Chapter 40

Ps.40:1. Finally, a psalm to David. The proposed psalm pleases those who believe in Christ, and promises Christ’s help as a reward for their faith. The very face of the Savior is also introduced, condemning the princes of the Jewish people, especially the traitor. Ps.40:2. Blessed is he who considers the poor and wretched. He calls Christ poor and wretched, according to what is said: “He is rich for our poverty” (2 Cor. 8:9). The psalmist here presented moral teaching to prophecy with the intention that the psalm would be useful in both. Who is he pleasing? “Understanding that he is poor and wretched,” that is, understanding that Christ, who is rich, actually became poor so that we too would have mercy on the poor, as brothers of our Creator and Judge. Therefore, blessed is he who speaks about the poor as he should, or who understands the poverty that Christ took upon himself for us. What is the use of poverty? On the day of cruelty the Lord will deliver him, indicates the day of judgment, which will bring illness and labor to sinners. And the Lord will deliver the poor. For he will repay the debt to them with love for mankind, as he who borrowed alms from them, and who said through Solomon: “The poor have mercy, and give in return to God” (Prov. 19:17), and with His own lips: “Before you have created only these... lesser ones, you have created for Me” (Matthew 25:40). “On the day of cruelty the Lord will deliver him.” “Fierce day” refers to the attack of temptation and persecution from enemies. It makes it clear, I think, that the day of judgment is terrible and disastrous for the lawless. And he promises that full knowledge of this poverty will free him from the disasters of the terrible day. Ps.40:3. May the Lord protect him, and live him, and make him blessed on earth, and may he not deliver him into the hands of his enemies, Ps.40:4. You turned his entire bed into his illness. He will feel better, and a change towards recovery will occur in him. For Divine Scripture usually uses the word “conversion” instead of the word “change,” as for example: “Thou hast turned my cry into joy” (Ps. 29:12). Ps.40:5. Az reh: Lord, have mercy on me, heal my soul. David also prays about his own sin, as one who recognizes in himself one of those who understand the poor and wretched. Ps.40:6. Defeat Mine and decide to be evil to Me. From this verse the face of Christ himself is introduced, describing how the Jews treated Him. And before this verse, it must be assumed that the prophet spoke about the entire universal Church, because this is more fitting for each of the zealous Christians than for the Lord’s Man. For the Psalmist does not mean everything he said about Him alone, as some believed. In this case, I would not say with the article ***: “blessed is he who considers (ὁ συνειων) the poor and wretched,” but what is said without the article means someone in particular. So, now it passes from the other members of the Church to the Lord himself, i.e. Christ, Who says: “Enemy Mine” and so on. When will His name die and be destroyed? It's hard for us to even see Him. Ps.40:7. And when you come in you see, you speak in vain. This speaks of Judas, and what was said has the following meaning: having gained access to Me, as included in the number of disciples, he was bilingual and cunning. For “the verb was spoken in vain,” that is, there was no truth in it. His heart gathers iniquity unto itself. He decided, he says, to betray Me to the envious. You went out and spoke together, exactly the following: “Give me whatever you want, and I will deliver Him to you” (Matthew 26:15). Ps.40:8. Slay all of Mine in whispers against Me. This means the reproach of the Jews to Him, the Jewish conspiracies and secret plans against Him, meaning the bishops conspiring with Judas, who “whispered” when they offered Judas their conditions about Jesus. “Whisper” because, fearing the people, they did not dare to make these conditions explicitly. Ps.40:9. You have laid a criminal word on Me, precisely: “Take, take, crucify Him” (John 19:15). And that this word was unlawful is clear from what was said: “I am innocent and righteous, and do not kill her” (Ex. 23:7). Food won't sleep cause you to resurrect? He laughs at the plans of the Jews, who thought that they would crush Him with death as one of us. Therefore He says: Do you really think to overcome life by death? If I suffer, then for Me it is sleep; after dormition it is necessary to follow rebellion. But death is also a dormition, therefore death will necessarily be followed by resurrection. Ps.40:10. For the man of My peace, in whose trust is worthless, the eater of My bread, magnify the stumbling upon Me, - abuse, malice, deception. He calls Judas “a man of the world” because he apparently belonged to the number of well-disposed and friends, like a disciple. Ps.40:11. But You, Lord, have mercy on Me, and raise Me up, and I will repay them. Thus He speaks to His Father, according to humanity for the sake of His exhaustion, although He Himself is the mercy of God and the Father, and the resurrection, and life. Ps.40:12. In this knowledge, as you desired Me. Again he speaks as a man to offer himself as a sacrifice to God and the Father. For My enemy will not rejoice in Me. If Christ says this on behalf of all humanity, then by “enemy” we must mean the one who has prepared death for us. And if this is said on behalf of Christ himself, then it means the Jewish rulers. And that they were saddened is shown by the slander they made about His resurrection. Ps.40:13. He accepted me for my kindness. Who Himself is the defense of all, He says that He accepted protection, not because He needed it, since He is God, but, having become a man, He speaks for men. Ps.40:14. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting. Now the proposed song is sealed with thanksgiving. From the century, he says, of the present to the century of the future. So the blessing that we pronounce to God begins in the present century and ends in the future century. “In part we understand, and in part we prophesy” (1 Cor. 13:9), and therefore we bless in part. “When that which is perfect has come,” says Paul, “part of it will be done away with” (1 Cor. 13:10). For, with progress towards more, what was in part ceases. That is why the Psalmist added: and makes prayer worse. Blessed is the one who here begins to bless God with faith and success in other good deeds, and this blessing crowns him in the next century, just as it is not allowed for the wicked and unfaithful to bless God there. It should be noted that some, having divided this psalm prophecy into five books, place the first book before this psalm, because at the end, like a crown, it contains the blessing of God. Therefore, the remaining four books are divided in this way. In the text, instead of the word “article” there was the word “member”, as in the old grammars. Editorial “ABC of Faith” You might be interested in: