Build on a Rock!
An EasyEnglish Translation with Notes (about 1200 word vocabulary) on Psalm 40
Words in boxes are from the Bible. Words in brackets, ( ), are not in the Hebrew Bible.
Jesus said, Everyone that listens to me and obeys me is like a man with good ideas. He built his house on a rock. Then the rain came with a lot of water and the winds blew and there was a storm round that house. It did not fall down because he built it on a rock. Everyone that listens to me and does not obey me is like a man with bad ideas. He built his house on the sand. And the rain came with a lot of water and the winds blew and there was a storm round that house. It fell down with a great crash. (Matthew 7: 24 – 27); ("crash" means "fall with a big noise")
hymn ~ a Jewish/Christian song
proud people~ people that think that they are greater than they are
sacrifice ~ an animal that people kill and burn for God
offering ~ something that we give to someone else, a gift
in my heart ~something that I have remembered
protect me ~ make me safe
If you read Psalms 37 – 39 you will find that David has been very sad. Now God has answered all his prayers. Psalm 40 is a song that says, ‘Thank you’ to God. But David still has problems. So the end of the psalm asks for more help. We can use the end of the psalm by itself. We see this in Psalm 70, which is Psalm 40: 13 – 17. It is after Psalm 40 for you to study it.
Verse 2: It is not easy to get out of very wet (muddy) ground.
Verse 5: We do not know what God has planned for each of us.
Verse 6: A master would make a hole in his slave’s ear and fasten it to the door, if the slave wanted to stay with his master.
Verse 7: In the New Testament Jesus said that this was about him. This is in Hebrews 10: 7.
Verses 12 – 17: Here the psalm changes. It is not a song of praise and thanks any more. David has more problems, so he asks God for more help. In verse 15 "Aha, aha" is just a noise that is not kind!
If you read Psalm 40: 13 – 17 you will find that it is like Psalm 70.There are very few differences. Why do these words come twice in our Bibles? If you look at Psalm 35: 4, 21, 26 and 27 you will find that most of Psalm 70 is there also, so it really comes three times! Perhaps the word "remember" at the top gives us help. David thought that it was important to remember the words of Psalm 70, because he was often in danger. Perhaps he used them when he was not thanking God for an answer to his prayer (as in Psalm 40). There are two other examples of psalms coming twice: Psalms 14 and 53; and Psalms 57,60 and 108.
In the New Testament also we find words repeated. Many of the stories of Jesus come more than once. The Feeding of 5 000 People comes 4 times! Saint Paul also said, "To write the same things to you ... is safe". (Philippians 3:1) When things come more than once it means that God wants us to remember them!
1. Read Psalm 40: 13 – 17 and Psalm 70 and find where they are not the same. Do the differences change what it means?
2. Make sure that you build your life on a rock, not on sand. Remember, the Bible tells us that Jesus is a Rock in I Corinthians 10: 4. We build lives on him by obeying his words. Read again the words of Jesus at the top of Psalm 40.
© 2001, Wycliffe Associates (UK)
This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level A (1200 words)
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