Psalms 75

Psalms 75:1

Behold, I Come

Psalms 40:6-8 are not about David, but can only refer to Christ. This is clear from the quotation of these verses in the New Testament (Hebrews 10:7-9). By “sacrifice” (Psalms 40:6) is meant the peace offering. Of this offering the offeror may eat together with God and everyone who is clean. The “meal offering” is a non-bloody offering. In these sacrifices as such, God found no joy. They are only a shadow image. What God finds joy in is what these sacrifices refer to, which is Christ (Hebrews 9:11-14; Hebrews 10:5-9).

God has found joy in Him of Whom He has “opened” the ears – literally “dug the ears” – that is the Lord Jesus. He is the true peace offering and the true meal offering. Through Him, fellowship between God and the repentant sinner has been restored. Of this the peace offering speaks. As the true meal offering, Christ lived completely to God’s glory. That is what the opened ears speak of.

In Hebrews 10, “ears pierced [better: dug]” is quoted from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament. It says that God “prepared” Him “a body” (Hebrews 10:5). Ears indicate hearing and obedience. His body is, so to speak, all ears for the will of the Father. He became a Slave and became completely obedient in all things, to death, yes, to the death of the cross (Philippians 2:7-8).

We read three times about the ears of the Lord Jesus and each time it relates to His obedience: 1. “My ears You have opened” (Psalms 40:6) points to the Lord Jesus becoming Man in order to obey and die. 2 “Opened My ear” (Isaiah 50:4-5), speaks of His life on earth being marked by obedience. 3. “Pierce his ear”, is about the ear of the Lord Jesus in the picture of the Hebrew slave (Exodus 21:5-6). This refers to the end of His service and life on earth, which are characterized by obedience. Also, this speaks of the fact that He will serve forever (Luke 12:37).

Of burnt offering and sin offering, Christ says that God has not required them. Did God not then prescribe or require the sin offering? After all, it says so time and again in Leviticus 4 (Leviticus 4:2-3; 13-14; 22-23; 27-28). Certainly they were offered because He commanded it. But it does not mean that He found any joy in doing so or that in bringing them the requirement of His righteousness was fulfilled. The LORD could only find joy in those offerings because they are shadow of the offering of Christ. Therefore, He could pass over the sins of the offerors (Romans 3:25).

Those offerings could not take away sins and could be brought with insincere hearts. God has never required them as offerings by which anyone can be brought into His presence, for that is impossible. An animal burnt offering cannot make a man acceptable to God, and an animal sin offering cannot take away any sin from a sinful man.

The word “then” with which Psalms 40:7 begins has the meaning “because this is so”, referring to the observation of the previous verse. Then the Lord Jesus speaks the impressive words “behold, I come”. He offers Himself to fulfill what no animal sacrifice has been able to do and to fulfill what all sacrifices have been pointing to: to Himself as the true Sacrifice.

He does so in accordance with what is written “in the scroll of the book” about Him (cf. Luke 4:17-21). It is impossible to apply this to David. No one but the Lord Jesus can say this. Of no one but the Lord Jesus can it be written that He said something “when He comes into the world” (Hebrews 10:5). God established in His counsel that Christ would come. He is the Lamb foreknown before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:20). David says this prophetically of the Lord Jesus.

He not only offers Himself willingly, but also joyfully to do God’s will, which for Him means to “delight to do Your will” (Psalms 40:8). He knows that in doing God’s will He is carrying out His good pleasure. He is also fully capable of doing so, for God’s law is within His heart. His obedience is not only an outward, but also an inward matter. He carries out the whole law of God from His innermost being. We may well ask ourselves whether we are not merely doing the right things outwardly, and also whether God’s Word is within our heart so that from there all our thoughts, words and actions can be governed.

With the Lord Jesus, God’s law worked in His heart to proclaim “glad tidings of righteousness in the great congregation” (Psalms 40:9). He does this while He goes His way on earth in “the great congregation” of Israel. We can think, for example, of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 which He spoke before a large crowd (Matthew 5:1).

He testified in great faithfulness of God’s righteousness as “glad tidings”. God’s righteousness is a glad tiding to the repentant sinner. He has not restrained His lips from speaking of it. He cannot and will not do otherwise and can therefore say that the LORD knows (cf. John 17:4; 6; 8; 14; 26)!

What He utters, what He testifies to, is nothing but what is peculiar to God: His righteousness, His truth, His salvation, His lovingkindness and His faithfulness (Psalms 40:10). God’s law is in His heart, but God’s “righteousness” He has not hidden in His heart. He has proclaimed God’s “faithfulness” and God’s “salvation”. God’s truth about man and the holiness of God have been preached by Him. He also pointed out the love of God by presenting God’s salvation, which is the way to be saved.

God’s “lovingkindness” connects to God’s salvation. Lovingkindness is the Hebrew chesed. It means covenant faithfulness. These are the blessings, the good things, that the LORD wants to give, either on the basis of the faithfulness of the people – which is not the case – or on the basis of the work of a Mediator Who fulfilled the requirements of the covenant, the requirements of the law, by dying on the cross.

