Psalm 40

Part 2 of 3
(Verses 6-10)

6     Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but my ears you have piercedb,; burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.
7     Then I said, “Here I am, I have come— it is written about me in the scroll.d
8     I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”
9     I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, as you know, O Lord.
10     I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and salvation. I do not conceal your love and your truth from the great assembly.


God demands all of us.

David is contemplating a way to thank God for all He had given to him.  How could this king of Israel thank the God of universe?

Verse six reminds us of a truth we know from elsewhere in Scripture: sacrifices and offerings are not the first priority of our Father in Heaven.  It doesn’t mean those sacrifices are bad or unnecessary, but God wants our hearts first.
·        1 Samuel 15:22, NIV But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.

Notice in verse eight…where is God’s Law?  In his heart! 
·        (Psalm 119:11, NIV) I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

David ends this section with verses 9-10:
9     I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, as you know, O Lord.
10     I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and salvation. I do not conceal your love and your truth from the great assembly.

David was enthusiastic about telling others what the Lord had done for him, and he is a good example for us to follow.[1]



“Lord, I give You my heart.  I give You my soul.  I live for You alone.  Every breath I take; every moment I’m awake—Lord, have your way in me.”
“I Give You My Heart”
Words and Music by Reuben Morgan
© 1995 Hillsong Publishing

b Hebrew; Septuagint but a body you have prepared for me (see also Symmachus and Theodotion).  There is no textual issue here beyond a complex Hebrew idiom which just doesn’t translate well into any language without a lot of background information.  The Hebrew text says what the verse above shows (“pierced” could also be translated “open”).  The Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures translated between the 3rd and 1st centuries B.C. in Alexandria, Egypt) merely translates the Hebrew idiom into Greek (with considerable freedom) in an attempt to express the idea to the Greek audience of submitting one’s body. 
d Or come / with the scroll written for me
[1]Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Worshipful, 1st ed. (Colorado Springs, Colo.: Cook Communications Ministries, 2004), 154.