Bible Reading: Psalms 36-40; Proverbs 8
Psalms 40:1-3 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.
Have you been rescued? David had and he recounted the fact in this psalm. Only someone who has been in a miry pit can appreciate the deliverance that God can bring! The Psalm is really important because it tells us what to do when we are in a miry pit. We learn that we should wait patiently on the LORD and cry out to him! This was the action of David and he tells us that the LORD inclined his ear and heard the cry of David. Isn’t it an incredible privilege to be able to go to God in prayer? We are invited and encouraged to come to him boldly and ask for the grace that we need:
Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
In answer to David’s prayer, God rescued him. David uses a metaphor of a slimy, horrible pit that he was in. When I read this I can’t help but think of Jeremiah who sunk in the mire (Jeremiah 38:6).
Whether David was actually in a pit or whether he uses this as a metaphor for the circumstances he was in, we do not know. It really doesn’t matter. There are things in life that happen to us that are like traps that we cannot escape from by ourselves. The important thing is that God reached down and brought David up out of the pit he was in and set his feet upon a rock. We are all sinking in a miry pit of sin and until we call upon the LORD to save us, we will continue to sink to our doom. But when we call upon the Lord Jesus Christ in faith, he raises us up out of the miry pit and sets our feet upon the rock of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah!
Not only that, but God also establishes our goings. In other words, he leads in the direction that he wants us to go. For David, this lead to an overflowing praise to God as he sang a new song. He also said this testimony of deliverance would lead to others fearing God and trusting in him. Are you in a pit? Then cry out to God and wait for his deliverance. Have you been brought up out of a horrible pit? Then sing a new song and tell of the wonderful deliverance that you have received!
In Christ,
Rody
