I Delight to Do Thy Will, O My God (Psalm 40:8)

2024-05-15

I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart. (Psalm 40:8)

This is quoted in Hebrews 10:7, where the Lord Jesus is the One of whom this is spoken. He did not come to earth to His own will, but His Father’s. He laid down his entire will even to the death to reconcile the world to Himself.

We who believe know that when we are fully grown, we shall be as our Master. If Jesus of Nazareth came to earth to do the will of God, even to death, then the same will be with us (and how much more).

Now He accomplished the great atonement with His blood. He put an end to sacrifice and the works of the flesh forever. We do not have that role, because He accomplished that for us. But the application for us is that we also are here to do the will of God. We do not offer our own works to God. We do not live to ourselves. Rather, we are dead to sin, alive to God, and ready “to do thy will, O my God.” How can we do so? We don’t; rather “Christ liveth in me.” And then we delight in it.

We do not look at the crashing waves as Peter did when he walked on the water. Rather, we look at Jesus Christ, who has already conquered the tempest and waves, for what is impossible with man is possible with God. We stand on the mountain with Jehoshaphat and watch the invaders defeat themselves. We watch as the angel of the Lord destroys 185,000 of our problems while we wait on Him. But not idly, we walk to Him on the waters with single eye, nothing doubting. I come to do thy will, O God.