At Last, He Answered

This topic essentially shows that the person has been waiting for something for a while and it seems as if that thing which he was waiting for would not be granted. When one has been in a position for sometimes with no solution in sight one would surely lose hope.

This topic is drawn from the book of Psalms 40 the first verse which says,

“I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.” (Psa. 40:1)

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown while commenting on this chapter says it is the “sixteenth Psalm to express the feelings of Christ’s human nature”. This Psalm of David is written to show his human nature and express Jesus nature when in the world.

The Psalms is written to encourage us, guide us so that we shall know that what we are presently passing through some people have passed through similar things in the past and they scaled through it. If they can scale through such, we can also scale through the same if we look at their lifestyles and learn from it.

James Howell says this Psalms is not a prayer as much as a report on a prayer. To understand few things about this first stanza of Psalms 40 I will want us to see some things of note on it.

Pulpit commentary when talking on this verse says, the Hebrew word for “I waited patiently” is “in waiting, I waited”, and this word is an idiom in Hebrew language which is often used when an idea is to be emphasized by the speaker. Thus, David the chief Musician uses this word to emphasize that he really waited for the Lord.

What he was emphasizing in this verse can be clearly seen and it is “waiting.”

“I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.” (Psa. 40:1)

Wait in Hebrew is “קוה”, Romanized form is qâvâh (phonetic spelling is kaw-vaw') which means to expect, gather together, look, tarry.

Barnes’ in his commentary of this verse says that the word is suggestive of a person who has been praying unto God repeatedly for something, but his prayers were not answered immediately, but despite not receiving immediate answers to his prayers he was not tired, he keeps on praying until he was answered.

James Howell while writing on this says, no one in the world wants to wait, we are always in a hurry to get things done and when we are asked to wait, whether to see a doctor, during traffic and so on we shall be looking at time saying time is far spent, thinking about what we would have achieved during those brief time of waiting.

This shows the author’s position of waiting, of his tirelessness despite meeting with an obstacle at the first attempt.

The waiting here is individual waiting, as the author does not say, and “we” waited for the Lord. Some things in life requires individual decision for when one brings others into the planning, the plan would fail as they would discourage the person.

However, today, Jesus brought salvation to all in the world, but it is individual person who would embrace the salvation, it is not a combine thing, the decision would be taken by a person.

Thus, when the king sent his servants to go and call people to the wedding banquet of his son, he was approaching them individually he did not call them together and each person decides whether he would attend the wedding banquet or not. (Mat 22:1-14)

The writer says, he waited, he tarried alone, he did not see anyone with him, no one accompanied him when he was tarrying, waiting for the Lord. It was his personal decision to wait for him despite others antagonisms, despite that they had lost faith in what he was doing because it was being prolonged than necessary, yet he waited.

The person he waited for was clearly stated in the verse and the person is the Lord.

“I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.” (Psa. 40:1)

He has to state whom he waited for, for clarifications. In the christian religion system in my land when some people are testifying that they waited for long before they are answered. Some of them would not be specific about their kind of waiting and the person they have waited for. Those people are not specific because they know that they have been hiding under the name of religion and Jesus Christ to testify but in the real sense they have not waited for the Lord, they have waited for some other gods, they have waited for an angel, they have waited for human being to answer them. And when they are answered they will quickly hide under religion to testify because they know that they have known them with certain religious sect in the society.

He stated that he waited for the Lord because he knows that it was the Lord that he waited for, people around can equally testify that he has waited for the Lord.

It is good that one knows whom he or she is waiting for in life.

If one does not know the person, he or she was waiting for there would be a misconstruing, there would be a mistake and one may choose the wrong person. For someone who does not know the person he wants to see, the person would have to give him or her a sign to watch out for lest there be mistakes that may lead to embarrassments and other things.

I was given someone’s phone number some few months back who I need to contact to help me get some documents, the man I dd not know and the person who linked me with him has left our country, Nigeria, he wants me to contact him so that I would not be duped. After phoning the person we agree on a place to meet. I have been there a while and when he arrived, he did not know me, I must tell him a sign which will make him discover the person he wants to see. That is how it is. If someone does not know the person he wants to see, the person would give a sign which shall reveal the exact person else there would be error.

Some people really seek for salvation, but their albatross is that they do not know how to be saved, thus, they keep on moving from pillars to posts to secure salvation and in the process, some have fallen into wrong hands and have been led into heresies.

If you do not know how to be saved, be it known today that Jesus is the means for salvation as he says, that I am the way, the truth and the Life.

