Psalm 40:6
Read Psalm 40:6 Using Other Translations
What does Psalm 40:6 mean?
Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire
These were desired, willed, and appointed by God, and that very
early, even from the times of our first parents; and, when
performed aright, were acceptable to God, quite down to the times
of the Messiah: indeed, when offered without faith in Christ, and
with a wicked mind, to merit any thing at the hand of God, they
were always abominable to him; and he likewise ever preferred
love to himself, and of the neighbour, obedience to the commands
of the moral law, and works of mercy to men, before all the
sacrifices of the ceremonial law, ( 1 Samuel
15:22 ) ( Hosea 6:6 ) ( Mark 12:33 ) ; nor were
these ever in such esteem with him as the sacrifices of a broken
and contrite heart, or of praise and thanksgiving, ( Psalms 51:16
Psalms
51:17 ) ( Psalms 69:30
Psalms
69:31 ) ; nor were they ever regarded by him but as they
respected Christ; nor were they ever designed to cleanse from
sin, and take it away, but to lead to the propitiatory sacrifice
of Christ: but none of these senses have place here: the meaning
of the words is, that it was not the will of God, at the time
this passage refers to, that legal sacrifices should continue any
longer; and that they should not be offered up, even by good men,
in the best manner, and to the best ends and purposes; the time
being come that a better sacrifice should be offered, which was
the sum and substance of them, and was prefigured by them;
mine ears hast thou opened;
or "dug", or "bored" F13; in allusion, as is thought by
many, to ( Exodus 21:6 ) ; though
the phrase rather signifies the formation and excavation of the
ear; or the preparing and fitting it for its use; that is, to
hearken to the will of his heavenly Father, to become man, offer
himself a sacrifice, and suffer and die in the room of his
people; to which he became obedient, taking upon him the form of
a servant, when found in fashion as a man; and was obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross; see ( Isaiah
50:4-6 ) ; in ( Hebrews 10:5
) , the words are rendered as by the Septuagint, "but a body hast
thou prepared me"; and with it the Arabic and Ethiopic versions
agree; and so Apollinarius,
``flesh of mortal generation;''a part of the body being put for the whole; and which, indeed, is supposed: for unless a body had been prepared for him, his ears could not have been opened; and it was in the body, in human nature, that he was the obedient servant; and this is to be understood, not only of a preparation of this body, in the purposes, counsel, and covenant of God; but chiefly of the formation of it in the womb of the virgin, where it was curiously wrought and prepared by the Holy, Ghost, that he might have something to offer, and in it become, as he did, an offering and a sacrifice to God, of a sweet smelling savour;
burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not
required;
any longer; this body being prepared for the Messiah to be
offered up in.
F13 (tyrk) "fodisti", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Gejerus, Michaelis; "perfodisti", Tigurine version, Musculus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "perforasti", Cocceius.
