Psalm 40

April 8th-9th, 2007

April 11th-12th, 2007

April 20th-21st, 2007

April 23rd-24th, 2007

Psalm 40

I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD. Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare. 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. Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD; may your love and your truth always protect me. For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me. Be pleased, O LORD, to save me; O LORD, come quickly to help me. May all who seek to take my life be put to shame and confusion; may all who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace. May those who say to me, "Aha! Aha!" be appalled at their own shame. But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say, "The LORD be exalted!" Yet I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; O my God, do not delay.

Psalm 40:8 (New International Version; emphasis mine, of course)

• "I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart."

Now, I am going to pick over this verse. This is going to be etched into my heart. And it needs to be along with the rest of the Bible. First, a look at different translations:

Psalm 40:8 (New Living Translation)

• "I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your law is written on my heart."

Psalm 40:8 (New Century Version)

• "My God, I want to do what you want. Your teachings are in my heart."

Psalm 40:8 (New Century Version)

• "My God, I want to do what you want. Your teachings are in my heart."

Psalm 40:8 (The Message)

• "And I'm coming to the party you're throwing for me." That's when God's Word entered my life, became part of my very being.

I'm not sure that The Message is accurate in comparison to the others. It just seems strange to me, and I'm a strange guy. Some people like it. Then again, some people like liver and onions. To each their own, I guess.

Psalm 40:8 (NIV; emphasis mine, of course)

• "I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart."

Desire is a song by U2, but also is a verb coming from the Hebrew word châphêts meaning to delight in, take pleasure in, desire, favour, like, and to be pleased with.

Desire in today's dictionary is defined as followed:

Desire (verb):

• To wish or long for; crave; want.
• To express a wish to obtain; ask for; request.

Do today's versions capture what was written in the Hebrew? I know they are definitely different, and the English can only do so much to try to capture the meaning of the Hebrew language. Will an English Bible ever capture all the Hebrew meaning? I don't it, at least not sounding like it would make any sense (hhhmmm... the Message?).

Psalm 40:8 (NIV; guess what - emphasis mine!)

• "I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart."

I feel I have to share this with you. It's pretty interesting. It's a link that takes you to the beginning of the Internet. Here's the link: The Beginning. Since it is the beginning, the site is really come a long way.

Another thing I have learned today is this: traveling from New York to London has actually become a very low-cost travel experience. You don't think so? Try these six simple steps.

1. Go to GOOGLE
2. Click on "maps"
3. Click on "get directions"
4. Type "New York" in the first box (the "from" box)
5. Type "London" in the second box (the "to" box)
6. Hit "get directions"

Now, at this point, you will already be laughing. But wait, there is more... scroll on down to step #23 (Michael Jordan's number, if you like basketball) - you will really enjoy the reading there. Now, back to the Quiet Time (actually, today is the 11th, so I'm actually getting into the swing of things).

I'm looking at the "your will" part of the scripture. The phrase "your will" comes from the Hebrew word "râtsôn" meaning:

• (Be) acceptable (-ance, -ed).
• Delight.
• Desire.
• Favour.
• (Good) pleasure.
• (Own, self, voluntary) will.
• As . . . (what) would.

Will (noun):

• (control over) one's desire(s) or wish(es); determination.
• Diligent purposefulness.
• Self-control; self-discipline.

The word "will" in the English language can be very confusing. I will do this or that. Let's write a will for when I die. I submit to God's will. Three sentences with three different contexts. And when you go to the dictionary at dictionary.com, there's even more. It feels like there's a hundred different type's of Will's for law alone (probably only between 15-20, but it feels like more), and did you know that the word "will" is also a medical term? I just looked at it not five minutes ago, and I already forgot. That's probably why I didn't make it long in Pharmacy School. It's a good thing I got out when I did (it wasn't much of a no-brainer for me, though). Anyway, I sifted through the definitions and when I got to the "Mutual Dictionary", which is generally closer to the bottom of the web page, I REALLY started to pay closer attention, due to how they show words spelled in other languages (like in Greek and Hebrew, if it was available). One popped out to me as the definition to be specifically looking for in all of these, which I had, but I had some of the others as well. I am glad I did edit those others out, because I looked at the list and it didn't make much sense to me.

