Psalm 41: Merciful, or Just Mean as a Snake?

Blessed is the one who considers the poor!

    In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him;

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.

The Lord sustains him on his sickbed;

    in his illness you restore him to full health. (41:1-3)

Photo by Shail Sharma on Unsplash

In Psalm 40, we saw the psalmist testify about the good that God had done for him, and we see that in Psalm 41 as well… in the person of the Lord himself and in the one who represents him well. 

     “Blessed is the one who considers the poor!” (v.1)

Here is a question... are verses 1b-3 a description of what God does for the poor or what God will do for the one who cares for the poor? Perhaps both. Willem Van Gemeren, in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, notes that,

“The Father in heaven looks for those who wisely conform to his heavenly kingdom on earth: righteousness, holiness, love, and justice. He cares for the oppressed and delights to see his children's concern with the things that are important to him: concern for those in need (cf. 35:13-14; 112:9 –Emphasis mine).”[1]

We should also observe that David ended the previous psalm with the cry,

 As for me, I am poor and needy,
    but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
    do not delay, O my God! (40:17)

David might have been establishing a case whereby the Lord would do merciful things for him since he was also in need. It is also possible that he was emphasizing the importance for those who have power over the poor/weak/sick/powerless to use that power to help and not to harm. This idea may be supported by the title of this psalm in the Syriac which says, “It was a Psalm of David when he appointed overseers to take care of the poor.” (Adam Clarke)

This psalm seems to suggest that how we treat “the poor” in their day of trouble influences how we will be treated in our own day of trouble. Jesus picked up on this prophetic message (and others such as Psa. 18:25-26 and Micah 6:8) in the Sermon on the Mount when he said, "Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy" (Matt 5:7). Later James, Jesus' half-brother and leader of the Jerusalem church, wrote that pure religion is evidenced in our treatment of “widows and orphans” and not just some abstract form of personal piety (James 1:27).

Nineteenth-century preacher Charles Spurgeon, in his classic Treasury of David, elaborated on how the faithful servants of the Lord are both relationally wise and merciful in their consideration of the poor, “They do not toss them a penny and go their way, but enquire into their sorrows, sift out their cause, study the best ways for relief, and practically come to their rescue; such as these have the mark of the divine favor plainly upon them…“The promise is not that the generous saint shall have no trouble, but that [they] shall be preserved in it, and in due time brought out of it.”[2]

Certainly, these verses depict the kindness and grace of God, shown to those who are “poor”— a word that depicts the marginalized in every society on earth, but also in the Hebrew context that specially referred to those who were humble before the Lord, confessing the sin. In the New Testament, we see both aspects on the lips of Jesus in Matthew 5’s “poor in spirit” and Luke 6’s “poor” in an economic/power sense.

I am touched by the merciful kindness shown to "the poor" in verses 1-3 of this psalm. I am also disturbed by the contrasted meanness of others in verses 5-10 — the malicious, the slanderers, the whisperers, the scandalmongers, the prognosticators, and the betrayers!

Have you ever been “visited” by such as these? David had...

And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words,

    while his heart gathers iniquity;

    when he goes out, he tells it abroad. (v.6)

Pigpen by Charles Schultz

I don’t want to be the “utterer of empty words” nor one with a heart that “gathers iniquity” like velour gathers lint. I don’t want to spread abroad the iniquity I gather like so much sticky pollen and dust due to the negative charge of a fallen world. Instead, I want to spread the goodness of God which I have received. God doesn’t want his people to be the spiritual/relational equivalents of the Peanuts character “Pigpen” whose very presence continuously broadcasts dirt and dust. I also don’t want to imagine the worst for others (v.7) even though we are often faced with the reality of it.

Photo by Elijah O'Donnell on Unsplash

How can we keep from being mean like those described in v. 5-10? I don’t think that too many people set out to speak hurtfully or even use mean words, but the less we listen to the heart of God and more to the selfishness and demands of the world we start to sound like those to whom we listen. I was in a man’s office recently and noticed that his bookshelves were covered in a thick layer of dust. It didn’t happen all at once, but a little bit at a time, so gradually that he had not noticed it. But when I walked in for the first time, I noticed it right away. It is not fun when the light of God’s Word is focused by the Spirit on some areas of our hearts that have become clogged with the dust and disease of selfish pride, but it is therapeutic for it leads us to confession and cleansing!

What else can we do? Having confessed our sins to God and asked for mercy and grace to speak the truth in love, always looking to build up rather than tear down, there are several other safeguards, I would suggest that will prevent us from becoming one of those odious individuals mentioned in v.5-6 that hurts others verbally. We can...

1. Know that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit delight in you! Jesus was prepared for his times of greatest testing by the knowledge of his Father's love (Matt. 3:16-17; 17:5). The triune God knows your flaws already and still delights in you! Publishing and critiquing the perceived faults of others does not enhance your standing before the Lord. It is not like playing “king of the hill” where we climb higher by pushing and throwing others lower. (--> Romans 5:6-11)
2. Know that our enemy, whose very name means “Accuser”, will not have the last word. And when the accuser is silenced by the manifested love of God in Christ, let us not play “devil’s advocate” and take up his taunts against others for whom Jesus died. (--> Rev. 12:10-11; Romans 8:31-34)
3. Know that we are secure in the loving presence of the Lord Jesus forever. We don’t have to be overcome with anxiety, insecurity, or discouragement at our own shortcomings. We are not called to climb up to heaven to win God’s favor, rather, he came down to us to set us free from all that brings guilt and shame! (--> Romans 8:14-17, 35-39)
4. Know that our words quickly reveal the condition of our hearts. So, when we (or others) notice our words growing more caustic, impatient, and overly sarcastic, let it be like an early warning system that our heart is no longer responding to the lovingkindness of the Savior, but has begun to go astray to gather iniquity. (--> Matt. 15:1-20; 12:34; Mark7:1-23; Luke 6:45)
5. Know that you will always need God’s help and make a practice of asking for it, as the psalmist models for us in Psalm 141:3-4,

     Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;

         keep watch over the door of my lips!

