Psalm 41

Psalms 41:1

“Faith comes first, and mercy comes second.… Happy, therefore, is the one who understands the poverty of Christ, his utter destitution. Christ, though he was very rich, became poor for us. In his kingdom, he was rich; in his flesh, he was poor, for he took on himself the flesh of the poor. We had indeed become very poor, because, by fraud practiced on us by the serpent, we lost the rich robes of virtue and were put out of paradise. We were thrown out of our native land and banished into exile. We were even stripped of clothing.”

Psalms 41:1

“Blessed is he that considereth the poor. This is the third Psalm opening with a benediction, and there is a growth in it beyond the first two. To search the word of God comes first, pardoned sin is second, and now the forgiven sinner brings forth fruit unto God available for the good of others. The word used is as emphatic as in the former cases, and so is the blessing which follows it. The poor intended, are such as are poor in substance, weak in bodily strength, despised in repute, and desponding in spirit.”

Psalms 41:2

“The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive. His noblest life shall be immortal, and even his mortal life shall be sacredly guarded by the power of Jehovah. Jesus lived on till his hour came, nor could the devices of crafty Herod take away his life till the destined hour had struck; and even then no man took his life from him, but he laid it down of himself, to take it again.”

Psalms 41:3

“The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing. The everlasting arms shall stay up his soul as friendly hands and downy pillows stay up the body of the sick. How tender and sympathising is this image; how near it brings our God to our infirmities and sicknesses! Whoever heard this of the old heathen Jove, or of the gods of India or China? This is language peculiar to the God of Israel; he it is who deigns to become nurse and attendant upon good men. If he smites with one hand he sustains with the other.”

Psalms 41:3

“Note, God has promised his people that he will strengthen them, and make them easy, under their bodily pains and sicknesses. He has not promised that they shall never be sick, nor that they shall not lie long languishing, nor that their sickness shall not be unto death; but he has promised to enable them to bear their affliction with patience, and cheerfully to wait the issue.”

Psalms 41:4

“I said —said it in earnest prayer— Lord, be merciful unto me. Prove now thy gracious dealings with my soul in adversity, since thou didst aforetime give me grace to act liberally in my prosperity. No appeal is made to justice; the petitioner but hints at the promised reward, but goes straightforward to lay his plea at the feet of mercy. How low was our Redeemer brought when such petitions could come from his reverend mouth, when his lips like lilies dropped such sweet smelling but bitter myrrh! Heal my soul.”

Psalms 41:4

“I said--I asked the mercy I show. heal my soul--(Compare Ps 30:2). "Sin and suffering are united," is one of the great teachings of the Psalms. A graphic picture of the conduct of a malignant enemy.”

Psalms 41:4

“Heal - The soul is said to be healed, when it is pardoned and purged. For - For I acknowledge that I have sinned.”

Psalms 41:5

“Mine enemies speak evil of me. It was their nature to do and speak evil; it was not possible that the child of God could escape them. The viper fastened on Paul's hand: the better the man the more likely, and the more venomous the slander. Evil tongues are busy tongues, and never deal in truth. Jesus was traduced to the utmost, although no offence was in him. When shall he die, and his name perish? They could not be content till he was away.”

Psalms 41:6

“Judas went out, and he spoke. He went out from the faith, he went out from the council and number of the apostles. He went out from Christ's banquet to the villainy of Satan; he went out from the grace that sanctifies to the noose that strangles. He went to speak vain things to infidels. He went outside, leaving behind the mysteries of life that lay within. He went out, for he had never known the mysteries that are contained in Scripture.”

Psalms 41:6

“And if he come to see me, he speaketh vanity. His visits of sympathy are visitations of mockery. When the fox calls on the sick lamb his words are soft, but he licks his lips in hope of the carcass. It is wretched work to have spies haunting one's bedchamber, calling in pretence of kindness, but with malice in their hearts. Hypocritical talk is always fulsome and sickening to honest men, but especially to the suffering saint. Our divine Lord had much of this from the false hearts that watched his words. His heart gathereth iniquity to itself.”

Psalms 41:7

“All that hate me whisper together against me,.... That is, they privately conspired against him; see Mat 22:15; against me do they devise my hurt; not only to take away his name and credit, but his life.”

Psalms 41:7

“All that hate me whisper together against me. The spy meets his comrades in conclave and sets them all a whispering. Why could they not speak out? Were they afraid of the sick warrior? Or were their designs so treacherous that they must needs be hatched in secrecy? Mark the unanimity of the wicked— all. How heartily the dogs unite to hunt the stag!”