So, I desire to do God's will. I'm craving to be in his favour. I take pleasure in what God desires. It could be translated that way. But there is still so much more to this passage. So much more...

Psalm 40:8 (NIV; you know...)

• "I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart."

Now, I already know before I even look that LORD is Yahweh, but this is God in the OT. Honestly, I have already forgotten when Hebrew word God.

Here's what the phrase "O my God" comes up in the dictionary that I have: 'ĕlôhîym (el-o-heem')

• Gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative: angels, exceeding, God (gods) (-dess, -ly), (very) great, judges, mighty. (Strong Dictionary)
• (Plural) rulers, judges, divine ones, angels, gods; (Plural intensive - singular meaning) god, goddess, godlike one, works or special possessions of God, the (true) God, God. (Brown-Drivers-Briggs)

And so, I don't know about the "O my" part, but "God" is definitely next. Looking at the context,

Psalm 40:8 (NIV)

• "I desire to do your will, "O my God"; your law is within my heart."

I desire to do your will, O my God. I'm craving to be in your favour, my God. I take pleasure in what your desires, my God. I'm sure it could be taken further since, it is the true God, we could go further and use LORD. But that would be a personal translation and reference and not necessarily from the Hebrew meaning. I still like the idea, though.

Psalm 40:8 (NIV)

• "I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart."

It's time to look at the law. And it's not just any law, it's God's law.

Law (tôrâh)

Pronounced: to-raw'

• A precept or statute, especially the Decalogue or Pentateuch: - law. (Strong's)
• Law, direction, instruction
• Instruction, direction (human or divine)
• Body of prophetic teaching
• Instruction in Messianic age
• Body of priestly direction or instruction
• Body of legal directives
• Law of the burnt offering
• Of special law, codes of law
• Custom, manner
• The Deuteronomic or Mosaic Law (BDB)

Now, I could look in the English dictionary and look under the word "law" and come up with a zillion definitions and filter and filter through them to find something that might make sense. Or...

Torah (noun):

• The first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures.
• A scroll of parchment containing the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures, used in a synagogue during services.
• The entire body of religious law and learning including both sacred literature and oral tradition.

The law on which Judaism is founded (torah is Hebrew for “law”). This law is contained in the first five books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). Torah can also refer to the entire body of Jewish law and wisdom, including what is contained in oral tradition (Torah at Dictionary.com).

And so, David, who is the writter of Psalm 40, has the torah written on his heart. He knows the law. He knows what he can and can't do. There is no doubt that if he does something, whether it is for or against the law, whether it is for or against the one true God. Which is maybe - MAYBE - why God had said that Samuel shouldn't look at the outward appearance, but at the heart (1st Samuel 16:7). I would say that would be a good guess.

Psalm 40:8 (I think you've even seen this before... NIV)

• "I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart."

OK, so I am starting this one up again (I put the scripture in yesterday and did "O my God; your law"). I think I need to just be me for a minute and relax - breathe - and share a little something funny. You should check out this link to see George W. face off against George W. In all actuality, it really is George talking and George thinking - and it took place at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in 2006. It's a real treat, so enjoy. The link: Inside George W Bush's Mind

The word "within" is a preposition. I am not sure if I have ever done a dictionary, Hebrew, the whole works, on my QT blog. If I have, it has been some time ago. I guess I should say that the REALITY is the last time I did a preposition was yesterday, but the work didn't save properly, so I get to do it again. It feels disappointing, but I can't help but remember what one of my professors saying: "I should be like Jesus and SAVE, SAVE, SAVE!!!" Lesson learned... again.

