The Basis for God's Help

The 41st Psalm contains five sections, although commentators divide the thirteen verses in different ways. Below is our suggestion.

Verses 1-3   Privilege
Verse 4   Plea
Verses 5-9   Political Opponents
Verses 10-12   Prevailing
Verse 13   Praise

The first verse begins with a beatitude: "Blessed is he who considers the poor." This may seem like an odd way to begin. The poor are not discussed anywhere else in this brief message. What is at issue here is the attitude of a righteous man who considers their plight.

In the Law there were safeguards for the poor. An Israelite was not to charge interest (usury) to his neighbor (Ex. 22:25). The corners of a field were not to be gleaned so that the poor and the stranger might have food (Lev. 23:22; cf. Lev. 19:10). See also Deuteronomy 24:15. Although not under the Law of Moses, Job said that he delivered the poor (29:12) and that he was a father to them (29:16). His soul grieved for the poor (30:25).

Although not much historical is written about David and the poor, he writes about them often. "The poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles" (Ps. 34:6). "All my bones should say, 'Lord, who is like You, delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him, yes, the poor and the needy from him who plunders him?'" "A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy habitation" (Ps. 68:5). Dozens of other verses deal with the poor in Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes.

Ill treatment against the poor was a cause of God's people being taken into captivity:

The Lord will enter into judgment with the elders of His people and His princes: "For you have eaten up the vineyard; the plunder of the poor is in your houses. What do you mean by crushing My people and grinding the faces of the poor?" says the Lord God of hosts (Isa. 3:14-15).

Imagine plundering what little the poor might have left! This action shows that the people lacked compassion. This attitude is mentioned frequently in other prophetic passages (Isa. 32:7; Ezek. 16:49; 22:29; Amos 2:6).

The New Testament mentions the poor frequently. Some of them were great givers, such as the widow with two mites (Mark 12:42) and the Macedonians (2 Cor. 8:1-5). Paul made it a point to remember the poor (Gal. 2:10), and James cautioned brethren to treat them fairly and with equity (James 2:1-6).

Blessed, then, is the one who considers the poor. God would have compassion on him, just as the Samaritan did upon the man who was beaten and robbed (Luke 10:30-37). Surely, however, David does not mean to say that this one characteristic is sufficient to receive all the benefits he is about to enumerate. Considering the poor is indicative of the proper disposition that a person ought to have—of the charge to "love your neighbor as yourself" (Lev. 19:18).

So, how is this individual blessed? Because of his compassion, the "Lord will deliver him in time of trouble" (Ps. 41:1). He will also preserve him and keep him alive. The are wonderful promises. The general privilege is stated again: "he will be blessed on the earth." Another way of saying this is: God blesses those who bless others (verse 2). Those who live for Self rob themselves of the rich blessings God intends for them to have and make themselves poor indeed. The man who was going to tear down his barns to build greater ones thought only of his own wealth and ease; he seems not to have had an ounce of care for others.

Jesus is the ultimate example of one who made Himself poor that all might be rich (spiritually) (2 Cor. 8:9). But some additional benefits are listed for the compassionate soul: 1) God delivers him from the will of his enemies; 2) The Lord strengthens him on his bed of illness; and 3) He sustains him on his sickbed (Ps. 41:2c-3). Add these to the two already mentioned, and these make great promises concerning sickness and life's troubles. The privilege afforded to the compassionate soul involves protection and preservation.

The Plea's Underlying Strength

The key verse, relating to what has been stated previously as well as to what follows, is the plea made in verse 4: "Lord, be merciful to me; Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You." Let's work backward through this verse. Here is the frank admission, "I have sinned against You." No excuses are offered, as when Adam said to God, "The woman You gave to be with me" (Gen. 3:12) or when Saul blamed the people for disobeying God's Word (1 Sam. 15:15).

How refreshing it must be to God for someone to acknowledge, "I knew it was wrong, and I did it anyway. In so doing I recognize that I have sinned," instead of finding someone else to blame the transgression on.

David recognizes that he cannot undo the sin he has committed. Only God can heal us of sin. "Heal my soul." Sometimes it is damaged; it might be broken; it could become skeptical or indifferent. But there is a problem, or there would not be a sin. There is nothing to do but to cast himself on God's mercy. He seems confident that God will grant him pardon. Why? Because God knows his overall character (verse 1-3).