In Christ, “the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared” (Titus 3:4). The entire life up to and including Christ’s death is the proclamation of God’s lovingkindness. God’s truth connects to God’s faithfulness. The Lord Jesus showed that God is completely faithful and worthy of trust.

Christ has revealed all these features of God in righteousness, that is, what He does is in accordance with Who God is. He did not hide God’s righteousness in the great congregation of Israel. Always and everywhere He spoke of Who God is, for the purpose that God’s people would return to God.

Psalms 75:2

Behold, I Come

Psalms 40:6-8 are not about David, but can only refer to Christ. This is clear from the quotation of these verses in the New Testament (Hebrews 10:7-9). By “sacrifice” (Psalms 40:6) is meant the peace offering. Of this offering the offeror may eat together with God and everyone who is clean. The “meal offering” is a non-bloody offering. In these sacrifices as such, God found no joy. They are only a shadow image. What God finds joy in is what these sacrifices refer to, which is Christ (Hebrews 9:11-14; Hebrews 10:5-9).

God has found joy in Him of Whom He has “opened” the ears – literally “dug the ears” – that is the Lord Jesus. He is the true peace offering and the true meal offering. Through Him, fellowship between God and the repentant sinner has been restored. Of this the peace offering speaks. As the true meal offering, Christ lived completely to God’s glory. That is what the opened ears speak of.

In Hebrews 10, “ears pierced [better: dug]” is quoted from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament. It says that God “prepared” Him “a body” (Hebrews 10:5). Ears indicate hearing and obedience. His body is, so to speak, all ears for the will of the Father. He became a Slave and became completely obedient in all things, to death, yes, to the death of the cross (Philippians 2:7-8).

We read three times about the ears of the Lord Jesus and each time it relates to His obedience: 1. “My ears You have opened” (Psalms 40:6) points to the Lord Jesus becoming Man in order to obey and die. 2 “Opened My ear” (Isaiah 50:4-5), speaks of His life on earth being marked by obedience. 3. “Pierce his ear”, is about the ear of the Lord Jesus in the picture of the Hebrew slave (Exodus 21:5-6). This refers to the end of His service and life on earth, which are characterized by obedience. Also, this speaks of the fact that He will serve forever (Luke 12:37).

Of burnt offering and sin offering, Christ says that God has not required them. Did God not then prescribe or require the sin offering? After all, it says so time and again in Leviticus 4 (Leviticus 4:2-3; 13-14; 22-23; 27-28). Certainly they were offered because He commanded it. But it does not mean that He found any joy in doing so or that in bringing them the requirement of His righteousness was fulfilled. The LORD could only find joy in those offerings because they are shadow of the offering of Christ. Therefore, He could pass over the sins of the offerors (Romans 3:25).

Those offerings could not take away sins and could be brought with insincere hearts. God has never required them as offerings by which anyone can be brought into His presence, for that is impossible. An animal burnt offering cannot make a man acceptable to God, and an animal sin offering cannot take away any sin from a sinful man.

The word “then” with which Psalms 40:7 begins has the meaning “because this is so”, referring to the observation of the previous verse. Then the Lord Jesus speaks the impressive words “behold, I come”. He offers Himself to fulfill what no animal sacrifice has been able to do and to fulfill what all sacrifices have been pointing to: to Himself as the true Sacrifice.

He does so in accordance with what is written “in the scroll of the book” about Him (cf. Luke 4:17-21). It is impossible to apply this to David. No one but the Lord Jesus can say this. Of no one but the Lord Jesus can it be written that He said something “when He comes into the world” (Hebrews 10:5). God established in His counsel that Christ would come. He is the Lamb foreknown before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:20). David says this prophetically of the Lord Jesus.

He not only offers Himself willingly, but also joyfully to do God’s will, which for Him means to “delight to do Your will” (Psalms 40:8). He knows that in doing God’s will He is carrying out His good pleasure. He is also fully capable of doing so, for God’s law is within His heart. His obedience is not only an outward, but also an inward matter. He carries out the whole law of God from His innermost being. We may well ask ourselves whether we are not merely doing the right things outwardly, and also whether God’s Word is within our heart so that from there all our thoughts, words and actions can be governed.

With the Lord Jesus, God’s law worked in His heart to proclaim “glad tidings of righteousness in the great congregation” (Psalms 40:9). He does this while He goes His way on earth in “the great congregation” of Israel. We can think, for example, of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 which He spoke before a large crowd (Matthew 5:1).

He testified in great faithfulness of God’s righteousness as “glad tidings”. God’s righteousness is a glad tiding to the repentant sinner. He has not restrained His lips from speaking of it. He cannot and will not do otherwise and can therefore say that the LORD knows (cf. John 17:4; 6; 8; 14; 26)!

