Psalms 40:2 (KJV)

What does Psalms 40:2 mean?

Psalms 40:2 describes a speaker who credits God with bringing him through a desperate situation and giving him firm footing. The verse pictures more than escape: the speaker can now stand and move securely.

After saying that God heard his cry in verse 1, the speaker describes a pit filled with sticky mud. The contrast between the mud and the rock lets the first hearers picture the change in his condition. “Established my goings” means that God made his steps steady.

The Hebrew behind Psalms 40:2

• “horrible” — שָׁאוֹן (sha’on): This word can carry the sense of roaring or tumult. Alongside “pit,” it gives the place an unsettling sound as well as a threatening depth.
• “miry” — יָוֵן (yaven): This word refers to mire or mud. Paired with “clay,” it pictures a wet, clinging surface where a person would struggle to gain a foothold.
• “established” — כּוּן (kun): This word can mean to make firm or secure. Here it describes the speaker’s steps becoming steady after his feet are set on rock.

Why Psalms 40:2 matters

• The speaker gives God the active role throughout the verse. God “brought me up,” “set my feet,” and “established my goings.”
• The picture moves from being trapped to being able to walk. The final phrase, “my goings,” draws attention to movement, not just the moment of being lifted out.
• The rescue leads into public praise in the passage. In verse 3, the speaker says God put “a new song” in his mouth, so the account of rescue becomes something others can hear.