Psalm 40:6-8 KJV Sacrifice and offering Thou didst not desire; Mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast Thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come in the volume of the book it is written of Me, I delight to do Thy will, O my God: yea, Thy law is within My heart.”

Psalms 40:6-8 NASB Sacrifice and meal offering You have not desired; My ears You have opened; Burnt offering and sin offering You have not required. Then I said, “Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart.”

We have New Testament corroboration that Psalm 40 is Messianic, referring to the Lord Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:5-9). In His typical eloquent and terse manner, the Spirit of God reveals the Lord, not only in the pictures and types of the Old Testament but in contrast to all who have gone before.

Servant in His Entirety

In the expression, “Mine ear hast Thou digged,” we are reminded of the consecration of the Hebrew Servant of old. In devotion to his master and in love for his wife, he would go to the doorpost and have his ear bored through to signify his lifelong commitment to his master, wife, and family.

The Septuagint version of the Old Testament takes up the imagery and translates it as “body” rather than ear, employing this translation in Hebrews 10.

The Hebrew slave would give his ear, but the Servant of Jehovah gave Himself in His entirety to the work of the cross. Isaiah 50 tells us His face, back, and cheeks, implying His all. Each Lord’s Day we take from the loaf – a symbol of His body “given” for us.

The Hebrew servant would undoubtedly perform his act of devotion before the admiring and appreciative gaze of his master and wife. How different for the Perfect Servant Whose act of devotion was accompanied by “reproach, shame, and dishonour.”

Sacrifices and their Finality

The myriad of sacrifices and the flood of blood which stained Jewish altars could never take away sin. Those sacrifices were merely involuntary brute beasts, part of a fallen creation. But His one sacrifice has met every claim of the throne of God, answered for every sin, and met every need. All six Jewish legislated sacrifices were fulfilled in His one sacrifice on the cross.

Scriptures and their Totality

“In the volume of the book” indicates that the work of the Lord Jesus was the very theme of all the Scriptures. When He gave Himself to the cross, He fulfilled everything that had been prophesied down through the ages. In the words of some, He ticked all the boxes and showed that He was indeed the promised Messiah, Servant, and Savior. Recall how on the cross, knowing that one Scripture still was left to be fulfilled, He said, “I thirst” (John 19:28). When finally He bowed His head and dismissed His spirit with that triumphant cry, “Finished,” every Scripture was finally fulfilled.

Symbol and its Reality

The ark of the covenant contained the law. Covered by the mercy seat, the blood of atonement shielded and separated a nation from the law which would have demanded their judgment. The law was hidden within the ark. But the Lord Jesus, as the great antitype, kept the law perfectly intact within His heart. Every demand of the law was honoured by Him. He loved the Lord His God with all His heart, mind, soul, and strength, and He loved His neighbour as Himself.

Consider:

Seers and Fidelity

In verses 9 and 10, identify the six-fold description of His faithfulness.