What He utters, what He testifies to, is nothing but what is peculiar to God: His righteousness, His truth, His salvation, His lovingkindness and His faithfulness (Psalms 40:10). God’s law is in His heart, but God’s “righteousness” He has not hidden in His heart. He has proclaimed God’s “faithfulness” and God’s “salvation”. God’s truth about man and the holiness of God have been preached by Him. He also pointed out the love of God by presenting God’s salvation, which is the way to be saved.

God’s “lovingkindness” connects to God’s salvation. Lovingkindness is the Hebrew chesed. It means covenant faithfulness. These are the blessings, the good things, that the LORD wants to give, either on the basis of the faithfulness of the people – which is not the case – or on the basis of the work of a Mediator Who fulfilled the requirements of the covenant, the requirements of the law, by dying on the cross.

In Christ, “the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared” (Titus 3:4). The entire life up to and including Christ’s death is the proclamation of God’s lovingkindness. God’s truth connects to God’s faithfulness. The Lord Jesus showed that God is completely faithful and worthy of trust.

Christ has revealed all these features of God in righteousness, that is, what He does is in accordance with Who God is. He did not hide God’s righteousness in the great congregation of Israel. Always and everywhere He spoke of Who God is, for the purpose that God’s people would return to God.

Psalms 75:3

Behold, I Come

Psalms 40:6-8 are not about David, but can only refer to Christ. This is clear from the quotation of these verses in the New Testament (Hebrews 10:7-9). By “sacrifice” (Psalms 40:6) is meant the peace offering. Of this offering the offeror may eat together with God and everyone who is clean. The “meal offering” is a non-bloody offering. In these sacrifices as such, God found no joy. They are only a shadow image. What God finds joy in is what these sacrifices refer to, which is Christ (Hebrews 9:11-14; Hebrews 10:5-9).

God has found joy in Him of Whom He has “opened” the ears – literally “dug the ears” – that is the Lord Jesus. He is the true peace offering and the true meal offering. Through Him, fellowship between God and the repentant sinner has been restored. Of this the peace offering speaks. As the true meal offering, Christ lived completely to God’s glory. That is what the opened ears speak of.

In Hebrews 10, “ears pierced [better: dug]” is quoted from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament. It says that God “prepared” Him “a body” (Hebrews 10:5). Ears indicate hearing and obedience. His body is, so to speak, all ears for the will of the Father. He became a Slave and became completely obedient in all things, to death, yes, to the death of the cross (Philippians 2:7-8).

We read three times about the ears of the Lord Jesus and each time it relates to His obedience: 1. “My ears You have opened” (Psalms 40:6) points to the Lord Jesus becoming Man in order to obey and die. 2 “Opened My ear” (Isaiah 50:4-5), speaks of His life on earth being marked by obedience. 3. “Pierce his ear”, is about the ear of the Lord Jesus in the picture of the Hebrew slave (Exodus 21:5-6). This refers to the end of His service and life on earth, which are characterized by obedience. Also, this speaks of the fact that He will serve forever (Luke 12:37).

Of burnt offering and sin offering, Christ says that God has not required them. Did God not then prescribe or require the sin offering? After all, it says so time and again in Leviticus 4 (Leviticus 4:2-3; 13-14; 22-23; 27-28). Certainly they were offered because He commanded it. But it does not mean that He found any joy in doing so or that in bringing them the requirement of His righteousness was fulfilled. The LORD could only find joy in those offerings because they are shadow of the offering of Christ. Therefore, He could pass over the sins of the offerors (Romans 3:25).

Those offerings could not take away sins and could be brought with insincere hearts. God has never required them as offerings by which anyone can be brought into His presence, for that is impossible. An animal burnt offering cannot make a man acceptable to God, and an animal sin offering cannot take away any sin from a sinful man.

The word “then” with which Psalms 40:7 begins has the meaning “because this is so”, referring to the observation of the previous verse. Then the Lord Jesus speaks the impressive words “behold, I come”. He offers Himself to fulfill what no animal sacrifice has been able to do and to fulfill what all sacrifices have been pointing to: to Himself as the true Sacrifice.

He does so in accordance with what is written “in the scroll of the book” about Him (cf. Luke 4:17-21). It is impossible to apply this to David. No one but the Lord Jesus can say this. Of no one but the Lord Jesus can it be written that He said something “when He comes into the world” (Hebrews 10:5). God established in His counsel that Christ would come. He is the Lamb foreknown before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:20). David says this prophetically of the Lord Jesus.

He not only offers Himself willingly, but also joyfully to do God’s will, which for Him means to “delight to do Your will” (Psalms 40:8). He knows that in doing God’s will He is carrying out His good pleasure. He is also fully capable of doing so, for God’s law is within His heart. His obedience is not only an outward, but also an inward matter. He carries out the whole law of God from His innermost being. We may well ask ourselves whether we are not merely doing the right things outwardly, and also whether God’s Word is within our heart so that from there all our thoughts, words and actions can be governed.

