Psalms 40:6-16

6 Sacrifice and offering you did not desire— but my ears you have opened[a] — burnt offerings and sin offerings[b] you did not require.
7 Then I said, “Here I am, I have come— it is written about me in the scroll.[c]
8 I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.”
9 I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, LORD, as you know.
10 I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help. I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness from the great assembly.
11 Do not withhold your mercy from me, LORD; may your love and faithfulness always protect me.
12 For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me.
13 Be pleased to save me, LORD; come quickly, LORD, to help me.
14 May all who want to take my life be put to shame and confusion; may all who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace.
15 May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!” be appalled at their own shame.
16 But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who long for your saving help always say, “The LORD is great!”

Psalms 40:6-16 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 28

  • 1. S 1 Samuel 15:22; Jeremiah 6:20; Amos 5:22
  • 2. Exodus 21:6
  • 3. Psalms 50:8; Psalms 51:16; Isaiah 1:11; Hosea 6:6
  • 4. Job 19:23; Jeremiah 36:2; Jeremiah 45:1; Ezekiel 2:9; Zechariah 5:1
  • 5. S Matthew 26:39; John 4:34
  • 6. Hebrews 10:5-7*
  • 7. S Deuteronomy 6:6; S Job 22:22; Romans 7:22; Psalms 37:31
  • 8. S Psalms 22:31
  • 9. S Psalms 22:25
  • 10. S Joshua 22:22; Psalms 119:13
  • 11. Psalms 89:1
  • 12. S Psalms 22:22; Acts 20:20
  • 13. Zechariah 1:12
  • 14. Proverbs 20:28
  • 15. S Psalms 26:3; Psalms 43:3
  • 16. Psalms 61:7
  • 17. S Psalms 25:17; Psalms 116:3
  • 18. Psalms 38:4; Psalms 65:3
  • 19. Psalms 69:4
  • 20. Psalms 73:26
  • 21. Psalms 22:19; Psalms 38:22; Psalms 70:1
  • 22. S 1 Samuel 20:1
  • 23. S Esther 9:2; Psalms 35:26
  • 24. S Psalms 35:4
  • 25. S Psalms 35:21
  • 26. Deuteronomy 4:29; 1 Chronicles 28:9; Psalms 9:10; Psalms 119:2
  • 27. Psalms 9:2
  • 28. Psalms 35:27

Footnotes 3

  • [a]. Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts "but a body you have prepared for me"
  • [b]. Or "purification offerings"
  • [c]. Or "come" / "with the scroll written for me"
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