Within (prep.):

• In or into the interior of or the parts or space enclosed by.
• Inside of; in.
• In the compass or limits of; not beyond.
• At or to some point not beyond, as in length or distance; not farther than.
• At or to some amount or degree not exceeding.
• In the course or period of, as in time.
• Inside of the limits fixed or required by; not transgressing.
• In the field, sphere, or scope of.

Now, with this definition, I would think this is all I need to do. I really do. But curiousity does get the best of me (after all, it does kill the cat - and I do like cats).

Within (tâvek):

Pronounced: taw'-vek

• A bisection, that is, (by implication) the centre: among (-st), between, half, (there-, where-) in (-to), middle, mid [-night], midst (among), out (of), through, with (-in). (Strong's)
• Midst, middle; into, through (after verbs of motion); among (of a number of persons); between (of things arranged by twos); from among (as to take or separate). (BDB)

Psalm 40:8 (JRV - this is, of course, the Johnny Ray Version.)

• "I take pleasure in your desires, my God; your scriptures are in the center of my heart."

OK, onto the last part of this study: THE HEART! Actually, it's MY HEART! Now that is a bit scary. But before I do, I don't know if any of you have seen "Pirates of the Caribbean", but do I have some luck for you. You can watch it online for FREE! That's right - FREE! (My goodness, I should be ashamed of myself by now... but I'm not. But if you actually think this IS the movie, then... yeah.) And the lucky thing about this FREE offer is that you catch not only the first "Pirates" movie, but the second "Pirates" flick as well!!! ABSOLUTELY FREE! (note: this is a free movie offer: all movies are played online and consist of 30 second films acted out by bunny's, as in bunny rabbits. There is no cost, as in $0 and 0¢. I hope that clears it up. Thanks, the Johnny Ray Quiet Time un-official Legal Dept.)

THE LINK: Pirates of the Caribbean (Curse of the Black Pearl AND Dead Man's Chest)

I feel sick to my heart... I mean stomach. Seriously, the heart was considered to be in the abdomen 2,000 years ago. When I first heard this, I thought: "How could they think the heart was in the stomach?!" And then I thought about when someone stresses out, they get acid reflux (upset stomach). They worry about getting caught in a lie? Are they a sluggard and aren't doing the good they are supposed to do? Let's look at the heart:

Heart (mê‛eh):

Pronounced: may-aw'

• From an unused root probably meaning to be soft; used only in plural the intestines, or (collectively) the abdomen, figuratively sympathy; by implication a vest; by extension the stomach, the uterus (or of men, the seat of generation), the heart (figuratively): - belly, bowels, heart, womb. (Strong's)
• Inward parts, digestive organs, organs of procreation, womb, place of emotions or distress or love (figuratively), external belly. (BDB)

Now, get this - back in the day, they didn't think the "brain" (as we know it today) was all that important. The knowledge that they believed to be true was that the abdomen area was the "brain" and heart of the body. It makes the most sense to think they believed this way. The Jews spent a long time in Egypt where the Egyptians didn't value the human brain when the mummified someone. In fact, they would extract the brain through the nose of the person they were mummifying. It wouldn't be impossible for a "people who struggle with God" to carry some Egyptian ideas with them when they skip town. In the BDB Dictionary, I do like the way they define the heart as a place of emotions or distress or love.

And so, to wrap this LLLOOONNNGGG Quiet Time up... It's time to see what I started with and what I finished with...

Psalm 40:8 (NIV)

• "I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart."

Psalm 40:8 (JRV - Johnny Ray Version)

• "I take pleasure in your desires, my God; your scriptures are the center of my love."

This was extremely fun to do, time taking, worth-while, and thought provoking. I have another scripture in mind for another one to do. Anyway, I know this is as long as a thesis or something... I hope you enjoy it as much as I did putting it together. All the same, Johnny Out!