But I am poor and needy. May the Lord think about me. You are my help and my deliverer. Don’t delay, my God.
Parallel Translations
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But I am poor and needy. May the Lord think about me. You are my help and my deliverer. Don’t delay, my God.
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But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.
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(40-18) But, as for me, that am poor and needy, the Lord will account it unto me; Thou art my help and my deliverer; O my God, tarry not.
Cross-references (17)
Passages linked to Psalms 40:17 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 70:5 But I am poor and needy. Come to me quickly, God. You are my help and my deliverer. Yahweh, don’t delay.
- Hebrews 13:6 So that with good courage we say, “The Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
- Isaiah 41:17 The poor and needy seek water, and there is none. Their tongue fails for thirst. I, Yahweh, will answer them. I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
- Psalms 34:6 This poor man cried, and Yahweh heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
- 1 Peter 5:7 casting all your worries on him, because he cares for you.
- Psalms 54:4 Behold, God is my helper. The Lord is the one who sustains my soul.
- Psalms 86:1 Hear, Yahweh, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.
- Psalms 40:5 Many, Yahweh, 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.
- Psalms 143:7-8 Hurry to answer me, Yahweh. My spirit fails. Don’t hide your face from me, so that I don’t become like those who go down into the pit. Cause me to hear your loving kindness in the morning, for I trust in you. Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to you.
- Isaiah 50:7-9 For the Lord Yahweh will help me. Therefore I have not been confounded. Therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I won’t be disappointed. He who justifies me is near. Who will bring charges against me? Let us stand up together. Who is my adversary? Let him come near to me. Behold, the Lord Yahweh will help me! Who is he who will condemn me? Behold, they will all grow old like a garment. The moths will eat them up.
- 1 Peter 2:23 When he was cursed, he didn’t curse back. When he suffered, he didn’t threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously.
- Psalms 69:33 For Yahweh hears the needy, and doesn’t despise his captive people.
- James 2:5 Listen, my beloved brothers. Didn’t God choose those who are poor in this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom which he promised to those who love him?
- Revelation 22:20 He who testifies these things says, “Yes, I come quickly.” Amen! Yes, come, Lord Jesus.
- 2 Corinthians 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might become rich.
- Matthew 8:20 Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
- Psalms 109:22 for I am poor and needy. My heart is wounded within me.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 17. But I am poor and needy. In this…
17. But I am poor and needy. In this concluding clause he mingles prayer with thanksgiving, although it may be that he records a request which he had made when he was placed in extreme danger. The first clause of the verse might be rendered thus: Although I was miserable and poor, God did think upon me. As according to the extent in which any one is afflicted, so is he despised by the world, we imagine that he is disregarded by God, we must, therefore, steadfastly maintain that our miseries in no respect produce on the part of God a feeling of weariness towards us, so that it should become troublesome to him to aid us. In this way, however, let us rather read the clause: When I was miserable and poor, the Lord looked upon my necessity: So that by this circumstance he enhances the grace of God. If God anticipate us with his goodness, and do not wait till adversity presses upon us, then his favor towards us is not so apparent. This comparison, therefore, illustrates very clearly the glory of God in the deliverance of David, inasmuch as he vouchsafed to stretch forth his hand to a man who was despised and rejected of all men, nay, who was destitute of all help and hope. Now, if it was necessary that David should have been reduced to this extremity, it is no wonder if persons in a more private station are often humbled after this manner, that they may feel and acknowledge in good earnest that they have been delivered out of despair by the hand of God. The simple and natural meaning of the prayer is this, Lord, thou art my help and my deliverer, therefore delay not to come to my aid. As it is a foolish thing to approach God with a doubtful and wavering mind, the Psalmist takes courage, as he was wont to do from his own experience, and persuades himself that the help of God, by which he had been hitherto preserved, would not fail him.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 40:17 But I [am] poor and needy; [yet]…
Psa 40:17 But I [am] poor and needy; [yet] the Lord thinketh upon me: thou [art] my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.
Ver. 17. But I am poor and needy] A stark beggar neither will I hide from my Lord (as once Joseph’s brethren said to him, when they came for corn) mine extreme indigence, my necessitous condition; I am one that get my living by begging.
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Yet the Lord thinketh upon me] He is the poor man’s King, as hath been said; and Christ is cum Patre dator, inter nos petitor, as Augustine hath it; that is, he gives with the Father, and at the same time prays with the suitor, who must therefore needs speed.
Thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying] Deliver me speedily, lest I perish utterly. God, saith one, is sometimes troubled with too much help, but never with too little; we are sometimes too soon, but he is never too late.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain But I am poor and needy,.... As Christ was…
But I am poor and needy,.... As Christ was literally, Co2 8:9; and in a spiritual sense, when deserted by his Father, forsaken by his disciples, and surrounded by his enemies; and had the sins of his people, the curse of the law, and the wrath of God upon him;
yet the Lord thinketh upon me; thinketh good for me, as the Targum; or thinks highly of me; has me in great esteem though despised of men, and in such a suffering state;
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thou art my help and my deliverer; he believed he should have what he prayed for, Psa 40:13; see Isa 50:7;
make no tarrying, O my God; which is a repetition of the request in Psa 40:13.
