The Wait
Psalm 40
Matthew Johnson
November 19, 2017


WHY DOES GOD COMMAND US TO WORSHIP HIM?

o God doesn’t need anything
o God is love
o God is generous
o God commands worship of Him alone


WAITING ON GOD

PSALM 40:1 I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. 2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.

  • The WAIT gives us the illusion God is DISTANT.
    o Worship reminds us He’s PRESENT.

3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.

  • The WAIT Gives Us the Illusion God is POWERLESS
    o Worship reminds us He is POWERFULLY IN CONTROL

4 Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie! 5 You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.

  • The WAIT Gives Us the Illusion GOD LACKS PURPOSE
    o Worship reminds us GOD HAS A GOOD PURPOSE

6 In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required. 7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me: 8 I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”


Psalm 139:14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

  • DELIVERANCE should lead to public WORSHIP

9 I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; behold, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O Lord. 10 I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation. 11 As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain your mercy from me; your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me!


12 For evils have encompassed me beyond number; my iniquities have overtaken me, and I cannot see; they are more than the hairs of my head; my heart fails me. 13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me! O Lord, make haste to help me! 14 Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether who seek to snatch away my life; let those be turned back and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt! 15 Let those be appalled because of their shame who say to me, “Aha, Aha!” 16 But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation say continually, “Great is the Lord!” 17 As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God!

Our LIVES Will Always Have An Element of WAITING

  • God will always be present
  • God will always be powerful
  • God will always have purpose