Psalms 41:8

"Shall he who sleeps rise again?" Here he sets forth the reasoning behind their wicked determination. The word "not" is superfluous; as if to say: he who sleeps will not rise again; as if to say: if we kill him, he will not rise. Wis. …

Psalms 41:8

“An evil disease, say they, cleaveth fast unto him. They whisper that some curse has fallen upon him, and is riveted to him. They insinuate that a foul secret stains his character, the ghost whereof haunts his house, and never can be laid. An air of mystery is cast around this doubly dark saying, as if to show how indistinct are the mutterings of malice. Even thus was our Lord accounted "smitten of God and afflicted." His enemies conceived that God had forsaken him, and delivered him for ever into their hands.”

Psalms 41:8

An evil disease--literally, "a word of Belial," some slander. cleaveth--literally, "poured on him." that he lieth--who has now laid down, "he is utterly undone and our victory is sure."

Psalms 41:9

“We need not imagine that Jesus did not know that Judas was going to betray him.… Of course Jesus knew it. But in order to emphasize how damnable was the deed, Jesus speaks of the hopes he had held regarding Judas' loyalty.… We come down more heavily on one in whom we say we had high hopes or great trust, if afterwards that person robs us of our hope and high opinion.… This is why Jesus says that he had hoped, it was as though he had a right to hope.”

Psalms 41:9

“Yea. Here is the climax of the sufferer's woe, and he places before it the emphatic affirmation, as if he thought that such villainy would scarcely be believed. Mine own familiar friend. "The man of my peace, "so runs the original, with whom I had no differences, with whom I was in league, who had aforetime ministered to my peace and comfort. This was Ahithophel to David, and Iscariot with our Lord. Judas was an apostle, admitted to the privacy of the Great Teacher, hearing his secret thoughts, and, as it were, allowed to read his very heart.”

Psalms 41:9

“As David and his fortunes typified Christ and His (compare Introduction), so these words expressed the treatment he received, and also that of his Son and Lord; hence, though not distinctly prophetical, our Saviour (Joh 13:18) applies them to Judas, "that the Scripture may be fulfilled." This last phrase has a wide use in the New Testament, and is not restricted to denote special prophecies.”

Psalms 41:9

“Yea - These words were literally fulfilled in David, and yet the Holy Ghost looked farther in them, even to Christ and Judas, in whom they received a fuller accomplishment.”

Psalms 41:10

“But thou, O Lord, be merciful unto me. How the hunted and affrighted soul turns to her God! How she seems to take breath with a "but, thou!" How she clings to the hope of mercy from God when every chance of pity from man is gone! And raise me up. Recover me from my sickness, give me to regain my position. Jesus was raised up from the grave; his descent was ended by an ascent. That I may requite them.”

Psalms 41:11

“You notice that he hints more clearly at the repayment here in his mentioning, not vengeance by the wronged but personal disappointment by the frustrated, which resulted in their punishing themselves on seeing the one they envied held in high esteem. His meaning here is, …”

Psalms 41:11

“We are all cheered by tokens for good, and the psalmist felt it to be an auspicious omen, that after all his deep depression he was not utterly given over to his foe. By this I know that thou favourest me. Thou hast a special regard to me, I have the secret assurance of this in my heart, and, therefore, thine outward dealings do not dismay me, for I know that thou lovest me in them all. Because mine enemy doth not triumph over me.”

Psalms 41:12

“And as for me, despite them all and in the sight of them all, thou upholdest me in mine integrity; thy power enables me to rise above the reach of slander by living in purity and righteousness. Our innocence and consistency are the result of the divine upholding. We are like those glasses without feet, which can only be upright while they are held in the hand; we fall, and spill, and spoil all, if left to ourselves. The Lord should be praised every day if we are preserved from gross sin.”

Psalms 41:12

“Settest - Or, hast confirmed me in thy presence, under thine eye and special care: to minister unto thee, as a king over thy people. And in regard of his posterity, the kingdom was established forever. Amen - Signifies an hearty assent and approbation, and withal an earnest desire of the thing, to which it is annexed.”

Psalms 41:13

"So be it, so be it" is also an indication that you have reached the end of a book. The psalter appears to be divided into five books, and the first book ends with this psalm, namely, the forty-first. The forty-first psalm concludes very fittingly with the passion, just as the forty-day period of Lent concludes with the Lord's passion. This allows the second book to begin with the mysteries of regeneration.

Psalms 41:13

“The Psalm ends with a doxology. Blessed be the Lord, i.e., let him be glorified. The blessing at the beginning from the mouth of God is returned from the mouth of his servant. We cannot add to the Lord's blessedness, but we can pour out our grateful wishes, and these he accepts, as we receive little presents of flowers from children who love us. Jehovah is the personal name of our God. God of Israel is his covenant title, and shows his special relation to his elect people. From everlasting and to everlasting.”