With the Lord Jesus, God’s law worked in His heart to proclaim “glad tidings of righteousness in the great congregation” (Psalms 40:9). He does this while He goes His way on earth in “the great congregation” of Israel. We can think, for example, of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 which He spoke before a large crowd (Matthew 5:1).

He testified in great faithfulness of God’s righteousness as “glad tidings”. God’s righteousness is a glad tiding to the repentant sinner. He has not restrained His lips from speaking of it. He cannot and will not do otherwise and can therefore say that the LORD knows (cf. John 17:4; 6; 8; 14; 26)!

What He utters, what He testifies to, is nothing but what is peculiar to God: His righteousness, His truth, His salvation, His lovingkindness and His faithfulness (Psalms 40:10). God’s law is in His heart, but God’s “righteousness” He has not hidden in His heart. He has proclaimed God’s “faithfulness” and God’s “salvation”. God’s truth about man and the holiness of God have been preached by Him. He also pointed out the love of God by presenting God’s salvation, which is the way to be saved.

God’s “lovingkindness” connects to God’s salvation. Lovingkindness is the Hebrew chesed. It means covenant faithfulness. These are the blessings, the good things, that the LORD wants to give, either on the basis of the faithfulness of the people – which is not the case – or on the basis of the work of a Mediator Who fulfilled the requirements of the covenant, the requirements of the law, by dying on the cross.

In Christ, “the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared” (Titus 3:4). The entire life up to and including Christ’s death is the proclamation of God’s lovingkindness. God’s truth connects to God’s faithfulness. The Lord Jesus showed that God is completely faithful and worthy of trust.

Christ has revealed all these features of God in righteousness, that is, what He does is in accordance with Who God is. He did not hide God’s righteousness in the great congregation of Israel. Always and everywhere He spoke of Who God is, for the purpose that God’s people would return to God.

Psalms 75:4

Cry for Help

David, and also those imitating him, that is the faithful remnant, takes refuge in the God of the past (Deuteronomy 33:26; 27). Some translate “LORD” as “eternal God”, literally “the God of yesterday”, that is, the God Who has shown in the past who He is and what He does. Now that the remnant has seen what God does (Psalms 40:1-10), they go and ask the LORD for salvation (Psalms 40:11-17). We too ask God for help based on what He has done in the past through the Lord Jesus.

The Lord Jesus, in Psalms 40:9-10, testified in great faithfulness to some of the features of God in the great congregation of Israel. Now He makes an appeal to some of the features of God for Himself (Psalms 40:11). He asks that He not withhold His mercy from Him because of His misery (Psalms 40:12).

The psalmist, and that also applies to the believing remnant, also asks if He will preserve him with His lovingkindness and truth. He has made these known and now asks if God will also fulfill them to him. He also asks that God do so “continually”. David is here a type or shadow of Christ as the true Man Who asks for preservation during the enormous work He has to do.

The occasion of the psalmist’s question, and that of the remnant, are the evils beyond number which surround him, that is, which surround him from all sides (Psalms 40:12). He is surrounded by them, completely enclosed by them. These evils are the result of his faithfulness to God. The same is true of the “iniquities” that have overtaken him.

It is about the iniquities of Israel, the two sins of the people: the rejection of Christ and the receiving of the antichrist. When we think of Christ, it is exclusively about the iniquities He took upon Himself for those who believe in Him, to suffer God’s judgment therefore (Hebrews 2:17; 2 Corinthians 5:21). They are the iniquities of all the redeemed. By taking these upon Himself, He has executed the will of God to the fullest.

The evils and iniquities that will come upon the remnant in the great tribulation constitute an uncountable number. The hairs of the head indicate a quantity that cannot be counted by us (cf. Psalms 69:4). God is able to do so (Matthew 10:30). What comes upon the psalmist, and upon the remnant, has so affected him that his heart has failed him.

As for the application to Christ, God knows perfectly what sins Christ had to bear. For Christ, all that He has had to bear is immeasurably more than any man can possibly conceive.

In his great distress, the psalmist cries out that it may please God to deliver him and come to his aid soon (Psalms 40:13). In view of this unfathomable suffering, of a gravity beyond human imagination, the Lord Jesus in Gethsemane “offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety” (Hebrews 5:7). At the same time, His perfect obedience in surrendering to the Father’s will is also evident (John 18:11).

Psalms 40:14-16 distinguish between the faithful and the apostate masses of the Jewish people. The touchstone will be the attitude taken toward the suffering Christ. The mass has sought Christ’s life and killed Him and delighted in His hurt (Psalms 40:14).

Christ’s rightful question to God is to make them ashamed and humiliate them together. They must be turned back and be dishonored, for they have sought to prevent Him from doing God’s work and testifying of God. Such adversaries, as wages for the reproach they have poured out on Him, must become appalled, or desolated, that is, become like a field where nothing grows (Psalms 40:15).

They have laughed mockingly at Him Who came to them from God to save them. Christ has become an object of mockery, especially at the end of His way of obedience. When He hangs on the cross, His adversaries amuse themselves with gloating over Him. Those who mock the lovingkindness of God in this way deserve judgment.