The Political Opponents

The next five verses deal with the behavior of the opposition. Every kingdom—no matter how good—will have political enemies who want to take power and control over the realm. Some of these may be holdovers from King Saul's reign. Some may have despised his actions with Bathsheba and think he is unfit to lead the nation. If so, they have not forgiven him as God has. Some might oppose him just because he is the one in power. Whatever the reason, those who oppose David are vicious in their thoughts concerning him.

My enemies speak evil of me: "When will he die, and his name perish?" And if he comes to see me, he speaks lies; his heart gathers iniquity to itself; when he goes out, he tells it.

This is reminiscent of a verse from a Bob Dylan song, "Positively Fourth Street."

You see me on the street; you always act surprised.
You say, "How are you?", "Good luck," but ya don't mean it.
When you know as well as me, you'd rather see me paralyzed.
Why don't you just come out once and scream it?

The enemy comes to see David as though he were a friend. He speaks lies—probably flatters him—but all throughout the visit he is noting everything the king says and does with a view toward "spinning" it against him once he leaves. In 1983, the Australian Group, Air Supply, released, "Making Love Out of Nothing at All." It was a tribute to the ability a certain woman had to take the ordinary or the awful and turn it into something wonderful. He tells her:

You can take the darkness from the pit of the night
And turn it to a beacon burning endlessly bright.

Unfortunately, David's enemies possess an equally amazing ability—only they turn goodness and loveliness into shame and degradation. Their desire is to tear down the king and rule in his place. They plot and pray (if they thought God would listen) for his demise. They undoubtedly detest the fact that God is perpetuating David as king over the nation of Israel. David continues:

All who hate me whisper together against me; against me they devise my hurt. "An evil disease," they say, "clings to him. And now that he lies down, he will rise up no more" (Ps. 41:7-8).

David is not worried; he already answered their false hope previously when he said God would strengthen him in his sickness and sustain him on his sickbed (verse 3). Because David has confessed his sin to God and is the kind of person to consider the poor, God is with him and will defeat men like this. God perpetuates David as king.

But wait. As bad as these men have been described, it turns out that one is even worse. Verse 9 tells us: "Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heal against me." Here there can be no doubt that David has had a traitor in his midst.

To whom does he refer? Obviously, it is someone close to him. Some have suggested Absalom, his son, who certainly raised up a rebellion against him. But David talks about repayment, and that does not seem to apply to Absalom. David entreated his men to treat his son gently (2 Sam. 18:5). And when he was killed, David mourned and wept so openly that Joab feared he might lose the kingdom (2 Sam. 19:1-8).

One other person fits the conditions even better than Absalom, and that would be David's advisor and counselor, Ahithophel. As a strategist, he surely ate at the king's table as they talked over various plans. Ahithophel, however, had turned against David and joined in Absalom's rebellion. (Another possibility is this. Ahithophel had a son named Eliam, one of David's mighty men (2 Sam. 23:34). Is it the same Eliam, whose daughter is Bathsheba, which would make her the granddaughter of Ahithophel (2 Sam. 11:3)? Did Ahithophel's motive for treason relate to David's killing of his granddaughter's husband and taking her for wife? It's possible.)

Whichever man it was, one thing is certain. This verse is referenced in the New Testament and applied to Judas' treatment of Jesus in John 13:18. Judas had been with Jesus since the baptism of John. He had heard Him teach and seen His miracles. Furthermore, he had participated in the same work—having been sent on the limited commission (Matt. 10). Unlike King David, Jesus had a perfect record; no one could convict Him of sin (John 8:46; 1 Peter 2:2). Yet Judas betrayed Him.

Preserved and David Prevails

David begs for God's mercy—that he would be raised up and repay his enemies (verse 10). Does this sound vengeful? In a theocracy, it is not. They have set themselves against God's anointed, and God through David would punish them. David would not execute an evil king like Saul because God had anointed him; yet these men want to destroy a man after God's own heart. How shameful!. David finishes this section on a high note.

By this I know you are well pleased with me, because my enemy does not triumph over me. As for me, You uphold me in my integrity and set me before Your face forever (Ps. 41:11-12).

His enemies in the rebellion were defeated, and David remains king. God made this arrangement possible. No conspiracy against him bore any fruit; they have all been defeated. Notice that David is quick to give credit where credit is due. David has been vindicated while his enemies have been destroyed. But more importantly, God has favored David—both now and in eternity.

Praise

The last verse has been called a doxology, and a few psalms do close in this fashion (72:18-19; 89:52; 106:48). The psalm began with a blessing upon the writer; so it is only appropriate for it to close with these words: "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen" (Psalm 41:13).