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Commentary on Psalms 40 verses 1–5
In these verses we have,
I. The great distress and trouble that the psalmist had been in. He had been plunged into a horrible pit and into miry clay (Psa 40:2), out of which he could not work himself, and in which he found himself sinking yet further. He says nothing here either of the sickness of his body or the insults of his enemies, and therefore we have reason to think it was some inward disquiet and perplexity of spirit that was now his greatest grievance. Despondency of spirit under the sense of Gods withdrawings, and prevailing doubts and fears about the eternal state, are indeed a horrible pit and miry clay, and have been so to many a dear child of God.
II. His humble attendance upon God and his believing expectations from him in those depths: I waited patiently for the Lord, Psa 40:1. Waiting, I waited. He expected relief from no other than from God; the same hand that tears must heal, that smites must bind up (Hos 6:1), or it will never be done. From God he expected relief, and he was big with expectation, not doubting but it would come in due time. There is power enough in God to help the weakest, and grace enough in God to help the unworthiest, of all his people that trust in him. But he waited patiently, which intimates that the relief did not come quickly; yet he doubted not but it would come, and resolved to continue believing, and hoping, and praying, till it did come. Those whose expectation is from God may wait with assurance, but must wait with patience. Now this is very applicable to Christ. His agony, both in the garden and on the cross, was the same continued, and it was a horrible pit and miry clay. Then was his soul troubled and exceedingly sorrowful; but then he prayed, Father, glorify thy name; Father, save me; then he kept hold of his relation to his Father, "My God, my God," and thus waited patiently for him.
III. His comfortable experience of God's goodness to him in his distress, which he records for the honour of God and his own and others' encouragement.
1.God answered his prayers: He inclined unto me and heard my cry. Those that wait patiently for God, though they may wait long, do not wait in vain. Our Lord Jesus was heard in that he feared, Heb 5:7. Nay, he was sure that the Father heard him always.
2.He silenced his fears, and stilled the tumult of his spirits, and gave him a settled peace of conscience (Psa 40:2): "He brought me up out of that horrible pit of despondency and despair, scattered the clouds, and shone brightly upon my soul, with the assurances of his favour; and not only so, but set my feet upon a rock and established my goings." Those that have been under the prevalency of a religious melancholy, and by the grace of God have been relieved, may apply this very feelingly to themselves; they are brought up out of a horrible pit. (1.) The mercy is completed by the setting of their feet upon a rock, where they find firm footing, are as much elevated with the hopes of heaven as they were before cast down with the fears of hell. Christ is the rock on which a poor soul may stand fast, and on whose meditation alone between us and God we can build any solid hopes or satisfaction. (2.) It is continued in the establishment of their goings. Where God has given a stedfast hope he expects there should be a steady regular conversation; and, if that be the blessed fruit of it, we have reason to acknowledge, with abundance of thankfulness, the riches and power of his grace.
3.He filled him with joy, as well as peace, in believing: "He has put a new song in my mouth; he has given me cause to rejoice and a heart to rejoice." He was brought, as it were, into a new world, and that filled his mouth with a new song, even praise to our God; for to his praise and glory must all our songs be sung. Fresh mercies, especially such as we never before received, call for new songs. This is applicable to our Lord Jesus in his reception to paradise, his resurrection from the grave, and his exaltation to the joy and glory set before him; he was brought out of the horrible pit, set upon a rock, and had a new song put into his mouth.
IV. The good improvement that should be made of this instance of God's goodness to David.
1.David's experience would be an encouragement to many to hope in God, and, for that end, he leaves it here upon record: Many shall see, and fear, and trust in the Lord. They shall fear the Lord and his justice, which brought David, and the Son of David, into that horrible pit, and shall say, If this be done to the green tree, what shall be done to the dry? They shall fear the Lord and his goodness, in filling the mouth of David, and the Son of David, with new songs of joy and praise. There is a holy reverent fear of God, which is not only consistent with, but the foundation of, our hope in him. They shall not fear him and shun him, but fear him and trust in him in their greatest straits, not doubting but to find him as able and ready to help as David did in his distress. God's dealings with our Lord Jesus are our great encouragement to trust in God; when it pleased the Lord to bruise him, and put him to grief for our sins, he demanded our debt from him; and when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand, he made it to appear that he had accepted the payment he made and was satisfied with it; and what greater encouragement can we have to fear and worship God and to trust in him?. See Rom 4:25; Rom 5:1, Rom 5:2. The psalmist invites others to make God their hope, as he did, by pronouncing those happy that do so (Psa 40:4): "Blessed is the man that makes the Lord his trust, and him only (that has great and good thoughts of him, and is entirely devoted to him), and respects not the proud, does not do as those do that trust in themselves, nor depends upon those who proudly encourage others to trust in them; for both the one and the other turn aside to lies, as indeed all those do that turn aside from God." This is applicable, particularly, to our faith in Christ. Blessed are those that trust in him, and in his righteousness alone, and respect not the proud Pharisees, that set up their own righteousness in competition with that, that will not be governed by their dictates, nor turn aside to lies, with the unbelieving Jews, who submit not to the righteousness of God, Rom 10:3. Blessed are those that escape this temptation.