Next: Psalms Chapter 41
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 17. But I am poor] עני ani, afflicted,…
Verse 17. But I am poor] עני ani, afflicted, greatly depressed.
And needy] אביון ebyon, a beggar. One utterly destitute, and seeking help.
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The Lord thinketh upon me] The words are very emphatic; אדני Adonai, my prop, my support, thinketh, יחשב yachshab, meditateth, upon me. On which he concludes: "Thou art my help and deliverer." Seeing that my miserable state occupies thy heart, it will soon employ thy hand. Thou, who meditatest upon me, wilt deliver me.
Make no tarrying] Seeing thou art disposed to help, and I am in such great necessity, delay not, but come speedily to my assistance. The old Psalter speaks to this effect: "Let us not be so long under distress and misery that we lose our patience, or our love to thee."
ANALYSIS OF THE FORTIETH PSALM
There are two main parts in this Psalm: -
I. A thanksgiving, Ps 40:1-11.
II. A prayer, from Ps 40:12-17.
Thankfulness consists in the exercise of two virtues, truth and justice.
1. Truth calls upon us to acknowledge the benefit, and him from whom we receive it.
2. Justice obliges us to be grateful, and to perform some duties as evidences of our thankful minds; and both these we meet with in the first part.
I. David begins with a profession of thankfulness; shows his confidence: "I waited patiently for the Lord;" then shows the success, or what God did for him.
1. "He inclined his ear, and heard my cry."
2. "He brought me out of the horrible pit, and out of the miry clay."
3. "He set my feet upon a rock." Being redeemed from danger, he set me in a safe place.
4. "He established my goings." He confirmed my steps, so that I slipped and slided no more.
5. And he hath moved me to be thankful: "He hath put a new song in my mouth." The deliverance was not common, and therefore the praise should not be common, but expressed by a new and exquisite song.
And in this he supposed his example would be a common document. Many shall see my deliverance and my thanksgiving, and shall fear God, and acknowledge his grace, his providence, and protection; and be led thereby to put their trust in him. And then he produces his form of thanksgiving.
First, He pronounces the man blessed who relies on God. 1. "Blessed is the man that maketh the Lord his trust." 2. "And blessed is he who respects not the proud;" men proud of their wealth and power, or such as turn aside to lies.
Secondly, Then by exclamation admires God's mercies, and goodness to his people. 1. For their grandeur and multitude: "Many, O Lord my God, are thy works." 2. For their supernatural appearance: "Thy wonderful works." 3. For the incomparable wisdom by which they are ordered: "Many, O Lord, are thy wondrous works; and thy thoughts to us-ward, they cannot be reckoned up," c.
And having acknowledged his thankfulness, he speaks of the other part, his gratitude to which, in equity, he thought himself bound, viz., to be obedient to God's voice, which is, indeed, the best sacrifice, and far beyond all those that are offered by the law; as is apparent in Christ, to whom these words and the obedience contained in them are principally attributed: by way of accommodation, they belong to every one of his members who means to be thankful for his redemption.
And, first, he tells us that outward worship is of little worth, if sincerity and true piety be wanting: "Sacrifice and offering thou didst not require." Not these absolutely, but as subservient to the true piety, and significative of the obedience of Christ unto death.
2. To this end "mine ears hast thou opened;" bored, made docile, and taken me for thy servant.
3. And I will be thy voluntary and obedient servant: "Then said I, Lo, I come!" I am ready to hear thy commands.
4. He describes his ready obedience: -
1. That he performed it cheerfully: "I delight to do thy will."
2. That he did it heartily: "Thy law is in my heart." The obedience of eyes, hands, and feet may be hypocritical; that which is of the heart cannot. The heart thou requirest, and the heart thou shalt have; and to that purpose "I have put thy law in my heart."
3. He did this for the benefit of others: he published the Gospel. 1. "I have preached righteousness in the great congregation." 2. "I have not refrained my lips; that thou knowest." 3. "I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart." 4. "I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation." 5. "I have not concealed thy loving-kindness and truth from the great congregation."
In this verse we have the commendation of the gospel, that it is righteousness. Jesus, who is the sum and substance of it, justifies and sanctifies. It is God's truth and faithfulness, for in it his promises are performed. It is our salvation, freeing us from sin, death, the curse of the law, and hell-fire. It must, as such, be preached in the great congregation. And to it obedience must be yielded; and to this four things are necessary: -
1. The help of God's Spirit: "Thou hast opened mine ears."
2. A ready and willing mind: "Then said I, Lo, I come."
3. A ready performance in the work: "I delight to do thy will."
4. That respect be had to God's law: "Thy law is within my heart."
But all that is here spoken must be considered as resting on the sacrificial offering which Christ made; for we must be justified by his blood; and through him alone can we have remission of sins, the help of God's Spirit, or any power to do any kind of good.
II. This second part of the Psalm appears rather to be a part of another, or a Psalm of itself, as it relates to a different subject.
In the first part of the following prayer we have the sorrowful sighing of a distressed heart, vented in the most earnest petitions on account of the greatness of its sins, and the evils by which it was surrounded. A fear of being cut off causes the penitent to pray, "Withhold not thou thy mercy from me, O Lord." 1. "For innumerable evils have compassed me," c. 2. "My iniquities have taken fast hold upon me," c. 3. "Therefore my heart faileth me." My agony is great, my vital spirit fails and therefore he prays again, 4. "Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me! make haste to help me!"
