Photo by Matt Seymour on Unsplash
I waited patiently for the Lord;
And He inclined to me,
And heard my cry.
2 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
Out of the miry clay,
And set my feet upon a rock,
And established my steps.
3 He has put a new song in my mouth—
Praise to our God;
Many will see it and fear,
And will trust in the Lord.
4 Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust,
And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
5 Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works
Which You have done;
And Your thoughts toward us
Cannot be recounted to You in order;
If I would declare and speak of them,
They are more than can be numbered.
6 Sacrifice and offering You did not desire;
My ears You have opened.
Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require.
7 Then I said, “Behold, I come;
In the scroll of the book it is written of me.
8 I delight to do Your will, O my God,
And Your law is within my heart.”
9 I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness
In the great assembly;
Indeed, I do not restrain my lips,
O Lord, You Yourself know.
10 I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;
I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth
From the great assembly.
11 Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O Lord;
Let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me.
12 For innumerable evils have surrounded me;
My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up;
They are more than the hairs of my head;
Therefore my heart fails me.
13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me;
O Lord, make haste to help me!
14 Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion
Who seek to destroy my life;
Let them be driven backward and brought to dishonor
Who wish me evil.
15 Let them be confounded because of their shame,
Who say to me, “Aha, aha!”
16 Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
Let such as love Your salvation say continually,
“The Lord be magnified!”
17 But I am poor and needy;
Yet the Lord thinks upon me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
Do not delay, O my God.
By Mike Chaffin
Miry clay, there is no better word picture for being stuck in an unpleasant situation. Verse two compares miry clay to a horrible pit. Some who have written about being in the miry clay compare it to spiritual bondage, a pit of despair like deep depression, trauma, or destructive behavior. But God does not leave us there.
When we ask for deliverance God’s hand is there to pull us out. Verse two relates how God pulled David out of this pit and set his feet upon a rock. Rock is a firm foundation. Jesus said He was the chief cornerstone of this foundation. There is no firmer foundation than the one Jesus can lay for your life.
Jesus talked about how foolish people are who build their life on shifting sand. Always being swayed by the evil pleasures of the world. Never knowing for sure what to believe and if what they believe is true. Here is one truth the insipid wish would slip away. However, it is the foundation for a secure life.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6
For those of us in the miry clay we must realize we can’t pull ourselves out. We are stuck. We can’t wish it away, we cannot stop sinking further, and we won’t fix ourselves. Living in stuck mode is not where peace and joy abide. We must lean on and ask Jesus for help. In the first verse David pointed out that he had to be patient and wait for the Lord’s help. Patience isn’t normal for some of us, so God uses these trials to teach us patience for Him to provide the healing we need.
David wraps up this Psalm with the impression that even though he is poor and needy he can rejoice in a God who delivers. He can magnify the name of God and give thanks to Jesus for His majesty even while waiting. We can experience God’s peace in the turmoil of our life.
Even in trials and storms,
When God won’t speed our plea,
When our strength is gone
And our patience thin,
God’s grace is sufficient for me.
For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth;
26 And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, Job 19:25-26
