Ps. 40:9-17 “Tips on Prayer from an Accomplished Troublemaker”

Translation & Sermon By Nate Wilson for Christ the Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 8 July 2018

Omitting greyed-out text should bring delivery time under 45 minutes.

Introduction

· A couple of weeks ago, I started into Psalm 40, which started with David’s testimony of a time when He trusted the Lord and was saved as a result, then he went on to say that there is no way that he could provide an accounting of all of God’s wonders and thoughts toward him, because they are too many to count, but the greatest of all is that God prepared the body of Christ as a substitute to atone for our sin so that animal sacrifices are no longer required to make us right with God.

· I noted that, as in most of the Psalms:

o the material is true of David, for instance Acts 13:22 confirms what Psalm 40 v.8 says: God said, “…I have found Davidthe son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.” (NKJ)

o it is also true of Jesus, who said John 6:38-40 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me... And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day." (NKJ)

o and the material can be true of us too, as we relate to Jesus as God and Savior, hide His word in our inmost being where it won’t be forgotten, reflect God’s character by obeying His commands, and share the good news of His salvation with others and encourage them to trust in Jesus too.

· “We have now arrived then at the Psalmist’s meaning. Having spoken before of the deliverance which God had vouchsafed to him, he takes occasion from it to set forth the general providence of God in nourishing and sustaining men. It is also his design in this to exhort the faithful to a consideration of God’s providence, that they may not hesitate to cast all their cares upon it. Whilst some are in constant pain by reason of their own anxiety and discontent, or quake at the slightest breeze that blows, and others labor hard to fortify and preserve their life by means of earthly succours, —all this proceeds from ignorance of the doctrine, that God governs the affairs of this world according to his own good pleasure. And as the great majority of men, measuring the providence of God by their own understanding, wickedly obscure or degrade it, David, placing it on its proper footing, wisely removes this impediment.” ~J.Calvin

· In other words, after his testimony, David bolsters our faith in God by setting the example for how to pray for help. Let’s look at the second half of Psalm 40 and learn from his example of prayer. In v.9 He prefaces his plea for help with an announcement:

V.8 It was in doing Your good-pleasure, my God, that I delighted, and Your Torah/instruction/law is in the midst of my inmost parts.

· Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to Me,`Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21, NKJ)

· In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus told us to pray, “let Your will be done as in heaven, so on earth.” (Matthew 6:10, NAW)

· Doing God’s will does not come naturally to our flesh, but God promises to empower us to do His will, so you can eagerly anticipate that He will, especially if you cry out to Him to help: Hebrews 13:20-21 “Now may the God of peace… make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever...” (NKJV)

v.9 I have announced righteousness in the great congregation. Look, I will not stop my lips, Yahweh; You Yourself know.

· ‎בִּשַּׂ֤רְתִּי צֶ֙דֶק announced/preached/told news/proclaimed glad tidings of righteousness (Which the ESV mistakenly translates as “deliverance”)

o This phrase is paralleled by two phrases that state the same thing by stating it negatively in the converse (“I did/will^{^[1]} not stop my lips” in the second half of v.9 and “I did not hide/obscure Your righteousness” at the beginning of v.10), then David rounds out the chiasm with a fourth synonymous phrase in v.10, this time stating it positively, “I spoke [‎אמר]…” So, by essentially repeating it four times David is laying quite a bit of emphasis upon the fact that he said something in church!

o Why is this so important? Gerald Wilson in his commentary on the Psalms explained: “The underlying Hebrew verb (bsr) means ‘to bring (in this case good) news,’ which is the primary meaning of the Greek underlying the word ‘gospel’ … 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 of faith of others… While such self-imposed silence may save us some public embarrassment, it does so at the cost of much inner anguish… 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 we have not sinned, we make [God] out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives… ‘[P]roclaim[ing] God’s righteousness in the great assembly’… 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… [H]e knows that it is the very ‘love and … truth’ that he proclaims in confession that saves him. Similarly, 1 John [1:9] 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…’”

· Where did he make this announcement? In the “Great congregation”

o This phrase occurs in two other Psalms (22:26, 35:18), seemingly describing a regular worship service at the tabernacle, once in Ezra describing a crowd of onlookers that gathered when Ezra prayed at the temple site (Ezr. 10:1), and twice in Ezekiel describing a king with his full army (Ezek. 17:17, 38:4).

o “The great assembly of which he speaks is not to be understood of the concourse of people that assemble at courts of law, or at the public market-places, but it denotes the true and lawfully constituted Church of God, which we know assembled in the place of his sanctuary.” ~J. Calvin

· What exactly did David proclaim in the great assembly? V.10 lists five character traits of God, followed by a sixth trait in v.11:

V.10 I did not hide Your righteousness within my heart; It was of Your faithfulness and of Your salvation that I spoke; I did not obscure Your lovingkindness and Your truth before the great congregation.