The second part of his prayer is for the confusion of his wicked enemies: "Let them be ashamed and confounded together, that say, Aha! aha! "
The third part of the prayer is for all good men. Let all those who seek thee be joyful and glad in thee let them say, "The Lord be magnified."
In the close he prays for himself; and to move Divine mercy the sooner: -
1. He puts himself in the number of the poor and afflicted. He boasts not that he is a king, a prophet, a great man; but "I am poor and needy."
2. He shows his hope and confidence: "Yet the Lord thinketh upon me."
3. He casts himself wholly upon God: "Thou art my help and my deliverer."
4. Therefore delay not: "Make no tarrying, O my God!"
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Psa 40:17. I am poor and needy, &c. —…
Psa 40:17. I am poor and needy, &c. — “The church, like her Redeemer, is often poor and afflicted in this world, but Jehovah thinketh upon her, and is solicitous for her support; she is weak and defenceless, but Jehovah is her help and her deliverer. With such a Father, and such a friend, poverty becometh rich, and weakness itself is strong. In the mean time, let us remember, that he who once came in great humility, shall come again in glorious majesty. Make no tarrying, O our God; but come, Lord Jesus, come quickly,” Rev 22:20. — Horne.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain But I am poor and needy - More literally,…
But I am poor and needy - More literally, “I am afflicted and poor.” The language would describe the condition of one who was afflicted and was at the same time poor; of one who had no resource but in God, and who was passing through scenes of poverty and sorrow. There were undoubtedly times in the life of David to which this language would be applicable; but it would be far more applicable to the circumstances in which the Redeemer was placed; and, in accordance with the interpretation which has been given of the other parts of the psalm, I suppose that this is designed to represent his afflicted and humble condition as a man of poverty and sorrow.
Yet the Lord thinketh upon me - The Lord cares for me; he has not forgotten me. Man forsakes me, but he will not. Man leaves me to poverty and sorrow, but, he will not. How true this was of the Redeemer, that the Lord, the Father of mercies; thought on him, it is not needful now to say; nor can it be doubted that in the heavy sorrows of his life this was a source of habitual consolation. To others also - to all his friends - this is a source of unspeakable comfort. To be an object of the thoughts of God; to be had in his mind; to be constantly in his remembrance; to be certain that he will not forsake us in our trouble; to be assured in our own minds that one so great as God is - the infinite and eternal One - will never cease to think on us, may well sustain us in all the trials of life. It matters little who does forsake us, if he does not; it would be of little advantage to us who should think on us, if he did not.
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Thou art my help and my deliverer - Implying the highest confidence. See the notes at Psa 18:2.
Make no tarrying, O my God - Do not linger or delay in coming to my assistance. The psalm closes with this prayer. Applied to the Redeemer, it indicates strong confidence in God in the midst of his afflictions and sorrows, with earnest pleading, coming from the depth of those sorrows, that God would interpose for him. The vision of the psalmist extended here no farther. His eye rested on a suffering Messiah - afflicted, crushed, broken, forsaken - with all the woes connected with the work of human redemption, and all the sorrows expressive of the evil of sin clustering upon him, yet confident in God, and finding his last consolation in the feeling that God “thought” on him, and in the assurance that He would not ultimately forsake him. There is something delightful, though pensive, in the close of the psalm. The last prayer of the sufferer - the confident, earnest pleading - lingers on the ear, and we almost seem to behold the Sufferer in the depth of his sorrows, and in the earnestness of his supplication, calmly looking up to God as One that “thought” on him when all others had forgotten him; as a last, safe refuge when every other refuge had failed. So, in our sorrows, we may lie before the throne, calmly looking up to God with a feeling that we are not forgotten; that there is One who “thinks” on us; and that it is our privilege to pray to him that he would hasten to deliver us. All sorrow can be borne when we feel that God has not forgotten us; we may be calm when all the world forsakes us, if we can feel assured that the great and blessed God thinks on us, and will never cease to remember us.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain A summary of his condition and hopes.
A summary of his condition and hopes.
thinketh upon--or provides for me. "He was heard," "when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears, unto Him that was able to save him from death" [Heb 5:7].
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Next: Psalms Chapter 41
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 17. Thinketh upon me—The word denotes special thought, either…
17. Thinketh upon me—The word denotes special thought, either in the sense of esteem, value, or of plan, device. Both united in David. God regarded him with marked favour, and devised for his deliverance. His love and his wisdom are ever towards the humble. A more touching appeal, or childlike trust, is not given in the Bible. The psalm begins with grateful praise for deliverance past, and ends with agonizing prayer for instant relief from still impending dangers.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 17. The Psalmist reverts to his own need, but…
17. The Psalmist reverts to his own need, but in calm assurance that he is not forgotten.
But I, who am afflicted and needy:—
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The Lord will take thought for me.
