Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 40:4
Blessed [is] that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
4. Happy is the man that hath mada Jehovah his trust,
And hath not turned unto the arrogant, and false apostates.
The word for man is that used in Psa 34:8, where see note. For the opposite to ‘making Jehovah the object of trust’ see Psa 52:7.
respecteth not ] Rather, as above, hath not turned unto: non est aversus ad Jerome. The word is specially used of turning away from God to idols or false objects of confidence (Dunt. 29:18; Hos 3:1; Eze 29:16).
the proud &c.] The word for ‘proud’ suggests the idea of overbearing arrogance and ostentatious self-assertion: ‘such as turn aside to lies’, or as R.V. marg., fall away treacherously, are those who desert God and the right cause for false objects of reliance and false aims. Idolatry does not appear to be meant, at any rate exclusively. Happy the man who is not misled by appearances to despise God’s help, and seek the patronage of worldly men who boast of their own power.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
4, 5. The blessedness of such a trust.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust – See the notes at Psa 34:8. Compare Psa 27:1. Literally, here, The blessings of the man who places Yahweh for his confidence; that is, who makes Him his seeurity, or who feels that his security for happiness and salvation is in Him.
And respecteth not the proud – The haughty, or those who are confident in themselves. Literally, who looks not to the proud; that is, who does not depend on them for help and for salvation.
Nor such as turn aside to lies – Who depart from the straight path, and incline to that which is false and deceitful. The reference is to those who are easily made to swerve from that which is true and honest to that which is delusive and false. Their integrity cannot be confided in. There is no security that they will be disposed to do right. The idea is, that the man who trusts in God is blessed or happy, as compared with one who trusts in man; man confident in himself; man liable to fall into error; man who is easily led astray; man who is deceitful, and who cannot, therefore, be relied on. God is mighty, but not haughty; God never is drawn aside from the truth; he never deceives.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 40:4
Blessed is the man who maketh the Lord his trust.
The blessedness of making the Lord our trust
I. What is implied by our trust.
1. That it rests in the Lord Himself.
2. It sets aside all self-confidence.
II. Some reasons why the man who makes the Lord his trust is blessed.
1. He acts in accordance with the Divine will.
2. There is stability in his trust; you may always depend upon it.
3. It bestows true manly dignity and freedom from all servile fears.
4. It gives quiet composure to the mind. (W. H. Horwood.)
The Lord our trust
The psalmist here expresses–
I. A peculiar habit of mind. What is implied in trusting in God?
1. A knowledge of His character.
2. It implies the consciousness of reconciliation.
3. Obedience.
4. Piety or devotion.
II. The happiness connected with this trust in the Lord.
1. See it by way of contrast. For how insufficient and unstable are the objects in which the world trusts. Riches, skill, virtue and the like.
2. In the perfections of the God in whom we trust. Think of all His attributes and each will minister to this happiness.
3. In what is prepared for such, both here and hereafter. (W. Wright.)
Faith commended
I. Faith has the divine approval. Wherever there is faith God is pleased with it. He has made it the main requirement of His gospel. It is the one thing needful in prayer. It is the mode and manner of the spiritual life, for the just shall live by faith.
II. This is highly reasonable. We love to be trusted, and are much troubled when we are not. It is our proper position towards God, and it supplies the link between us and Himself. The complete confidence of the heart is the essence of obedience and the fountain of it. And it is no objection that faith, trust, seems such a small matter. But within the compass of it there lies a force whose power would be difficult to measure. It is a virtue which contains within it seed enough to sow all the acreage of life with holiness.
III. And faith is blessedness. For in trouble it assures us that all things work together for good. And it releases from trouble. Read this psalm. It creates within him a deep peace and a holy elevation of character. We put down our foot on what seems thin as air and, behold, it is firm as a rock beneath us. But some one says, I could not live with nothing to depend upon. Is God nothing? The believer has nothing more, and what does he want more? And faith makes blessed in death. For the believer knows he cannot truly die. If ye will believe, ye shall have both heaven on earth and heaven in heaven. God uplift us from the miry clay of unbelief to the rock of confidence in Him. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Trust in the Lord–the only way to happiness
As happy as a king is a common phrase; but history almost seems to say, As miserable as a king. In his last will Henry IV. spoke most sadly of his life, which he had misspended. The last words of Henry VIII. were, All is lost. I, Eleanor, by the wrath of God, Queen of England, so wrote Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen of Henry II. Queen Mary begged that, when she died, not even the semblance of a crown might be put upon her brow. I am aweary of my life, said Queen Elizabeth to the French ambassador. And in the present time we have all seen how much there is in the lot of the Czar of all the Russias that none of us would like.
True happiness can never be realized, either by king or peasant, apart from God, and the wise king said very truly, Whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 4. Blessed is that man] The man must be blessed and happy who casts his soul, with all its burden of sin and wretchedness, at the footstool of God’s mercy; for he will save all who come to him through the Son of his love.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
His trust, i.e. his only trust or refuge, as appears from the following words: q.d. I said, many shall trust in the Lord; and they shall not be losers by it, nor disappointed of their hope, but they are and shall be blessed.
Respecteth not. Heb. looketh not towards, to wit, with love and delight, and desire to imitate them; or with confidence and expectation of relief from thence, as this phrase is oft used, as Psa 25:15; 69:3; 121:1; 141:8, and as the opposition of this clause to the foregoing seems to imply.
The proud or, the mighty, i.e. the great and proud potentates of the world, to whom most men are apt to look and trust, and in whom the psalmist forbids us to put our trust, Psa 146:3.
Such as turn aside, to wit, from God, in whom alone they ought to trust.
To lies, i.e. to lying vanities, such as worldly power, and wisdom, and riches, and all other earthly things or persons in which men are prone to trust; which are called lies here, and Psa 4:2; 62:9; Mic 1:14, and elsewhere, because they promise more than they can perform. See also Psa 7:14; 119:18; Hos 10:13; 12:1.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4. Blessed (Psa 1:1;Psa 2:12).
respectethliterally,”turns towards,” as an object of confidence.
turn asidefrom trueGod and His law to falsehood in worship and conduct.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Blessed is the man that maketh the Lord his trust,…. For such are safe and secure in him, are possessed of all blessings of grace through him, have peace in their own souls now, and shall enjoy eternal happiness with him hereafter;
and respecteth not the proud; such as the Pharisees, and all self-righteous persons, who trust in themselves and their own righteousness, submit not to the righteousness of Christ, and despise others; to these such who trust in Christ have no respect; they neither esteem them, nor imitate them;
nor such as turn aside to lies; to idols, the lying vanities of the Gentiles; or to any doctrines injurious to the person, office, blood, righteousness, sacrifice, and grace of Christ; which are no other than lies, and which those who believe in Christ have no respect to, but abhor both them and the abettors of them.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
4. Blessed is the man who hath set Jehovah for his confidence David here relates what ground for good hope his deliverance would give to all the faithful; inasmuch as, setting aside all the allurements of the world, they would thereby be encouraged to commit themselves with confidence to the protection of God; persuaded not only that they are happy who trust in him alone, but that all other expectations at variance with this are deceitful and cursed. This assurance is not natural to us, but is derived partly from the word of God, and partly from his works; although, as I have said before, the contemplation alone of the works of God would not kindle this light within us, unless God, illuminating us by his word, should show us his benevolence. After having promised to be gracious to us, in manifesting also his goodness by indubitable proofs, he confirms with his own hand what he had previously uttered with his lips. David, therefore, from the fact of his having been restored to life from the abyss of death, justly declares that the faithful are taught from this proof — what men are naturally so reluctant to believe — that they are happy who trust in God alone.
As the instability of our nature commonly tends to draw us downward, and as all of us, from our proneness to yield to delusions, are tempted by many wicked examples, David immediately adds, that he is blessed who regardeth not the proud Some, indeed, render רהבים, rehabim, the rich, or the great of this world, but improperly, in my opinion; because pride, and turning aside to lies, are two things which David here joins together. To regard the great of the earth, therefore, does not signify, as they suppose, to rely upon their power and riches, as if a man’s welfare depended thereupon, but it rather means to be carried away by their examples, to imitate their conduct. When we are everywhere constantly seeing men puffed up with pride, who despise God, and place their highest felicity in ambition, in fraud, in extortion, in guile, a perverse desire of imitating them steals upon us by degrees; and, especially when every thing turns out according to their wishes, a vain and delusive expectation solicits us to try the same course. David, therefore, wisely, and not without good reason, warns us, that in order to have our mind constantly fixed in simple reliance upon God alone, we must guard against those evil examples which ever seek to allure us on all sides to apostatise from him. Moreover, when he says that the proud turn aside to lying, or vanity, (84) in this way he describes briefly the foolish confidence of the flesh. What else is the pride of those who put their own fancies in the place of God but a vain illusion? Certainly the man who, puffed up by the breath of fond conceit, arrogates any thing in the least degree to himself, flatters himself to his own destruction. In short, pride and vanity are opposed to the holy confidence which relies upon God alone; for there is nothing more difficult to the flesh than to trust in God alone, and the world is always full of proud and haughty men, who, soothing themselves with vain allurements, would soon corrupt the minds of the godly, if this arrest were not laid upon them, to restrain, as with a bridle, their erroneous and extravagant opinions.
