum. Some of us are in the pit right now, being sucked under in the mud. Others are out there proclaiming God as their savior. Still others are just now being delivered. Where are you?