For afflicted and needy, see Psa_9:18; Psa_35:10; Psa_37:14; Psa_86:1; Psa_109:22. With will take thought for me, cp. Psa_40:5 (thoughts): Jon_1:6. Psa_70:5 reads O God, make haste unto me, probably an alteration suggested by the parallelism, make no tarrying. My help, as in Psa_27:9 : my deliverer, as in Psa_18:2; Psa_18:48 (a different word from deliver in Psa_40:13).
make no tarrying] Cp. Daniel’s prayer, Dan_9:19 (A.V. defer not); and the promise, Isa_46:13
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain But I am poor and needy. David could say…
But I am poor and needy. David could say this in time of trouble. No one is more in need than a discrowned king, driven from his throne and land, and not yet restored to either. (2Sa 9) Yet the Lord thinketh upon me. The "poor and needy" are those whom God especially considers. (see Psa_9:18 Psa_10:12, Psa_10:17, 18 34:6 35:10, etc.) Thou art my Help and my Deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God (comp. ver. 13, and the comment ad loc.).
God"s thoughts.
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"I am what? The question is important. In order to judge rightly, we must have a right standard. We are not to measure ourselves by ourselves, or by the rules of society, but by the perfect Law of God. (2Co_10:12 Rom_3:20) "I am poor and needy. " What then? If comparing ourselves with all that is true and noble and good, with all that is highest and holiest, we are penetrated with a sense of Our own sins and unworthiness, what are we to do? Cast down, lying prone in the dust, there speaks within us the "still small voice" of consolation," Yet the Lord thinketh upon me. " Here is
I HOPE FOR THE WRETCHED. We may be "poor," wanting in all that is good. We may be not only "poor," but "needy," with cravings and desires which earth cannot satisfy. Like the miserable outcast, we may be ready to say, "No man cared for my soul". (Psa_142:4) Yet there is hope. God thinketh upon us. And we have the outcome of his thoughts. "It is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners". (1Ti_1:15) It is when we realize our state that we are open to help. It is when we turn to God that we find that he has already turned to us, and that his thoughts towards us are thoughts of mercy and of love. (Isa_55:6-9)
II COMFORT AMIDST THE DESOLATIONS OF LIFE. Many are "poor and needy" because bereft of what they held dear. In time of trouble what should we do? Some say," Trial is common." Others tell us," You have had your turn of joy: why complain now that you are visited with sorrow?" Others exhort us to patience; they say," Time is the great healer." Others again exhort us to submission, to bow to the inevitable. To such and such-like we can but answer, as Job did, "Miserable comforters are ye all". (Job_16:2) But when we remember God, then we are truly comforted. Sympathy is sweet, but more is necessary for us. The Lord not only" thinketh upon us," but he has provided for us "strong consolation". (Heb_6:18) The Bible contains the thoughts of God, and it is rich in instruction and comfort. Christ Jesus has come to make known to us the thoughts of God, speaking to us as a Brother, in dear words of human speech, and remembering what he has said, we are comforted. (Isa_41:14-17 Joh_14:1 2Co_7:6 2Co_1:3-6)
III INSPIRATION FOR THE LABOUR OF LIFE. It is a great thing to know what our true work is; but we may know this and shrink with a sense of our unfitness. So it was with Moses, but God thought of him. (Exo_4:10-14) So it has been in a humbler way with many. We feel, when face to face with duty, that we are ill equipped and weak. We are ready to halt. But if we keep our minds open, if we watch for opportunities, if we are ready to do the work that lies nearest to us, what our "hand findeth to do," God will not fail to help us. Whatever is good in us is of God, and showeth that God thinketh upon us. Our best thoughts are his thoughts. All the greatest things done by men have been, first of all, God"s thoughts, put into their minds to quicken, to inspire, to move them on to noble ends. So it was with Carey, and Wilberforce, and Raikes, and hosts of others. It is helpful to a servant to know that his master thinks of him; to a soldier that his captain thinks of him; to a young man, far from home, that his mother thinks of him; and so, and in a far higher way, it is inspiring and comforting to every true worker in the cause of truth, to know that Christ thinketh of him, and that whatever he does is done under the great Taskmaster"s eye, and will not fail of due recognition and reward. W.F.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain Ver. 17. But I am poor and needy. The…
Ver. 17. But I am poor and needy. The man of sorrows closes with another appeal, based upon his affliction and poverty. Yet the Lord thinketh upon me. Sweet was this solace to the holy heart of the great sufferer. The Lord's thoughts of us are a cheering subject of meditation, for they are ever kind and never cease. His disciples forsook him, and his friends forgat him, but Jesus knew that Jehovah never turned away his heart from him, and this upheld him in the hour of need. Thou art my help and my deliverer. His unmoved confidence stayed itself alone on God. O that all believers would imitate more fully their great Apostle and High Priest in his firm reliance upon God, even when afflictions abounded and the light was veiled. Make no tarrying, O my God. The peril was imminent, the need urgent, the suppliant could not endure delay, nor was he made to wait, for the angel came to strengthen, and the brave heart of Jesus rose up to meet the foe. Lord Jesus, grant that in all our adversities we may possess like precious faith, and be found like thee, more than conquerors.
