Psalms 40:12

"For innumerable evils have compassed me about;

Mine iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up;

They are more than the hairs of my head;

And my heart hath failed me.

Be pleased, O Jehovah to deliver me:

Make haste to help me, O Jehovah.

Let them be put to shame and confounded together

That seek after my soul to destroy it:

Let them be turned backward and brought to dishonor

That delighteth in my hurt."

"Mine iniquities have overtaken me" (Psalms 40:12). There are two ways of looking at this. (1) Applied to David, it means that the sorrows from which he pleads for deliverance are the result of his own sins. (2) Applied to Messiah, the meaning is that, "The consequences of `mine iniquities' (meaning the sins of all men that God has laid upon Christ) have begun to catch up with him."[27] All the terrible sufferings of Passion Week, the arrest, the arraignment, the mockery, the six trials, the scourging of Pilate, etc. - it was all of these things, even the crucifixion, which were in the process of coming upon the Saviour.

Jamieson pointed out that `iniquities' here is frequently used in the Psalms as a synonym for `calamities,' in a general sense, adding that, "The difficulty in referring this psalm to Christ, due to the common reading of this verse, is removed."[28] Barnes also agreed with this and stated that, "The Messiah may be understood here to say that the awful calamities and woes coming upon him because of the sins of mankind which he had taken upon himself were so closely connected that it was proper to refer to them as `iniquities.'"[29]

"My heart failed me" (Psalms 40:12). It is a fact that Christ died from a failure of the heart, a disaster that never happened to David; and, although some interpret this as merely a failure of courage, such an interpretation does not fit the text. The crucifixion did not cause Jesus' death, as proved by the fact that when the soldiers came to break his legs, he had already deceased.

"Deliver me ... make haste to help me, O Jehovah" (Psalms 40:13). Notice also that the psalmist here does not pray for the forgiveness of his sins, but only for "help," and "deliverance." This might very well mean either of two things. (1) As applied to David, it could refer to deliverance from the guilt incurred by his sins. (2) As applied to Christ, it might very well mean `help' and `deliverance' from the horrors and sufferings of that last tragic week. Did not Our Lord pray, "Father, if it be thy will, let this cup pass from me?"

"Let them be ashamed and confounded" (Psalms 40:14). This is the basis of another objection, raised by some, to the referral of these verses to the Messiah. It is alleged that Messiah would not have uttered such imprecations. Barnes replied to this as follows:

"Such imprecations are just as proper in the mouth of Messiah as they are in the mouth of David; and are improper in neither. There is no evidence of any malignancy here; and it is proper that He who will pronounce the sentence of condemnation at the Judgment should apprise men ahead of time of what is sure to come upon them then."[30]

Also, as Leupold noted, "In this prayer directed against enemies, his intention is in no sense the destruction of his enemies, but rather that they may meet with such experiences as may bring them to their senses."[31]