PS 41

Ps 41:1 Blessed is he who considers the poor; the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.

:2 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.

:3 The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness; You will sustain him on his sickbed.

:4 I said, “ Lord, be merciful to me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”

:5 My enemies speak evil of me: “When will he die, and his name perish?”

:6 And if he comes to see me, he speaks lies; his heart gathers iniquity to itself; when he goes out, he tells it.

:7 All who hate me whisper together against me; against me they devise my hurt.

:8 “An evil disease,” they say, “cling to him. And now that he lies down, he will rise up no more.”

:9 Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, as lifted up his heel against me.

:10 But You, O Lord, be merciful to me, and raise me up, that I may repay them.

:11 By this I know that You are well pleased with me, because my enemy does not triumph over me.

:12 As for me, You uphold me in my integrity, and set me before Your face forever.

:13 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.

This is headed as the Blessing and Suffering of the Godly.

Sounds like David is seriously ill and his enemies are hoping he dies.

This psalm kinda reads like a review of the first 40.

1. Sin that needs forgiving. (ps 32 and 38)
2. Sickness that needs healing (ps 6 and 38)
3. A cry for help is heard and a new song emerges (ps 40)
4. A whole lot of enemies hoping something bad happens to him

We don't really know the actual circumstance of when this was written. But it doesn't really matter. It applies to a lot of situations.

1. When we are sick.
2. When we need God's forgiveness.
3. When we are attacked or betrayed.

As you read through this psalm underline or circle everything the Lord does.

1. He delivers
2. He preserves
3. He blesses
4. He strengthens
5. He restores us to health
6. He has mercy on us
7. He upholds us

It is easy in the tough times to focus on the problems; David challenges us to focus on the Lord.

David knew what it was like to have a close friend turn against him. (verse 9)

If you've had a trusted friend, spouse or child turn against you, you know how David felt. His son and his friend turned against him. You also know how Jesus felt. One of Jesus' closest followers betrayed Him. In John 13:18 Jesus quoted from Psalm 41:9 as a prediction of His own betrayal by a close friend. He never took revenge on His betrayer. He just kept reaching out to him in grace and Judas turned away from Jesus' love forever. Jesus can help you respond in grace to your betrayer too. Easy to say, hard to do. I have been betrayed by close friends a couple of times. It is much easier being attacked no matter how wrongly by someone who doesn't really know you isn't it?