I waited patiently for the Lord; And He reached down to me

Psalm 40 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

I waited patiently for the Lord;
And He reached down to me and heard my cry.
² He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the mud;
And He set my feet on a rock, making my footsteps firm.
³ He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;
Many will see and fear
And will trust in the Lord.

⁴ How blessed is the man who has made the Lord his trust,
And has not turned to the proud, nor to those who become involved in falsehood.
⁵ Many, Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done,
And Your thoughts toward us;
There is no one to compare with You.
If I would declare and speak of them,
They would be too numerous to count.

⁶ You have not desired sacrifice and meal offering;
You have opened my ears;
You have not required burnt offering and sin offering.
⁷ Then I said, “Behold, I have come;
It is written of me in the scroll of the book.
⁸ I delight to do Your will, my God;
Your Law is within my heart.”

⁹ I have proclaimed good news of righteousness in the great congregation;
Behold, I will not restrain my lips,
Lord, You know.
¹⁰ I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;
I have spoken of Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your mercy and Your truth from the great congregation.

¹¹ You, Lord, will not withhold Your compassion from me;
^[Your mercy and Your truth will continually watch over me.
¹² For evils beyond number have surrounded me;
My guilty deeds have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see;
They are more numerous than the hairs of my head,
And my heart has failed me.

¹³ Be pleased, Lord, to rescue me;
Hurry, Lord, to help me.
¹⁴ May those be ashamed and humiliated together
Who seek my life to destroy it;
May those be turned back and dishonored
Who delight in my hurt.
¹⁵ May those be appalled because of their shame
Who say to me, “Aha, aha!”
¹⁶ May all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
May those who love Your salvation continually say,
“The Lord be exalted!”
¹⁷ But I am afflicted and needy;
May the Lord be mindful of me.
You are my help and my savior;
Do not delay, my God.

The psalmist says: I waited patiently for the Lord; And He reached down to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the mud; And He set my feet on a rock, making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear And will trust in the Lord.  Why does it seem that we too must often wait patiently for the Lord? Is it that he has not heard our cries? Surely not! God is omniscient. In Matthew 6:8 Jesus says: “Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” It is not because He doesn’t care. In Jeremiah 29:11 God says: “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  The truth is God hears and knows and cares about our needs, but He is not concerned with our time. God is eternal and infinite. He is not limited to or by our finite time. 2 Peter 3:8 says: Do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. We see things through the lens of our finite time, what is happening here and now. God views it from the perspective of heaven and eternity. He who is and was and is to come, sees things as they will be. In John 19:30, when Jesus was on the cross for our redemption and restoration, He said: “It is finished!” So, it is not that God doesn’t hear or care. It is that He sees from the perspective of the finished work of the cross. He sees the fulfillment of His plan for our future and our hope. We need to wait patiently to see what has already been done for us. 

In today’s Old Testament reading, in Job 19:25-27, when Job was in the midst of his trials and suffering, he said: Yet as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last, He will take His stand on the earth. Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I will see God,  Whom I, on my part, shall behold for myself, And whom my eyes will see.  The psalmist says: I delight to do Your will, my God; Your Law is within my heart.” I have proclaimed good news of righteousness in the great congregation; Behold, I will not restrain my lips, Lord, You know.  I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have spoken of Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not concealed Your mercy and Your truth from the great congregation. You, Lord, will not withhold Your compassion from me; Your mercy and Your truth will continually watch over me… May all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; May those who love Your salvation continually say, “The Lord be exalted!” But I am afflicted and needy; May the Lord be mindful of me. You are my help and my savior; Do not delay, my God. Amen.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit, may I wait patiently to see the fulfillment of what has already been fully accomplished for me. May I see through the perspective of the finished work of the cross, and may Your kingdom come, and Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven, both in and through my life. Amen.