Begin your time in prayer. Ask God to open your eyes that you may see him magnified.

Psalm 40 Day 1 He brought me out of the miry clay He set my feet on the Rock to stay He puts a song in my soul today A song of praise, hallelujah! (Henry Gilmour. He Brought Me Out. 1898. Hymn.) Begin your time in prayer. Ask God to open your eyes that you may see him magnified. 1. Read Psalm 40. 2. Read it again and then pick one verse you want to memorize this week and write it on a 3x5 card. 3. Choose one verse and use it to write a prayer. Have you ever noticed when reading the Psalms that David spends a lot of time in the pit and getting out of the pit? I think this is why I enjoy the Psalms so much. I can relate. In this Psalm, David will show us the way out of the pit and what is the outcome of escape. 4. Read Psalm 40:2. Describe David s pit. The Hebrew word saon is a noun meaning, a roar, a din, a crash. This word is usually used referring to the din of battle or the crash of waves, (CWSDOT, p. 1085). - 79 -

The NASB and ESV use the words pit of destruction; the NIV uses the words slimy pit. The Hebrew word for pit is bor. Its meaning is, pit, cistern, well. It can refer to rock-hewn reservoirs of man-made wells. When empty, such cisterns served as perfect prisons. Both Joseph and Jeremiah were thrown into this type of pit (CWSDOT, p. 124). So David has taken a dive head-first into a cistern that is filled not with water, but mud-sucking miry clay and the sound is like the din of battle. The Amplified Bible puts it this way: He drew me up out of a horrible pit---a pit of tumult and of destruction---out of the miry clay (froth and slime)... Remember, David is painting a picture of despair, helplessness, hopelessness, and desperation. This is the straw that broke the camel s back for the overworked or out-of-work employee. This is the straw that broke the camel s back for the frazzled mom who is always trying to find lost things, fixing broken things, forging through stacks of laundry, forfeiting sleep and time alone. This is the straw that broke the camel s back for the ill who spend more time, money, and energy on doctors than on friends and yet they can t even call the doctor at home. 5. Have you ever been in this pit with King David? Describe your time in this prison. 6. Read Psalm 40:1. What did David do when he was in the pit? 7. How well do you wait? Even consider how well you wait in traffic, at the doctor s office, or in line at a store or restaurant. The humble wait well. - 80 -

While reading the Psalms, have you ever noticed how much David cried? Yet he was a fighter, of whom the Israelites sang, Saul has slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands, (1 Samuel 18:7). There is something that borders on heavenly when a man or woman is strong enough to cry tears of brokenness to their LORD. To whom do you cry when you are stuck in the miry, slimy wave of rushing tumult in life s pits? Day 2 1. Begin your day in prayer using the prayer you wrote yesterday. You may want to add to your prayer today. Did God speak to you yesterday? Spend a few minutes sitting quietly listening for God to speak. 2. Practice memorizing the verse you wrote on your 3x5 card. 3. Read Psalm 40:1-3. When God answered David s cry, what did God do? 4. Do you see Jesus in these verses? If so, how? I love the old hymns and choruses I grew up on. I quoted some of the words from He Brought Me Out at the beginning of day one this week. God gave David a new song. I have wondered often about new songs in the Bible. I know they must be special. Is it the words? If so, I want to know them. Were new songs only given to special people, those destined to be in the angelic choir in heaven? Have you ever been in a situation where you thought you were going to die? Have you ever nearly drowned and the thing you were desperate for was air? Have you ever been in such pain that you were desperate for relief? Have you ever been so tired that you were desperate for rest? When a loved one was near death were you desperate for good news from the doctor? When you got that priceless gulp of air, - 81 -

or the injection of wonderful, intoxicating pain medicine, or that blissful 12 hours of sleep, or heard those precious life-giving words, did your heart sing? Did you sing a song that was new to you because it was you giving yourself to God? Was it a song of air, a song of relief, a song of dreams, a song of praise, hallelujah? 5. What happens when we start to sing a song of praise to God? See verse 3b. When God delivers us from desperate situations it is not just for our benefit and blessing, but also for reaching others. The new song he gives us is to be used for evangelism, for bringing others into the kingdom. You are his pied piper! John Piper says, They see, fear, and put their trust in God. They see a person who, contrary to human nature, was humble in distress and who never lost hope and banked on God and who, when he was delivered, gave God the glory. They see something real, genuine, authentic, something that rings true in the human heart, (desiringgod.com). 6. Read verse four. Think about this verse in relationship to being in the pit. What is this verse telling you about how to be blessed? 7. Read verse five. Take the time to count a few of the wonders God has done recently in your life. Day 3 1. Pray again the prayer you wrote on day one. As you do your daily lessons, add to your prayer as things come to mind. 2. Practice saying your memory verse for this week. Don t forget to learn its address (Ex: Psalm 40:2). - 82 -

