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Passage Research

Psalm 40 — Sermon Preparation

Below is a research summary for Psalm 40, drawn from openly licensed scholarly databases — original-language morphology, classic sermons from the church fathers through the Puritans, and ancient geography data.

18
verses
185 / 129
Hebrew words / lemmas
15
classic sermon excerpts
4
preachers & commentators

Psalm 40 in the Hebrew

Distinctive vocabulary of this chapter, based on original-language morphology.

Hebrew Transliteration Strong's Count Glosses
רַב rab H7227 4 abundant
חָפֵץ châphêts H2654 3 pleased with
כָּלָא kâlâʼ H3607 2 restrict, hold back
עָצַם ʻâtsam H6105 2 bind fast, close
עֶזְרָה ʻezrâh H5833 2 aid
תְּשׁוּעָה tᵉshûwʻâh H8668 2 rescue
קָוָה qâvâh H6960 2 bind, collect

How preachers through history handled this text

15 public-domain excerpts on Psalm 40, from the church fathers to the Puritans.

Spurgeon 8 Matthew Henry 4 Alexander MacLaren 2 John Wesley 1

“The best saints see themselves undone, unless continually preserved by the grace of God. But see the frightful view the psalmist had of sin. This made the discovery of a Redeemer so welcome. In all his reflections upon each step of his life, he discovered something amiss. The sight and sense of our sins in their own colours, must distract us, if we have not at the same time some sight of a Saviour. If Christ has triumphed over our spiritual enemies, then we, through him, shall be more than conquerors. …”

— Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise), on Psalm 40:11–30 (Public Domain)

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Greek exegesis, historical background, current scholarship, sermon outlines, illustrations — a complete PDF report on Psalm 40, delivered in 45 minutes.