Psalm 40 ~ blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud

1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord.

4 Blessed is the man who makes
the Lord his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after a lie!
5 You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
none can compare with you!
I will proclaim and tell of them,
yet they are more than can be told.

6 In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,
but you have given me an open ear.
Burnt offering and sin offering
you have not required.
7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come;
in the scroll of the book it is written of me:
8 I delight to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.”

9 I have told the glad news of deliverance [righteousness]
in the great congregation;
behold, I have not restrained my lips,
as you know, O Lord.
10 I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
from the great congregation.

11 As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain
your mercy from me;
your steadfast love and your faithfulness will
ever preserve me!
12 For evils have encompassed me
beyond number;
my iniquities have overtaken me,
and I cannot see;
they are more than the hairs of my head;
my heart fails me.

13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me!
O Lord, make haste to help me!
14 Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether
who seek to snatch away my life;
let those be turned back and brought to dishonor
who delight in my hurt!
15 Let those be appalled because of their shame
who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”

16 But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
say continually, “Great is the Lord!”
17 As for me, I am poor and needy,
but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
do not delay, O my God!


We have several really large pine trees. At the top of one, about 60 feet up, one of the branches had fallen and caught on a lower branch. I pointed out to my husband, the branch looked exactly like a shepherd's crook. It was a large branch. We wondered if it would do damage when it fell, so on one of our walks, we prayed about it. I rather liked that shepherd branch hanging up there!

Years later, we were returning from one of our walks to Starbucks and my husband noticed the branch had neatly fallen into the flower bed, no damage at all. Eagerly we went to see this shepherd's crook. We were discouraged to find one crushed baby sparrow. My husband and I found 3 or 4 more tiny little sparrows. They were cute with little masks, like the one in the photo. We knew not to touch them, or the parent would smell the human scent. I could hear, from inside our house, the parents crying frantically & the babies peeping cries. They couldn't locate the young birds. I was getting frantic myself. And growing more unhappy that neatly shaped branch was the message of impending doom. Time was going on and it seemed the little birds, after falling so many feet in the hollow in the branch, were getting quiet.

Now feeling good & angry, I googled 'rescuing baby birds fallen from the nest'. Amazingly, the human touch and birds scent is a complete myth; it advised getting a basket, putting the remainder of the nest in the basket and using coat hangers to hang the basket in branches at a comfortable, reachable height. Slightly tilt the basket so the birds fold into the original nest. The hollowed branch had nesting materials. Thrilled - yes - to hush the more distressed parents and rescue the oh-so quiet baby birds. I returned to the house, job done. NO. The babies were too distressed to cry & the parents were frantic. One more google search. The answer, me grabbing the baby and holding it high; now the baby bird was squeeling. Oh, that worked. The dad was hysterically fearful of this human. He fearfully and bravely flew to a lower branch, just nearby. Now, the parents could see me put the baby back into the basket/nest. Alleluia, the parents were only too glad to see their brood. My reward - getting to see the parents raise them for the next two weeks. Happy family. Everyone grew up after some flying lessons. We still see their variety of sparrow arrive at our bird bath and feeder. The glow of kindness brightens the day.

This is like the blessings we have in the Lord. We have discomfort, fear and our issues are not immediately resolved. It is in trust, not abandonment, or panic & we are able to see the path God has for us.

Great is the Lord!

We are blessed when we put our trust in Him. Help us, Father God, to not abandon or panic about our troubles. To put our problems in Your hands. With faith, and a slice of curiosity, to see how You will bring Your will forth. Great is the Lord! Thank you in Jesus' name. Amen.

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