Psalm 41:1 ¶ «To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.» Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble. 2 The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. 3 The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness. 4 I said, LORD, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee.
See what the Law said to the Israelites about their treatment of
the poor among them.
Deuteronomy 15:7 If there
be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy
land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor
shut thine hand from thy poor brother: 8
But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him,
and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which
he wanteth. 9 Beware that there be not a
thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is
at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him
nought; and he cry unto the LORD against thee, and it be sin unto thee. 10 Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart
shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the
LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest
thine hand unto. 11 For the poor shall
never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open
thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.
The person who considers the poor, David says, will be preserved
and blessed, protected from his enemies by God. When he is sick God will
preserve him and when he has sinned God will be merciful and heal his injured
soul.
Think of the treatment that God in the flesh received, who made
Himself poor for us, and the promise to the Christian in the Great Tribulation,
to be delivered from God’s wrath on the earth and to have eternal life. We must
be careful, though, as the Christian is
not promised temporal success or a sickness free life.
David is referring, most likely, to himself. He has given us hints
that he is not only being lied about and mistreated but that he has himself
been merciful to the poor and needy and desires that God should preserve him,
not only from his enemies perhaps in his time of civil war with his son, but in some kind of sickness that he has acquired.
Psalm 38:7 For my loins are
filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh.
I said, LORD, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned
against thee.
The sentiment expressed here lets us know that when we sin we are
ourselves grieved by our actions and are in need of God’s healing mercy. The
passage in James lets us know how some sickness, and I say some, can be linked
with sin, remembering always when dealing with promises that what is important
is God’s will for that person’s life.
James 5:13 Is any among you
afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. 14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the
elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the
name of the Lord: 15 And the prayer of
faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have
committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. 16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray
one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a
righteous man availeth much.
Psalm 41:5 ¶ Mine enemies
speak evil of me, When shall he die, and his name perish? 6 And if he come to see me, he speaketh
vanity: his heart gathereth iniquity to itself; when he goeth abroad, he
telleth it. 7 All that hate me
whisper together against me: against me do they devise my hurt. 8 An evil disease, say they, cleaveth
fast unto him: and now that he lieth he shall rise up no more. 9 Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I
trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.
10 But thou, O LORD, be merciful unto
me, and raise me up, that I may requite them. 11 By this I know that thou favourest me,
because mine enemy doth not triumph over me. 12
And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me
before thy face for ever. 13 Blessed be
the LORD God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen.
This passage carries on the thoughts and laments of David’s
previous comments but there is one thing here I want to point out in reference
to Christ. See verse 9 and regard the following about Judas Iscariot;
John 13:18 ¶ I speak not of
you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He
that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me.
Psalm 55 will also add a powerful statement to this concern of
David’s and to the prophecy of Christ.
Psalm 55:1 ¶ «To the chief
Musician on Neginoth, Maschil, A Psalm of David.» Give ear to my prayer, O God;
and hide not thyself from my supplication. 2 Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my
complaint, and make a noise; 3 Because
of the voice of the enemy, because of the
oppression of the wicked: for they cast iniquity upon me, and in
wrath they hate me. 4 My heart is sore
pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me. 5 Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me,
and horror hath overwhelmed me. 6 And I said,
Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest. 7 Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in
the wilderness. Selah. 8 I would hasten
my escape from the windy storm and tempest.
9 ¶ Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues: for
I have seen violence and strife in the city. 10 Day and night they go about it upon the walls
thereof: mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it. 11 Wickedness is in the midst thereof: deceit and
guile depart not from her streets. 12 For it was not an enemy that reproached me;
then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself
against me; then I would have hid myself from him: 13 But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide,
and mine acquaintance. 14 We took sweet
counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company. 15 Let death seize upon them, and let them go
down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.
16 ¶ As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD
shall save me. 17 Evening, and morning,
and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice. 18 He hath delivered my soul in peace from the
battle that was against me: for there were many with me. 19 God shall hear, and afflict them, even he that
abideth of old. Selah. Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not
God. 20 He hath put forth his hands
against such as be at peace with him: he hath broken his covenant. 21 The words of his mouth were smoother than
butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they
drawn swords. 22 Cast thy burden upon
the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be
moved. 23 But thou, O God, shalt bring
them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live
out half their days; but I will trust in thee.
David believes that God favors him because David’s enemies have
not triumphed over him.
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