Psalm 40:1-11 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 40:1-11 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.
Verse 2He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.
Verse 3He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.
Verse 4Happy are those who make the Lord their trust, who do not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after false gods.
Verse 5You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you. Were I to proclaim and tell of them, they would be more than can be counted.
Verse 6Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.
Verse 7Then I said, "Here I am; in the scroll of the book it is written of me.
Verse 8I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart."
Verse 9I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; see, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O Lord.
Verse 10I have not hidden your saving help within my heart, I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.
Verse 11Do not, O Lord, withhold your mercy from me; let your steadfast love and your faithfulness keep me safe forever.
Devotion
Look ahead to Sunday. What do we communicate by joining the congregation for worship? Our presence is public thankfulness that points to God! “I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation,” the psalmist wrote. “I have not concealed your steadfast love.”
Will this week be filled with successes and joys? By the discipline of worship, you will confess to yourself and others that those gifts come from God.
Will the week be a time of frustration and challenge? In worship, you will proclaim your quiet hope that God is at work, right there.
Martin Luther King, Jr., who is commemorated today, knew successes and failures, and he was regularly in worship, praising God.
We are two days into this week. Already it is a mix of promise and failure. Look now toward worship. Proclamation, prayer, praise and the witness of presence will persuasively announce that God is always engaged for good.
Prayer
Lord, thank you for letting us be witnesses through worship, telling by our presence and our words that you walk with all people, always seeking good, always worthy to be worshipped. Amen.