Faith Daily Lectio Friday, November 6, 2026 Evening Psalm
Friday, November 6, 2026 · Friday in the week of the Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 26)
Evening Psalm
Oratio (prayer)
O LORD, I waited patiently for You. Send Your Holy Spirit as I pray Psalm 40 this evening, that I may trust the Rock You set me on through Jesus Christ. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Meditatio (meditation)
Psalm 40
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.
1I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
2He 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.
3And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.
4Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
5Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.
6Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.
7Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,
8I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.
9I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest.
10I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation.
11Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O LORD: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me.
12For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me.
13Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me: O LORD, make haste to help me.
14Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil.
15Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame that say unto me, Aha, aha.
16Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The LORD be magnified.
17But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.
Consider even rereading in another translation.
You could also consider listening to this chapter, narrated:
KJV (Max McLean) · ESV (Max McLean) · NIV (dramatized)
You might read the whole reading slowly, aloud, more than once.
Consider this verse, for example:
“I waited patiently for the LORD” (Psalm 40:1)
What other lines speak to you?
The Law The Psalm remembers the pit: "He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay" (v. 2). And it ends in need: "But I am poor and needy" (v. 17). We know both the clay and the poverty, and we cannot lift ourselves.
The Gospel "I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry" (v. 1). He "set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings" (v. 2), and "put a new song in my mouth" (v. 3). That Rock is Christ, who said, "Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me" (v. 7), and who delighted to do the Father's will for you. "yet the Lord thinketh upon me" (v. 17), and that thought holds you tonight.
Prayer O LORD, I confess that I have sunk in the clay and trusted myself. Forgive me for Jesus' sake. Set my feet on the Rock, and put Your new song in my mouth. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Tentatio (trial)
Night can feel like the pit again. Under trial it may help to pray the Psalm's waiting: "I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry" (v. 1). You might lie down knowing He thinks upon you.
Evening prayer Lord, watch over me this night. Hear my cry, keep me on the Rock, and make no tarrying, O my God. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version.
My church home: Peace Lutheran Church, McMurray, PA. Looking for a church? See About Daily Lectio.
