Seeing Our Lord Our Greatest Reward – Psalm 41

“To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. Blessed is he who considers the poor. The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. 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. The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness. You will sustain him on his sickbed.” Psalm 41:1-3

The Lord told David that those who consider the poor are blessed or happy. Delivered from trouble and enemies, kept alive, strengthened and sustained when sick are some of the benefits for those who do so.

Proverbs 19:17 says, “He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and He will pay back what he has given.”

The Holy Spirit anointed Jesus to preach good news to the poor. He fed their souls the Word of God and on some occasions He multiplied food for them.

For example, in Mark 8:1-9, Jesus had an audience of 4,000 people. They had been with Him for three days without eating. He felt compassion toward them. He did not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint enroute to their homes. Some had come from a quite a distance. Jesus took seven loaves of bread and a few small fish, blessed and multiplied them. Everyone ate until they were full and even so there were seven large baskets full of fragments leftover.

In Galatians 2:9-11, when Paul and Barnabas were sent to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles by the esteemed “pillars” of the Church, namely, James, Cephas and John, Paul noted, “All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.”

“I said, ‘Lord, be merciful to me. Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.’ 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.” Psalm 41:4-6

Why does my soul need healed? The answer is because I sinned against God. Think about it! Every person alive today was at one point inside Adam. Acts 17:26 states: “From one man He [God] made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth.” According to Genesis 2:21-22, God created Eve from one of Adam’s ribs. Every human soul descended from Adam and Eve. We need God’s mercy because after they sinned, they passed their sin nature on to us all.

Souls marred by sin are a challenge to live with. Then, on top of that, we have an adversary who accuses, mocks and attacks us for sinning. In Revelation 12:10, Satan is called the accuser of the brothers.

David wrote that his enemies spoke evil of him. His enemy anticipated his demise. His enemy fabricated lies and evil reports about him.

In John 8:44, Jesus said that there is no truth in the devil. He is a liar and the father of it.” The devil deceived our first parents with the intension of destroying the human race. He corrupted their souls, and they passed the corruption onto us. Thus, we need the Lord to heal our souls.

Genesis 2:7 says that “the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul (Heb. נֶפֶשׁ nephesh – soul). Humanity’s soul departed from God that day. Only God can restore it.

The Lord said in Ezekiel 18:4, “The soul who sins shall die.” In Matthew 10:28, Jesus said, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” The implication here is that it is more important to preserve our soul than our bodies. Our earth suits are temporary. They will be replaced in eternity. Our souls are eternal. In Psalm 23:3, it is the Lord who restores our souls.

“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.’ Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.” Psalm 41:7-9

King Saul hated David and conspired with his army against him. In 1 Samuel 23:1-8, David and his men saved the citizens of Keilah from the Philistines. King Saul heard that David and his men were in the city of Keilah. Saul responded by saying, “God has delivered him into my hands, for David has imprisoned himself by entering a town with gates and bars.” Saul called up all his forces to attack Keilah. In 1 Samuel 23:9-13, when David learned that Saul was plotting against him, he asked the Lord, “Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me and my men to Saul?” And the Lord said, “They will.” So David and his men fled from Keilah.

Joab was King David’s nephew. He was the son of David’s sister. Joab served as the commander of David’s army throughout most of his reign. He was a mighty warrior, but he also betrayed David. He slew Abner after David had made peace with him. Joab slew David’s son Absalom after David commanded him to preserve his life. Joab joined in a confederacy with Adonijah to take the throne when David was about to die, but David had promised the throne to Solomon.

Psalm 41:9 is quoted in Matthew 26:23 and John 13:18 as being fulfilled in Christ. “Jesus replied, ‘The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me.’” “I am not referring to all of you. I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture: ‘He who shared my bread has turned against me.’” Jesus was betrayed by His disciple Judas Iscariot.

The Lord frequently warns us against placing more trust in people than in Him. Jeremiah 17:5-7 declares a curse on those who make “flesh their strength,” while blessing those who trust in the Lord. Psalm 118:8-9 states that “it is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans or even princes.” In Matthew 24:10, signs of the end times include people turning from faith in God and betraying and hating one another. People who betray the Lord are apt to betray others.

“But You, O Lord, be merciful to me, and raise me up, that I may repay them. By this I know that You are well pleased with me, because my enemy does not triumph over me.” Psalm 41:10-11

David acknowledged his need for God’s mercy to overcome the secret plots against him. He was not all-knowing but God is. Who enjoys being hunted like an animal? In 1 Peter 5:7-8, the Lord gave Peter good counsel for us. He wrote, “Cast all your cares on Him [God] because he cares for you. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” As we abide in Christ, He directs us in the way we should go.

In Ephesians 2:8-9, the Lord says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”

In the Bible, Jesus revealed to us the tribulations that will happen before He returns. Thus, the last verse of the Bible, Revelation 22:21, says, “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.” We need God’s grace to triumph over the enemy of our souls.

“As for me, You uphold me in my integrity and set me before Your face forever. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.” Psalm 41:12-13

How did David maintain integrity? He kept his face ever toward the Lord. Likewise, in 2 Timothy 4:18, Paul wrote, “The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” “Those whom God now upholds in their integrity He will set before His face forever.” [1] Seeing the Lord is our greatest reward.


[1] Matthew Henry’s Commentary