What does Psalm 40:15 mean?

The Hebrew word he'āh' is transliterated as "aha!" in verses such as this. Just as in English, this is an exclamation used for emphasis. Those who are against David celebrate his troubles and failures. The term translated in the ESV as "appalled" most literally implies desolation (Ezekiel 6:6; Zephaniah 3:6). Used in this way, it implies the feeling of devastation: complete and shocking defeat. David is asking for his enemies to experience shame and anguish as punishment for their aggression.

In the end, those who sin against God reap the consequences of their actions (Psalm 7:12–16; 64:8; Romans 1:26–27). Those who scoff at Jesus, the Son of David, will suffer shame and hurt (John 3:36). Paul told the Athenians, "[God] has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead" (Acts 17:31). Unbelievers may ridicule Jesus now, but someday they will receive their sins' wages. Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death." The "death" in this verse refers not only to physical death, but also to spiritual death and eternal death.