Psalm 40:6. Mine ears hast thou opened.
The Psalmist uses this expression to denote the fact that he is a servant of God, ready to do his will, as he further declares in the eighth verse. He seems to have in his mind the ceremony by which a Hebrew servant, if unwilling to leave his master, might be bound to him for life. “Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him forever” (Ex. 21:6). See also Deuteronomy 15:16-17. This custom was observed, not only by the Jews, but also by many other ancient nations.