2.The joyful sense he had of this mercy led him to observe, with thankfulness, the many other favours he had received from God, Psa 40:5. When God puts new songs into our mouth we must not forget our former songs, but repeat them: "Many, O Lord my God! are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, both for me and others; this is but one of many." Many are the benefits with which we are daily loaded both by the providence and by the grace of God. (1.) They are his works, not only the gifts of his bounty, but the operations of his power. He works for us, he works in us, and thus he favours us with matter, not only for thanks, but for praise. (2.) They are his wonderful works, the contrivance of them admirable, his condescension to us in bestowing them upon us admirable; eternity itself will be short enough to be spent in the admiration of them. (3.) All his wonderful works are the product of his thoughts to us-ward. He does all according to the counsel of his own will (Eph 1:11), the purposes of his grace which he purposed in himself, Eph 3:11. They are the projects of infinite wisdom, the designs of everlasting love (Co1 2:7, Jer 31:3), thoughts of good and not of evil, Jer 29:11. His gifts and callings will therefore be without repentance, because they are not sudden resolves, but the result of his thoughts, his many thoughts, to us-ward. (4.) They are innumerable; they cannot be methodized or reckoned up in order. There is an order in all God's works, but there are so many that present themselves to our view at once that we know not where to begin nor which to name next; the order of them, and their natural references and dependencies, and how the links of the golden chain are joined, are a mystery to us, and what we shall not be able to account for till the veil be rent and the mystery of God finished. Nor can they be counted, not the very heads of them. When we have said the most we can of the wonders of divine love to us we must conclude with an et caetera - and such like, and adore the depth, despairing to find the bottom.
We will give him other sights in exchange for such sights as these. And what sights shall we present to the Christian, whom we would fain divert from those sights? I thank the Lord our God; He in the following verse of the Psalm has shown us what sights we ought to present and offer to spectators who would fain have sights to see? Let us now suppose him to be weaned from the circus, the theatre, the amphitheatre; let him be looking after, let him by all means be looking after, some sight to see; we do not leave him without a spectacle. What then shall we give in exchange for those? Hear what follows.
"Many, O Lord my God, are the wonderful works which You have made" [Psalm 40:5]. He used to gaze at the "wonderful works" of man; let him now contemplate the wonderful works of God. "Many are the wonderful works" that God "has made." Why are they become vile in his eyes? He praises the charioteer guiding four horses; running all of them without fault and without stumbling. Perhaps the Lord has not made such "wonderful works" in things spiritual. Let him control lust, let him control cowardice, let him control injustice, let him control imprudence, I mean, the passions which falling into excess produce those vices; let him control these and bring them into subjection, and let him hold the reins, and not suffer himself to be carried away; let him guide them the way he himself would have them go; let him not be forced away whither he would not. He used to applaud the charioteer, he himself shall be applauded for his own charioteering; he used to call out that the charioteer should be invested with a dress of honour; he shall himself be clothed with immortality. These are the spectacles, these the sights that God exhibits to us. He cries out of heaven, "My eyes are upon you. Strive, and 'I will?' assist you; triumph, and I will crown you."
"And in Your thought there is none that is like You." Now then look at the actor! For the man has by dint of great pains learned to walk upon a rope; and hanging there he holds you hanging in suspense. Turn to Him who exhibits spectacles far more wonderful. This man has learned to walk upon the rope; but has he caused another to walk on the sea? Forget now your theatre; behold our Peter; not a walker on the rope, but, so to speak, a walker on the sea. And do thou also walk on other waters (though not on those on which Peter walked, to symbolize a certain truth), for this world is a sea. It has a deleterious bitterness; it has the waves of tribulations, the tempests of temptations; it has men in it who, like fish, delight in their own ruin, and prey upon each other; walk thou here, set thou your foot on this. You would see sights; be yourself a "spectacle." That your spirit may not sink, look on Him who goes before you, and says, "We have been made a spectacle unto this world, and unto angels, and unto men." [1 Corinthians 4:9] Tread thou on the waters; suffer not yourself to be drowned in the sea. You will not go there, you will not "tread it under foot," unless it be His bidding, who was Himself the first to walk upon the sea. For it was thus that Peter spoke. "If You are, bid me come unto You on the waters." [Matthew 14:28] And because "He was," He heard him when praying; He granted his wish to him when expressing his desire; He raised him up when sinking. These are the "wonderful works" that the "Lord has made." Look on them; let faith be the eye of him who would behold them. And do thou also likewise; for although the winds alarm you, though the waves rage against you, and though human frailty may have inspired you with some doubt of your salvation, you have it in your power to "cry out," you may say "Lord, I perish." [Matthew 14:30] He who bids you walk there, suffers you not to perish. For in that thou now walkest "on the Rock," you fear not even on the sea! If you are without "the Rock," you must sink in the sea; for the Rock on which you must walk is such an one as is not sunk in the sea,
The wonders performed by your power, he is saying, defy counting and all description: there is no one who can do the like. While your creation is great and beautiful, what you arrange time after time in your providence surpasses human praise—in Egypt, in the wilderness, in the case of Moses, in the case of Joshua, in the case of Samuel, and earlier instances than those, having to do with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the royalty Joseph gained through slavery, not to mention all the other cases individually.
Hence through the Psalmist the Lord says: "I have declared and spoken, they have multiplied beyond number." For when the Lord calls, the faithful are multiplied beyond number, because sometimes even those come to faith who do not attain to the number of the elect. For here they are mingled with the faithful through confession, but because of their reprobate life they do not deserve to be numbered there in the lot of the faithful.
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SUMMARY
Psalms 40:5 is a profound declaration of the psalmist's awe and adoration for God's boundless activity and benevolent intentions. It celebrates the countless, extraordinary works God has performed and His purposeful, loving thoughts directed towards humanity, acknowledging that their immensity defies full human comprehension or enumeration, inspiring unending praise and worship.
CONTEXT
Literary Context: Psalm 40 is a composite psalm, traditionally attributed to King David, blending elements of individual thanksgiving and renewed commitment. The preceding verses (Psalms 40:1-3) recount the psalmist's miraculous deliverance from a "horrible pit" and "miry clay," leading to a new song of praise and a firm footing. This personal deliverance serves as a foundational "wonderful work" that prompts the expansive declaration in verse 5. Following this verse, the psalmist transitions to a renewed commitment to do God's will (Psalms 40:6-8), emphasizing that true worship involves obedience, not merely sacrifice. Verse 5 thus acts as a pivotal statement of God's character and actions that warrant such profound thanksgiving and inspire a life of dedicated service. The psalm moves from a deeply personal experience of salvation to a universal truth about God's immeasurable nature.
Historical & Cultural Context: While traditionally attributed to David, the exact historical setting of Psalm 40 is not specified, allowing its themes of deliverance and dedication to resonate across various periods of Israelite history. In ancient Israel, the concept of God's "wonderful works" (Hebrew: pele') would evoke collective memories of the Exodus, the parting of the Red Sea, the provision in the wilderness, and the conquest of Canaan—all miraculous interventions demonstrating Yahweh's unique power and faithfulness to His covenant people. The idea of God's "thoughts to us-ward" aligns with the covenantal relationship, where God actively planned for the welfare and prosperity of Israel, as seen in His laws, prophets, and providential care. The psalmist's inability to "reckon up" God's works reflects the ancient Near Eastern understanding of divine infinitude, where the gods were often described in terms beyond human measure. Here, this infinitude is applied to the personal, covenant-keeping God of Israel, emphasizing His unique and unparalleled greatness.
Key Themes: This verse powerfully contributes to several overarching themes within the Psalms and broader biblical narrative. It underscores God's sovereignty and omnipotence, as His "wonderful works" demonstrate His absolute control over creation and history, performing acts beyond human capability. It highlights divine providence and benevolence, emphasizing that God's "thoughts are to us-ward," signifying His active, intentional, and loving concern for humanity, especially His covenant people. This resonates deeply with the comforting truth found in Jeremiah 29:11, where God declares His thoughts are of peace and a future, not of evil. Furthermore, the verse articulates the theme of God's incomprehensible greatness, declaring that His works and thoughts "cannot be reckoned up" and are "more than can be numbered." This theme of infinitude and unsearchable wisdom is echoed in Psalm 139:17-18, which describes God's thoughts as precious and numerous as the sand, inviting humility and profound adoration in the face of His vastness.
