Psalms 40:3

40:3 He gave me reason to sing a new song, 1 

praising our God. 2 

May many see what God has done,

so that they might swear allegiance to him and trust in the Lord! 3 

Psalms 71:22

71:22 I will express my thanks to you with a stringed instrument,

praising 4  your faithfulness, O my God!

I will sing praises to you accompanied by a harp,

O Holy One of Israel! 5 

1 sn A new song was appropriate because the Lord had intervened in the psalmist’s experience in a fresh and exciting way.

2 tn Heb “and he placed in my mouth a new song, praise to our God.”

3 tn Heb “may many see and fear and trust in the Lord.” The translation assumes that the initial prefixed verbal form is a jussive (“may many see”), rather than an imperfect (“many will see”). The following prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) conjunctive are taken as indicating purpose or result (“so that they might swear allegiance…and trust”) after the introductory jussive.

4 tn The word “praising” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

5 sn The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” The Lord’s holiness is first and foremost his transcendent sovereignty as the ruler of the world. He is “set apart” from the world over which he rules. At the same time his holiness encompasses his moral authority, which derives from his royal position. As king he has the right to dictate to his subjects how they are to live; indeed his very own character sets the standard for proper behavior.