(84) “ Ou vanite “ — Fr.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(4) Respecteth not.Better, turneth not towards proud men and false apostates. The words are, however, somewhat obscure. The LXX. and Vulg. have vanities and false madnesses. The words we have rendered false apostates are by some translated turners after idols. Idolatry is doubtless implied, but not expressed.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4. That man , ( hageber,) the strong man, one who would be naturally tempted to trust in himself.
The proud The arrogant, who despise others and outrage the rights of men.
Turn aside to lies Apostates from truth and faithfulness, such as Absalom, Ahithophel, and their associate conspirators eleven years later.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
He Declares That The Man Who Does So Trust In YHWH, And Lives Accordingly, Will Experience God’s Wonderful Working On His Behalf ( Psa 40:4-5 ).
Psa 40:4-5
‘Blessed is the man who makes YHWH his trust,
And respects not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
Many, O YHWH my God, are the wonderful works which you have done,
And your thoughts which are to us-ward,
They cannot be set in order to you,
If I would declare and speak of them,
They are more than can be numbered.’
David now outlines the blessedness of those who do so trust in God, and thus turn from all sinful ways. They do not listen to those proud men who in their pride ignore God and would lead them astray, nor do they listen to those who would lead them into dishonesty and deceit, for God has made their thoughts pure.
For such people God performs many wonderful things, and His thoughts and purposes are continually loving towards them. Indeed what He will do for them is so vast and so manifold that it cannot be tabulated or numbered. It is more than can possibly be sorted out into some sort of sequences in order that it can be described. For one thing multiplies and tumbles over on another, and then another, so that His actions towards them are beyond listing or counting.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Psa 40:4. Respecteth not the proud The proud, and those who incline to lies, are, on one side, the haughty daring atheists, who laugh at all application to any power above; and on the other, those who put their confidence in idol-superstitions, which are all a lie and deceit. Mudge.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
What a blessed testimony is here found in the Old Testament church concerning the whole New Testament dispensation. By him, that is Christ, all that believe are justified from all things. Act 13:39 . And who is there that doth not feel his whole soul constrained into the same acknowledgment, as is here expressed under a sense of divine mercy; who indeed is able to express the noble acts of the Lord, or show forth all his praise? Psa 106:2 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 40:4 Blessed [is] that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
Ver. 4. Blessed is that man, &c. ] See Psa 2:12 .
And respecteth not the proud
Nor such as turn aside to lies NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 40:4-5
4How blessed is the man who has made the Lord his trust,
And has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.
5Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done,
And Your thoughts toward us;
There is none to compare with You.
If I would declare and speak of them,
They would be too numerous to count.
Psa 40:4-5 How blessed is the man This is the key thought of this strophe. This term (BDB 80) is used 26 times in the Psalms. See full note at Psa 1:1 and Special Topic: Blessed (OT). Psalms 41 starts with this phrase. It is used mostly in Psalms and Proverbs (i.e., Wisdom Literature), which focuses on a successful and prosperous life.
The reasons given for the blessed state are
1. who has made YHWH his trust
2. who has not turned (BDB 815, KB 937, Qal perfect) to the proud (LXX, NRSV, TEV see #2,3 referring to idols)
3. who has not turned (BDB 962, KB 1312, Qal participle, word found only here in the OT)
In Psa 40:5 the attributes of YHWH are listed.
