to bind together (perhaps by twisting) · verb, piel infinitive absolute
patiently
קִוִּ֣יתִיki.Vi.ti
H6960
to bind together (perhaps by twisting) · verb, piel perfect, 1st person common singular
LORD
יְהוָ֑הYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
inclined
וַיֵּ֥טvai.Yet
H5186
to stretch or spread out · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
heard
וַיִּשְׁמַ֥עvai.yish.Ma'
H8085
to hear intelligently (often with implication of attent… · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
cry
שַׁוְעָתִֽיshav.'a.Ti
H7775
a hallooing · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Psalms 27:13-14 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
Psalms 37:7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wic…
James 5:7-11 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath lo…
Psalms 34:15 The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.
Psalms 116:2 Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.
Psalms 130:2 Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
Daniel 9:18 O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Psalms 40:1-5
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 upo…
I waited patiently for the Lord,.... Or "waiting I waited" (i); which denotes continuance, constancy, and patience; and which Christ exercised in the garden, when he submitted himself entirely to the will of God; and on the cross, when he continued in sure hope and firm expectation of his help and assistance, though he was for a while forsaken by him; see Isaiah 50:7;
and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry; both in the garden, by delivering him from fear of death; and on the cross, by upholding, helping, and assisting him, by carrying him through his sufferings and death, and raising him from the dead; see Isaiah 49:8.
(i) "expectando expectavi", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus Musculus,…
Psalm 40:1-3
1. In waiting I waited [79] for Jehovah, and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. 2. And he drew me out of the roaring pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. 3. And he hath put into my mouth a new song, even praise to our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in Jehovah.
1. In waiting I waited The beginning of this psalm is an expression of thanksgiving, in which David relates that he had been delivered, not only from danger, but also from present death. Some are of opinion, but without good reason, that it ought to be understood of sickness. It is rather to be supposed that David here comprehends a multitude of dangers…
The Church Fathers
Let us say then what this Psalm says. "I waited patiently for the Lord" [Psalm 40:1]. I waited patiently for the promise of no mere mortal who can both deceive and be himself deceived: I waited for the consolation of no mere mortal, who may be consumed by sorrow of his own, before he gives me comfort. Should a brother mortal attempt to comfort me, when he himself is in sorrow likewise? Let us mourn in company; let us weep together, let us "wait patiently" together, let us join our prayers together also. Whom did I wait for but for the Lord? The Lord, who though He puts off the fulfilment of His promises, yet never recalls them? He will make it good; assuredly He will make it good, because He has made many of His promises good already: and of God's truth we ought to have no fears, even if as yet He had made none of them good. Lo! let us henceforth think thus, "He has promised us everything; He has not as yet given us possession of anything; He is a sponsible Promiser; a faithful Paymaster: do you but show yourself a dutiful exactor of what is promised; and if you be "weak," if you be one of the little ones, claim the promise of His mercy. Do you not see tender lambs striking their dams' teats with their heads, in order that they may get their fill of milk? ..."And He took heed unto me, and heard my cry." He took heed to it, and He heard it. See thou hast not waited in vain. His eyes are over thee. His ears turned towards thee. For, "the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry." What then? Did He not see thee, when thou usedst to do evil and to blaspheme Him? What then becomes of what is said in that very Psalm, "The face of the Lord is upon them that do evil"? But for what end? "that He may cut off the remembrance of them from the earth." Therefore, even when thou wert wicked, He "took heed of thee;" but He "took no heed to thee." So then to him who "waited patiently for the Lord," it was not enough to say, "He took heed of me," He says, "He took heed to me;" that is, He took heed by comforting me, that He might do me good. What was it that He took heed to? "and He heard my cry."
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Afflictions Made Beneficial · In exercising our patience — In exercising our patience
Desire · SPIRITUAL — SPIRITUAL
Patience · .David — .David
Praise · Is due to God on account of: Deliverance — Is due to God on account of: Deliverance
Prayer, Answers To · Received by those who: Wait upon God — Received by those who: Wait upon God
Waiting Upon God · Should be: With patience — Should be: With patience
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
David, who, though not without some hesitation, we regard as the author, now finds himself in a situation in which, on the one hand, he has just been rescued from danger, and, on the other, is still exposed to peril. Under such circumstances praise rightly occupies the first place, as in general, according to Psa 50:23, gratitude is the way to salvation. His hope, although תּוחלת ממשּׁכה (Pro 13:12), has not deceived him; he is rescued, and can now again sing a new song of thanksgiving, an example for others, strengthening their trust. קוּה קוּיתי, I waited with constancy and perseverance. יהוה is the accusative as in Psa 25:5; Psa 130:5, and not the vocative as in Psa 39:8. אזנו is to be su…
Ps 40 This psalm includes a thanksgiving song (40:1-10) followed by a lament (40:11-17). The thanksgiving song includes the reason for the thanksgiving (40:1-5), an affirmation of commitment (40:6-8), and a public testimony of God’s character (40:7-10). The lament concerns the psalmist’s troubles because of his sins (40:11-12) and is followed by two prayers for vindication (40:13-15, 17).
40:1-5 The psalmist thanks the Lord for his rescue and testifies that God can be trusted.
Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 40:1
I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
I waited patiently for the Lord. Patient waiting upon God was a special characteristic of our Lord Jesus. Impatience never lingered in his heart, much less escaped his lips. All through his agony in the garden, his trial of cruel mockings before Herod and Pilate, and his passion on the tree, he waited in omnipotence of patience. No glance of wrath, no word of murmuring, no deed of vengeance came from God's patient Lamb; he waited and waited on; was patient, and patient to perfection, far excelling all others who have according to their measure glorified God in the fires. Job on the dunghill does not equal Jesus on t…
