Psalms 40:13 Meaning: Why ‘Be Pleased’ Before ‘Hurry’?

The word “pleased” carries more than politeness. David could have simply demanded, “Deliver me.” Instead he puts the outcome in God’s hands first. The phrase echoes “thy good pleasure” from verse 8 of the same psalm, where the delight of doing God’s will is central. Barnes notes that this is the same spirit Jesus showed in Gethsemane: “If it be possible, let this cup pass.” The psalmist is not unsure of God’s love; he is surrendering to God’s timing and wisdom.

“Hurry to help me” is the opposite of passive waiting. The same verb appears in Psalm 22:19 and 38:22. It pictures a runner, breathless with need. David does not pretend to be calm. He brings his panic straight to the throne. Both parts together, surrender and urgency, make the prayer whole. You can hold both at once: “I trust Your will, and I need You now.”

Reformed commentators like Calvin see this verse within David’s pattern of thanksgiving leading to petition: after recounting God’s past deliverance, he feels free to ask again. Baptist writer Gill reads it as a direct prayer of Christ, fulfilled when the Father raised Him from the dead, the final answer to the cry of the cross. Matthew Henry, writing from a Presbyterian perspective, treats it as the believer’s encouragement after meditating on Christ’s work: we come boldly, but always with submission. The reappearance of these same words in Psalm 70 shows that the early worshiping community kept using David’s prayer as their own, combining personal desperation with trust in God’s sovereign pleasure.

Some readers think that “Be pleased” sounds like David is unsure whether God wants to help him. It can seem like a weak request, almost bargaining. In fact, the phrase is a deliberate act of trust. David is not questioning God’s willingness; he is consciously placing his desperate need under the rule of God’s good will. This is the same surrender Jesus modeled when He said, “Not as I will, but as you will.” The prayer is confident enough to be honest about the urgency, and humble enough to let God decide the way.

This week you might face something that makes you want to yell for help. A medical report. A financial deadline. A relationship that is crumbling. Start exactly where David starts. Say to God, “Be pleased to deliver me.” That does not diminish the urgency; it deepens it, because you are telling God that even in your panic you trust His character more than your own plan. Then let yourself say, “Hurry.” Honest prayers do not have to be calm. Bring both the surrender and the speed. God can handle your “please” and your “hurry” in the same breath.