For those who seek God, Christ asks the opposite (Psalms 40:16). He never seeks His own glory, but always that of His God. He wants those who seek God to rejoice and be glad in God Himself. All who love the salvation of God are those who rejoice in the way of salvation that God has given in Christ. They have accepted that salvation and rejoice in being saved from the bondage of sin. They cannot help but “continually say, The LORD be magnified!”

Psalms 75:5

Cry for Help

David, and also those imitating him, that is the faithful remnant, takes refuge in the God of the past (Deuteronomy 33:26; 27). Some translate “LORD” as “eternal God”, literally “the God of yesterday”, that is, the God Who has shown in the past who He is and what He does. Now that the remnant has seen what God does (Psalms 40:1-10), they go and ask the LORD for salvation (Psalms 40:11-17). We too ask God for help based on what He has done in the past through the Lord Jesus.

The Lord Jesus, in Psalms 40:9-10, testified in great faithfulness to some of the features of God in the great congregation of Israel. Now He makes an appeal to some of the features of God for Himself (Psalms 40:11). He asks that He not withhold His mercy from Him because of His misery (Psalms 40:12).

The psalmist, and that also applies to the believing remnant, also asks if He will preserve him with His lovingkindness and truth. He has made these known and now asks if God will also fulfill them to him. He also asks that God do so “continually”. David is here a type or shadow of Christ as the true Man Who asks for preservation during the enormous work He has to do.

The occasion of the psalmist’s question, and that of the remnant, are the evils beyond number which surround him, that is, which surround him from all sides (Psalms 40:12). He is surrounded by them, completely enclosed by them. These evils are the result of his faithfulness to God. The same is true of the “iniquities” that have overtaken him.

It is about the iniquities of Israel, the two sins of the people: the rejection of Christ and the receiving of the antichrist. When we think of Christ, it is exclusively about the iniquities He took upon Himself for those who believe in Him, to suffer God’s judgment therefore (Hebrews 2:17; 2 Corinthians 5:21). They are the iniquities of all the redeemed. By taking these upon Himself, He has executed the will of God to the fullest.

The evils and iniquities that will come upon the remnant in the great tribulation constitute an uncountable number. The hairs of the head indicate a quantity that cannot be counted by us (cf. Psalms 69:4). God is able to do so (Matthew 10:30). What comes upon the psalmist, and upon the remnant, has so affected him that his heart has failed him.

As for the application to Christ, God knows perfectly what sins Christ had to bear. For Christ, all that He has had to bear is immeasurably more than any man can possibly conceive.

In his great distress, the psalmist cries out that it may please God to deliver him and come to his aid soon (Psalms 40:13). In view of this unfathomable suffering, of a gravity beyond human imagination, the Lord Jesus in Gethsemane “offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety” (Hebrews 5:7). At the same time, His perfect obedience in surrendering to the Father’s will is also evident (John 18:11).

Psalms 40:14-16 distinguish between the faithful and the apostate masses of the Jewish people. The touchstone will be the attitude taken toward the suffering Christ. The mass has sought Christ’s life and killed Him and delighted in His hurt (Psalms 40:14).

Christ’s rightful question to God is to make them ashamed and humiliate them together. They must be turned back and be dishonored, for they have sought to prevent Him from doing God’s work and testifying of God. Such adversaries, as wages for the reproach they have poured out on Him, must become appalled, or desolated, that is, become like a field where nothing grows (Psalms 40:15).

They have laughed mockingly at Him Who came to them from God to save them. Christ has become an object of mockery, especially at the end of His way of obedience. When He hangs on the cross, His adversaries amuse themselves with gloating over Him. Those who mock the lovingkindness of God in this way deserve judgment.

For those who seek God, Christ asks the opposite (Psalms 40:16). He never seeks His own glory, but always that of His God. He wants those who seek God to rejoice and be glad in God Himself. All who love the salvation of God are those who rejoice in the way of salvation that God has given in Christ. They have accepted that salvation and rejoice in being saved from the bondage of sin. They cannot help but “continually say, The LORD be magnified!”

Psalms 75:6

Cry for Help

David, and also those imitating him, that is the faithful remnant, takes refuge in the God of the past (Deuteronomy 33:26; 27). Some translate “LORD” as “eternal God”, literally “the God of yesterday”, that is, the God Who has shown in the past who He is and what He does. Now that the remnant has seen what God does (Psalms 40:1-10), they go and ask the LORD for salvation (Psalms 40:11-17). We too ask God for help based on what He has done in the past through the Lord Jesus.

The Lord Jesus, in Psalms 40:9-10, testified in great faithfulness to some of the features of God in the great congregation of Israel. Now He makes an appeal to some of the features of God for Himself (Psalms 40:11). He asks that He not withhold His mercy from Him because of His misery (Psalms 40:12).

