Psalm 41

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. 

1 Blessed is the one who considers the poor! [weak] In the day of trouble the LORD delivers him;

2 the LORD protects him and keeps him alive; he is called blessed in the land; you do not give him up to the will of his enemies.

3 The LORD sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health. [you turn all his bed]

The final psalm of Book 1 begins with the same word as the first psalm of Book 1 -- “Blessed”. Here the blessed person is one who considers the poor, having compassion and empathy for others. This is in contrast with the first psalm where the blessed person was marked by what he didn’t do with others (walk, stand, sit). Following the theme of the previous psalm, David declares that such a blessed person will experience the LORD’s deliverance in the day of trouble. Again, the thread of justice runs through the psalms, the idea being that if you take care of others, the LORD will take care of you. Not only will the LORD take care of you and keep you alive, but others in the land will call you “blessed”. He will not give you up to the will (lit. soul) of your enemies. The LORD will sustain you on your sickbed, he’ll restore you to full health. All of this follows quite naturally the previous three psalms (38, 39, 40), forming something of a summary. In those psalms David suffered from illness, sin sickness and sneaky enemy attacks. The 40th psalm is his song of praise for his deliverance from them all. Psalm 41 is the promise that the same will be true for others. This is why it is stated in classic “wisdom” form as a makarism (“blessed is the one”). David has experienced these three verses firsthand and so this text is both instructive and biographical. As a king after God’s heart, he demonstrated concern for the poor, as a person crushed by his sin and sickness he experienced divine restoration of body and soul. Does God heal everyone? Does he always rescue good people from death? Not from our perspective. We know plenty of saints who were neither healed nor protected even while they were doing God’s good work for the poor. Since we don’t know the mind of God nor exactly what awaits us on the other side of death we cannot say for certain that God did not answer their prayer for blessing and life. In fact, the evidence of a gracious and just God suggests that those who die in the LORD are indeed blessed beyond comprehension. Notice also the phrase, “sustains on his sickbed”. Sometimes the LORD doesn’t save us from illness, he saves us through it. He keeps us going, enabling us to endure chronic pain and weakness, which is sometimes more difficult than facing death itself. Pray today for those on beds of illness and for those who are “considering the poor” in various helping ministries. 

4 As for me, I said, “O LORD, be gracious to me; heal me, [my soul] for I have sinned against you!”

5 My enemies say of me in malice, “When will he die, and his name perish?”

David moves from teaching to testifying, telling his own story of sin sickness and relational pain. He connects his sickness to his sin very directly in his prayer, “heal me, for I have sinned against you!” The fact that this sickness brought him close to death is evident by the prayer of his enemies as they are impatient with what they assume to be his ultimate demise. The question of the relationship between sin and suffering is as old as Job. It turns out that Job was ill-informed on the matter, but this idea persisted throughout the Old Testament era and even into the time of Christ, “Who sinned -- this man or his parents -- that he was born blind?” (John 9:2). The truth is not simple on this matter. In some cases sin does lead to sickness when we think of sinful lifestyle choices that tend to have harmful physical consequences (substance abuse, addictions, STI’s). Engaging in illegal activity can sometimes put you in a position where you suffer punishment from law enforcement, possibly disproportionate punishment. Sin always isolates us from others, and this loneliness and isolation can result in psychological distress which in turn affects the body negatively. At the same time, sickness comes simply because we live in a world where bad things happen -- genetic predisposition, viruses, cancers, exposure to radiation or harmful chemicals unknowingly -- these are just some of the factors that lead to disease, sickness and death. As wonderful as this world is, there is still a good deal of human suffering as death is constantly at work. In fact, the reality is that death always wins. If we do not die of an accident, we will die of some type of disease. So David, being unaware of the discoveries of modern medicine assumes that sickness is a result of his sin. Jesus’ answer to the question about the cause of suffering is instructive. “This happened so that the glory of God might be revealed.” In the immediate context that makes a lot of sense because Jesus will heal the man miraculously and it will serve as a sign that he is indeed the light of the world. In a broader sense, the statement is still true though. Sometimes recovery from an illness is directly attributable to God (a miracle, the work of his image-bearing doctors, the powerful ability of the body to restore itself against attacking pathogens -- all of these point to the glory of God). But God is also glorified when we die well. Psalm 116:15 says that the death of the faithful is precious (or carefully watched over). The ultimate healing is the transition from this limited existence to a boundless one, and those who do that well bring glory to God even in their death. 