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Psalm 40:5 employs several potent literary devices to convey its message of God's immeasurable greatness. Hyperbole is central, particularly in the phrases "cannot be reckoned up in order" and "more than can be numbered," which exaggerate to emphasize the infinite, countless nature of God's works and thoughts, underscoring their vastness beyond human comprehension. Parallelism is evident in the pairing of "thy wonderful works which thou hast done" and "thy thoughts which are to us-ward," creating a thematic balance between God's actions and His intentions. Further synonymous parallelism appears in the clauses "they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee" and "they are more than can be numbered," reinforcing the central idea of God's immeasurable greatness through repetition and variation. The use of "O LORD my God" is an example of apostrophe, directly addressing God in a personal and reverent manner, highlighting the psalmist's intimate relationship with the divine. Furthermore, the concept of God having "thoughts" directed "to us-ward" can be seen as a form of anthropomorphism, attributing human-like mental processes (thinking, planning) to God to make His divine care more relatable and comprehensible to the human audience.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
This verse profoundly articulates the dual nature of God's transcendence and immanence. His "wonderful works" speak to His majestic power and authority over all creation, demonstrating a God who is utterly beyond human limitation and capable of the miraculous. Yet, His "thoughts to us-ward" reveal an intimately involved and benevolent deity who actively plans for the welfare of His people. This highlights God's character as not merely omnipotent but also deeply personal and caring, a God who is both infinitely great and intimately concerned. The inability to fully comprehend or number His deeds and intentions underscores His infinite wisdom, boundless love, and unsearchable ways, inviting humanity to a posture of humility, trust, and unending worship. It reminds us that God's active involvement in the world and in individual lives is far grander and more intricate than we can ever perceive, demanding a response of awe and grateful submission.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Psalm 40:5 calls believers to cultivate a profound and continuous posture of gratitude and worship. In a world often focused on scarcity or personal achievement, this verse redirects our gaze to the overflowing abundance of God's grace and activity. Reflecting on the "many... wonderful works" in our own lives—from the gift of creation to personal deliverances, answered prayers, and sustained provision—helps us recognize God's active, benevolent presence in every sphere. It encourages us to intentionally recall and recount His faithfulness, not just in grand gestures but in the myriad small ways He demonstrates His care. Trusting that God's "thoughts are to us-ward" provides immense comfort and security, especially amidst uncertainty or suffering, assuring us that His ultimate intentions for His children are good and purposeful, even when His ways are beyond our understanding. Embracing the truth that His works are "more than can be numbered" fosters humility, deepening our worship as we acknowledge His infinite wisdom and power, prompting us to declare and speak of His greatness to others.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What does "thoughts to us-ward" truly imply about God's character?
Answer: The phrase "thoughts to us-ward" (Hebrew: machashavah) reveals God's active, intentional, and benevolent concern for humanity. It signifies that God is not a distant, indifferent deity but one who purposefully plans and designs for the welfare and good of His people. This implies His omniscience (He knows what is best), His love (He desires our good), and His faithfulness (His plans for us are steadfast). It assures us that His intentions are always for our ultimate benefit and flourishing, even when His methods are mysterious or involve hardship, as affirmed in Jeremiah 29:11.
How can we "declare and speak" of God's numberless works if they are "more than can be numbered"?
Answer: The psalmist's declaration that God's works are "more than can be numbered" is a hyperbole emphasizing their infinite nature, not an injunction against speaking of them. Rather, it is an invitation to continuous, never-ending praise. To "declare and speak" of them means to bear witness to God's faithfulness in our lives and in history, to recount His mighty deeds, and to share His goodness with others. While we can never exhaust the list, each testimony, each act of worship, each shared story of His intervention contributes to a lifelong chorus of praise, acknowledging His inexhaustible greatness. It encourages a lifestyle of gratitude and evangelism, pointing others to the God of countless wonders, as seen in the call to proclaim God's deeds in Psalm 9:1.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Psalms 40:5 finds its ultimate and most profound fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. He is the supreme "wonderful work" that God has done, the culmination of all divine activity and the clearest expression of God's "thoughts to us-ward." The incarnation of Jesus, God becoming flesh, is the most extraordinary and incomprehensible act of divine intervention, demonstrating God's boundless power and love in a way that transcends all other "wonderful works." In Christ, God's benevolent "thoughts to us-ward" are fully revealed and accomplished. His life, perfect obedience, atoning death on the cross, and victorious resurrection are the ultimate demonstration of God's purposeful plan for humanity's salvation and restoration. Through Jesus, we not only see God's works but participate in them, becoming new creations and beneficiaries of His eternal purposes. As Colossians 1:15-17 declares, Christ is the image of the invisible God, through whom all things were created and sustained, making Him the embodiment of God's creative "works." He is the very wisdom and power of God (1 Corinthians 1:24), and in Him, the unsearchable riches of God's grace and truth are made known (Ephesians 3:8). Jesus perfectly declares and speaks of the Father's numberless works and thoughts, for as John 1:18 states, "No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known."