The psalmist, and that also applies to the believing remnant, also asks if He will preserve him with His lovingkindness and truth. He has made these known and now asks if God will also fulfill them to him. He also asks that God do so “continually”. David is here a type or shadow of Christ as the true Man Who asks for preservation during the enormous work He has to do.

The occasion of the psalmist’s question, and that of the remnant, are the evils beyond number which surround him, that is, which surround him from all sides (Psalms 40:12). He is surrounded by them, completely enclosed by them. These evils are the result of his faithfulness to God. The same is true of the “iniquities” that have overtaken him.

It is about the iniquities of Israel, the two sins of the people: the rejection of Christ and the receiving of the antichrist. When we think of Christ, it is exclusively about the iniquities He took upon Himself for those who believe in Him, to suffer God’s judgment therefore (Hebrews 2:17; 2 Corinthians 5:21). They are the iniquities of all the redeemed. By taking these upon Himself, He has executed the will of God to the fullest.

The evils and iniquities that will come upon the remnant in the great tribulation constitute an uncountable number. The hairs of the head indicate a quantity that cannot be counted by us (cf. Psalms 69:4). God is able to do so (Matthew 10:30). What comes upon the psalmist, and upon the remnant, has so affected him that his heart has failed him.

As for the application to Christ, God knows perfectly what sins Christ had to bear. For Christ, all that He has had to bear is immeasurably more than any man can possibly conceive.

In his great distress, the psalmist cries out that it may please God to deliver him and come to his aid soon (Psalms 40:13). In view of this unfathomable suffering, of a gravity beyond human imagination, the Lord Jesus in Gethsemane “offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety” (Hebrews 5:7). At the same time, His perfect obedience in surrendering to the Father’s will is also evident (John 18:11).

Psalms 40:14-16 distinguish between the faithful and the apostate masses of the Jewish people. The touchstone will be the attitude taken toward the suffering Christ. The mass has sought Christ’s life and killed Him and delighted in His hurt (Psalms 40:14).

Christ’s rightful question to God is to make them ashamed and humiliate them together. They must be turned back and be dishonored, for they have sought to prevent Him from doing God’s work and testifying of God. Such adversaries, as wages for the reproach they have poured out on Him, must become appalled, or desolated, that is, become like a field where nothing grows (Psalms 40:15).

They have laughed mockingly at Him Who came to them from God to save them. Christ has become an object of mockery, especially at the end of His way of obedience. When He hangs on the cross, His adversaries amuse themselves with gloating over Him. Those who mock the lovingkindness of God in this way deserve judgment.

For those who seek God, Christ asks the opposite (Psalms 40:16). He never seeks His own glory, but always that of His God. He wants those who seek God to rejoice and be glad in God Himself. All who love the salvation of God are those who rejoice in the way of salvation that God has given in Christ. They have accepted that salvation and rejoice in being saved from the bondage of sin. They cannot help but “continually say, The LORD be magnified!”

Psalms 75:7

Cry for Help

David, and also those imitating him, that is the faithful remnant, takes refuge in the God of the past (Deuteronomy 33:26; 27). Some translate “LORD” as “eternal God”, literally “the God of yesterday”, that is, the God Who has shown in the past who He is and what He does. Now that the remnant has seen what God does (Psalms 40:1-10), they go and ask the LORD for salvation (Psalms 40:11-17). We too ask God for help based on what He has done in the past through the Lord Jesus.

The Lord Jesus, in Psalms 40:9-10, testified in great faithfulness to some of the features of God in the great congregation of Israel. Now He makes an appeal to some of the features of God for Himself (Psalms 40:11). He asks that He not withhold His mercy from Him because of His misery (Psalms 40:12).

The psalmist, and that also applies to the believing remnant, also asks if He will preserve him with His lovingkindness and truth. He has made these known and now asks if God will also fulfill them to him. He also asks that God do so “continually”. David is here a type or shadow of Christ as the true Man Who asks for preservation during the enormous work He has to do.

The occasion of the psalmist’s question, and that of the remnant, are the evils beyond number which surround him, that is, which surround him from all sides (Psalms 40:12). He is surrounded by them, completely enclosed by them. These evils are the result of his faithfulness to God. The same is true of the “iniquities” that have overtaken him.

It is about the iniquities of Israel, the two sins of the people: the rejection of Christ and the receiving of the antichrist. When we think of Christ, it is exclusively about the iniquities He took upon Himself for those who believe in Him, to suffer God’s judgment therefore (Hebrews 2:17; 2 Corinthians 5:21). They are the iniquities of all the redeemed. By taking these upon Himself, He has executed the will of God to the fullest.

The evils and iniquities that will come upon the remnant in the great tribulation constitute an uncountable number. The hairs of the head indicate a quantity that cannot be counted by us (cf. Psalms 69:4). God is able to do so (Matthew 10:30). What comes upon the psalmist, and upon the remnant, has so affected him that his heart has failed him.

As for the application to Christ, God knows perfectly what sins Christ had to bear. For Christ, all that He has had to bear is immeasurably more than any man can possibly conceive.

