PSALM 40

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

The benefit of confidence in God Psalm 40.1-5

I waited patiently and expectantly for the Lord; and He incline to me and heard my cry.

^{2 He drew me up out of a horrible pit [the pit of tumult and of destruction], out of the miry clay (froth and slime), and set my feet upon a rock, steadying my steps and establishing my goings.
^{3 And He has put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many shall see and fear (revere and worship) and put their trust and confidence reliance in the Lord. [Ps 5.11]

^{4 Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) it the man who makes the Lord his refuge and trust, and turns not to the proud or to followers of false gods.
^{5 Many, O Lord my God, are the wonderful works which You have done, and Your thoughts toward us; no one can compare with You! If I should declare and speak of them, they are too many to be numbered.}}}}

Obedience the best sacrifice Psalm 40.6-17

^{6 Sacrifice and offering You do not desire, nor have You delight in them; You have given me the capacity to hear and obey [Your law, a more valuable service than] burnt offerings and sin offerings [which] You do not require.
^{7 Then said I, "Behold, I come; in the volume of the book it is written of me;
^{8 I delight to do Your will, O my God; yes, Your law is within my heart." [Heb 10.5-9]

^{9 I have proclaimed glad tidings of righteousness in the great assembly [tidings of uprightness and right standing with God]. Behold, I have nor restrained my lips, as You know, O Lord.
^{10 I have not concealed Your righteousness within my heart; I have proclaimed Your faithfulness and Your salvation. I have not hid away Your steadfast love and Your truth from the great assembly. [Acts 20.20,27]

^{11 Withhold not Your tender mercy from me, O Lord; let Your loving-kindness and Your truth continually preserve me!
^{12 For innumerable evils have compassed me about; my iniquities have taken such hold on me that I am not able to look up. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart has failed me and forsaken me.

^{13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me; O Lord, make haste to help me!
^{14 Let them be put to shame and confounded together who seek and require my life to destroy it; let them be driven backward and brought to dishonor who wish me evil and delight in my hurt!
^{15 Let them be desolate by reason of their shame who say to me, "Aha, aha!"

^{16 Let all those that seek and require You rejoice and be glad in You; let such as love Your salvation say continually, "The Lord be magnified!"
^{17 [As for me] I am poor and needy, yet the Lord takes thought and plans for me. You are my Help and my Deliverer. O my God, do not tarry! [Ps 70.1-5; 1Pet 5.7]}}}}}}}}}}}} PSALM 41

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

Blessing of the charitable man Psalm 41.1-3

Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is he who considers the weak and the poor; the Lord will deliver him in the time of evil and trouble.

^{2 The Lord will protect him and keep him alive; he shall be called blessed in the land; and You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.
^{3 The Lord will sustain, refresh, and strengthen him on his bed of languishing; all his bed You [O Lord] will turn, change, and transform in his illness.}}

David complains of his enemies' treachery Psalm 41.4-13

^{4 I said, "Lord, be merciful and gracious to me; heal my inner self, for I have sinned against You."
^{5 My enemies speak evil of me [saying], "When will he die and his name perish?"
^{6 And when one comes to see me, he speaks falsehood and empty words, while his heart gathers mischievous gossip [against me]; when he goes away, he tells it abroad.
^{7 All who hate me whisper together about me; against me do they devise my hurt [imagining the worst for me].

^{8 An evil disease, say they, is poured out upon him and cleaves fast to him; and now that he is bedfast, he will be rise up again.
^{9 Even my own familiar friend, in whom I trusted (relied on and was confident), who ate of my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. [John 13.18]

^{10 But You, O Lord, be merciful and gracious to me, and raise me up, that I may requite them.

^{11 By this I know that You favor and delight in me, because my enemy does not triumph over me.
^{12 And as for me, You have upheld me in my integrity and set me in Your presence forever.

^{13 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting and to everlasting [from this age to the next, and forever]! Amen and Amen (so be it).}}}}}}}}}} BOOK TWO

(PSALM 42-72)

PSALM 42

To the Chief Musician. A skillful song, or a didactic or reflective poem, of the sons of Korah

Thirsting for God in trouble Psalm 42.1-11

As the hart pants and longs for the water brooks, to I pants and long for You, O God.

^{2 My inner self thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God? [John 7.37; 1Thess 1.9,10]

^{3 My tears have been my food day and night, whole men say to me all day long, "Where is your God?"

^{4 These things I [earnestly] remember and pour myself out within me: how I went slowly before the throng and led them in procession to the house of God [like a bandmaster before his band, timing the steps to the sound of music and the chant of song], with the voice of shouting and praise, a throng keeping festival.
^{5 Why are you cast down, O my inner self? And why should you moan over me and be disquieted within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him, my Help and my God.

^{6 O my God, my life is cast down upon me [and I find the burden more than I can bear]; therefore will I [earnestly] remember You from the land of the Jordan [river] and the [summits of Mount] Hermon, form the little mountain Mizar.
^{7 [Roaring] deep calls to [roaring] deep at the thunder of Your waterspouts; all Your breakers and Your rolling waves have gone over me.
^{8 Yet the Lord will command His living-kindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me, a prayer to the God of my life.

^{9 I will say to God my Rock, "Why have You forgotten me? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?"
^{10 As with a sword [crushing] in my bones, my enemies taunt and reproach me, while they say continually to me, "Where is your God?"

^{11 Why are you cast down, O my inner self? And why should you moan over ma and be disquieted within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him, Who is the help of my countenance, and my God.}}}}}}}}}}