Lux Domini
He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.

What does Psalms 40:2 mean?

Doubts and fears about the eternal state, are a horrible pit and miry clay, and have been so to many a dear child of God.

Key themes

FaithPrayerGracePraise

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Keep this verse inside its immediate passage and alongside a few nearby related passages.

Commentary on Psalms 40:2

He brought me up also out of an horrible pit - Margin: "A pit of noise." The word used here means a pit; a cistern; a prison; a dungeon; a grave. This last signification of the word is found in Psalm 28:1 ; Psalm 30:4 ; Psalm 88:4 ; Isaiah 38:18 ; Isaiah 14:19 . It may refer to any calamity - or to trouble, like being in a pit - or it may refer to the grave. The word rendered "horrible" - sha'on - means properly "noise, uproar, tumult," as of waters; of a crowd of men; of war. Then it seems to be used in the sense of "desolation" or "destruction," as applicable to the grave.

Key words

brought

He brought me up also out of an horrible pit,.

horrible

He brought me up also out of an horrible pit,.

Context in Psalms 40

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Psalms 40 belongs to the middle movement of the book, especially the section often described as Book II. Psalms is the Bible’s great book of sung prayer, teaching the full range of faithful speech from anguish and repentance to jubilation and doxology. Read this chapter with the wider themes of prayer, praise, and lament in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.

prayerpraiselamentkingship

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Who quoted Psalms 40:2?

Find out who used Psalms 40:2 in their speeches and writings. Which famous people quoted Psalms 40:2?

U2 used Psalms 40:2 in 40.

U2.com: '40' lyrics »