In his great distress, the psalmist cries out that it may please God to deliver him and come to his aid soon (Psalms 40:13). In view of this unfathomable suffering, of a gravity beyond human imagination, the Lord Jesus in Gethsemane “offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety” (Hebrews 5:7). At the same time, His perfect obedience in surrendering to the Father’s will is also evident (John 18:11).

Psalms 40:14-16 distinguish between the faithful and the apostate masses of the Jewish people. The touchstone will be the attitude taken toward the suffering Christ. The mass has sought Christ’s life and killed Him and delighted in His hurt (Psalms 40:14).

Christ’s rightful question to God is to make them ashamed and humiliate them together. They must be turned back and be dishonored, for they have sought to prevent Him from doing God’s work and testifying of God. Such adversaries, as wages for the reproach they have poured out on Him, must become appalled, or desolated, that is, become like a field where nothing grows (Psalms 40:15).

They have laughed mockingly at Him Who came to them from God to save them. Christ has become an object of mockery, especially at the end of His way of obedience. When He hangs on the cross, His adversaries amuse themselves with gloating over Him. Those who mock the lovingkindness of God in this way deserve judgment.

For those who seek God, Christ asks the opposite (Psalms 40:16). He never seeks His own glory, but always that of His God. He wants those who seek God to rejoice and be glad in God Himself. All who love the salvation of God are those who rejoice in the way of salvation that God has given in Christ. They have accepted that salvation and rejoice in being saved from the bondage of sin. They cannot help but “continually say, The LORD be magnified!”

Psalms 75:8

Cry for Help

David, and also those imitating him, that is the faithful remnant, takes refuge in the God of the past (Deuteronomy 33:26; 27). Some translate “LORD” as “eternal God”, literally “the God of yesterday”, that is, the God Who has shown in the past who He is and what He does. Now that the remnant has seen what God does (Psalms 40:1-10), they go and ask the LORD for salvation (Psalms 40:11-17). We too ask God for help based on what He has done in the past through the Lord Jesus.

The Lord Jesus, in Psalms 40:9-10, testified in great faithfulness to some of the features of God in the great congregation of Israel. Now He makes an appeal to some of the features of God for Himself (Psalms 40:11). He asks that He not withhold His mercy from Him because of His misery (Psalms 40:12).

The psalmist, and that also applies to the believing remnant, also asks if He will preserve him with His lovingkindness and truth. He has made these known and now asks if God will also fulfill them to him. He also asks that God do so “continually”. David is here a type or shadow of Christ as the true Man Who asks for preservation during the enormous work He has to do.

The occasion of the psalmist’s question, and that of the remnant, are the evils beyond number which surround him, that is, which surround him from all sides (Psalms 40:12). He is surrounded by them, completely enclosed by them. These evils are the result of his faithfulness to God. The same is true of the “iniquities” that have overtaken him.

It is about the iniquities of Israel, the two sins of the people: the rejection of Christ and the receiving of the antichrist. When we think of Christ, it is exclusively about the iniquities He took upon Himself for those who believe in Him, to suffer God’s judgment therefore (Hebrews 2:17; 2 Corinthians 5:21). They are the iniquities of all the redeemed. By taking these upon Himself, He has executed the will of God to the fullest.

The evils and iniquities that will come upon the remnant in the great tribulation constitute an uncountable number. The hairs of the head indicate a quantity that cannot be counted by us (cf. Psalms 69:4). God is able to do so (Matthew 10:30). What comes upon the psalmist, and upon the remnant, has so affected him that his heart has failed him.

As for the application to Christ, God knows perfectly what sins Christ had to bear. For Christ, all that He has had to bear is immeasurably more than any man can possibly conceive.

In his great distress, the psalmist cries out that it may please God to deliver him and come to his aid soon (Psalms 40:13). In view of this unfathomable suffering, of a gravity beyond human imagination, the Lord Jesus in Gethsemane “offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety” (Hebrews 5:7). At the same time, His perfect obedience in surrendering to the Father’s will is also evident (John 18:11).

Psalms 40:14-16 distinguish between the faithful and the apostate masses of the Jewish people. The touchstone will be the attitude taken toward the suffering Christ. The mass has sought Christ’s life and killed Him and delighted in His hurt (Psalms 40:14).

Christ’s rightful question to God is to make them ashamed and humiliate them together. They must be turned back and be dishonored, for they have sought to prevent Him from doing God’s work and testifying of God. Such adversaries, as wages for the reproach they have poured out on Him, must become appalled, or desolated, that is, become like a field where nothing grows (Psalms 40:15).

They have laughed mockingly at Him Who came to them from God to save them. Christ has become an object of mockery, especially at the end of His way of obedience. When He hangs on the cross, His adversaries amuse themselves with gloating over Him. Those who mock the lovingkindness of God in this way deserve judgment.

For those who seek God, Christ asks the opposite (Psalms 40:16). He never seeks His own glory, but always that of His God. He wants those who seek God to rejoice and be glad in God Himself. All who love the salvation of God are those who rejoice in the way of salvation that God has given in Christ. They have accepted that salvation and rejoice in being saved from the bondage of sin. They cannot help but “continually say, The LORD be magnified!”

Psalms 75:9

Cry for Help

David, and also those imitating him, that is the faithful remnant, takes refuge in the God of the past (Deuteronomy 33:26; 27). Some translate “LORD” as “eternal God”, literally “the God of yesterday”, that is, the God Who has shown in the past who He is and what He does. Now that the remnant has seen what God does (Psalms 40:1-10), they go and ask the LORD for salvation (Psalms 40:11-17). We too ask God for help based on what He has done in the past through the Lord Jesus.

The Lord Jesus, in Psalms 40:9-10, testified in great faithfulness to some of the features of God in the great congregation of Israel. Now He makes an appeal to some of the features of God for Himself (Psalms 40:11). He asks that He not withhold His mercy from Him because of His misery (Psalms 40:12).

The psalmist, and that also applies to the believing remnant, also asks if He will preserve him with His lovingkindness and truth. He has made these known and now asks if God will also fulfill them to him. He also asks that God do so “continually”. David is here a type or shadow of Christ as the true Man Who asks for preservation during the enormous work He has to do.

The occasion of the psalmist’s question, and that of the remnant, are the evils beyond number which surround him, that is, which surround him from all sides (Psalms 40:12). He is surrounded by them, completely enclosed by them. These evils are the result of his faithfulness to God. The same is true of the “iniquities” that have overtaken him.

It is about the iniquities of Israel, the two sins of the people: the rejection of Christ and the receiving of the antichrist. When we think of Christ, it is exclusively about the iniquities He took upon Himself for those who believe in Him, to suffer God’s judgment therefore (Hebrews 2:17; 2 Corinthians 5:21). They are the iniquities of all the redeemed. By taking these upon Himself, He has executed the will of God to the fullest.

The evils and iniquities that will come upon the remnant in the great tribulation constitute an uncountable number. The hairs of the head indicate a quantity that cannot be counted by us (cf. Psalms 69:4). God is able to do so (Matthew 10:30). What comes upon the psalmist, and upon the remnant, has so affected him that his heart has failed him.

As for the application to Christ, God knows perfectly what sins Christ had to bear. For Christ, all that He has had to bear is immeasurably more than any man can possibly conceive.

In his great distress, the psalmist cries out that it may please God to deliver him and come to his aid soon (Psalms 40:13). In view of this unfathomable suffering, of a gravity beyond human imagination, the Lord Jesus in Gethsemane “offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety” (Hebrews 5:7). At the same time, His perfect obedience in surrendering to the Father’s will is also evident (John 18:11).

Psalms 40:14-16 distinguish between the faithful and the apostate masses of the Jewish people. The touchstone will be the attitude taken toward the suffering Christ. The mass has sought Christ’s life and killed Him and delighted in His hurt (Psalms 40:14).

Christ’s rightful question to God is to make them ashamed and humiliate them together. They must be turned back and be dishonored, for they have sought to prevent Him from doing God’s work and testifying of God. Such adversaries, as wages for the reproach they have poured out on Him, must become appalled, or desolated, that is, become like a field where nothing grows (Psalms 40:15).

They have laughed mockingly at Him Who came to them from God to save them. Christ has become an object of mockery, especially at the end of His way of obedience. When He hangs on the cross, His adversaries amuse themselves with gloating over Him. Those who mock the lovingkindness of God in this way deserve judgment.

For those who seek God, Christ asks the opposite (Psalms 40:16). He never seeks His own glory, but always that of His God. He wants those who seek God to rejoice and be glad in God Himself. All who love the salvation of God are those who rejoice in the way of salvation that God has given in Christ. They have accepted that salvation and rejoice in being saved from the bondage of sin. They cannot help but “continually say, The LORD be magnified!”

Psalms 75:10

The Lord Is Mindful of Me

This verse brings us back to all the sufferings the Lord endured. When He asks for us that we will rejoice in God’s salvation and the glorious results of His work, we must never forget the circumstances in which He has been. He Himself never forgets that He has been “afflicted and needy”. We know that He has been so for our sake, that through His poverty we might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9). The same is true of the “afflicted and needy” believing remnant (Matthew 5:3).

In all circumstances, He knows that God is mindful of Him. He may be forsaken and forgotten by everyone, but not by God. He clings to that. He knows that God is His Helper and Deliverer. He turns to Him and asks Him not to wait any longer for His salvation. This does not speak of despair, but of a perfect trust. He always continued to trust in His God.

He is the example for the believing remnant in the time of the great tribulation. He is also the great example for us in the trials and sufferings we experience for His Name’s sake. We can endure all tribulations if we trust that God has not forgotten us, but is mindful of us, even if everyone forsakes us. God never stops being mindful of us.