1. Your righteousness [צִדְקָתְךָ]: New Living Translation and Douay-Rheims Bible translate it “justice” because He does what is right and doesn’t do what is wrong.

2. Your faithfulness [אֱמוּנָתְךָ]: God thinks and acts in keeping with what is true and never deviates from that, so He is dependable and loyal.

3. Your salvation [תְשׁוּעָתְךָ]: Notice that God’s acts of saving people and removing the threat of evil are an extension of Him being righteous, faithful, and loving.

4. Your lovingkindness [חַסְדְּךָ]: ESV=steadfast love, NIV=love, NLT=unfailing love, this is essentially doing what is good in relationships with others - even when they don’t deserve it.

5. Your truth [וַאֲמִתְּךָ]

o ESV, NIV, and NLT, following the Septuagint, use the same English word “faithfulness” that they used to translate the Hebrew word aman above, but this 5^th Hebrew word emet is different, and I think the KJV and NASB were right in translating it as “truth”

o “Observe what it is that is preached: It is righteousness, God's righteousness, the everlasting righteousness which Christ has brought in (Dan. 9:24, Rom. 1:16-17). It is God's faithfulness to his promise, and the salvation which had long been looked for. It is God's lovingkindness and his truth, his mercy according to his word… In the work of our redemption we ought to take notice how brightly all the divine attributions shine, and give to God the praise of each of them.” ~Matthew Henry

6. Your compassions [רַחֲמֶיךָ] (v.11) plural - tender mercies (KJV)

o International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: “Compassion, literally a feeling with and for others, is a fundamental and distinctive quality of the Biblical conception of God, and to its prominence the world owes more than words can express. (1) It lay at the foundation of Israel's faith in Yahweh. For it was out of His compassion that He, by a marvelous act of power, delivered them from Egyptian bondage and called them to be His own people. Nothing, therefore, is more prominent in the Old Testament than the ascription of compassion, pity, mercy, etc., to God; the people may be said to have gloried in it. It is summed up in such sayings as that of the great declaration in Ex 34:6: ‘Yahweh--a God full of compassion… and gracious’ (compare Ps 78:38; 86:15; 111:4; 112:4; 145:8; Lam 3:22, ‘His compassions fail not’). And, because this was the character of their God, the prophets declared that compassion was an essential requirement on the part of members of the community (Hos 6:6; Mic 6:8; compare Prov 19:17). (2) In Jesus Christ, in whom God was ‘manifest in the flesh,’ compassion was an outstanding feature (Mt 9:36; 14:14, etc.) and He taught that it ought to be extended, not to friends and neighbors only, but to all without exception, even to enemies (Mt 5:43-48; Lk 10:30-37).”

· When we tell other people about God’s salvation and His answers to our prayers, and when we confess our sins, we too should mention these character traits of God: compassion, truth, love, faithfulness, righteousness.

· Verse 11 starts with a strongly-worded plea:

v.11 As for You, Yahweh, never stop Your compassions from [coming toward] me; Your lovingkindness and Your truth will always protect me.

· The name of God is emphatic here, and the command to never stop/withhold compassion is also emphatic. David is desperate. He knows that without God’s mercy he is dead meat.

· How desperate are you? When you ask God for mercy, are you asking as if your life depended upon it, or have you begun to take God’s mercy for granted so much that you just mechanically repeat the phrase “forgive us our debts”?

· Coincidentally, this verb for “stop/withhold” [calah] is the same Hebrew verb David used in v.9 to say that he would not “stop/restrain” his lips from talking about this same flow of tender mercies from God to him. This is intentional. In effect, David is saying, God, don’t stop showing compassion to me, and I won’t stop talking about how great it is!” Is that a commitment you can make?

