Psalms 40:6-8 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

Sacrifice and offering, &c.— These three verses, as they may possibly relate to David, who was a a type of Christ, may be thus considered.—Sacrifice, &c. The Psalmist here enumerates the principal sorts of sacrifices which were offered under the law. See on Psalms 51:19.—Thou didst not desire; i.e. "in comparison with obedience." Compare 1 Samuel 15:22.—But mine ears hast thou opened, or bored; which was a ceremony used to a slave, who would not have his liberty, but loved his master, and would not go out free: Exodus 21:5-6. Deuteronomy 15:7 and the ceremony was very significant; for boring the ear, signified opening it; and the opening of the ear, is a sign of hearkening, which in Scripture is frequently used for obeying. In allusion to this ceremony, God may here be said to have opened the ears of David, i.e. engaged him to obedience.—Then said I, Lo, &c. that is, "as if I had heard thee calling upon me, to do thee some exemplary service, I immediately said, Lo, I come, to make an offering of myself unto thee, and to pay thee a cheerful obedience." In the volume of thy book, means in thy law; which is here called a volume, because it was the manner of the Jews to roll up the books of the law. It is written of me; that is, so thy law particularly requires me as a king to do. Deuteronomy 17:18-19.—Is within my heart, means, "not only included in a book; but so treasured up in my mind, that I am perfectly in the knowledge, and continually exercised in the practice of it." Thus the passage may be explained in reference to David. But it relates in a higher and more proper sense to Christ; whom the Psalmist, while he is commemorating God's particular mercies to himself and his people, prophetically introduces as thus speaking with respect to the redemption of mankind. Sacrifice, &c. that is, "The sacrifices of the law are only typical and prefigurative: They make not a full satisfaction to thy infinite justice; and therefore thou dost not perfectly acquiesce in them."—Mine ears, &c. By this is intimated, in allusion to the exposition above given, Christ's taking upon him the form of the servant, and becoming obedient, even unto death. See Philippians 2:7. Then, that is, when he cometh into the world, &c. as the apostle explains it. Hebrews 10:5. In the volume, &c. This may allude to instruments drawn up between masters and servants, and accordingly signify, the roll or contract betwixt God the Father, and God the Son; wherein is supposed to be written the agreement preparatory to that great work of Christ's incarnation, in which he, undertaking perfectly to fulfil the will of God and to perform all obedience to him, had the promise from him that he should become the author of eternal salvation to all those who obey him. See Fenton; and more on this subject when we come to Hebrews 10. For my own part, I cannot help thinking, that the passage immediately and primarily refers to Christ; and indeed the whole psalm appears to have greater propriety, when understood as delivered in his person, than in that of another. See Pearse on the Hebrews, and Saurin's Sermon's, vol. 11: The whole passage may be rendered thus: Psalms 40:6. Sacrifice and offering didst thou not delight in, &c. Psalms 40:7. Then said I, Lo, I come; in the folded roll, or roll of writing, it is written of me, Psalms 40:8. That I should do thy will: O my God, I have delighted therein; yea, thy law, &c. Mr. Green, upon the passage Thou hast opened my ears, observes, If it be said, that the apostle to the Hebrews reads this differently; I answer, this does not appear to me. It is true, he found a different, but corrupted translation (ωτια, ears, as the learned have observed, having been changed into σωμα, body) in the LXX which was the version then in use; and he was obliged to quote it as he found it, under the penalty, if he altered it, of being deemed a false quoter. He therefore took the translation as he found it, especially as it served to illustrate his argument equally well. Upon this quotation from the LXX the apostle argues, Psalms 40:9. He [Christ] taketh away the first, (namely, legal sacrifices) that he may establish the second, (namely, obedience to God's will,) in offering himself a sacrifice for the sins of mankind: And thus he must have argued upon a quotation from the Hebrew text as it stands at present.