1. many are the wonders (see TOPIC: WONDERFUL THINGS and note at Psa 40:5)
2. many are His thoughts toward the covenant people
3. none compare with You (cf. Psa 16:2; Isa 6:8-10; i.e., monotheism, see SPECIAL TOPIC: MONOTHEISM )
4. His wonders and thoughts are too numerous to count
a. declare BDB 616, KB 665, Hiphil cohortative
b. speak BDB 180, KB 210, Piel cohortative
Psa 40:5 This verse seems to be reflecting on YHWH’s great acts of deliverance for Israel, especially the Exodus. The us must refer to the faith community from the descendants of Abraham (cf. Gen 12:1-3). Within the covenant community are the faithful and the unfaithful (cf. Psa 40:4), yet YHWH sustains the whole community. He has a universal, redemptive purpose for Israel (cf. Psa 33:10-12).
The term wonder (BDB 810, see TOPIC: WONDERFUL THINGS ) is often used in connection to the Exodus.
1. verb Exo 3:20; Exo 34:10; Deu 28:59
2. noun Exo 15:11
The Exodus was the major evidence of YHWH’s fidelity to His promises (cf. Gen 15:12-21) and the demonstration of His power and purpose for Israel (cf. Gen 12:3).
too numerous to count This may be a verbal link to the promises to Abraham that his descendants would be too numerous to count (i.e., as dust, cf. Gen 13:16; Gen 28:14; Num 23:10; as sand, cf. Gen 22:17; Gen 32:12; as stars, cf. Gen 15:5; Gen 22:17; Gen 26:4). Another wonder of YHWH from an infertile, older couple!
A good parallel text would be Psa 139:17-18, which also notes the numerous acts of deliverance by YHWH. Notice it mentions outnumber the sand, which is another allusion to the promise of Abraham’s descendants.
Blessed = Happy. See App-63.
man = strong man. Hebrew. geber. App-14.
Psa 40:4-5
Psa 40:4-5
“Blessed be the man that maketh Jehovah his trust,
And respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
Many, O Jehovah my God, are the wonderful works which thou hast done,
And thy thoughts which are to us-ward:
They cannot be set in order unto thee;
If I would declare and speak of them,
They are more than can be numbered.”
“Blessed be the man …” (Psa 40:4). This is a beatitude much like those that Jesus used in the Sermon on the Mount.
“Nor such as turn aside to lies” (Psa 40:4). “This is the same as, `Those that turn aside to false gods.’
“Many … are the wonderful works which thou hast made” (Psa 40:5). The wonderful works of God are: (1) all of those things which are beyond the power of men to accomplish; (2) so complex that they cannot be set in order, meaning that they cannot be classified, or in any sense completely comprehended; and (3) they are innumerable, as stated in the last line of Psa 40:5. “When we have said the most we can of the wonders of divine love to us, we must conclude with an `etc.,’ or an `as such,’ and adore the depths of that to which we can never find the bottom!
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 40:4. Trust in the Lord is set over against being proud. We thus see that pride can be manifested in more than one way. Another contrast that is Indicated is between trust in God on the one hand, and turning to lies on the other. Any statement that questions the faithfulness of God is a falsehood.
Psa 40:5. This verse simply teaches that the wonderful works of God are “too numerous to mention.”
trust
(See Scofield “Psa 2:12”).
Blessed: Psa 2:12, Psa 34:8, Psa 84:11, Psa 84:12, Psa 118:8, Psa 118:9, Jer 17:7, Jer 17:8, Rom 15:12, Rom 15:13
respecteth: Psa 15:4, Psa 101:3-7, Psa 119:21
as turn: Psa 125:5, Isa 44:18-20, Jer 10:14, Jer 10:15, Jon 2:8, 2Th 2:9-11
Reciprocal: 1Sa 12:20 – turn not 1Ki 22:43 – he turned Psa 31:20 – from Psa 32:1 – Blessed Psa 32:10 – but Psa 78:7 – set Jer 48:7 – because
Psa 40:4. Blessed is the man, &c. I said, many shall trust in the Lord, and they shall not be losers by it, nor disappointed of their hope; but they are and shall be blessed. And respecteth not , velo-panah, looketh not toward, namely, with delight and desire to imitate; or with confidence and expectation of relief; the proud Or the mighty; the great and proud potentates of the world, to whom most men are apt to look and trust. Nor such as turn aside From God, in whom alone they ought to trust. To lies To lying vanities, such as worldly power, and wisdom, and riches, and all other earthly things or persons, in which men are prone to trust; which are called lies, because they promise more than they perform.
40:4 Blessed [is] that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth {d} not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
(d) To follow their example, which he must do who trusts not only in the Lord.
The person who does not rely on the self-sufficient or liars but puts his complete trust in the Lord experiences great blessing.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)