· Why must God’s lovingkindness and truth protect/preserve us?

v.12 Because almost incalculable evils have flooded over me. My sins have overtaken me, and I have not been able to see! They have become more numerous than the hairs of my head, and so my heart has abandoned me.

· David admits that his own sin is the problem; he calls them “my iniquities.” Here is the first step: quit blaming everybody else for what’s going wrong in your life and face up to the fact that you have created your own sin-problem – whether it’s anger or discontent or an addiction or compulsive behavior that is out of control and hurting relationships or robbing your productivity or your finances. It’s not your parents’ fault; it’s not your environment; the devil didn’t make you do it; you chose to sin, and if you want to be saved, you must call a spade a spade. Call it “my iniquity,” and confess it to Jesus the Savior.

· David also admits that he has too much evil to overcome on his own.

o Everywhere else this verb afaf appears in the Old Testament, it is describing someone who is drowning^{^[2]} - like Jonah in the belly of the fish.

o The next verb nasag pictures a man being chased down by soldiers who can run faster than him. They have caught up with him, and there is no escape.

o How big is the force arrayed against David? “Too many to count… more than there are hairs on one’s head.” (I think we can safely assume David wasn’t bald when he wrote this psalm.)

o Our sin leaves us in over our heads, outmatched, and hopelessly out numbered.

· To further compound the problem, David has lost the ability to see as well as the courage to act.

o The result clause “and I am not able to see” is not very specific in the Hebrew text, so there is room for a range of interpretation on that:

§ The KJV follows the Septuagint, interpreting it in terms of losing hope. “I can’t look up.”

§ The New Living Translation interprets it in terms of not being “able to see my way out” of the problem.

§ Other English translations like the NAS, NIV and ESV interpret it as blindness caused by sin.

§ Calvin interpreted it that sin blinded him to the fact that he had sinned^{^[3]} while Jewish commentators interpreted it to mean that “I was blind to the fact that my sins were the cause of my suffering” (Cohen, Malbim)

o The second result is that his heart has failed – literally “abandoned” him, which is a clue that this is figurative language. His organ that pumps blood did not take a vacation to Cancun, rather it is his courage that has left him (as the NLT puts it) because he sees that he has been beaten by sin and can’t win over it, so he is hopeless.

· Do you realize that this is the position your sin puts you in as well? Do you realize how hopeless you are in your own strength?

· Where is there sufficient power to overcome the flood of that much evil? The answer can be found in the chiastic structure of this psalm! The words for “numerous,” “without number,” and “many” have already occurred up in v.5, and there, all these words describe God’s merciful salvation: “You Yourself have done many things, Yahweh, my God; there is no way I could provide an accounting to You of Your wonders and Your thoughts toward me. Were I to relate and speak of [them], they would be too numerous to record.” God and God alone has the resources to fight against that much sin and brokenness and hopelessness; He has the volume and the power and compassion to wipe out this flood of iniquity that we find ourselves drowning in.

Now, for what it’s worth, the next 5 verses of Psalm 40 are practically the same as Psalm 70. Most of the commentators I read felt that whoever compiled the Psalms liked these last verses from Psalm 40 so much that he repeated them separately as Psalm 70^{^[4]}.

v.13 Yahweh, be pleased to rescue me; Yahweh, please hurry to my aid!

· I want to point out two principles in verse 13 that teach us how to pray: The first has to do with believing that God actually wants to do what we’re asking Him to do.

o If you’re a kid and you want a cookie, but Mama is in a bad mood, you’re probably going to be hesitant about asking her if you can have a cookie, because you don’t want her to get mad at you.

o That’s the way a lot of people think of God. That was a point in the sermon on Job last Sunday – people thinking of God as like they think of Leviathan – a creature that is powerful enough to do anything, but which is a little touchy and so is best not bothered. Do you feel that way about God? “I’d better not bring this sin problem up with God because it’s just going to upset Him.”

o But in this psalm, David prays for God to, “Be pleased to rescue…” How can that be?

o Leviticus 26:41 ties together the repentance of sinners with God’s “acceptance/pleasure/delight,” using the same Hebrew verb ratsah: “…then their uncircumcised heart should be subordinated and then they will become acceptable/pleasing despite their iniquity.” (NAW) How can we be pleasing to God despite our iniquity?

o In the book of Leviticus, it was through God’s plan of sacrificing sheep as a substitute that God made His people “acceptable” to Him (e.g. 1:4).

o In fact, making sinners acceptable is what God delights in.

o Ephesians 1:5 puts it this way, “[He] predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.” (NKJV) This is what gives God pleasure!^{^[5]} No wonder David models for us in his prayer a request for God to “be pleased” to rescue him, confident that his confessing sin and asking for salvation makes God happy, not irritated.

