Sunday, August 11 – Psalms 40, 58

1. How does David describe his salvation? (Psalms 40:1-3)

2. What does a new song represent? (Psalms 40:3)

3. What Messianic prophecy is in Psalm 40? (Psalms 40:6-8)

Commentary and Reflection:

In Psalm 40, David poetically recounts his testimony about how he prayed in a difficult situation and how the Lord heard and helped him. The sequence of deliverance is: “He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,” “out of the miry clay,” “and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps.” (NKJV Psalms 40:2). The Lord rescued him, placed him on solid ground, and then guided him in the path of obedience. This mirrors our experience when we are delivered from sin and its consequences.

The “horrible pit” can represent anguish, the enemy’s traps, and conflicts. The “miry clay” may symbolize the sinner’s experience trapped in sin, vice, and the entanglements of their own soul. These situations describe David’s experience, and his words are his testimony.

The result is, “He has put a new song in my mouth.” (NKJV Psalms 40:3). Praise should follow deliverance, as part of our experience with God and our testimony. The “new song” represents a new experience of victory and deliverance. Each new experience is a reason to sing a new song.

Paul identifies Psalms 40:6-8 in Hebrews 10:5-7 as a Messianic prophecy, applying the passage to Jesus. He quotes the Old Testament version called “The Septuagint,” or “The Version of the 70,” which was a translation of the Old Testament into Greek common among the Hebrews. Paul says,

“Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: ‘Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—In the volume of the book it is written of Me—To do Your will, O God.’” (NKJV Hebrews 10:5-7).

In David’s time, “the scroll” referred to the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible written by Moses. The Psalm prophetically presents Jesus saying that His life fulfills what Moses wrote about Him.

The superscription of Psalm 58 says it is a “Miktam of David.” There is no certainty about the meaning of the word “Miktam.” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary states, “The psalms so designated may be considered atonement psalms, that is, psalms concerned with the covering up of sins. The word may be a musical title.” (SDA Bible Commentary, Introduction to the Psalms, Superscriptions).

The introduction to Psalm 58 in the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary says, “Ps. 58 is a condemnation of unjust judges, and hence a vehement reproof and warning for all who share in injustice and oppression. Forceful in imagery and general style, the psalm makes the charge of injustice, passes sentence of punishment, and rejoices in the justice of God, the great Judge. In this psalm the contrast between the unjust judges of earth, and God, the righteous Judge, is most striking.” (SDA Bible Commentary, Introduction to Psalm 58).

May God grant you a day with His blessing.