The Devotional – A look at Psalm 40:1-17

The Devotional – A look at Psalm 40:1-17

Comment: Many years ago, shortly after being saved; one of the ships I was on was home ported in Rota, Spain. The country had been under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco until 1975, but in the years following the citizens of Spain found relief from the 40 years of suppression as Prince Juan Carlos led Spain to adopt a new Constitution and fair elections began. By 1978 when I arrived Spain was experiencing freedoms that it had not known for years, but the country still felt the effect of the LaGuardia Civil (a policing force) that kept citizens suppressed. The reason I am sharing this with you this morning is that the very first thing I noticed in Spain was the sadness and hopelessness in the eyes of the people. In Rota and in other parts of Spain that I had opportunity to visit, all people I met had this same “downtrodden” expression of face. This same crushed hope and snuffed out faith is now in the eyes of many people in our nation today. Without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE TO PLEASE GOD, also without faith it is impossible to have any HOPE in living LIFE. 

Devotional: Psalm 40:1-17 – One characteristic of a person who lives by faith in God is that they “wait patiently for God”, this however does not mean that they sit on their backside and wait for manna to fall out of the sky, but it does mean that the children of God know that God the Father hears their prayers, as His ear is always in position to hear the prayers of all His children. His children also know and understand that good and solid answers from God do not come instantly.

The circumstances of life are like a horrible pit, or a quagmire of mud, the more we seek relief the deeper we seem to slide. Have you been there, or are you there now? God hears all of the cries of His Children. Joy enters my soul every time I look back as see the times that God placed my feet on the solid ROCK of FAITH, once I understood that my faith in God was stronger than the mud of life and that my STEPS were now established in His Way, new songs of victory began flowing from my soul and out of my mouth.

David says in verse 3 of this Psalm “PRAISE TO OUR GOD” yes David, praise to our God who will cause the unbelieving to see and FEAR Him, thus turning them to TRUST in the LORD too. Blessed is the man or woman who establishes the LORD as his or her object of FAITH. You might ask then; “who is the LORD that I may TRUST Him?” No doubt in my mind! You believe in God otherwise you would find something else to read. See Acts 4:1-12

1 Timothy 2:1-7 – I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time. And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles.