But may all who look for You
discover true joy and happiness in You;
May those who cherish how You save them
always say, “O Eternal One, You are great and are first in our hearts.”
Meanwhile, I am empty and need so much,
but I know the Lord is thinking of me.
You are my help; only You can save me, my True God. Please hurry.
Psalm 40:16-17
If you know anything at all about David you know that his life was filled with glory as a mighty warrior and desperation as he ran from plenty who sought to put an end to his life. On top of that he let his passions get the best of him and found himself in some pretty dire consequences. Most of us don’t live with many of the extremes of David’s life, but all of us can probably relate to the emotions that David describes in his psalms.
The verses above are the very end of Psalm 40. The psalm starts with David stuck in the muck (verse 1), describes his rescue (verses 2-5) and then moves to introduce Jesus who is Rescuer Extraordinaire (verses 6-8). He concludes with a blessing, an observation and a prayer.
The blessing:
David’s heart is passionate for the gospel. In this psalm he not only displays Jesus prophetically as Rescuer, he desires that others come to know Him that way as well and be brought into fellowship with the God. He says “may all who look for You discover true joy and happiness in You.” The gospel leads us to find true joy in God as our treasure. And when God is our true treasure we can say, “You are great and are first in our hearts.”
The observation:
We know nothing about the circumstances surrounding the writing of this psalm, but we do know that David has been rescued from a situation that he describes as a deep, dark pit of muck. It gets ugly in the muck! If you’re like me, you’ve been there too. David is not shy about the condition of his own heart. “Meanwhile, I am empty and need so much.” He recognizes that when he’s in the mucky pit the only way out is through God’s rescue. And he has hope! for he continues with the second part of the observation - he knows God is thinking of him. He isn’t alone in his circumstances because he knows that God knows.
The prayer:
It’s a very simple prayer, really. There are two declarations and one plea to David’s prayer. He declares two things that are interrelated - God can help and He can save. David obviously believes that both are true. He appeals to these aspects of God’s character, “You are my help; only You can save me, my True God.” Like David, when we pray it is helpful to remind ourselves of Who God Is, incorporate it into our prayer life. Then we can present the plea simply and with great faith - “Please hurry.” David didn’t need to elaborate. God knew his plight.
God knows your circumstances as well. He knows the fight is hard. He knows your heart grows weary. Be like David, warrior yet unafraid to acknowledge his own need. Where do you need God’s help today? Where do you need blessing? God is more than able to get you through every circumstance of your life. He got you past the biggest one - conquering your sin and bringing you into God’s kingdom! And if you’re not there yet talk to one of your DA’s or a coach.