Ver. 17. In Dr. Malan's memoir, the editor, one of his sons, thus writes of his brother Jocelyn, who was for some years prior to his death, the subject of intense bodily sufferings: "One striking feature in his character was his holy fear of God, and reverence for his will." One day I was repeating a verse from the Psalms, `As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord careth for me: thou art my helper and deliverer; O Lord, make no long tarrying.' He said, `Mamma, I love that verse, all but the last bit, it looks like a murmur against God. He never `tarries' in my case.' From "The Life, Labours, and Writings of Caesar Malan" (1787-1864): By one of his sons, 1869.
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Ver. 17. Yet the Lord thinketh upon me. Sacred story derives from heaven the kindness of Abimelech to Abraham, of Laban and Esau to Jacob, of Ruth to Naomi, of Boaz to Ruth, and Jonathan to David. When others think of kindness to us, let us imitate David, it is the Lord that thinketh upon me, and forms those thoughts within their hearts. This should calm our spirits when a former friend's heart is alienated by rash admissions of false suggestions, or when any faithful Jonathan expires his spirit into the bosom of God. It should not be lost what Hobson, the late noted carrier of Cambridge, said to a young student receiving a letter of the sad tidings of his uncle's decease (who maintained him at the University), and weeping bitterly, and reciting the cause of his grief, he replied, Who gave you that friend? Which saying did greatly comfort him, and was a sweet support to him afterwards in his ministry. The Ever living God is the portion of a living faith, and he can never want that hath such an ocean. He that turns the hearts of kings like rivers at his pleasure, turns all the little brooks in the world into what scorched and parched ground he pleases. Samuel Lee.
Ver. 17. The Lord thinketh upon me. There are three things in God's thinking upon us, that are solacing and delightful. Observe the frequency of his thoughts. Indeed, they are incessant. You have a friend, whom you esteem and love. You wish to live in his mind. You say when you part, and when you write, "Think of me." You give him, perhaps, a token to revive his remembrance. How naturally is Selkirk, in his solitary island, made to say:
"My friends, do they now and then send
A wish or a thought after me?
O tell me, I yet have a friend,
Though a friend I am never to see."
"Ye winds, that have made me your sport,
Convey to this desolate shore
Some cordial, endearing report
Of a land I shall visit no more."
But the dearest connexion in the world cannot be always thinking upon you. Half his time he is in a state of unconsciousness; and how much during the other half is he engrossed! But there is no remission in the Lord's thoughts...Observe in the next place, the wisdom of his thoughts. You have a dear child, absent from you, and you follow him in your mind. But you know not his present circumstances. You left him in such a place; but where is he now? You left him in such a condition. But what is he now? Perhaps while you are thinking upon his health, he is groaning under a bruised limb, or a painful disorder. Perhaps, while you are thinking of his safety, some enemy is taking advantage of his innocency. Perhaps, while you are rejoicing in his prudence, he is going to take a step that will involve him for life. But when God thinketh upon you, he is perfectly acquainted with your situation, your dangers, your wants. He knows all your walking through this great wilderness, and can afford you the seasonable succour you need. For again, observe the efficiency of his thoughts. You think upon another, and you are anxious to guide, or defend, or relieve him. But in how many cases can you think only? Solicitude cannot control the disease of the body, cannot dissipate the melancholy of the mind. But with God all things are possible. He who thinks upon you is a God at hand and not afar off; he has all events under his control; he is the God of all grace. If, therefore, he does not immediately deliver, it is not because he is unable to redress, but because he is waiting to be gracious. William Jay.
Ver. 17. The humble But, and the believing Yet. The little I am, and the great Thou art. The fitting prayer.
Ver. 17. The Lord thinketh upon me. Admire the condescension, and then consider that this is
1. A promised blessing.
2. A practical blessinghe thinks upon us to supply, protect, direct, sanctify, &c.
3. A precious blessingkind thoughts, continual, greatly good. He thinks of us as his creatures with pity, as his children with love, as his friends with pleasure.
4. A present blessingpromises, providences, visitations of grace.
Ver. 17.
1. The less we think of ourselves the more God will think upon us.
2. The less we put trust in ourselves the more we may trust in God for help and deliverance.
3. The less delay in prayer and active efforts the sooner God will appear for us.
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain I am poor and needy, yet the Lord thinketh…
Psa_40:17
I am poor and needy, yet the Lord thinketh upon me.
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God thinks upon His people
I. A humble condition. I am poor and needy. Now, a man may be thus--
1. Spiritually--sin has brought them thus low.
2. Experimentally-for they feel it.
3. Comparatively--that is, with the treasures of grace he denies and wants, and which are for him in Christ.
4. Temporally--by reason of earthly affliction and loss. When this comes, remember your Elder Brother, Christ, who had not where to lay His head.
II. Examine the glorious assurance.
Yet the Lord thinketh upon me. This is--
1. The language of confidence, and that it is well ground is proved by the relations which God holds towards us. He calls Himself deliverer, friend, husband, Father: by His promises and by His works. See how much he has done to justify your hope. Had he a mind to kill you he would not have shown you such mercies as are yours. And how many things there are worthy of particular review in your own history. Think of them.