3. Read Psalm 40:6. What doesn t God desire? The Hebrew word for desire is a verb that means, to delight in, to have pleasure, to have favor, to be pleased, (CWSDOT, p. 364-365). King Saul was told by God to strike the Amalekites and destroy the king and all that he has. Saul was to put to death man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey, (1 Samuel 15:3). When Samuel came to Saul, Saul told Samuel that he had carried out the command of the Lord. Samuel said, Really? Then what s that bleating of sheep I hear? 4. Read 1 Samuel 15:22. In what does the Lord delight? 5. The reason he hates disobedience is found in 1 Samuel 15:23. What does this say about rebellion (the opposite of obedience)? Psalm 40:6 says, Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but my ears you have pierced, (NIV). This is a verse that every young girl who is waiting to reach the age of getting her ears pierced would love to know! The Hebrew word for pierce is a verb indicating to dig. It refers to digging, cleaning out sufficient dirt and debris for various purposes: a grave, a well, a pit, etc., (CWSDOT, p. 523). Apparently, God used a Wax Vac on David s ears. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches, (Revelation 2:7). 6. Read Psalm 40:7-8. After a good ear cleaning, what does David desire? 7. Do you see Jesus in these verses? Read John 4:34. What did Jesus say? 8. Read Hebrews 10:4-10. What did Jesus do for us, once for all? - 83 -

I found the use of the phrase, my ears you have pierced very interesting. In Exodus 21:2-6 the Israelites are told that if their kinsman is sold to them as a slave, he is to serve for six years and in the seventh year he is to be set free. However, if the slave does not want to leave because he loves his master, the master is to take him to the door or doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl and the slave will be his slave permanently. This is such a beautiful picture of how we as bondslaves of the Lord Jesus Christ have been set free but we willing give ourselves as his slaves because we love our master so much. Now take that picture and add the fact that the word pierce in Hebrew can mean the digging out of a pit, and in Psalm 40:2 God brought David out of the miry, mud-sucking pit and set his feet upon the Rock. The way the different meanings fit together is just way cool! Lord, dig out the dirt in my ears, so that I will hear what delights you. Not only pierce my ear on your doorpost, but also pierce my heart with what pierces yours. My rebellion pierces your heart. I want to delight you. May I live to do your will. Your law of love and obedience is within my heart because you, Lord, have sanctified me through the offering of your body once for all. Amen. Day 4 Every redeemed man is called to be a witness for his Lord. Not only by a godly walk, but by personal effort must I serve and make known my Lord. My tongue, my speech, is one of the principal means of interaction with others and influence on them. It is but a half dedication when I do not also bring the offering of the lips to speak for the Lord, (Murray, Andrew. The Essential Works of Andrew Murray. Uhrichsville: Barbour Publishing, Inc., 2008. Print.). 1. Pray the prayer you ve been working on since day one this week. Look back to last week s prayer and reread (pray) it. 2. Say your memory verse aloud at least one time without having to stop and look back at it. - 84 -

3. Read Psalm 40:9-10. Why do we restrain our lips in the great assembly? You would think that proclaiming glad tidings, uprightness, and right-standing with God would be easy among the church family. I think that is why we have such a hard time evangelizing. Talking about being right with God, counting the blessings he has given, confessing sin, being excited about our hope for the future among the church family is like sparing with a scarecrow. If you can t take down a scarecrow, how in the world will you be ready to fight the real enemy? The other day I was in Wal-Mart looking for make-up. Another customer who was a complete stranger to me and was also looking for make-up began talking to me about the brand of make-up she uses. She got really close to me so I could see her eye shadow, liner, and mascara. She talked and talked with more excitement than that Geico camel on television who is so excited about Hump Day. She had me follow her to another aisle to show me the brand she uses and then told me to go to Target because they had better prices. I told her thank you and we parted ways. It was not until that evening that I realized I had missed a perfect opportunity to share some exciting news with her. Even if I had thought to talk to her about Jesus, I probably would not have done it. I know my track record. Why do I restrain my lips? These verses hit hard this week. 4. What five characteristics of God are revealed in verse ten? 5. Pick one of the characteristics listed in question four. What would you say if you had 30 seconds to unseal your lips and speak in church on this characteristic? - 85 -

