Psalm 40 Continued…
Psalm 40:6-10 Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but my ears you have pierced; burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require. Then I said, “Here I am, I have come — it is written about me in the scroll. I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, as you know, O Lord. I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and salvation. I do not conceal your love and your truth from the great assembly.
If in the opening words of Psalm 40 we saw CONVICTION, in these verses we see two great themes presented: CONSECRATION and CONFESSION. David speaks of consecrating himself to God, not through the rituals of worship but through the offering of an obedient life submitted to God’s leading.
We get pulled into the wrong way of thinking about consecration ourselves when we think that our ritual devotion to church and tithing are all that God requires. Being there on Sunday and putting money in the plate are not what God wants. What God desires is the human heart fully submitted to him. This is what Paul tells us in Romans 12:1: Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. Remember the sacrifices in David’s day were dead. But Paul tells us, like David alludes here, we must choose to offer ourselves to God as a LIVING sacrifice.
In verses 9-10 we see David’s CONFESSION. Many people come to Christ believing that all they need to do is repeat the “Good Confession” that Peter made in Matthew 16:16: Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” But that is not the point of confession. In Greek, the word confession literally means “say the same words.” So, when Paul says in Romans 10:9: That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. What he is saying is that when we confess, we are saying the same things about Jesus that God says about Him. He is Lord. He is risen from the dead and He is Lord!
Confession is not a one and done. Confession is a daily aspect of our walk with the Lord. David speaks of talking about God’s faithfulness and love in the great assembly…which is admirable. But where it really gets tough, in my opinion, is when you are at your workplace and you are having a terrible day…can you still confess Christ then? Can you confess that you believe Jesus Christ is Lord when you receive a terrible diagnosis from the doctor? Confession of Jesus must be a daily (sometimes multiple times a day) routine for the believer!
PRAY
Father help me to consecrate my life and heart to you completely and to not be silent about your love in my life!