6 And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words, while his heart gathers iniquity; when he goes out, he tells it abroad.

7 All who hate me whisper together about me; they imagine the worst for me. [they devise evil against me]

David describes one of the awful aspects of being sick -- helplessness. He relates that people come to see him and utter empty words. They say all the polite things that you’re supposed to say, but they are thinking the exact opposite. While they are saying, “get well soon”, what the mean is, “I hope you die soon”. The visitor to the hospital room is seething with anger inside while smiling on the outside. David knows the pretense, but he doesn’t let on during the polite conversation. Then to compound his hypocrisy, this hospital visitor goes out and shares the news of David’s condition abroad. No HIPPA laws back then, no rights to privacy. And it seems likely that he exaggerated David’s condition to make it seem worse than it was. David became the subject of endless gossip in the community, the theme of a game of telephone, his health worsening every time the story is told, “as a matter of prayer”. David describes some of the worst behaviors of people when they are around the sick, specifically those who have no compassion for the sick, just opportunistic malice. All of this leads to greater feelings of isolation on David’s part. It’s not enough to be sick, he’s also got people gossiping about him, exaggerating his condition, and wishing him the worst. Such is the lot of a leader. If he was someone of no importance, no one would care. But because he has power, and power abhors a vacuum, the thought that he might die, generates a thirst for power in others and they succumb to their appetites. The text is a reminder that when we visit people who are sick we should genuinely pray for them, not using their sufferings as a way to elevate ourselves in a conversation because we have inside information. May the allure of gossip not tempt us to speak out of place about those who are suffering. Someday we may be in their place.

8 They say, “A deadly thing is poured out [has fastened] on him; he will not rise again from where he lies.”

9 Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.

David continues elaborating on the actions of his enemies who have convinced themselves that David is dying and are then spreading that rumor abroad, fomenting unrest in the kingdom. They broadcast the news that he’s dying while inwardly they gleefully plot how they will take his place. Perhaps they can justify this betrayal by focusing on David’s sins, “Afterall, he deserves this. It’s the judgment of God upon him.” Here’s the worst part of it: David’s close friend, the one person he trusted in all of this, the person with whom he shared meals -- he has kicked him while he was down. The word “close” here is the Hebrew word shalom (peace, completeness, wholeness). David’s perfect friend, his “peace friend”, joined the crowd and deceitfully turned against him. This is the most painful thing of all -- betrayal. It’s one thing when accidents and misunderstandings happen -- these can be explained and justified. But betrayal is different because it involves an act of the will. This is why some say that divorce is worse than the death of a spouse because a choice was involved. “I choose to be unfaithful to you” or “I choose another person over you.” This wounds us to the core of our identity, particularly if our identity rests on being someone’s spouse. Of course Jesus applied these words to one of his best friends, “his left hand man” so to speak, sitting at his left in the upper room, with whom he shared the Passover bread as he had so many other meals. Judas smiled and said all the right things in Jesus’ presence, even the disciples were fooled. But Jesus was not. He quotes this verse in that context. He knows our heart. Like Judas, we have the capacity to share a meal with Jesus each week at the table of communion, and then by our actions deny that we know him, and indeed subject him to crucifixion all over again, trampling the grace of God and the cross under our feet. Throughout this psalm we are thinking about David’s dastardly friends who kicked him while he was down while pretending to like him. We can barely hide our disgust at them. Surely we would never do anything like that! Then Jesus looks at us and says, “You are the man.” We have shared bread with Jesus and then walked away from that meal unchanged, greedy, power hungry, prideful, self-centered, and full of lust in our hearts. We kick Jesus everytime we choose ourselves over obedience to his good will. We do this while singing songs of worship to Him. Sounds like a classic abusive relationship. Lord, help me to be a genuine  “shalom friend” of Jesus, nurturing a relationship that will keep me faithful to him. 

