Have you ever been physically stuck somewhere? Where I live we can get some very deep snow in the winter, and it’s easy for a car to get stuck in a snowdrift. Or perhaps your car has gotten stuck in the mud. I’ve seen videos of animals who have gotten stuck in a mud pit. They thrash about frantically, but cannot get themselves free. In our psalm today, David found himself caught in a pit. Perhaps he was in a literal pit, or maybe it was a pit of trouble. That is something most of us can relate to. There is another type of pit that all of us have been in, and from which none of us can get out of unaided, and that is the pit of sin. Like David, we need God to rescue us from that pit. Let’s look at what we can learn from our psalm today.
As David begins this psalm, he finds himself caught in the pit, whether physically, figuratively, or spiritually. He cried out to God for His help, but he had to wait for His answer (vs. 1). No one likes to wait, especially if you are caught in a pit! However, David waited patiently, and he was rewarded as God heard his cry and brought him out of the pit (vs. 2). Sometimes we may feel that God has let us down because He does not provide an immediate answer to our prayer. However, waiting for the Lord can transform us into a people of growing faith. David grew into a man after God’s own heart by waiting on the Lord (Acts 13:22; I Samuel 13:14). When we become frustrated with God’s apparent delay in answering our prayers, it is good to remember that He is interested in developing faith and perseverance in our character.
The original language here suggests that David waited and waited and waited for God to answer his prayer. Yet as he looked back at this time of delay, he praised God. God “inclined” to answer David. Just as a parent does to a young child, God bent down and showed His mercy. He hears His children. Our prayers are not ignored, but are attended to by a personal, caring God.
The condition that David was in was definitely not a pleasant one. It was horrible. It was a miry pit, a muddy, slimy, mucky, filthy place. That is not a pleasant place to be if we are in a literal pit like that, and it certainly isn’t when we are caught up in the filth of our own sins. We are wallowing in our own desperation. However, when we turn to God and call for His help, He brings us up out of that pit and sets our feet on solid rock (vs. 2). He establishes our steps so that we don’t fall back into the mire. Salvation is God’s work from start to finish. He rescues us, stabilizes us, and guides our steps.
When God brought David deliverance from the pit, the first thing he did was to bring worship to the Lord (vs. 3). He shared with others a testimony of God’s faithfulness. It wasn’t some person who helped him, as no one can help us get out of our sin condition (vs. 4). Our faith must be placed in God alone. Trusting in human pride or false beliefs will only lead to ruin.
David then turns and acknowledges that God does not primarily desire sacrifices and offerings from His people. Instead, God would rather have a servant who is ready to obey Him (vs. 6-8). Rather than having a hypocritical “follower” who brings Him a burnt sacrifice, and then turns and does whatever they want, God wants someone who has an open ear to hear what He says, and has a heart aligned with His will, who delights in obeying His Word. If we follow religious rituals without obeying the Bible, those rituals are just empty.
We see these verses quoted in Hebrews 10:5-10, and applied to the Lord Jesus. He is the perfect obedient Servant who came to do the Father’s will, culminating in His once-for-all sacrifice. Jesus fulfilled what the sacrificial system was pointing towards. We need to ask ourselves - are we merely performing religious rituals, or are we obeying God and His Word from our heart?
As our Scripture passage closes, David reiterated again the need to give public testimony of God’s goodness (vs 9-10). He will declare God’s righteousness and faithfulness. He will tell others about His salvation, lovingkindness, and truth. When the Lord brings us deliverance, whether it is physically rescuing us from a dangerous situation, or a figurative rescue from a distressing problem, or especially when He brings us salvation, we need to share that with others. Salvation is God’s work! He hears our prayers, lifts us up out of the pit, and sets us on His path.
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