Psalms 41 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Psalm 41

O Lord, Be Gracious to Me

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

41:1   Blessed is the one who considers the poor!¹
    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.²
4   As for me, I said, “O LORD, be gracious to me;
    heal me,³ for I have sinned against you!”
5   My enemies say of me in malice,
    “When will he die, and his name perish?”
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.⁴
8   They say, “A deadly thing is poured out⁵ 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.
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.
13   Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting!
      Amen and Amen.

Footnotes

[1] 41:1 Or weak
[2] 41:3 Hebrew you turn all his bed
[3] 41:4 Hebrew my soul
[4] 41:7 Or they devise evil against me
[5] 41:8 Or has fastened

Commentary

A psalm in time of affliction.

v1-3: Concern for the poor, a N.T. principle, see Acts 6, 1 Cor 16. In the O.T., wheat in the corners of fields was not harvested, harvesters were not to return for dropped sheaves, etc. Obedience to these principles brought blessing; the Lord will deliver, will preserve, will be blessed, will strengthen, will sustain - such widespread blessing on the life of the one who remembers the poor.

v4: The problem of personal iniquity and guile before God. But the godly man who sins is far different from the unbeliever.

v5-6: Compare Ps 40.12,14; the problem of persecution. Enemies attacked him in the time of his trial. The psalmist was in a position of weakness, being conscious of his own sins. His enemies used this as an opportunity to attack and condemn.

v7-9: There was plotting and malice and treachery; the fellowship of wicked men, and the deceit of a friend. The Lord Jesus also suffered from such attacks.

v10: Trust in God's mercy which never fails.

v11-12: David's personal integrity, and confidence that God would vindicate him.

v13: The final blessing; closing each of the five books of the psalms; Ps 72.18-20; 89.52; 106.48; 150.6.