¹I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry … ¹⁷Since I am afflicted and needy, let the Lord be mindful of me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God.

Patience and suffering go together in the believer’s life; we often go through difficult times for longer than we wish. However, faith teaches us to trust what we know of God to help us persevere until He does come through for us. The last verse (vs. 17) makes it clear that this is a lament psalm, asking God for help in dealing with a deeply felt problem. However, the overall tone is that of trusting God, even rejoicing in the knowledge of His character. David has learned much about God in his life experiences.

David begins with God’s history of answering his prayers. The Christian heart resonates with the testimony of the psalmist:

He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God …. (Ps. 40:2–3)

David knows God! He knows he is blessed—for no other reason than he has trusted the Lord. This has come through the experience of seeing God’s work in his past experiences (vs. 4-5a). It is one thing for us to have thoughts of God, but what about God’s thoughts of us? David is overwhelmed by and delights in the fact that God knows him in every spectrum of thought. David basks in the multitude of God’s positive thoughts about him—so much so that David instinctively delights in seeking out God’s will and taking the laws of the Lord as a lifestyle rooted in the desires of his heart (vss. 6b-8).

Interestingly, these verses are applied to our Lord Jesus Christ in Hebrews 10:6-10. David understood the heart of the law, namely that it was the avenue for knowing God’s will. It was not the sacrifices that God desired, but our hearts, our love. And since David’s heart was knit with God’s, it follows that his heart reflected the relationship Jesus had with His heavenly Father. Is it any wonder that Jesus was often compared with David?

David commends himself to the Lord for his loyalty (vs. 9-10); he has spoken freely about the Lord to others. He is dependent upon the Lord ’s compassion, lovingkindness, and truth (vs. 11). His openness before God is evident in his honest confession of his sins and failures (vs.12). His request for help is now fleshed out in detail (vss. 13-17). His confidence in knowing God and His character assures him of being heard!

Lord, as I wait patiently for Your answer to my prayer, I join David and the Lord Jesus in delighting to do Your will.