· The second element of prayer I see modeled in v.13 is that of urgency.

o When we understand the plight of our sin and the dangers of evil, we become more urgent in our prayers, and that is good, even though it’s a bit stressful!

o How comforting it is that God understands the urgency of our need and the strategic importance of haste in saving us.

§ That’s why He encourages us to pray for Him to hurry in the examples of prayer in the psalms (It was also in Ps. 38:22 ^“Hurry to help me, my Lord, my Salvation!”)

§ and, check this out, in the very last chapter of the Bible, Jesus promised His beleaguered church - not just once, but three times - that He would hurry:

· Rev_22:7 "Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book."

· Rev_22:12 "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.

· Rev_22:20 He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming quickly." Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! (NKJV)

· So when you pray to God, will you ask Him to rescue you speedily because you trust that He actually takes pleasure in rescuing you, and that He is sensitive to the urgency of your need?

· Now, with the exception of the imperative prayer requests in vs. 11 and 13, the verbs in the Psalm up to this point have been set in the past using the Hebrew Perfect tense, but now suddenly the verbs switch to the Hebrew Imperfect tense, which can be interpreted either in English future tense (expressing what David believes will happen), or can be interpreted jussively, basically as more prayer requests. Either interpretation is valid, as I have pointed out previously, because there is a relationship between what we believe God’s will to be, what we pray for, and what actually happens in the future.

v.14 Those who seek my soul to remove it will experience shame and will blush together. Those who delight in evil [against] me will be turned back and will be embarrassed.

· David can pray for justice against bad-guys that are out to do him harm because he believes that it is God’s will to bring about justice, and so justice will be done – whether in the immediate future or in the long run.

· Are you certain enough of God’s justice that you pray for bag guys to be turned back, or do you just throw up your hands because it seems that evil is too powerful? Praying for and declaring just outcomes in the midst of horribly corrupt injustice is a way to exercise faith in God.

· He continues in…

v.15 Those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!” will be desolated as a consequence of their shame.

· Psalm 35:21&25 “And they opened their mouth wide over me; they said, ‘Aha! Aha! Our eyes saw!’… Don't let them say in their heart, ‘Aha! Our dream-come-true!’ Don't let them say, ‘We have swallowed him up!’” (NAW)

· “Aha!” an expression of triumph from someone who sees that they’re about to win (Job 39:25), nevertheless, David asks for and trusts God for saving intervention at this point in order to turn the triumphant bad-guys into crestfallen losers.

· “We are here taught that, when our enemies shall have persecuted us to the uttermost, a recompense is also prepared for them; and that God will turn back, and cause to fall upon their own heads, all the evil which they had devised against us; and this doctrine ought to act as a restraint upon us, that we may behave ourselves compassionately and kindly towards our neighbors.” ~J. Calvin

· “Jesus said, ‘In this world you will have trouble.’ But He added, ‘Take heart! I have overcome the world’ (John 16:33). That is worth remembering, isn’t it? Troubles, yes. Pessimism, no. There can be no pessimism for us, because Jesus has overcome the world, and we are now destined to be more than conquerors in Him. I think this is exactly what David felt as he got to the end of this psalm. He is asking God for help, but he is not discouraged. The tone is optimistic because of his former deliverance by God.” ~James M. Boice^{^[6]}

· Now, in contrast to those in v.14 who “seek” David’s hurt/harm/evil are those v.16 who “seek” God:

v.16 All those who seek You will revel and be happy in You. Those who love Your salvation will always say, “Yahweh is great.”

· This is close to the words of Psalm 35:9 “So my soul will rejoice in Yahweh; it will revel in His salvation… 27 Those who are inclined toward righteousness happening to me will sing out and be happy, and those who are inclined toward the peace of His servant will always say, ‘Yahweh is great.’” (NAW)

· Notice, it is not the people who are extraordinarily good and righteous who will be happy, rather it is those who seek God and love His salvation. It’s those who WANT to be right with God that enjoy that reward, not those who “have it all together.” Don’t get wrapped around the axle trying to be the perfect church-person; focus instead on looking for God to show up and make things right!