     Do not let my heart incline to any evil,

         to busy myself with wicked deeds

     in company with men who work iniquity,

         and let me not eat of their delicacies!

As recipients of great mercy, even before we knew we needed it, let us extend mercy to others though they may not know they need it too! But having received it they will be changed. May the Heavenly Father and Christ the Son, use us to pour his love into the thirstiest of hearts through the work of the Holy Spirit this week! 

And for those of us who face the hour or day of trouble may we embrace the Lord's delivering presence in and through it! 

"Blessed is the one who considers the poor!

    In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him..." (v.1)

---

[1] Willem A. Van Gemeren in EBC Vol. 5, Psalms—Song of Solomon, Zondervan. 325.

[2] C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, Vol. 2 Psalms 27-52, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, 283-284.

Psalm 12 "Longing for Safety"

Psalm 12:1, 5 

Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone;
    for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man…

 “Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan,
    I will now arise,” says the Lord;
    “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”

Comments:

This psalm is an individual lament as we can see in verse one’s prayerful request, “Save, O Lord”. It also contains a bit of imprecatory (v. 3) and a pinch of wisdom (v.6).

The larger context of the psalm indicates that when David wrote this, he was frustrated by the lying and treacherous words of his generation. It seemed like everyone had become corrupt in their speech. It is not much different today…check the comment thread on any sports or political post you find on the internet. People still use their power and wealth to oppress and disrespect others based on race, class, religion, and culture covering their actions with lying words. And many who have no power would treat others just as oppressively if they did.

Yet here in v, 5 we have the answer to David’s cry for help (v.1). The Lord rises up to deliver and save the poor/needy who are groaning because of the plundering that they are suffering. In the Old Testament “the poor” is the godly person who trusts in the Lord instead of in himself and worldly power structures. These were the “have-nots” of society that what little they had was being taken by those with more. They were being terrorized in a very real way.

Is it satisfying to see the Lord’s answer? He will move and “place” the poor/needy one who is trusting in Him “in the safety for which he longs.” I think so.

This was a verse that I got to share with my son as he headed off for a military deployment as a combat medic. This verse instructs me that I need to have a tender heart towards the oppressed wherever I may find them. Why? Because this is the very heart of God! Our military men and women can be self-serving just like anyone else, but they can also do some very brave and sacrificial things in an effort to protect others. Our government may make decisions that are not in the best interest of the poor and needy, but there are many who lay down their lives in sacrificial service to bring them to “the safety for which he longs.”  When they do this for others, they reflect something of the character of God as revealed in Jesus Christ. 

Our calling as Christ followers, is to come alongside those in need, show kindness, build relationship, and walk with them. It may be that we can help them to safety, or that in our risking something for others that we can be helped by what we learn from them. Some in terrible danger long for true safety, others merely loiter in it risking nothing for others. 

In any event, Gods heart is compassionate and responsive to his people, and his words are always true and dependable. So, even when I risk an investment of trust in the Lord he is my Deliverer and I really have risked nothing for he is the one who died for me and even now gives the harvest!

[Note: This psalm marks a memorial stone of sorts. It was on this psalm in January 2010 that in response to requests from readers (like Janet Miller) I began adding short commentary to the verses that I posted on Facebook. Then about a year ago, those comments moved into a more developed blog.]

Psalm 113 “He Raises And He Lifts”

Psalm for Today = 113:4-8

⁴ The Lord is high above all nations,
    and his glory above the heavens!
⁵ Who is like the Lord our God,
    who is seated on high,
⁶ who looks far down
    on the heavens and the earth?
⁷ He raises the poor from the dust
    and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
⁸ to make them sit with princes,
    with the princes of his people.

    and his glory above the heavens!

Comments:

After the invocation of praise the Lord (v.1-3), verse 4 states that which should be obvious, yet which we continually need to be reminded of, that “The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens!” It is the lot of mankind, left to himself,  to worship either the heavens as the highest and most glorious thing he can observe, or to give glory to the nation to which he belongs as the highest authority and greatest cause on the earth. Neither is true.

What is also so amazing about God in this psalm is the testimony that, though he has to “look far down” to consider even our greatest works, He raises and lifts the poor and the needy from the dirt. It would seem that most often worldly power is used to keep others from getting power. Those at the top must keep everyone else from getting to the top in some global and all too deadly game of “king of the hill”. But it is like someone hasn’t told God our rules.

What God does as the highest and most glorious is raise up the lowly and wretched and give them power and glory. He uses his might to bring satisfaction to others, not to himself. Truly, there is none like Him! How unlike human rulers he is.

Ironically, when God raises others (including us) up, he is not diminished, but when we keep others down, we are! 

He is a God most worthy of our praise!

Question:

·         How have we seen God raise up the poor and needy?

·         What will I do with whatever power and honor God has entrusted to me this week?