2. It is the language of wonder. For think of the conduct of men; the greatness of God; our unworthiness.
3. And of consolation, Yet the Lord, etc. This is enough, and will more than counterbalance all my distresses. This is how it is the believer stands while others sink. Can we say this of ourselves? Is this your portion? How anxious are men to gain the notice of their fellow-creatures, especially if they are a little raised above themselves in condition! Many will entreat the favour of the prince, and every one is a friend to him that giveth gifts. But in this case you are never sure you shall succeed; and you have gained nothing if you do. Whereas here the success is sure, and the success is everything. Pray, therefore, with Nehemiah, Think upon me, O my God, for good. Seek the Lord, and ye shall live. O believer! If God thinks upon you, ought you not to think upon Him? David did. If He minds your affairs, be not you forgetful of His. Ever ask, Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do? Ever cry, Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth. (W. Jay.)
Gods thoughts of us
I. A description of human nature under ordinary conditions.
1. Some are poor and needy through ignorance. We cannot understand--
(1)Ourselves.
(2) Others.
(3) God. His providences are an unceasing mystery.
2. Some are poor and needy through guilt. Human sinfulness is like a cheque on the bank; it may go far and remain in circulation long; but it will come eventually and be presented for immediate payment. Duke Albert of Polanda, so runs the old story, bore on his armour the emblem of entire trust: just the hull of a ship, having only the main-mast and its top-piece, without any tackling or canvas whatever. But there was this motto underneath: Deus dabit vela: God will furnish the sails. Thus he claimed that heavenly forces would be supplied with Divine instrumentality when need should arrive.
II. The comforting assurance of divine aid.
1. God thinks about us. Simpler minds than ours are often more truly devotional: the Savoyards have the beautiful name for one of their finest mountain flowers, pain du bon Dieu, the bread of the good God; for they say that by its white and delicate blossoms it reminds them of the manna, feeding Israel in the wilderness.
2. God thinks a great deal about us. His thoughts are so many, that they cannot be reckoned up in order (Psa_139:17-18).
3. God thinks about us always very kindly. Promises are just Gods thoughts stored up for men.
III. A legitimate ground for full assurance of aid.
1. Some say that God is too far away to think of us here. Once, when a sailor had come in, saved from shipwreck, he said to those, who asked him about his days and nights out on the waters of the lonely ocean, that his greatest alarm was that God could not be made to hear up so high in the sky, beyond even the stars. Now, it is of no use to reason about this. We must just let the Lord tell us the truth in the matter; He knows, and He says that the Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, etc.
2. Some say that God is too great to think of us here on His footstool. It might do, perhaps, in the case of a kingdom going to pieces, or a ship driving on the rocks, or a dynasty breaking; but not in our vexations and daily disquiets. This is no way to argue. God is great; indeed, He is so great that He can look placidly down upon each one of us, as we keep coming to Him, ever kindly bidding us a morning or evening welcome; no more forgetful, no more impatient, no more worried than we are when our own boys approach us with their difficulties.
3. Some say that God is too holy to think of us here. When we think of Him as residing in the shadowless purity of heaven itself, we are hardly willing to believe He cherishes any thought for rebels like men. But then we certainly know that He hates sin; that is one point gained, at all events; for if we are sinners, God cannot possibly be indifferent to us. He cannot bear to have one speck of moral defilement anywhere within the borders of His realm. So He is gently and tenderly on the side of every man who wishes to be pure.
4. Some say that God is too happy to think of us here. He does not need us. Why should He bestir Himself or disturb Himself in any way in our behalf? Such a question shows how poorly we reason. It is true that God is happy; but something makes Him happy. His enjoyment has an intelligent basis; it has a society of companions to share it, and contribute to it. And because He desires it to continue and to increase, He is always beneficent and active, making Himself happy, everywhere sowing sunlight that He may harvest gladness from each field of the wide universe.
IV. A prayer for a faith of appropriation in ourselves. If God really wishes to help us, and we wish to be helped, why should there be any delay on either side?
1. Why should God tarry in taking away our daily harassments? He has told us that we are to have no thought for the morrow, because He has all the thoughts that belong to it in our behalf. We have only to ask Him, and then trust Him.
2. Why should God tarry in banishing our unnecessary apprehensions? What has rendered the world more unhappy than anything else has always been some great worry anticipated, which never happened after all.
3. Why should God tarry in relieving our doubts? It is said that Shakespeare once thought himself no poet, and Paphaels heart grew silent and discouraged, so that he was overheard to say he should never be a successful painter. He who has an all-powerful helper needs only to look to Him to keep His promises.
4. Why should God tarry in removing our disciplines? One day, when the young lad Goethe came from church, where he had listened to a sermon in which an attempt was made to justify the Divine goodness, his father asked him what he thought of the explanation. Why, said this extraordinary youth, the matter may be much simpler than the clergyman thinks; God knows very well that an immortal soul can never receive any injury from a mortal accident. Why not trust Him with our whole souls, then? (C. S. Robinson, D. D.)
The uncommon faith
The two parts of the text form an antithesis of the most divergent contrast. The order in which they stand invests them with considerable attractiveness; at least the interest with which we may now take them up is not a little enhanced on this account.
I. The humble confessions.
1. It is a very becoming confession. From a moral or spiritual point of view, we are, indeed, as poor as poverty itself.
2. This confession should therefore be unaffectedly veracious and sincere. Can it be either desirable or reasonable that we should do anything by way of making ourselves out to be poor and needy, except as we really are so?