· Yet, at the same time, there are things that those who seek God and His salvation DO and SAY.

· “Formerly David... had related the reproaches and derision of the ungodly, while they said, Aha, aha! and now he introduces the godly speaking very differently, saying, ‘The Lord be magnified!’” ~J. Calvin

· Those who love God’s salvation occasionally say, “The Lord is great.” No, they always/continually say, “The Lord is great; let Him be magnified!”

· Speaking about the glories of God’s salvation and announcing that good news is characteristic of God’s people. They don’t hold back in the assembly.

· Does that theme characterize your speech? How could you integrate more talk about the greatness of Jesus into your everyday conversation? One way I have mentioned before is to tell stories about times God answered your prayers for help.

· Now, this would be a great place for David to end his psalm, with everyone who seeks the Lord being happy, but that’s not how he ends it. David does not end the psalm on an upbeat note; instead he returns from the happy future to make one last comment about the present and the current need for God’s salvation:

v.17 I, on the other hand, am lowly and needy. My Master will have consideration toward me; You are my helper and my rescuer. My God, do not be too^{^[7]} late.

· There is integrity in confessing that I am lowly after confessing that God is great. If you are focused on impressing other people by how great you are at certain things or how great are the things you’ve experienced in this world, then you are not in synch with godliness. Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in heart… Blessed are the meek.” He values humility which exalts Him to His rightful place as greater than anything or anyone He created.

· Now by underscoring his neediness and the fact that he is in genuine danger and needing salvation in a timely way, David the great King and mighty giant-slaying warrior humbles himself to acknowledge his need for God’s salvation.

· David has already confessed that it is God’s delight to save and that it is God’s characteristic to save those who are low-class/poor/afflicted and needy, (for instance, Psalm 35:10 "Yahweh, who is like you, delivering the lowly one from the one who is stronger than him, even the lowly and needy …?!"), so in this parting shot at the end of Psalm 40, he reminds God that He himself is one of those needy people that God likes to save.

· And then we get to the final two words of the Psalm. I might expect something like, “Amen, so be it,” or “I wait for thee,” but instead we get an almost-mother-hen-like expression: “Don’t delay/Don’t be too late!/ Don’t get too far behind.” What on earth??

o This would seem disrespectful if it weren’t for Deuteronomy 7:10. In Deut. 7:10, God promised that “He repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be ‎יְאַחֵר/slack/late/delayed...” So David’s parting shot is not so much an expression of mistrust as it is claiming a promise which God had already made in His word. “You said you wouldn’t be too late, so I’m counting on You not to be too late!

o “He may not come when you want Him, but He’s right on time.”

o God made sure to underscore that promise in the prophets and in the New Testament to reassure us too:

§ Isaiah 46:13 “I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation will not be late; so I will place salvation in Zion...” (NAW)

§ 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack/slow/late concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (NKJV)

· If I could recap in broad strokes these lessons on prayer, they would be:

o Know God’s attributes

o Pray desperately

o Acknowledge that your own sin is the problem and that you are unable to fix it yourself

o Trust that God enjoys saving you

o Pray with urgency

o Know what God’s will is (what justice is)

o Pray with faith

o Seek God and Love His salvation

o Pray with a humble attitude

o Claim God’s promises

o May God bless your praying this week!

Chiastic diagram of Psalm 40

1. I was waiting eagerly for Yahweh, then He leaned toward me and He heeded my hollering. 2 Then He brought me up from the pit of chaos - from the slimy mud - and he got my feet up on a rock-mountain; He steadied my steps.

3 Then he put a new song in my mouth, a praise-song for our God. Many will see and be afraid and trust in Yahweh.

4 Oh the blessings of the champion who has set Yahweh to be his trust, and who has not paid attention to the insolent ones or the ones who swerve into falsehood.

5. You Yourself have done many things, Yahweh, my God; there is no way I could provide an accounting to You of Your wonders and Your thoughts toward me. Were I to relate and speak of [them], they would be too numerous to record.

