In a remarkable copy of the Gospels dating from the fourteenth century, which once belonged to the Medicis (Gregory-Aland 16), the general run of the narrative is written in vermillion; the words of Jesus and angels are crimson and occasionally in gold; the words quoted from the Old Testament and those spoken by the disciples are blue; and, finally, the words of the Pharisees, Judas Iscariot, and the devil are black.

Bruce M. Metzger, Manuscripts of the Greek Bible: An Introduction to Palaeography, 18.

In the NT the theme to be developed most explicitly from Ps 40 is the passage on sacrifice, vv 7–9. The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews develops the passage in his account of the permanent nature of the sacrifice of Christ. The words of the ancient psalm are now set in the mouth of Christ (Heb 10:5–10), though with some modification, for the writer of the Epistle employs the slightly different text of the Septuagint at this point (see note a* on v 7). In one sense, Hebrews goes beyond Ps 40; the perpetual sacrifices of the past have become obsolete in terms of the permanent sacrifice of Christ. But in another sense, the writer of the Epistle grasps the fundamental sense of the psalm and neatly reverses it. The king in the ancient kingdom had been required to offer sacrifices, but that was not all; beyond the formalities of the cult, obedience and profound spirituality were required of him, for sacrifices in and of themselves achieved nothing. In Christ, says the writer of the Epistle, there is a reversal; first, he affirms his intention to do the divine will (Heb 10:9), and that intention in turn leads back inevitably to sacrifice, but now to the sacrifice that ends all sacrifices.

PETER C. CRAIGIE AND MARVIN TATE, PSALMS 1-50, VOLUME 19: SECOND EDITION (WORD BIBLICAL COMMENTARY), 317.

Prayer (40:12). The brief element of prayer forms an appropriate transition between the thanksgiving for former acts of deliverance, and the lament (vv 13–17) which will culminate in an explicit prayer for a future act of deliverance (v 18). The whole thrust of the prayer is to be found in the imperative: “come.” The king prays for the divine presence in the approaching crisis, for it had only been that presence which converted former crisis into victory. The divine presence would bring with it those covenant characteristics of God (“mercies, lovingkindness, truth”) that would provide the necessary protection (v 12b) in crisis and would culminate in victory.

PETER C. CRAIGIE AND MARVIN TATE, PSALMS 1-50, VOLUME 19: SECOND EDITION (WORD BIBLICAL COMMENTARY), 316.

The essence of Ps 40 is that it is a part of a liturgy, and the formal and substantial changes within the psalm are to be understood against the background of progression within the liturgy. The liturgy begins with thanksgiving, thereby establishing precedent and laying a foundation for what is to follow. It then moves on to lament and prayer; it is only in the prayer that the overall purpose of the liturgy emerges, and the preparatory role of the thanksgiving is clarified.

PETER C. CRAIGIE AND MARVIN TATE, PSALMS 1-50, VOLUME 19: SECOND EDITION (WORD BIBLICAL COMMENTARY), 314.

Peter, in his ethical admonitions to his readers, reminds them that they are “strangers and pilgrims” in this world (1 Pet 2:11; cf. Ps 39:13). But above all, it is the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews who develops the theme. In developing the great catalogue of men of faith, he says of them: “they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth” (Heb 11:13), again employing the words of Ps 39. In the psalm, the perspective is developed as one appropriate for living this life; in the NT, it is broadened to incorporate the life beyond as well. But it is healthy to begin with the psalm; in this life, our permanence is not to be found in the world as such, but in God who granted us life in the world. To combine an awareness of the transitory nature of human life as a whole, with the wisdom that “sufficient for the day is the evil thereof,” is a starting point in achieving the sanity of a pilgrim in an otherwise mad world.

PETER C. CRAIGIE AND MARVIN TATE, PSALMS 1-50, VOLUME 19: SECOND EDITION (WORD BIBLICAL COMMENTARY), 311.

In the concluding portion of the prayer (vv 13–14), it is clear that the psalmist has traveled a great spiritual distance from the point at which he began. His prayer is clearly one of repentance, characterized by tears, as has already been articulated in v 9. He has come to the realization that life’s meaning cannot be related only to land and all that goes with it; he is a transient sojourner in the land, whose only home is God.

PETER C. CRAIGIE AND MARVIN TATE, PSALMS 1-50, VOLUME 19: SECOND EDITION (WORD BIBLICAL COMMENTARY), 310.

The psalmist’s prayer (39:8–14). Sobered by his reflection on the impermanence of human existence, the psalmist begins the more formal part of his prayer; in the opening words, he gets right back to basics. “What have I hoped for?” Was it wealth, success, victory over enemies, freedom from persecution, or things of that nature? No! When he got right down to his most fundamental aspirations in life, the palmist’s hopes and desires focused upon God himself. And the realization that his ultimate focus in life was God created a new issue for the psalmist; it was no longer his enemies who were a primary source of external vexation, but an awareness of his own transgressions which became a primary source of internal vexation. If life was so transitory, and if God was its principal goal and meaning, then it was vital that transgressions (or sin) be dealt with, lest they destroy the potential and meaning of existence. His failure to perceive this truth made him vulnerable in another sense; he claimed to be a man of faith, but his obsession with enemies and the trappings of mortal life had become such that even a fool could see he had missed the point of life (v 9b). The fool might not agree with this perspective on life, but could reproach him for the double standard by which he lived. So the psalmist becomes silent again (v 10); this time, it is not self-imposed restraint to stop himself from speaking sinful words, but the silence of perception, for he has seen how God has acted.

Peter C. Craigie and Marvin Tate, Psalms 1-50, Volume 19: Second Edition (Word Biblical Commentary), 309.

The psalmist’s state of mind (39:2–4). The psalmist’s opening words are addressed to himself; within his own mind, he expresses his determination to keep quiet, come what may. Aware that he already has sufficient trouble for one person, he determines not to compound his problems by saying anything evil; so, in the metaphor, he “muzzles” himself.

Peter C. Craigie and Marvin Tate, Psalms 1-50, Volume 19: Second Edition (Word Biblical Commentary), 308.

If it be inquired then by what things chiefly the Christian religion has a standing existence among us, and maintains its truth, it will be found that the following two not only occupy the principal place, but comprehend under them all the other parts, and consequently the whole substance of Christianity, viz., a knowledge, first, of the mode in which God is duly worshipped; and, secondly, of the source by which salvation is to be obtained. When these are kept out of view, though we may glory in the name of Christians, our profession is empty and vain. After these come the Sacraments and the Government of the Church, which, as they were instituted for the preservation of these branches of doctrine, ought not to be employed for any other purpose; and, indeed, the only means of ascertaining whether they are administered purely an din due form, or otherwise, is to bring them to this test. If any one is desirous of a clearer and more familiar illustration, I would say, that regimen in the Church, the pastoral office, and all other matters of order, resemble the body, whereas the doctrine which regulates the due worship of God, and points out the ground on which the consciences of men must rest their hope of salvation, is the soul which animates the body, renders it lively and active, and, in short, makes it not to be a dead and useless carcass.

John Calvin, The Necessity of Reforming the Church, 13-14.

There is no part of history so generally useful as that which relates to the progress of the human mind, the gradual improvement of reason, the successive advances of science, the vicissitudes of learning and ignorance, which are the light and darkness of thinking beings, the extinction and resuscitation of arts, and the revolutions of the intellectual world.

Samuel Johnson, Rasselas.