PSALM FORTY

WAIT FOR GOD! 
 
   The opening phrase of this psalm could be better translated by,
"Waiting. I waited for the Lord." The exegesis of the Psalm is very
important. It contains a prophecy concerning Messiah, yet there is not
sufficient evidence to apply the whole psalm to Messiah. It is a
typical Messianic psalm with David the singer as the type portrayed. In
singing, he utters things which can only be true of the antitype -
Christ Himself. It is as though David meant to sing of his own
experience but the Holy Spirit led him to use language which in its
full meaning can only be applied to Christ. 
   There are three lines of emphasis which intersect in this psalm -
the revelation - the shadow fulfilment - and the full fulfilment. 
   HOW DAVID LEARNED THE LESSON - WAIT FOR GOD! 
   It is recorded in 1 Samuel 15.22, "And Samuel said, 'Hath the Lord
as great delight in Burnt Offerings and Sacrifices, as in obeying the
voice of the Lord? Behold it is better to obey than to sacrifice, and
to hearken than the fat of rams. Because thou hast rejected the Word of
the Lord, He hath rejected thee from being king.'" David knew of this
event, and what had happened in Saul's case. Saul could not wait for
God. He had been commanded to wait until Samuel, God's prophet and
priest, should come to make the sacrifice. Saul, flushed with victory,
DID IT HIMSELF. That was his undoing. He had encroached into the
Priestly Office. This may seem quite a small thing until we consider
its implications. Saul had sat among the prophets and prophesied; he
had been anointed king; now he took on himself the office of priest,
because he could not wait for God. Thus he intruded into the triple
office which was reserved for another. Christ is our Prophet, Priest
and King. No one else can fully fulfil His offices. David had learned a
lesson from the man whose place he was to fill. On two occasions he had
the opportunity of slaying Saul and gaining the office of king, for
which God had anointed him. But he was prepared to wait for God's time.
"Waiting - I waited for the Lord!" The revelation of what happens if
you don't wait for God made David all the more determined to wait for
God. 
   The shadow fulfilment of the promise of a king for Israel was
completed in David himself. In this psalm he sings, "I delight to do
Thy will O God. Thy Law is in mine heart. I have proclaimed to the
congregation." Testimony, however, often brings severe test. Abram
called himself Abraham - the father of many nations - after God had
given him the promise, BUT BEFORE the promise began to operate. David
was anointed king before he sat upon the throne of Israel. There is
God's Time for the fulfilment of each revelation. God's time is the
right time to enter into the promise. Move before God, and you move
into disaster. Waiting - you wait for God. David sings on, "I have not
refrained my lips. I have not hid Thy Righteousness. I have declared
Thy faithfulness and salvation. I have not concealed Thy lovingkindness
and truth." BUT HE STILL WAITED FOR GOD. He lived to see the fulfilment
of God's purpose in his life - he came to the throne. 
   The full fulfilment of a king for Israel is in Christ. It is
referred to in Hebrews 10.5-6. We must always be careful, in the
interpretation of prophecy, never to mistake the shadow fulfilment for
the FULL FULFILMENT. We cannot know perfection until the fullness has
come. In the fullness of time Jesus came to earth. He came in God's
time. He will come again at a time determined by the Father. That time
is only known by the Father. The will of the Father will be completed
by the Son. We, upon whom the ends of the Age have come, must wait for
God. He will send His son in the fullness of His Time to set up His
kingdom in Glory and Power. 



Copyright (c) 1995, Hedley Palmer. All rights reserved.



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