3. It is only as the effect of a gracious operation of the Spirit that the confession of the text is ever candidly or cordially made. Hence it is easy to understand how this humble confession should be accompanied, as here it is, by so confident a persuasion. If the Spirit is at work within you, showing you what you really are, discovering your exigencies to the discernment of your individual consciousness, He at the same time discovers the means of supplying these exigencies, and the absolute infinitude of resource to provide the whole of that supply.
II. The confident persuasion.
1. That it is a warrantable persuasion may be easily enough proved. For, if the Lord makes any poor and needy, He is certainly thinking of them, the dispensation itself shows that He is doing so. Besides, is it nothing to the shepherd of a flock that one of his sheep has wandered, though it be even the least and the weakest of a hundred in a fold, will he not leave the ninety and nine, and search after it alone?
2. It must also be very readily admitted that this persuasion is one which is fraught with unspeakable comfort and consolation. Yet the Lord thinketh upon me. It takes us back to the Divine constitution of the covenant of the rainbow (Gen_9:16). Oh, the sweetness, the perfect deliciousness, to taste of faith in this, And I will look upon it. Yet the Lord thinketh upon me.
3. Hence, in every way this is also a most satisfying persuasion. To say, Yet the Lord thinketh upon me, may not appear to be saying much. In a sense it may be saying very little. The utterance occurs in another psalm--I hate vain thoughts, that is, thoughts which do not go beyond themselves, which dissipate themselves in waste, never embodying themselves in living form, in substantial action--thoughts which are inoperative, unprofitable. But the Lords thoughts are never vain, unproductive, empty; they are invariably sovereign, invincible, almighty. (E. A Thomson.)
The greatness and frailty of human nature
Human life, in its frailty, exposure, brevity, could not be more aptly described than it is here--poor and needy. And yet, if man occupies a place in the Divine Mind, if God, who made him, thinks of and cares for him, he is great, and he may be rich and strong.
I. Mans feeling of poverty and need. Had we been less rich, we had not been so poor; less richly endowed, we had been more at ease. It is because man has reason, conscience and affections that he feels thus. The brute may groan; the man weeps.
II. The particular providence of god.
1. There is much in the events of life which makes it hard for a man to believe in this assurance. We read of explosions, cyclones, hurricanes, and our faith staggers. One man makes a mistake in his calculations, and hundreds of brave, unoffending men sink like a stone in the depths of the sea. Where is the evidence, we are tempted to ask, of the Divine regard for individuals? But when we express the conviction that God thinks of us, we are not therefore bound to vindicate His ways, or fathom the designs of His inscrutable providence. The declaration of the text is a flashing avowal of faith in the midst of much that is mysterious.
2. I think it is harder to grasp this great truth because of the massing together of great multitudes of people in our modern towns and cities. Every person in that enormous crowd has his own little world of interests, duties, affections, associations. Is it possible, can it be, that He from His throne beholds all these dwellers upon earth? Truly the Lord has much to see to, and there are many beds in the wards of the world. And yet to reason so is to attach the ignorance and the limitations of the finite mind to a mind which is infinite.
3. The deeper insight which man has to-day into the vastness of the universe makes it harder for us to realize the great truth of the text. In view of the wonders of astronomy what a pigmy is man! And yet, if myriads of ages have been required in which to make this earth a suitable residence for man, it may be that God has some regard for him. True, he is a reed, but, as Pascal said, he is a thinking reed, and the God who made him to think may think of him,
4. Besides, the wonderfulness of the infinitely little is even greater than that of the infinitely great. God, who elaborates the planet, polishes the atom. If He telleth the number of the stars, and calleth them by their names, why may not He think of man?
5. But does God think of man? We will go at once to the highest, the all-conclusive evidence. It is in Jesus Christ that we are sure of God. He is the embodied thought of God--the Word made flesh. He cared for individuals. Look at the teaching of Jesus Christ. Ye are of more value than many sparrows. The very hairs of your head are all numbered. The Father Himself loveth you. Look at the Cross of Jesus Christ. If a man does that, if he yields to the love that has its eternal sign there, the last vestige of doubt will vanish, and he will cry, He loved me, and gave Himself for me. (J. Lewis.)
Contrast
I. A true estimate.
1. Our general condition--poor.
2. A pressing want--needy. The one thing needful with David was the smile of Heaven. Christ in the heart is our pressing need. Distressingly poor is that life which has no God in it.
II. A marvellous fact. The Lord thinketh upon me.
1. Grasp the greatness of the fact. To make man, to support man, to save man, and to commune with man are the collateral thoughts.
2. Grasp the directness of the fact. In moments of loneliness remember that though some are dead that were wont to have you in remembrance, and others have forgotten you, God is thinking of you now, and we know what He thinks, for we have the mind of Christ.
III. A blessed assurance--Thou art my help and my deliverer.
1. God is our help for work.
2. God is our deliverer from trouble.
IV. An earnest longing--Make no tarrying, O my God. This is almost the language of impatience, at least it is the language of a burning desire. (T. Davies, D. D.)