6 You did not delight in a sacrifice or a grain-offering; you prepared a body for me. You didn’t ask for a whole-burnt-offering or a sin offering. 7 At that time I said, “Look, I have arrived! In the scroll of the book it is written about me. 8 It was in doing Your good-pleasure, my God, that I delighted, and Your instruction is in the midst of my inmost parts.

9 I have announced righteousness in the great congregation. Look, I will not stop my lips, Yahweh; You Yourself know. 10 I did not hide Your righteousness within my heart; It was of Your faithfulness and of Your salvation that I spoke; I did not obscure Your lovingkindness and Your truth before the great congregation.

11 As for You, Yahweh, never stop Your compassions from [coming toward] me; Your lovingkindness and Your truth will always protect me.

12 Because almost incalculable evils have flooded over me. My sins have overtaken me, and I have not been able to see! They have become more numerous than the hairs of my head, and so my heart has abandoned me.

13 Yahweh, be pleased to rescue me; Yahweh, please hurry to my aid! 14 Those who seek my soul to remove it will experience shame and will blush together. Those who delight in evil [against] me will be turned back and will be embarrassed. 15 Those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!” will be desolated as a consequence of their shame.

16 All those who seek You will revel and be happy in You. Those who love Your salvation will always say, “Yahweh is great.”

17 I, on the other hand, am lowly and needy. My Master will have consideration toward me; You are my helper and my rescuer. My God, do not be too late.