6. Read Psalm 40:11-12. David refers to the work of God s character to guard and preserve him. To which characteristics did he refer in verse 11? 7. When troubles without number surround you, what characteristics of God bring you comfort and strength? In verse 12, David says his iniquities have taken such hold of him that he cannot look up. The word iniquities is a Hebrew noun that is one of the four main words indicating sin in the Old Testament. This sin indicates sin that is particularly evil, since it strongly conveys the idea of twisting or perverting deliberately. The noun carries along with it the idea of guilt from conscious wrongdoing, (CWSDOT, p. 814). David says that this sin is more than the hairs on his head and his heart has failed and forsaken him. He is in need of God s mercy and grace. This is the pit, a pit of iniquities, that he was sinking in so that he couldn t even hold his head up. This is what David was crying to God about at the beginning of this Psalm. He was broken from his iniquities. He may have been in the pit, but there s no better place for confession and repentance. - 86 -

Day 5 Let all who seek Thee rejoice and be glad in Thee; Let those who love Thy salvation say continually, The LORD be magnified! Psalm 40:16 1. Begin your study in prayer. As you pray, also remember to spend some time listening for what he has to tell you today. 2. Read through your memory verse and then say it without looking at your card. This week we have learned what to do when we are in the pit and what God does for us. We have recalled God s wonders. We know that God desires obedience more than sacrifice. We are to delight in doing his will. We read how David did not restrain his lips for telling of God s righteousness, truth, and lovingkindness. We saw that when evils surround us we can trust God s lovingkindness, compassion, and truth to preserve us. 3. Read Psalm 40:13. These verses continue with where we left off yesterday - David asking God to preserve him because innumerable evils were surrounding him and his iniquities were drowning him because they numbered more than the hairs on his head. What does he ask of God in verse 13? Sometimes looking up the meaning of words can bring a moment of that s so cool, especially when we have the advantage of looking back from this side of the cross. Keep in mind that David has just finished talking about his iniquities in verses 11-12. The word pleased in verse 13 means to delight, to take pleasure, to treat favorably, to favor, to accept, to pay off, to pay for, to make up for, (CWSDOT, p. 1074). The word deliver in verse 13, means to deliver. God was frequently honored as delivering his people, whether from earthly enemies or from more abstract things like transgressions and death, (CWSDOT, p. 749). - 87 -

Do you see the story of the cross hidden in this verse? Our debt from our transgressions was paid for on the cross. As in, Be pleased (pay for), O LORD, deliver me from my transgressions and death. 4. Read verses 14-15. David makes a switch from his own iniquities in verse 12 to those of his enemies. What does he ask of God? 5. In verse 16, David makes a leap back to verse 3. What do these two verses have in common? What does it mean to magnify the Lord? (The NASB version says in verse 16, Let those who love Your salvation say continually, The LORD be magnified! ). There are a few ways to magnify the physical realm, including a microscope and a telescope. When a microscope is used, the purpose is to make something small look much larger. When a telescope is used, the purpose is to make something large that looks small because it is a long distance away look more like it really would if we were able to see it up close. When we magnify God, we sing a song of deliverance from the pit. We sing because we trust in God instead of turning to the proud. We count the wonders he has done and his thoughts toward us even though they are too numerous to count. We magnify God when we delight to do his will. We magnify God when we do not keep our lips sealed for fear of offending others with our love, joy, and passion for his righteousness and faithfulness, his salvation and lovingkindness. We magnify God so others will see how BIG, awesome, and mighty he really is and we bow in awe and fear, knowing we are unworthy to be in his presence. We magnify God so others will trust him and receive his greatest wonder, the gift of his Son who died for our sins so we can stand righteous before God. Maybe we need to clean off our lens and see God in his greatness so we cannot help but sing praises of him and his wonders. 6. Read verse 17. Like us, David is up then down, high then low, delights to do God s will then his sins overtake him, blessed then afflicted and needy. Where do you fit today, in these opposing feelings and situations? When you ask God to be mindful of you, what does that mean to you? Do not delay, O my God. Come quickly, Lord Jesus. - 88 -