Psalms

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Psalm 40

1 For the music director, a psalm of David. I relied completely on the Lord, and he turned toward me and heard my cry for help. 2 He lifted me out of the watery pit, out of the slimy mud. He placed my feet on a rock and gave me secure footing. 3 He gave me reason to sing a new song, praising our God. May many see what God has done, so that they might swear allegiance to him and trust in the Lord. 4 How blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord and does not seek help from the proud or from liars. 5 O Lord, my God, you have accomplished many things; you have done amazing things and carried out your purposes for us. No one can thwart you. I want to declare your deeds and talk about them, but they are too numerous to recount. 6 Receiving sacrifices and offerings are not your primary concern. Ears you hollowed out for me.¹⁸⁠ You do not ask for burnt sacrifices and sin offerings.⁠ 7 Then I say, “Look, I come! What is written in the scroll pertains to me. 8 I want to do what pleases you, my God. Your law dominates my thoughts.” 9 I have told the great assembly about your justice. Look, I spare no words. O Lord, you know this is true. 10 I have not failed to tell about your justice; I spoke about your reliability and deliverance. I have not neglected to tell the great assembly about your loyal love and faithfulness. 11 O Lord, you do not withhold your compassion from me. May your loyal love and faithfulness continually protect me! 12 For innumerable dangers surround me. My sins overtake me so I am unable to see; they outnumber the hairs of my head so my strength fails me. 13 Please be willing, O Lord, to rescue me! O Lord, hurry and help me! 14 May those who are trying to snatch away my life be totally embarrassed and ashamed. May those who want to harm me be turned back and ashamed. 15 May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!” be humiliated and disgraced. 16 May all those who seek you be happy and rejoice in you. May those who love to experience your deliverance say continually, “May the Lord be praised!” 17 I am oppressed and needy. May the Lord pay attention to me. You are my helper and my deliverer. O my God, do not delay.

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Samuel 15:22 and Psalm 40:6

Hebrew Bible

Summary

1 Samuel 15 and Psalm 40 both argue that ritual is secondary to covenant obedience. Samuel tells Saul that listening is more important than burnt offerings, and the psalm uses the same idiom of listening with "hollow ears" to show obedience.

Passages

1 Samuel 15:22

Hebrew Bible

20 Then Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed the Lord! I went on the campaign the Lord sent me on. I brought back King Agag of the Amalekites after exterminating the Amalekites. 21 But the army took from the plunder some of the sheep and cattle—the best of what was to be slaughtered—to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” 22 Then Samuel said, “Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as he does in obedience? Certainly, obedience is better than sacrifice; paying attention is better than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and presumption is like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the Lord’s orders, he has rejected you from being king.” 24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have disobeyed what the Lord commanded and your words as well. For I was afraid of the army, and I obeyed their voice.

600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Samuel

Psalm 40:6

Hebrew Bible

4 How blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord and does not seek help from the proud or from liars. 5 O Lord, my God, you have accomplished many things; you have done amazing things and carried out your purposes for us. No one can thwart you. I want to declare your deeds and talk about them, but they are too numerous to recount. 6 Receiving sacrifices and offerings are not your primary concern. Ears you hollowed out for me.¹⁸ You do not ask for burnt sacrifices and sin offerings. 7 Then I say, “Look, I come! What is written in the scroll pertains to me. 8 I want to do what pleases you, my God. Your law dominates my thoughts.”

600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

"... Psalm 40:1-5: Expressing awed astonishment, the psalmist testifies to the wonders God has done (verse 5). The usual procedure to celebrate thanksgiving for a deliverance was to make sacrifice and offering in the temple. Verse 6 uses four words from the sacrificial system: sacrifice, a shared offering of animals, with part retained to be eaten by those bringing the offering; offering, a present of grain or animal; burnt offering, entirely consumed on the altar; and sin offering, mostly returned to the priest. In the prophetic tradition, however, the psalmist states God’s preference for obedience over the oblation of animals and grain (1 Samuel 15:22; Psalm 51:16-17; Isaiah 1:11-17; Jeremiah 7:21-28; Hosea 6:6; Amos 5:21-24; Micah 6:6-8). Does this psalm repudiate the sacrificial system? Or is it more likely a reinterpretation, a call to obedience as more important than sacrifice? Was this the offering of thanksgiving and praise that God desires (Psalm 50:14, 23)? Some interpreters see the rejection of sacrifice presupposing the destruction of the temple and the exile, in contrast to the time when worshippers were invited to bring burnt offerings to the house of the LORD (Psalm 66:13-15) ..."

James H. Waltner, Psalms (Scottdale, PA: Herald, 2006), 207–208.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Psalms150 psalms

Compare 1 Samuel 15:22 and Psalm 40:6

Summary

Passages

1 Samuel 15:22

Psalm 40:6

References

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