10 But you, O LORD, be gracious to me, and raise me up, that I may repay them!

11 By this I know that you delight in me: my enemy will not shout in triumph over me.

12 But you have upheld me because of my integrity, and set me in your presence forever.

His stealthy enemies said that he would not rise up, but David prays that he would no only rise from his sickbed, but then be strong enough to repay their treachery. If this happened, it would be evidence of God’s grace towards him. David’s prayer moves quickly to a statement of confidence that his enemies are not going to shout in triumph. David believes that this will be his experience and will confirm the fact that God delights in him. While his salvation is based on God’s grace, David also asserts that it is because of his integrity that God will support him. This is not to deny God’s grace but to acknowledge our partnership with God in salvation. Our part is to seek and surrender and then to remain steadfast in our faith. This is what David is alluding to in his assertion of his integrity. A few verses earlier in this psalm he acknowledged his inquiry, so he is not saying that God brought him back from near death because of his goodness. Rather he is saying, “I remained faithful in my sickness and suffering. I did not abandon you this time.” He then delights in the knowledge that God has set him in his presence (lit. “before his face”) forever. David has exchanged the presence of false friends with the presence of the one who will never leave or forsake him. Surely Jesus thought of these verses as soon as he quoted verse 9. Even as Judas was lifting his heel to kick Jesus to the ground, Jesus could see his ultimate victory and the grace that would extend even to Judas if he had chosen to accept it. Jesus knew that the Father delighted in him and would raise him up, even as the Serpent sought to stomp on him in the cross. He knew that Satan would not raise his voice in triumph, but that Jesus himself would crush the head of the one who held us in slavery by our fear of death. Jesus knew that the Father would uphold him because of his integrity, and then would exalt him and give him the highest place, above all things, thrones, and rulers. We too can endure the pain of sickness and even the betrayal of our closest friends when we focus on the promise that awaits us -- victory over death and the delight of seeing the face of God. 

13 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.

This single verse is actually not a part of Psalm 41, but rather a doxology to conclude the first Book of Psalms (Psalms 1-41). A similar doxology is found at the end of each of the first four books of Psalms (Book 3 being the most brief). Book 5 does not end with a single verse doxology. Instead it is followed by five psalms of doxology. “Doxology” is from the Greek and literally means “glory-word”. While it certainly has a literary function of designating the end of a particular collection of psalms, it also serves as a reminder of the central message of the entire collection of psalms. The word “blessed” is not the same as the first word of Psalm 1 (“Blessed is the man”). It is the Hebrew word barak, commonly translated “praise”. Since the lesser person is blessed by the greater, there is a sense in which it is impossible for us to “bless” God. He blesses us as the first psalm suggests by giving us a good and fruitful life, and it is our privilege to “bless” him by giving him praise, by acknowledging his supreme worthiness of our worship and adoration. Our praise is to be directed toward YHWH, the God of Israel. This is the personal, covenant name of God and it reminds us that we know God through his revealing of himself to a people, the nation of Israel. We know God today through community as well. Yes, we can know him as individuals, but we know him better through others, observing his dealings with them and their response to him. We “get more” of God when we worship in community. And so the doxology prompts us to praise YHWH, the God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting. God is eternal in nature and so his praise is to endure forever as well. From the beginning of creation, all that He has made has given him praise, and his praise will endure as long as creation endures. We were made to participate in this chorus of praise. We are not right until we are right with him. Through all of the ups and downs of the psalmist in these first forty-one psalms, the doxology brings us back to the solid truth of God’s eternal existence. Amen and Amen -- True and True, Faithful and Faithful, So be it. The word “everlasting” and the word “amen” each occur twice as if to emphasize these two essential truths: God is timeless, God is true. By this we mean that ultimate reality must by necessity fit within the truth of God. Truth always wins. It does not change no matter how much we may push against it. Praise be to the God who does not change. While all of life may be in turmoil and chaos, this one thing is forever true. YHWH is worthy of our worship.