HOPE DRAWS ON DIVINE HELP

“I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry” – Psalm 40:1

HOPE DRAWS ON DIVINE HELP: “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry” (Psa.40:1). Psalm 40 is a song about pits. David sang about how he waited intently on the Lord to rescue him from the pit, God got him out, and he sang God’s praise for doing so. It’s a psalm that demonstrates hope from the depth of the pit. It teaches whoever is in the pit to wait intently on the Lord and proclaim His goodness when He answers.

The pit could be any of life’s trials. For David, he was trapped in and unable to free himself from a “horrible pit” and “miry clay” (v.2). The deepest pit in life is the Pit of Sin. It’s the worst of all pits to be in! Other pits could be: poor health, a job loss, animosity of former friends, an unfaithful mate, rebellious children, immoral addiction, or any other overwhelming problem. A person may be responsible for being in a pit, may be a victim of the sins of others, or a combination of both. Acknowledging whichever these are is essential to being helped and rescued (v.10).

A person in the pit could be tempted toward pride or falsehood as a means of getting out of the pit. David wrote, “Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust, and does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies” (v.4). When one is in a pit, it’s very easy, even while professing to trust in the Lord at other times, to grab onto any seeming way of escape, including compromising one’s faith. The proud are those that boast in their own abilities; those who fail to recognise or admit any personal weakness. Rather, they believe they can get out of the pit on their own by their own ingenuity and effort. For them, it’s ok to use a little “white lie” to get out of the jam. In doing so, they’re trusting in their lie, not in the Lord.

It is wrong to trust in anything or anyone other than the Lord to get out of the pit, even if it works. The way out of the pit is to keenly wait on the Lord – to Hope in God (v.1). This is a common theme in Scripture: “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass…For evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the LORD, they shall inherit the earth…Wait on the LORD, and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you shall see it” (Psa.37: 7, 9, 34). To wait on the Lord is not to passively pass the time; it is intently active. It means to wait expectantly for God’s promises to be fulfilled.

Waiting on the Lord means crying out to Him for deliverance, acknowledging our need for salvation, rather than trusting in self (vv. 1,13,17). Only those with a sense of urgency, who know they are helpless at the bottom of a slimy pit, truly need a saviour. Waiting on the Lord means: Trusting Him alone (vv. 3,4); recounting His wonders and providential care (v.5); obeying Him (vv.6-8); seeking Him and rejoicing in Him: “Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; let such as love Your salvation say continually, “The Lord be magnified!” (v.16). David’s joy was not just in the deliverance, but in the Lord who delivers. We must find God as our eternal Treasure, rejoicing in all that He is, as well as in all that He does for us.

Waiting on God means: crying out to Him; recounting His many wonders; obeying, seeking, and rejoicing in Him. When in life’s pit, we to turn to the Lord for answers, and not the world, our Hope will draw on Divine Help for Supernatural Lifting, Establishment, New Songs, and Praise to our God (vv.2-3).