I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.

He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock,[and established my goings.

And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD. 

Psalm 40 was written by King David, not when he was King of Israel but during a difficult period of his life. 

1. Trapped in a pit 

A pit is used to trap wild animals. It is dark, covered by branches at the top to hide it, and the wild animal will fall into it breaking its bones and remained trapped. David found himself similarly trapped in the pit, wounded, with the pit too high to climb out and too deep to dig through. The pit was made of miry clay, which was like quick sand. The stronger David struggled, the deeper he sank and remained trapped. He was in a terrible situation with no way out.  

2. Do we identify with David’s situation? 

Looking at David’s desperation, do we find identification with our lives? Could we too be struggling with our finances? Do we have to face bills we can’t pay and borrow money and sink into greater debts? 

How about our workplaces? Are we trapped in our work which we could not afford to leave? Are the stresses of the workplaces affecting our relationships with our spouses and children? Are we trapped like David? 

Why are trapped in a pit like David? There could be two reasons. It could be the result of our willful disobedience, by doing things our way instead of trusting God. Or it could be part of God’s sovereign plan for us, where we are put into the pit by God. 

But the important message is not about why we are in the pit, but about getting out of it. 

3. Getting out of the pit by waiting patiently for the Lord 

When we’re trapped in a pit, we should not dig deeper or sideways. There is a way out. There is endless hope from God even though our lives appear to be in a hopeless end. The way out is to look up to God for help. 

“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth” (Ps 121:1-2). 

And we have to wait patiently for the Lord. The Lord knows how impatient we can be. We expect God to help us immediately and we squeeze God into our time frame. However, patience is not demanding God to submit to our will, but submitting ourselves to God’s will.  

Waiting patiently for the Lord is a virtue. It prepares us to be ready. “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isa 40:31). 

The scripture passage describes how those who wait upon the Lord shall mount up with wings as eagles. The eagle has speed, strength and freedom. It is the king of the sky and yet it still needs help to overcome storms. The eagle approaches a storm by approaching it and waiting. At the right moment, it will spread its wings and let the force of the wind lift it above the storm. This is how the Lord wants us to learn from the eagle. 

Psalm 25:1-5

Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul.

O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.

Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause.

Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.

Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.  

Psalm 27:14

“Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD”

In short, the message from the Lord is clear: To get out of the pit, we must wait patiently on the Lord. 

4. How will God get us out of the pit? 

God will do it in three ways. 

First, God will respond to us. He will hear our cry and stretch out his hand to us. God will be delighted when we look to Him and not others for help.  

But how about those times where God didn’t seem to respond to us? The answer is in Isaiah 59:1-2. “Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” 

Our sins and iniquities separate us from God. The only way is to confess our sins and ask for His forgiveness.  

Next, God will rescue us. 

“He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” (Rom 8:32). This scripture passage states that we are precious to God. God saved us from our sins through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. He will rescue us because we are precious to Him. 

Finally, God will restore us. 

Psalm 40:2 says that God will “set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings”. God will restore us and prepare us for our way, but we must have Him as our rock and salvation. This is also the message in Psalm 62: 1-2. “Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved. 

5. How shall we react when God got us out of the pit? 

First, we have to praise the Lord. We have to be joyful and thankful. We cannot take God’s deliverance for granted.  

Next, we have to proclaim the Lord. Praising the Lord can be done privately, but proclamation is a public testimony by telling others of the Lord. 

In the Bible, we read of how the Lord Jesus Christ cured ten lepers but only one returned to give thanks. He asked, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?” (Lk 17:17). 

In the Bible, we also read of how the Lord Jesus restored the sight of a blind beggar. After the blind beggar was cured, he was interrogated by the Pharisees who wanted him to betray the Lord Jesus Christ. The blind beggar said, “Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see” (Jn 9:25).

The cured leper praised and thanked Jesus and the blind beggar proclaimed what Jesus did. Likewise, when we are rescued from the pit we have to praise and proclaim the Lord. 

6. Conclusion 

When we fall into a pit, our only way out is the Lord. We have to wait patiently upon Him. He will respond to us, rescue us and restore us. In return, we have to praise and proclaim Him.

PS: For a recorded copy of today sermon, please see library staff in Room 2.4.

----------------------------------------

Top of Page