Passage Research
Psalm 40 — Sermon Preparation
David praises God who lifted him from a pit, declares that delighting in God's will matters more than burnt offerings, then cries out for fresh help. 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.
“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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