January 19, 2020

Can Everyone Sing of Deliverance?

Preacher:
Passage: Psalm 40:1-11

The psalmist says that God "leaned down to me; he listened to my cry for help" (v. 1).  Psalms of thanksgiving tend to have a stereotypical form: the crisis is named and testimony given for how the psalmist sought God's help (vv. 1-3), there is praise of God (vv. 4-6), and then the aid that God has given is reported (vv. 7-10).  These psalms are mostly a description of a prayer answered, of help received.  But all people don't receive such a response from God. It is also testimony, a public declaration of the blessedness enjoyed by those who trust God.  "Many people will learn of this and be amazed; they will trust the Lord" (v. 3b).  The psalmist's good fortune at being delivered is an example for others to see and turn to the Lord. "I put all my hope in the Lord.  He leaned down to me."

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