Psalms 40:11-17

11 You, O LORD, will not withhold Your compassion from me; Your 1lovingkindness and Your truth will continually preserve me.
12 For evils beyond * number have 2surrounded me; My 3iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see; They are 4more numerous than the hairs of my head, And my 5heart has failed me.
13 6Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me; Make 7haste, O LORD, to help me.
14 Let those be 8ashamed and humiliated together Who 9seek my life to destroy it; Let those be turned back and dishonored Who delight in my hurt.
15 Let those 10be appalled because * of their shame Who 11say to me, "Aha, aha!"
16 12Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Let those who love Your salvation 13say continually, "The LORD be magnified!"
17 Since 14I am afflicted and needy, 15Let the Lord be mindful of me. You are my help and my deliverer; Do not delay, O my God.

Psalms 40:11-17 Meaning and Commentary

To the chief Musician, a Psalm of David. Jarchi interprets this psalm of the Israelites, and of their deliverance and song at the Red sea. The title of it, in the Syriac version, is, "A psalm of David according to the letter, when Shemaiah brought the names of those who minister in the house of the Lord;" see 1 Chronicles 24:6; according to Kimchi, the subject of this psalm is the same with that of the two preceding; and R. Obadiah thinks it was composed by David, when he was recovered of a leprosy; but though it might be written by David, it was not written concerning himself, or on his own account, but of another. The title of this psalm is somewhat different from others in the order of the words; whereas it is usually put "a psalm of," or "for David"; here it is, "for David, a psalm"; and may be rendered, as Ainsworth observes, "a psalm concerning David"; not literally, but typically understood; not concerning David himself, but concerning his antitype and son, who is called by his name, Ezekiel 37:24; and that it is to be interpreted of him is evident from the application of Psalm 39:6, unto him by the apostle in Hebrews 10:5; and the whole of it is applicable to him; some apply it to Jeremiah in the dungeon, and others to Daniel in the den, as Theodoret observes.

Cross References 15

  • 1. Psalms 43:3; Psalms 57:3; Psalms 61:7; Proverbs 20:28
  • 2. Psalms 18:5; Psalms 116:3
  • 3. Psalms 38:4; Psalms 65:3
  • 4. Psalms 69:4
  • 5. Psalms 73:26
  • 6. Psalms 70:1
  • 7. Psalms 22:19; Psalms 71:12
  • 8. Psalms 35:4, 26; Psalms 70:2; Psalms 71:13
  • 9. Psalms 63:9
  • 10. Psalms 70:3
  • 11. Psalms 35:21; Psalms 70:3
  • 12. Psalms 70:4
  • 13. Psalms 35:27
  • 14. Psalms 70:5; Psalms 86:1; Psalms 109:22
  • 15. Psalms 40:5; 1 Peter 5:7

Footnotes 6

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