The good mans refuge in affliction
I. Afflictions befall gods dearest children.
1. If Christ had not suffered, who had been saved? If He had not been pierced through with many sorrows, not one of the sons of Adam had possessed any true comfort or sound solace.
2. And His members must be like the bush in the fire, for several reasons.
(1) Are they not the Lords garden-plots? Will He not plant and sow them with the sweetest seeds and most fragrant flowers? Shall He not then dig them up and break every little clod to pieces?
(2) The faithful are likened to trees, and must not they be pruned and lopped?
(3) Gods children are compared to good corn, not cockle; we must expect then to be shaken with the windy and blustering storms of the wicked. The rooks of our times will be pecking out the ripest grain; and every ravening fowl fly over us and defile us; go through us and bruise us; or fall upon us and rob us; yea, our God Himself will cut us down, thresh us and grind us; for its corn that must be put on the mill, not chaff: wheat that must be winnowed, when cockle is to be abandoned, burned.
(4) How often are the godly compared to a temple I and may not every particular person resemble a stone in divers things? We must be cut out of the rock of our natural estate; and its no easy matter to be endured, afterwards squared and hewn, that we may be fitted to lie close and comely in the building; and this will be felt a painful polishing; yet this must be done, or we are undone. Rough stones are cast into the foundation, but they that be appointed for the pinnacles and principal places must have the more picks, the greater polishing, else they should not be of (or at the best but deface) this holy temple, this stately building.
II. The Lord doth not separate his affection from his children in affliction.
1. The Lord is not subject to forgetfulness. He knoweth who are His; and His eye is always over them.
2. Nor is He subject to change. Whom He loveth once He loveth ever.
3. Let us examine and see what is the cause of separating affection; and shall we not find it either in the agent or object? In the lover, God, we see no cause can be found: surely, nor in the thing beloved. It is plain that no trouble destroyeth the image of God or maketh his the more prone to sin; but rather it hath been a means to move them to leave it and amend. For in trouble they will pray more fervently; pity others more compassionately; make vows, and resolve to serve God the more strictly than ever in the days of prosperity. Why, then, should the Lord withdraw His affection from them? for love leaves hold but when the object grows worse and worse.
4. This reason may also confirm the doctrine. He should be more unnatural than mere natural men (who take the most pity of their own being in the greatest distress), if He should forsake His children in their affliction. Nature itself, in these straits, will not be wanting; and shall the Author of all graces be found failing?
III. THE favour of God in affliction only giveth the faithful satisfaction.
1. The Lord is the only object of their love, and He in whom their soul principally delighteth: wherefore, enjoying Him, they have all they would.
2. Because they believe and know that all shall work together for good at their latter end.
IV. The Lord will deliver the faithful from all dangers; free them in a convenient season from all afflictions.
1. He hath so promised and purposed; and shall not His counsel stand, and His word abide for ever?
2. And this He will do for love of His children. This, then, being thus, be of good comfort for the present, fear not any future dangers; but pluck up your hearts, and gird up the loins of your minds; go on through good report and evil report; be resolute soldiers of Jesus Christ; march on valiantly, and fear not their fear. For manger their malice, David shall serve his days; Paul finish his work, and Johns life be prolonged until his task be ended. And every upright and honest heart shall have all tears wiped from his eyes, fetters from his feet, manacles from his fingers; run to and fro in the new Jerusalem that is above. (John Barlow.)
The gardeners care extends to all
Oh! you say, I am such a little plant; I do not grow well; I do not put forth as much leafage, nor are there so many flowers on me as many round about me. It is quite right that you should think little of yourself; perhaps to drop your head is part of your beauty. Many flowers had not been half so lovely if they had not practised the art of hanging their heads. But supposing Him to be the gardener, then He is as much a gardener to you as He is to the most lordly palm in the whole domain. In the Mentone garden grow the orange and the aloe, and others of the finer and more noticeable plants, but on the wall to my left grow common wall flowers and saxifrages and tiny herbs such as we find on our own rocky places. Now, the gardener has cared for all of them, little as well as great. In fact, there were hundreds of specimens of the most insignificant growths all duly labelled and described. The smallest saxifrage will say: He is my gardener just as surely as he is the gardener of the Gloire de Dijon or the Marechal Niel.
The Divine regard for the needy
When the shepherd comes in the early morning to his flock, does not his eye single out the sick, and does he need forgiveness if for a while he devotes all his skill and his care to those sheep which need it? He does not reason with himself that the largeness of the flock, and his anxious care that all should be fed renders it impossible for him to bind up that which is broken, and heal that which is diseased, but, on the contrary, his attention to all is proved by his special interest in the particular cases which most require his tenderness. Or take another parable; the watcher on the sea beach, with his telescope in his hand, paces to and fro, and keeps guard for his appointed time. He looks through the glass again and again, but a glance contents him so far as most of yonder gallant vessels are concerned, which are now in the offing; but by and by his glass remains steadily at his eye; his gaze is fixed, and in a few moments he gives a signal to his fellows, and they haul the boat to the sea and launch her. What has there been so peculiar about this craft that it has gained the watchers attention and stirred him to action? He saw signals of distress, or by some other token he knew the ships need, and therefore he bestirred himself, and engaged every willing hand to lead her help. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Psa_41:1-13
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.