Psalms 40:8

The psalmist's declaration — 'I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart' — presents Torah obedience not as external compliance but as intrinsic desire, anticipating the internalized covenant of Jeremiah 31:33. The context (verses 6-8) contrasts the inadequacy of burnt offerings and sin offerings with the prepared body and opened ear that receive God's word and act upon it, a prophetic critique of ritual substituting for genuine orientation. The Epistle to the Hebrews applies this passage directly to Christ (10:5-7), reading the psalmist's words as the incarnate Son's speech at the moment of entering the world — the voluntary submission to God's will expressed through the body prepared for sacrifice. The verse stands as a model of covenantal relationship where obedience flows from transformed desire rather than legal compulsion.