Bible Strands
Psalms 40:13
Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me; hurry, O LORD, to help me.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — David addresses Yahweh amid an immediate crisis of innumerable evils and overwhelming guilt, right after describing his failing heart. He issues this plea as a direct response to the threats detailed in the surrounding verses.
The words — The verse centers on רְצֵה (re.Tzeh), literally "be pleased," and חֽוּשָׁה (Chu.sha), meaning "make haste." These terms frame the request as a demand for divine willingness and urgent action.
The thread — The text parallels Psalms 70:1, which repeats the identical command to hurry and deliver. It also connects to Psalms 38:22, which calls for quick help, and Psalms 25:17, which records a request to be freed from distress.
Why it lands — The passage requires the reader to acknowledge complete dependence on God's timely intervention rather than human effort. It establishes a pattern of urgent prayer that treats divine response as the only viable remedy for overwhelming trouble.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me: O Lord, make haste to help me.
Cross-references
- Psalms 25:17 The troubles of my heart increase; free me from my distress.
- Psalms 38:22 Come quickly to help me, O Lord my Savior.
- Psalms 70:1 For the choirmaster. Of David. To bring remembrance. Make haste, O God, to deliver me! Hurry, O LORD, to help me!
- Psalms 22:19 But You, O LORD, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me.
- Psalms 71:12 Be not far from me, O God. Hurry, O my God, to help me.
- Matthew 26:36 Then Jesus went with His disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and He told them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”