2 He took me up out of a deep waste place, out of the soft and sticky earth; he put my feet on a rock, and made my steps certain.
For you will not let my soul be in hell and you will not give up your Holy One to destruction. You have made me see the ways of life; I will be full of joy when I see your face. My brothers, I may say to you openly that David came to his death, and was put in the earth, and his resting-place is with us today. But being a prophet, and having in mind the oath which God had given to him, that of the fruit of his body one would take his place as a king, He, having knowledge of the future, was talking of the coming again of Christ from the dead, that he was not kept in hell and his body did not see destruction.
So they took Jeremiah and put him into the water-hole of Malchiah, the king's son, in the place of the armed watchmen: and they let Jeremiah down with cords. And in the hole there was no water, but wet earth: and Jeremiah went down into the wet earth. Now it came to the ears of Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, an unsexed servant in the king's house, that they had put Jeremiah into the water-hole; the king at that time being seated in the doorway of Benjamin: And Ebed-melech went out from the king's house and said to the king, My lord the king, these men have done evil in all they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have put into the water-hole; and he will come to his death in the place where he is through need of food: for there is no more bread in the town. Then the king gave orders to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, Take with you three men from here and get Jeremiah out of the water-hole before death overtakes him. So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went into the house of the king, to the place where the clothing was kept, and got from there old clothing and bits of old cloth, and let them down by cords into the water-hole where Jeremiah was. And Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, Put these bits of old cloth under your arms under the cords. And Jeremiah did so.
Everyone, then, to whom my words come and who does them, will be like a wise man who made his house on a rock; And the rain came down and there was a rush of waters and the winds were driving against that house, but it was not moved; because it was based on the rock.
And I said, I have been sent away from before your eyes; how may I ever again see your holy Temple? The waters were circling round me, even to the neck; the deep was about me; the sea-grass was twisted round my head.
They have put an end to my life in the prison, stoning me with stones. Waters were flowing over my head; I said, I am cut off. I was making prayer to your name, O Lord, out of the lowest prison.
Give ear to my cry, for I am made very low: take me out of the hands of my haters, for they are stronger than I. Take my soul out of prison, so that I may give praise to your name: the upright will give praise because of me; for you have given me a full reward.
Take me from the grip of the sticky earth, so that I may not go down into it; let me be lifted up from the deep waters. Let me not be covered by the flowing waters; let not the deep waters go over my head, and let me not be shut up in the underworld.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 40
Commentary on Psalms 40 Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalm 40
It should seem David penned this psalm upon occasion of his deliverance, by the power and goodness of God, from some great and pressing trouble, by which he was in danger of being overwhelmed; probably it was some trouble of mind arising from a sense of sin and of God's displeasure against him for it; whatever it was, the same Spirit that indited his praises for that deliverance was in him, at the same time, a Spirit of prophecy, testifying of the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow; or, ere he was aware, he was led to speak of his undertaking, and the discharge of his undertaking, in words that must be applied to Christ only; and therefore how far the praises that here go before that illustrious prophecy, and the prayers that follow, may safely and profitably be applied to him it will be worth while to consider. In this psalm,
If, in singing this psalm, we mix faith with the prophecy of Christ, and join in sincerity with the praises and prayers here offered up, we make melody wit our hearts to the Lord.
To the chief musician. A psalm of David.
Psa 40:1-5
In these verses we have,
Psa 40:6-10
The psalmist, being struck with amazement at the wonderful works that God had done for his people, is strangely carried out here to foretel that work of wonder which excels all the rest and is the foundation and fountain of all, that of our redemption by our Lord Jesus Christ. God's thoughts, which were to us-ward concerning that work, were the most curious, the most copious, the most gracious, and therefore to be most admired. This paragraph is quoted by the apostle (Heb. 10:5, etc.) and applied to Christ and his undertaking for us. As in the institutions, so in the devotions, of the Old Testament saints were aware of; and, when the apostle would show us the Redeemer's voluntary undertaking of his work, he does not fetch his account out of the book of God's secret counsels, which belong not to us, but from the things revealed. Observe,
Psa 40:11-17
The psalmist, having meditated upon the work of redemption, and spoken of it in the person of the Messiah, now comes to make improvement of the doctrine of his mediation between us and God, and therefore speaks in his own person. Christ having done his Father's will, and finished his work, and given orders for the preaching of the gospel to every creature, we are encouraged to come boldly to the throne of grace, for mercy and grace.