The Blessing of Patience · Day 1
Psalms 40:1-8 — a devotion
Psalms 40
- 1내가 여호와를 기다리고 기다렸더니 귀를 기울이사 나의 부르짖음을 들으셨도다I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.I waited patiently for the LORD. He turned to me, and heard my cry.
- 2나를 기가 막힐 웅덩이와 수렁에서 끌어 올리시고 내 발을 반석 위에 두사 내 걸음을 견고케 하셨도다He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay. He set my feet on a rock, and gave me a firm place to stand.
- 3새 노래 곧 우리 하나님께 올릴 찬송을 내 입에 두셨으니 많은 사람이 보고 두려워하여 여호와를 의지하리로다And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.He has put a new song in my mouth, even praise to our God. Many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.
- 4여호와를 의지하고 교만한 자와 거짓에 치우치는 자를 돌아보지 아니하는 자는 복이 있도다Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, and doesn’t respect the proud, nor such as turn away to lies.
- 5여호와 나의 하나님이여 주의 행하신 기적이 많고 우리를 향하신 주의 생각도 많도소이다 내가 들어 말하고자 하나 주의 앞에 베풀 수도 없고 그 수를 셀 수도 없나이다Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.Many, LORD, my God, are the wonderful works which you have done, and your thoughts which are toward us. They can’t be declared back to you. If I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be counted.
- 6주께서 나의 귀를 통하여 들리시기를 제사와 예물을 기뻐 아니하시며 번제와 속죄제를 요구치 아니하신다 하신지라Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.Sacrifice and offering you didn’t desire. You have opened my ears. You have not required burnt offering and sin offering.
- 7그 때에 내가 말하기를 내가 왔나이다 나를 가리켜 기록한 것이 두루마리 책에 있나이다Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,Then I said, “Behold, I have come. It is written about me in the book in the scroll.
- 8나의 하나님이여 내가 주의 뜻 행하기를 즐기오니 주의 법이 나의 심중에 있나이다 하였나이다I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.I delight to do your will, my God. Yes, your law is within my heart.”
KJV and World English Bible — Public Domain · 개역한글 ⓒ Korean Bible Society
Background
Psalm 40 is a psalm of David, a song of thanksgiving confessing his experience of waiting on God in the midst of suffering. Though David was king of Israel, he passed through countless crises — Saul's pursuit, rebellion from within, and more. This psalm sings of crying out to God in such seasons of hardship and, in the end, receiving His answer. Within the Psalter, this portion belongs to the individual thanksgiving psalms, and the confession of verses 1-3 flows into the commitment of verses 4-8, a resolve to delight in God's will. Using parallelism, a hallmark of Hebrew poetry, it sets waiting against answer and the miry pit against the rock, vividly portraying God's salvation.
Reflection questions: 1. What am I waiting for before God right now? 2. If there have been moments in seasons of waiting when trusting God felt difficult, what was in my heart at the time? 3. If, like David, I have ever experienced God's answer at the end of a long wait, take a moment to recall that experience.
Today's reflection
In Psalm 40, David uses the expression "I waited patiently" — literally, "waiting, I waited." In the original Hebrew, this is an emphatic construction that repeats the same verb twice, meaning not a casual waiting but an earnest, persistent one. From suffering like a horrible pit and miry clay, David cried out to God without giving up, and in the end God answered him and set his feet upon a rock.
The heart of this passage is that patience is not simply enduring the passage of time — it is waiting in trust toward God. At the end of his waiting, David received a new song, a song of praise. His waiting in the midst of suffering became the channel through which he experienced God's faithfulness more deeply.
Simply put, patience is not sitting idly by, doing nothing. It is continuing to pray through hard circumstances, believing that God hears and will answer. David's experience shows us that our waiting is not in vain.
If you are in a season of waiting right now, that time may feel meaningless. But God is bending His ear to your cry. Trusting the place on the rock where God will set you at the end of the waiting, I hope you will take one more step forward today.
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