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (Joh 14:6)

If you can accept Jesus into your life as your Lord and personal savior and confess and renounce your sins, you shall be saved.

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;” (Act 3:19)

This man, however, knows the Lord he was waiting for and for him he waited until he arrives.

He was not just waiting anywhere, he has a place where he was waiting for the Lord. He was waiting for the Lord in the house of the Lord.

“I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.” (Psa 122:1)

However, when Jesus was speaking with the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob he told her that, people who believed in him would neither worship in Jerusalem neither on any mountain but all those who shall be worshiping the Lord through him shall be worshiping the Lord in truth and spirit, because he has come with a revised testament, new testament that breaks barriers and boundaries.

“Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

“Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.

“Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.

“But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (Joh 4:20-24)

This is the kind of worship that we have been called to now, and we are expected to worship- the Lord in spirit and truth. To worship him in this order, he has given us a new temple and the apostle says our bodies are the temple of the Living God since we are in the spirit and no longer limited by boundaries of laws.

“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (1 Co 3:16)

It is inside this mobile temple that we are expected to be waiting for him always.

How he waited was specifically stated by the adverb that was used by the speaker here, and it is that he waited “patiently”.

“I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.” (Psa. 40:1)

The adverb patiently in English word here is written in Hebrew as “קוה”, Romanized form is qâvâh (pronounced as kaw-vaw') and we shall see that this word has the same root word as the word patient. This therefore shows what Barnes and other authors are saying that the Hebrew version of this place is, “in waiting, I waited”. This word thence implies to expect, look, wait, tarry. It is different from the Hebrew word for patient which is “ארך”, Romanized form of it is 'ârêk (phonetic spelling is aw-rake') which means long-suffering slow (to anger) or to take decision on something important or crucial (Ecc. 7:8).

Tarry is defined as to stay in a place, especially when you ought to leave, to delay coming or going to a place. If we can bring the two definitions together, we shall discover that this man when he ought to leave the place where he has been waiting for the Lord he did not leave. He stayed a little bit longer than expected.

If Jesus could wait like this and David the author of this Psalm could wait for the Lord, we are expected to do the same.

Closely examining this verse we shall see some noticeable signs of how the man waited for the Lord.

“I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.” (Psa. 40:1)

(a) Prayer: Through prayer the man waited on the Lord, that is why he said, he inclined unto me and heard my cry”. It is a person who is talking to the Lord, the person who has drenched his bed with his tears of prayer that could say something like this.

“I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.” (Psa 6:6)

(b) Hoped for his Manifestation: The man hoped against hope for God’s deliverance and answers to his prayers and cries. When others were saying he shouldn’t wait on God again he did not listen to them but continued to hope on him even when he sees no green light that what he was waiting on the Lord for would be made manifest, would be granted, he yet waited and as the author of the book of proverbs says when his hope was fulfilled he was alive and joyous.

“Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.” (Pro 13:12)

The effect of his waiting on the Lord shall equally be seen in the verse.

“I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.” (Psa. 40:1)

(a) Inclined Unto him

Inclined in Hebrew word is “נטה”, Romanized form is nâṭâh (pronounced as naw-taw') which means to bend down to or away. The author presents his case here as to me that when he was praying to God before, the Lord bends away from him, paid no attention to him. The reasons for this wasn’t stated.

However, we all know that sins would push God away from us because he cannot behold iniquity. But when we remove our iniquities far from us, the Lord would hear us, he would bend towards our side like a germinated seed that bends towards sunlight.

When the man persisted, when he did not relent in waiting for the Lord, the Lord after he perhaps has lost hope appeared unto him and bend to listen unto him.

(b) Heard Him

“שׁמע” is the Hebrew word used for heard here and its Romanized form is shâma‛(pronounced as shaw-mah') which means to consent, consider give ear, understand. When the man was tirelessly talking, crying unto the Lord he gives ear to his words of prayers, he bends towards him, consider what he has been saying and answers him, for hear here couldn’t be dissociated from answering.

The author has been waiting on the Lord for sometimes and it was not as if the time when he started communing with the Lord was when the Lord answers and replies him, but after his patience, he was answered by the Lord. The Treasury of David says, this place shows us how to conduct our struggles so as to succeed after the same glorious pattern of triumph of David and Jesus, we therefore need to array ourselves with patience which is one of the fruits of the spirit, equip ourselves with prayer and gird our loins with faith to continue the spiritual battle. It is possible that you are not seeing signs of God coming to your aid at the initial, but as you patiently wait and hope for his appearance be assured that he will not deny you his appearance.