Trusting God is not always easy. Oh, when God has answered our prayers, delivering us from our most serious difficulties, our hearts naturally overflow with thanksgiving (verse 2). It’s easy to sing God’s praise when we are sailing out of a storm (verse 3).

But what about when we are sailing into that black cloud? What about when we are overwhelmed by the tempest, when all kinds of evil surround us – or even when we are reaping the consequences of our own bad decisions (verse 12)? Can we be as confident that the Lord is our help and our deliverer, even when we continue to be afflicted and needy (verse 17)?

David was – even when he had to wait patiently for the Lord to save him (verse 1). And that’s at least in part because of what he knew to be true about God: that God’s thoughts and actions are simply incomparable, and that there’s no way for any mere mortal to comprehend them (verse 5). In short, David’s humility fed his faith.

And David also knew that proclaiming his faith was a great way to strengthen it. As verses 9 and 10 point out, David was determined to tell everyone not only about God’s faithfulness and salvation and covenant-keeping love, but also about God’s righteousness and truth. And as he rehearsed what he knew about God, he became more certain that God would indeed preserve him – because that’s just Who God is (verse 11).

But David didn’t just express his faith in words. No, he lived out his trust in God by following God’s commands, no matter what such obedience might cost him. In fact, David insisted, “I delight to do Thy will, O my God” (verse 8) – even if God’s will included the suffering he experienced when writing this psalm.

And the same thing was true for the Son of David. In Hebrews 10, we find verses 6 through 8 directly applied to Jesus, Who not only opened His ears to God’s commands, but offered up His very body as the perfect sacrifice for all who trust in Him (verse 6). He delighted to do the will of the Father (verse 8), even though that meant enduring pain and the shame of the cross for us.

Yes, by His death, the Lord has brought us out of destruction. And by His resurrection, He promises to bring all His people out of the miry clay of our own graves one day (verse 2). So no matter what difficulties this day may bring, as we seek His face, let us rejoice and be glad in Him. Because we love His salvation, we should join David in saying, “The Lord be magnified” (verse 16)!

Psalm 40 (NASB)

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
I Waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me, and heard my cry.
2 He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay; And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.
3 And He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear, And will trust in the LORD.
4 How blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, And has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.
5 Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which Thou hast done, And Thy thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with Thee; If I would declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to count.
6 Sacrifice and meal offering Thou hast not desired; My ears Thou hast opened; Burnt offering and sin offering Thou hast not required.
7 Then I said, “Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me;
8 I delight to do Thy will, O my God; Thy Law is within my heart.”
9 I have proclaimed glad tidings of righteousness in the great congregation; Behold, I will not restrain my lips, O LORD, Thou knowest.
10 I have not hidden Thy righteousness within my heart; I have spoken of Thy faithfulness and Thy salvation; I have not concealed Thy lovingkindness and Thy truth from the great congregation.
11 Thou, O LORD, wilt not withhold Thy compassion from me; Thy lovingkindness and Thy truth will continually preserve me.
12 For evils beyond number have surrounded me; My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see; They are more numerous than the hairs of my head; And my heart has failed me.
13 Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me; Make haste, O LORD, to help me.
14 Let those be ashamed and humiliated together Who seek my life to destroy it; Let those be turned back and dishonored Who delight in my hurt.
15 Let those be appalled because of their shame Who say to me, “Aha, aha!”
16 Let all who seek Thee rejoice and be glad in Thee; Let those who love Thy salvation say continually, “The LORD be magnified!”
17 Since I am afflicted and needy, Let the Lord be mindful of me; Thou art my help and my deliverer; Do not delay, O my God.