Today's Featured Psalm
Psalm 40

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To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1 I waited patiently for the LORD;
   he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
   out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
   making my steps secure.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
   a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
   and put their trust in the LORD.

4 Blessed is the man who makes
   the LORD his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
   to those who go astray after a lie!
5 You have multiplied, O LORD my God,
   your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
   none can compare with you!
I will proclaim and tell of them,
   yet they are more than can be told.

6 In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,
   but you have given me an open ear.
Burnt offering and sin offering
   you have not required.
7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come;
   in the scroll of the book it is written of me:
8 I delight to do your will, O my God;
   your law is within my heart.”

9 I have told the glad news of deliverance
   in the great congregation;
behold, I have not restrained my lips,
   as you know, O LORD.
10 I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;
   I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
   from the great congregation.

11 As for you, O LORD, you will not restrain
   your mercy from me;
your steadfast love and your faithfulness will
   ever preserve me!
12 For evils have encompassed me
   beyond number;
my iniquities have overtaken me,
   and I cannot see;
they are more than the hairs of my head;
   my heart fails me.

13 Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me!
   O LORD, make haste to help me!
14 Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether
   who seek to snatch away my life;
let those be turned back and brought to dishonor
   who delight in my hurt!
15 Let those be appalled because of their shame
   who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”

16 But may all who seek you
   rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
   say continually, “Great is the LORD!”
17 As for me, I am poor and needy,
   but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
   do not delay, O my God!

Scripture taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Psalm Devotional
A Tale of Three Kings

As the king goes, so goes the nation. This is a true saying. Think about how many people have suffered due to the leadership of men like Hitler, Stalin, and Mao. This principle was also true for ancient Israel. Good kings brought blessing to the nation, while wicked kings brought curses upon the people.

There was one standard to determine whether a king of Israel was a good king. That standard was established in Deuteronomy 17:18-20, which declares that the reign of the king, and thus the prosperity of the kingdom, is directly connected to the king’s obedience to God’s law.

As the king goes, so goes the nation. Psalm 40 tells the tale of three kings.

The first king is implied by the text. In verses 6-8, the psalmist reveals a basic principle—obedience is better than sacrifice. Here the psalmist is recalling a principle learned by Israel’s first king, Saul. In 1 Samuel 15 we learn that after Saul was anointed king, God, through the Prophet Samuel, assigned him the task of obliterating the Amalekites. Saul was commanded to destroy every person and even the animals. Saul disobeyed. He took the king of the Amalekites as his prisoner, and he saved the best animals.

Listen to this Psalm

Messiah album art I Waited for the Lord (Psalm 40A)
The Book of Psalms for Worship | Messiah
Communion album art I Waited for the Lord (Psalm 40A)
The Book of Psalms for Worship | Communion
Faithfulness album art I Hid Not in My Heart (Psalm 40B)
The Book of Psalms for Worship | Faithfulness