Psalm 40:8-17 Multi-version Layout^{^[A]}

LXX Ps. 39	Brenton	DRB	KJV	NAW	MT
9 τοῦ ποιῆσαι τὸ θέλημά σου, ὁ θεός μου, ἐβουλήθην καὶ τὸν νόμον σου ἐν μέσῳ τῆς κοιλίας^{^[B]} μου.	8 I desired to do thy will, O my God, and thy law in the midst of mine ~~heart~~.	9 That I should do thy will: O my God, I have desired it, and thy law in the midst of my ~~heart~~.	8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my ~~heart~~X.	8 It was in doing Your good-pleasure, my God, that I delighted, and Your instruction is in the midst of my inmost parts.	9 לַעֲשׂוֹת-רְצוֹנְךָ אֱלֹהַי חָפָצְתִּי וְתוֹרָתְךָ בְּתוֹךְ מֵעָי:
10 εὐηγγελισάμην δικαιοσύνην ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ μεγάλῃ· ἰδοὺ τὰ χείλη μου οὐ μὴ κωλύσω· κύριε, σὺ ἔγνως.	9 I have preached righteousness in the great congregation; lo! I will not refrain my lips; O Lord, thou knowest [my righteousness].	10 I have declared thy justice in a great church, lo, I will not restrain my lips: O Lord, thou knowest it.	9 I have preached^{^[C]} righteousness^{^[D]} in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest.	9 I have announced righteousness in the great congregation. Look, I will not stop my lips, Yahweh; You Yourself know.	10 בִּשַּׂרְתִּי צֶדֶק בְּקָהָל רָב הִנֵּה שְׂפָתַי לֹא אֶכְלָא יְהוָה אַתָּה יָדָעְתָּ:
11 τὴν δικαιοσύνην σου οὐκ ἔκρυψα ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ μου, τὴν ἀλήθειάν σου καὶ τὸ σωτήριόν σου εἶπα, οὐκ ἔκρυψα τὸ ἔλεός^{^[E]} σου καὶ τὴν ἀλήθειάν σου ~~ἀπὸ~~ συναγωγῆς πολλῆς^{^[F]}.	10 X X I have not hid thy truth within my heart, and I have declared thy salvation; I have not hid thy mercy and thy truth ~~from~~ the great congregation.	11 I have not hid thy justice within my heart: I have declared thy truth and thy salvation. I have not concealed thy mercy and thy truth ~~from~~ a great council.	10 I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth^{^[G]} ~~from~~ the great congregation.	10 I did not hide Your righteousness within my heart; It was of Your faithfulness and of Your salvation that I spoke; I did not obscure Your lovingkindness and Your truth before the great congregation.	11 צִדְקָתְךָ לֹא-כִסִּיתִי בְּתוֹךְ לִבִּי אֱמוּנָתְךָ וּתְשׁוּעָתְךָ אָמָרְתִּי לֹא-כִחַדְתִּי חַסְדְּךָ וַאֲמִתְּךָ לְקָהָל^{^[H]} רָב:
12 σὺ δέ, κύριε, μὴ μακρύνης τοὺς οἰκτιρμούς σου ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ· τὸ ἔλεός σου καὶ ἡ ἀλήθειά σου διὰ παντὸς ἀντελάβοντό μου.	11 But thou, Lord, remove not thy compasssionX far from me; thy mercy and thy truth have helped me continually.	12 Withhold not thou, O Lord, thy tender mercies from me: thy mercy and thy truth have always upheld me.	11 Withhold^{^[I]} not thou thy tender mercies from me, O LORD: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me.	11 As for You, Yahweh, never stop Your compassions from [coming toward] me; Your lovingkindness and Your truth will always protect me.	12 אַתָּה יְהוָה לֹא-^{^[J]}תִכְלָא רַחֲמֶיךָ מִמֶּנִּי חַסְדְּךָ וַאֲמִתְּךָ תָּמִיד יִצְּרוּנִי:
13 ὅτι περιέσχον με κακά, ὧν οὐκ ἔστιν ἀριθμός, κατέλαβόν με αἱ ἀνομίαι μου, καὶ οὐκ ἠδυνήθην τοῦ βλέπειν· ἐπληθύνθησαν ὑπὲρ τὰς τρίχας τῆς κεφαλῆς μου, καὶ ἡ καρδία μου ἐγκατέλιπέν με.	12 For innumerable evils have encompassed me; my transgressions have taken hold of me, and I could not see; they are multiplied more than the hairs of my head; and my heart has failed me.	13 For evils without number have surrounded me; my iniquities have overtaken me, and I was not able to see. They are multiplied above the hairs of my head: and my heart hath forsaken me.	12 For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me.	12 Because almost incalculable evils have flooded over me. My sins have overtaken me, and I have not been able to see! They have become more numerous than the hairs of my head, and so my heart has abandoned me.	13 כִּי אָפְפוּ-עָלַי רָעוֹת עַד-אֵין מִסְפָּר הִשִּׂיגוּנִי עֲוֹנֹתַי וְלֹא-יָכֹלְתִּי לִרְאוֹת עָצְמוּ מִשַּׂעֲרוֹת רֹאשִׁי וְלִבִּי עֲזָבָנִי:
14 εὐδόκησον, κύριε, τοῦ ῥύσασθαί με· κύριε, εἰς τὸ βοηθῆσαί μοι πρόσχες^{^[K]}.	13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me; O Lord, draw nigh to help me.	14 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me. look down, O Lord, to help me.	13 Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me: O LORD, make haste to help me.	13 Yahweh, be pleased to rescue me; Yahweh, please hurry to my aid!	14 רְצֵה^{^[L]} יְהוָה לְהַצִּילֵנִי יְהוָה לְעֶזְרָתִי חוּשָׁה: ^{^[M]}
15 καταισχυνθείησαν καὶ ἐντραπείησαν ἅμα οἱ ζητοῦντες τὴν ψυχήν μου τοῦ ἐξᾶραι αὐτήν, ἀποστραφείησαν εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω καὶ ἐντραπείησαν οἱ θέλοντές μοι κακά,	14 Let those that seek my soul, to destroy it, be ashamed and confounded together; let those that wish me evil be turned backward and put to shame.	15 Let them be confounded and ashamed together, that seek after my soul to take it away. Let them be turned backward and be ashamed that desire evil[s] to me.	14 Let them be ashamed and confounded^{^[N]} together that seek after my soul to destroy^{^[O]} it; let them be driven backward and put to shame^{^[P]} that wish me evil^{^[Q]}.	14 Those who seek my soul to remove it will experience shame and will blush together. Those who delight in evil [against] me will be turned back and will be embarrassed.	15 יֵבֹשׁוּ וְיַחְפְּרוּ יַחַד^{^[R]} מְבַקְשֵׁי נַפְשִׁי לִסְפּוֹתָהּ^{^[S]} יִסֹּגוּ אָחוֹר וְיִכָּלְמוּ חֲפֵצֵי רָעָתִי:
16 κομισάσθωσαν παραχρῆμα αἰσχύνην αὐτῶν οἱ λέγοντές μοι Εὖγε εὖγε.	15 Let those that say to me, Aha, aha, quickly receive shame for their reward.	16 Let them immediately bear their confusion, that say to me: 'Tis well, ‘tis well.	15 Let them be desolate^{^[T]} for a reward of their shame that say unto me, Aha, aha.	15 Those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!” will be desolated as a consequence of their shame.	16 יָשֹׁמּוּ^{^[U]} עַל-עֵקֶב בָּשְׁתָּם הָאֹמְרִים לִי^{^[V]} הֶאָח הֶאָח:
17 ἀγαλλιάσαιντο καὶ εὐφρανθείησαν ἐπὶ σοὶ πάντες οἱ ζητοῦν τές σε, [κύριε, καὶ] εἰπάτωσαν διὰ παντός Μεγαλυνθήτω ὁ κύριος, οἱ ἀγα πῶντες τὸ σωτήριόν σου.	16 Let all those that seek thee, [O Lord], exult and rejoice in thee; [and] let them that love thy salvation say continually, The Lord be magnified.	17 Let all that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: [and] let such as love thy salvation say always: The Lord be magnified.	16 Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The LORD be magnified^{^[W]}.	16 All those who seek You will revel and be happy in You. Those who love Your salvation will always say, “Yahweh is great.”	17 יָשִׂישׂוּ וְיִשְׂמְחוּ בְּךָ כָּל-מְבַקְשֶׁיךָ^{^[X]} יֹאמְרוּ^{^[Y]} תָמִיד יִגְדַּל יְהוָה^{^[Z]} אֹהֲבֵי תְּשׁוּעָתֶךָ:
18 ἐγὼ δὲ πτωχός εἰμι καὶ πένης· κύριος X φροντιεῖ μου. βοηθός μου καὶ ὑπερασπιστής μου σὺ εἶ· ὁ θεός μου, μὴ χρονίσῃς.	17 But I am poor and needy; ~~the~~ Lord will ~~take care of~~ me; thou art my helper, and my defender, O my God, delay not.	18 But I am a beggar and poor: ~~the~~ Lord is careful for me. Thou art my helper and my protector: O my God, be not slack.	17 But I am poor and needy; yet ~~the~~ Lord thinketh upon^{^[AA]} me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.	17 I, on the other hand, am lowly and needy. My Master will have consideration toward me; You are my helper and my rescuer. My God, do not be too late.	18 וַאֲנִי עָנִי וְאֶבְיוֹן אֲדֹנָי^{^[BB]} יַחֲשָׁב^{^[CC]} לִי עֶזְרָתִי^{^[DD]} וּמְפַלְטִי אַתָּה אֱלֹהַי אַל-תְּאַחַר:

^{^[1]} David does seem to be speaking of a past event in which he gave testimony at church, but this verb is in the Imperfect tense in Hebrew, which would normally be translated future or present tense. However, Hebrew grammar allows for the Perfect tense of the first verb (Hid) to govern the time of this second verb (stop) and make it past tense as well. So it is a matter of interpretation. The KJV, ESV, and NLT interpret it as past tense, and the NKJV, NASB, and NIV interpret it as present or future tense. I decided upon future tense because I felt that David was not merely saying that this happened in the past but that it would also characterize him henceforth.

^{^[3]} “Mes iniquitez m'ont attrappe, voire en si grand nombre que ne les ay peu veoir." -J. Calvin ("My iniquities have laid hold upon me, even in such vast numbers that I cannot see them.")

^{^[4]} Namely: Boice, Craigie, GHWilson, Rogerson & McKay. However, Cheyne, Dahood, and Kraus, suggested that Psalm 40 was originally two or more Psalms (one of which was Psalm 70) later cobbled together.

^{^[5]} Cf. Gal. 1:4 “[Christ] who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father” (NKJ), Acts 22:14-15 "Then he [Ananias] said,`The God of our fathers has chosen you [Paul] that you should know His will… For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard…’”, Colossians 1:1 “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God…”(NKJ), 1 Thess. 4:3 “For this is the will of God, your sanctification…” (NKJ). This could also be deduced from what is NOT God’s will: Matthew 18:14 “Thus there is no will before your Father in the heavens that a one of these little ones might perish.” (NAW) 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (NKJ)

^{^[6]} Cf. Calvin: “the Psalmist takes courage... from his own experience, and persuades himself that the help of God, by which he had been hitherto preserved, would not fail him.”

^{^[7]} I interpreted the intensive Piel stem of this verb by adding the English adverb “too.”