Remembering God’s Faithfulness, Resting in Christ

Psalm 40 shows how remembering the works of God fuels reliance on the character of God. David recalls a time when he was stuck in a pit of destruction, helpless to get himself out. His waiting was not passive. He leaned toward the Lord, desperate for an answer, and God heard his cry, drew him up, and set his feet on a rock. The new song God gave him was not just for private enjoyment. Others would hear, see, and put their trust in the Lord.

Remembering God’s goodness means more than acknowledging that something happened. David meditates on his deliverance and freely tells the great congregation. Those stories can become instruments of grace in someone else’s present. Like musicians who help a lost player find the melody again, believers strengthen one another by speaking of God’s faithfulness. Such remembering also pushes back against false stories that turn possessions into everything, freedom into ultimate authority, and good works into a way of earning God’s acceptance.

David’s remembered deliverance does not mean trouble is over. New evils surround him, his sins overwhelm him, and enemies seek his life. Yet he confidently appeals to God’s mercy, steadfast love, and faithfulness. The God who lifted him from the pit has not changed. Scripture gives believers solid ground for urgent prayer, even when circumstances remain painful.

Hebrews 10 carries Psalm 40 toward Christ, whose willing obedience fulfills what sacrifices could never accomplish. Jesus offered his whole self, once for all. God desires more than religious performance, and acceptance cannot be earned by getting that performance right. Christ entered the ultimate pit of death and rose again to restore sinners to God. Remembering God’s works and relying on his character finally lead to rest in the Son of God, whose finished work puts every other story into perspective.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Remembering Requires More Than Looking Back. David does not simply acknowledge that God once helped him and then move on. He lingers over that deliverance, giving it words and allowing it to shape his understanding of the present. Journaling, gratitude reflections, and deliberate conversation can help believers call God’s faithfulness to mind rather than let it disappear beneath the next concern. [46:26]
• 2. Shared Stories Help Others Find Their Place. David refuses to keep God’s deliverance hidden within his heart. A believer in a dry season may need another Christian’s testimony much as a lost musician needs the melody and rhythm of the surrounding orchestra. Stories of past grace can help struggling believers find their place again and recover confidence in God’s goodness. [42:18]
• 3. Urgent Prayer Rests On Unchanging Character. David’s confidence in God’s mercy does not make his requests less desperate. He asks God to hurry precisely because the Lord has already revealed himself as merciful, faithful, and steadfast in love. Believers can bring the full weight of present trouble to God without treating that trouble as evidence that his character has changed. [56:02]
• 4. Christ Offers Rest Beyond Religious Performance. The sacrifices of the law could not take away sins, but Jesus offered his body once for all. His complete obedience leaves no further sacrifice needed to secure acceptance with God. The Christian life therefore calls for the whole person to be entrusted to Christ, not for religious performance designed to earn God’s love. [59:45]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [27:47] - Stories That Shape the Present
• [32:23] - Reading Psalm 40
• [35:43] - Remember, Rely, and Rest
• [36:19] - From the Pit to Solid Ground
• [41:38] - Sharing Deliverance With the Congregation
• [44:13] - Remembering God Amid False Stories
• [49:13] - Relying on God’s Unchanging Character
• [57:10] - Psalm 40 and Christ’s Finished Sacrifice
• [1:01:49] - The Gospel Story and Rest in Christ
• [1:04:46] - Calling Grace to Mind and Telling Others
• [1:06:52] - Closing Prayer

Bible Reading

Psalm 40
“I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry. 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. 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. 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! 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. 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. Then I said, 'Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me: I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.' I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; behold, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O LORD. 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. As for you, O LORD, you will not restrain your mercy from me; your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me! 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. Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me! O LORD, make haste to help me! 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! Let those be appalled because of their shame who say to me, 'Aha, Aha!' But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation say continually, 'Great is the LORD!' 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!” [27:49]

Hebrews 10:3-10
“But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, 'Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, 'Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.'' When he said above, 'You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings' (these are offered according to the law), then he added, 'Behold, I have come to do your will.' He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” [57:59]

Lamentations 3:21-23
“But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” [47:17]

Observation questions

1. In Psalm 40:1–3, how does David describe his helplessness, and what actions does God take in response? How does David’s rescue affect others? [37:35]
2. In Psalm 40:9–11, what does David make known to the congregation, and which qualities of God does he then rely on as he faces fresh trouble? [49:34]
3. What troubles does David name in Psalm 40:12–17? How do his closing requests compare with the account of deliverance at the beginning of the psalm? [52:33]
4. In Hebrews 10:3–10, what contrast is drawn between the repeated animal sacrifices and Jesus’ offering of himself? [59:49]

Interpretation questions

1. David remembers being rescued, yet he ends Psalm 40 still asking for help. How does this challenge the idea that past faithfulness guarantees a trouble-free future? [56:35]
2. In Psalm 40:3 and 9–10, David’s experience of God’s goodness becomes something he shares. Why might hearing another believer’s story strengthen someone whose own confidence in God is weak? [42:11]
3. How do David’s reflections in Psalm 40:5 and the deliberate remembering in Lamentations 3:21–23 differ from simply acknowledging that God helped in the past? Why does that difference matter during a difficult week? [46:45]
4. How does Hebrews 10:3–10 help explain Psalm 40:6–8? What is the difference between obeying God in response to his grace and performing religious duties to earn his acceptance? [01:00:17]

Application questions

1. What is one experience of God’s faithfulness that you tend to hurry past or forget? What does that experience show you about his character that matters in your life right now? [49:06]
2. What might help you linger over God’s goodness this week—writing down a memory, reflecting with a friend, or something else? When could you make room for that without turning it into another task to get right? [47:34]
3. Has another Christian’s story of God’s grace helped you through a dry or difficult season? Is there someone who might be encouraged by hearing a part of your own story, and what would you feel comfortable sharing? [43:10]
4. Which false story most easily draws you in: possessions will make you secure, personal freedom means answering to no one, or good works can earn God’s acceptance? Where do you notice its influence in a recent choice, and how could remembering God’s goodness help you respond differently? [45:11]
5. If you feel comfortable sharing, where are you waiting for God’s help right now? Which aspect of his character named in Psalm 40:11 could shape an honest, urgent request to him—even if the situation does not change quickly? [56:02]
6. When you fall short, do you tend to withdraw from God or try harder to prove yourself? How could resting in Christ’s complete sacrifice change your next response to failure while still helping you take obedience seriously? [01:01:20]