Psalm 41 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

 ¹Blessed is he who considers the poor;

The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.

²The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive,

And he will be blessed on the earth;

You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.

³The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness;

You will sustain him on his sickbed.

⁴I said, “Lord, be merciful to me;

Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”

⁵My enemies speak evil of me:

“When will he die, and his name perish?”

⁶And if he comes to see me, he speaks lies;

His heart gathers iniquity to itself;

When he goes out, he tells it.

⁷All who hate me whisper together against me;

Against me they devise my hurt.

⁸“An evil disease,” they say, “clings to him.

And now that he lies down, he will rise up no more.”

⁹Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted,

Who ate my bread,

Has lifted up his heel against me.

¹⁰But You, O Lord, be merciful to me, and raise me up,

That I may repay them.

¹¹By this I know that You are well pleased with me,

Because my enemy does not triumph over me.

¹²As for me, You uphold me in my integrity,

And set me before Your face forever.

¹³Blessed be the Lord God of Israel

From everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.

Commentary

Vs. 1-3 ¹Blessed is he who considers the poor;

The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.

²The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive,

And he will be blessed on the earth;

You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.

³The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness;

You will sustain him on his sickbed.

Psalm 41 opens with some great truths that will affect the quality, and very likely the length of one’s life. For in its first three verses, we get some very clear instruction that will put one on the pathway to a long and prosperous life if one heeds it. To begin then God’s blessing is upon all who consider the poor, (i.e., the helpless, the powerless, NKJ margin). For throughout the Holy Scripture, Old Testament and New there are so many passages that call us to defend the poor, to strengthen the needy, to be a father to the fatherless, and a defender of the widow and helpless etc. so that to know and do them is to know and do the will of God. Therefore, there is no Christian who can know these things and justify they’re not doing them as they are able, or opportunity presents itself (Gal. 2:10). Therefore, do not turn a blind eye to the poor in their time of need (Luke 16:19-31), for to do so is only asking God to turn a blind eye to you in yours. Consider these verses then as a keyway to living an abundant life. For again God’s blessing is upon all who consider the poor, and not just His material blessing, but one’s own body and soul will be blessed by Him, and who can put a value on one's health and emotional and spiritual wellbeing. Thus, in providing for the poor in their time of need, God will provide for yours.

“The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.” The Lord’s promise of being delivered from trouble then comes to all those who consider the poor, who deliver them in theirs.

“The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive,

And he will be blessed on the earth;

You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.”

Even in times of famine and drought, (when the Lord visits His judgment on the earth), or during a depressed economic state, the Lord will be watching over you to preserve you and keep you alive, and you will be blessed on the earth when others are not. And when your enemies rise against you, the Lord will not hand you over to their will, whether individuals or nations.

“The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness;

You will sustain him on his sickbed.”

Therefore, in caring for others the Lord Himself will also care for you, He will strengthen you on your bed of illness, and He will sustain you when you are sick!

Vs. 4 I said, “Lord, be merciful to me;

Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”

Even though one has considered the poor, has been merciful and compassionate towards others, this does not put us beyond needing God’s mercies ourselves. Therefore, it is incumbent upon us all to seek the Lord and ask Him to be merciful towards us when we have sinned against Him. For this is what a Godly and righteous person does, they acknowledge and confesses their sins and transgressions to the Lord. Denying this then is only to be living and practicing a lie (1 John 1:8-10; Rev. 22:15). Thus, it's not zealous religious service that makes one right in the sight of God, its genuine faith!

Vs. 5-6 My enemies speak evil of me:

“When will he die, and his name perish?”

⁶And if he comes to see me, he speaks lies;

His heart gathers iniquity to itself;

When he goes out, he tells it.

Far worse than being afflicted by God for one’s sins and transgressions is when one is afflicted by man. When one has to endure their open and indifferent cruelty on the one hand and their secret hypocrisy and backbiting on the next. And this is what was taking place in Davids's life then. And so instead of receiving solace or comfort all he heard was his enemies speaking openly of his demise, of their whispering, and wanting him to die and his name perish. Yet worse still, was the feigned friendship and concern that some were showing him in his time of need. Who were sending one of their own to come and visit him to see how he was "doing," but not out of concern for him, but only to see and hear of his miseries for themselves. Their words then to him were like daggers and knives in his wounded and broken heart, for he already knew their heart towards him, and yet he still had to endure them, be affable towards them, while they were only playing the evil hypocrite towards him. And so, it is here in his time of prayer with the Lord, that he can lay all of this bare before Him. 

Vs. 7-8 “All who hate me whisper together against me;

Against me they devise my hurt.

⁸“An evil disease,” they say, “clings to him.

And now that he lies down, he will rise up no more.”

And while he was on his sickbed all who hated him began whispering amongst themselves plotting his hurt. Some even had already writing him off saying an evil disease clings to him, and now that he lies down, he will rise no more. For them his death was certain, nothing more for them to do but wait on it.

Vs. 9 “Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted,

Who ate my bread,

Has lifted up his heel against me.”

This is the worst, David’s friend and companion (here unnamed), a person whom he trusted in, who shared with him at his table, (all the joys and laughter of intimate friendship), and thus was one of his close associates, had now is his vulnerable state lifted his heal against him to betray him. Now it is to be noted that the Lord Jesus Christ cites this verse in reference to Judas Iscariot betraying him, however He notably leaves out the part of being a friend whom He trusted, for the Lord Jesus never trusted him, though He chose him, for Jesus knew Judas would betray Him (John 6:64, 70-71; 13:18).

Vs. 11-12 ¹¹By this I know that You are well pleased with me,

Because my enemy does not triumph over me.

¹²As for me, You uphold me in my integrity,

And set me before Your face forever.

Just when it seemed all hope is lost, David recalls that even though such things were occurring to him, yet the Lord was not allowing his enemy to triumph over him. Indeed, the Lord knowing David's integrity was upholding him, For the Lord knows our heart. Therefore, by this we also know that the Lord is pleased with us, because does not allow our enemies to triumph over us. 

Vs. 13 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel

From everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.”

David closes this Psalm then on a high note, on blessing and praising the Lord God of Israel, who is from everlasting to everlasting amen. For He endures forever, our enemies do not!

Scripture Quotations

New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson.