Psalm 40:1-12 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 40:1-12 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.
Verse 2He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.
Verse 3He 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.
Verse 4Happy are those who make the Lord their trust, who do not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after false gods.
Verse 5You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you. Were I to proclaim and tell of them, they would be more than can be counted.
Verse 6Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.
Verse 7Then I said, "Here I am; in the scroll of the book it is written of me.
Verse 8I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart."
Verse 9I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; see, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O Lord.
Verse 10I have not hidden your saving help 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.
Verse 11Do not, O Lord, withhold your mercy from me; let your steadfast love and your faithfulness keep me safe forever.
Verse 12For evils have encompassed me without number; my iniquities have overtaken me, until I cannot see; they are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails me.
Devotion
At the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, Calif., you can see skeletons of great ancient beasts that sank to their deaths in the thick, miry, asphalt pits. I imagine their cries of anguish would be heart rending.
The Psalmist writes of God’s deliverance from miry bogs and desolate pits which threaten to engulf us and send our cries of help Godward. These might be deep pits of hopelessness, murky times of temptation or simply everyday despair. Whatever they are, God doesn’t simply pluck us out of difficult places to allow us to stagger about trying to get our footing. God sets our feet on a rock and makes our steps secure.
With God’s hand of salvation we walk away from desolation and bewilderment with steps of confidence and security, confident in God’s love for us, and secure in the knowledge that wherever we are, God is present.
Prayer
God of the helpless and helpful, thank you for your deliverance and salvation. And thank you for giving us firm footing. Amen.