Psalm 40
Part 3 of 3
(Verses 11-17)
11     Do not withhold your mercy from me, O Lord; may your love and your truth always protect me.
12     For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me.
13     Be pleased, O Lord, to save me; O Lord, come quickly to help me.
14     May all who seek to take my life be put to shame and confusion; may all who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace.
15     May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!” be appalled at their own shame.
16     But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say, “The Lord be exalted!”
17 &nb
sp;   Yet I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; O my God, do not delay.
David, after leaving the worship-filled atmosphere of the first 10 verses, reminds us to
Trust God For All of Life.
·        David asks the Lord, in verse 11, to not “withhold” His “mercy”—literally “compassion”.   Never forget where this Psalm comes from: the same man who wrote Psalm 25 and 38 (where David is confessing it was HIS sin that brought about this present trouble).[1]   
o   See verse 12 also (“…my sins have overtaken me…”)
·        Remember, my brothers and sisters, as Warren Wiersbe said in his commentary on the Psalms: “Worship is not an escape from life but the opportunity to honor God and be equipped to face life and live for His glory.” [2]
·        Again, looking at verses 11-13, we see David’s sensitive conscience knew of his own sinfulness.
·        David calls out to God (v13) not just for deliverance but for a speedy one!
·        He prays for the Lord to turn the mockery of those who stand against him be shocked (appalled) at the shame of their mockery. 
·        David pairs verses 16 and 17 to remind us as readers and himself as an individual that as we seek the Lord, He will come near to us and will deliver us.[3]
We know the Lord is trustworthy.  He has proven Himself time and time and time and time and time again.  The issue, again, is will we trust God for all of [the seasons of] life?

[1]John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck and Dallas Theological Seminary, The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983-c1985), 1:824.
[2]Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Worshipful, 1st ed. (Colorado Springs, Co
lo.: Cook Communications Ministries, 2004), 155.
[3]The Pulpit Commentary: Psalms Vol. I, ed. H. D. M. Spence-Jones (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2004), 313.