HOW FIRM IS YOUR FOUNDATION?

February 28, 2017

HOW FIRM IS YOUR FOUNDATION?

Psalm 40

Bobbie Arnett

Central Truth

A personal relationship with Jesus and being in His Word (the Bible) provide a solid foundation on which to stand, no matter what life throws your way.

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.
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.
(Psalm 40:2–3)

My Help and My Deliverer

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.^{1

40:6
Hebrew ears you have dug for me}
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^{2

40:9
Hebrew righteousness; also verse 10}
    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!

Footnotes

[1] 40:6 Hebrew ears you have dug for me
[2] 40:9 Hebrew righteousness; also verse 10

I love Psalm 40 because it describes my life and my hope in God—my Rock and my Redeemer.

I come from a religious tradition that looked a lot like verse 6—trying to please God with sacrifice and offerings. But God inclined His ear to me (verse 1). He gave me an open ear (verse 6b), and I came to understand that Jesus' sacrifice on the cross reconciled me to the Father. There is nothing I have done or could ever do to be worthy of entering God’s presence. Only what Christ has done redeems me from the pit (Titus 3:5–6).

My father died shortly after I finished college. It rocked my world, and it challenged my faith. I found myself in a pit of despair and grief. I feared death. I had no assurance I would go to heaven, but God drew me to a church where I would find hope in Christ.

I heard truth that was solid—from the Bible. He set my feet upon the rock of Jesus. He made my steps secure. He assured me I could spend eternity with Him in heaven if I trusted Christ alone to forgive my sins. This truth is clearly stated in John 5:24: "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life."

While mourning my father's death, I found comfort in Jesus and His Word. God "put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God" (verse 3). God's Word has become my guiding light. I have learned to memorize Scripture so it's with me at all times. “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105)

God is my Rock and worthy of praise.

I hope He is yours, too. If He's not, may you discover this truth for yourself today!

1. Are you struggling in a pit of destruction or a miry bog (sin, despair, addiction)?

2. In what have you put your hope/trust?

3. Have you dug into God's Word to discover the truth it contains?

4. Will you put your trust in God today?