Read
Psalm 40:9
I have proclaimed glad news of righteousness in the great assembly. Behold, I will not seal my lips, LORD, you know.
7Then I said, “Behold, I have come. It is written about me in the book in the scroll.
8I delight to do your will, my God. Yes, your law is within my heart.”
9I have proclaimed glad news of righteousness in the great assembly. Behold, I will not seal my lips, LORD, you know.
10I have not hidden your righteousness within my heart. I have declared your faithfulness and your salvation. I have not concealed your loving kindness and your truth from the great assembly.
11Don’t withhold your tender mercies from me, LORD. Let your loving kindness and your truth continually preserve me.
Notice
Unsealed lips and a great assembly make righteousness a matter of shared speech, with YHWH himself named as witness.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What would you want a gathering of believers to hear about God's righteousness?
Write on thisWhat difference, if any, does “LORD, you know” make to how you read this public declaration?
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Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Psalm 22:25My praise of you comes in the great assembly. I will pay my vows before those who fear him.Both verses name the great assembly as the place where the speaker addresses others with praise or glad news about God.
Mark 16:15–16He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to the whole creation.Both passages speak of proclaiming good news, with the great assembly in the psalm and the whole creation in Mark.
Job 7:11“Therefore I will not keep silent. I will speak in the anguish of my spirit. I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.Both speakers refuse silence, though Psalm 40 announces glad news and Job speaks from anguish and bitterness.
Psalm 22:22I will declare your name to my brothers. Among the assembly, I will praise you.Both verses describe declaring something about God among an assembly, making praise audible to other people.
Psalm 71:15–18My mouth will tell about your righteousness, and of your salvation all day, though I don’t know its full measure.Both speakers use their mouths to tell of God's righteousness; Psalm 71 adds salvation and the limits of the speaker's knowledge.
Psalm 35:18I will give you thanks in the great assembly. I will praise you among many people.The great assembly appears in both verses as a gathering where the speaker speaks about God before others.
Hebrews 2:12saying, “I will declare your name to my brothers. Among the congregation I will sing your praise.”Both texts describe speech about God within a gathered congregation, whether proclaiming righteousness or declaring God's name in praise.
Luke 4:16–22He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. He entered, as was his custom, into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.The shared setting is a gathering for worship: the psalm names the great assembly, while Luke places Jesus in the synagogue.
2 Timothy 4:2preach the word; be urgent in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort with all patience and teaching.Both passages concern speaking God's truth aloud; Psalm 40 recounts proclamation, while Timothy receives a charge to preach.
Joshua 22:22“The Mighty One, God, the LORD, the Mighty One, God, the LORD, he knows; and Israel shall know: if it was in rebellion, or if in trespass against the LORD …Both speakers appeal to the LORD's knowledge as they make a declaration whose truth matters before other people.
Mark 2:2Immediately many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even around the door; and he spoke the word to them.Both passages describe speaking before gathered people: glad news of righteousness in the psalm and the word in Mark.
John 21:17He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you have affection for me?” Peter was grieved because he asked him the third time, “Do you have …Both the psalm's speaker and Peter appeal to the Lord's knowledge as witness to what they say.
Where this verse fits
Praise and worship. gratitude. answered prayer.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
The speaker who proclaims God's righteousness still asks for mercy in the next lines. Praise in the assembly can come from someone who still needs help.
Now put it in your words.
Start an entry on Psalm 40:9. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).