Commentary - Psalm 41:1-3

Bird's-eye view

Psalm 41 concludes the first book of the Psalter, and it does so by returning to a foundational theme of biblical wisdom: the character of the blessed man. David, under inspiration, lays out a general principle of God's covenantal world. It is a world with a moral grain, and that grain is mercy. The one who shows intelligent, thoughtful compassion to the weak and vulnerable is the one whom God promises to preserve, protect, and deliver in his own time of trouble. This is not a mechanical formula for prosperity, but rather a description of how our gracious God has ordered His kingdom. These opening verses establish the standard of righteousness that David himself has sought to live by, which then provides the sharp and painful contrast to the betrayal he describes later in the psalm. It is a confidence in God's just and merciful order that anchors him as he faces sickness and treachery.

Ultimately, this psalm finds its truest fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ. He was the only one who perfectly considered the poor, becoming poor Himself for our sake. And yet, in His hour of calamity, He was handed over to the desire of His enemies and laid upon a sickbed of death. But God's promise held true in the most glorious way imaginable. Yahweh sustained Him, not by turning His pillow on a sickbed, but by raising Him from the slab of a tomb, vindicating Him as the truly blessed man and securing for us all the blessings described here.

Outline

Context In Psalms

As the final psalm in Book One (Psalms 1-41), Psalm 41 serves as a bookend and a summary. Book One is largely composed of Davidic psalms that explore the deep personal struggles of the righteous man in a fallen world, yet always returning to a bedrock trust in Yahweh. This psalm brings many of those themes to a climax: sickness, the threat of enemies, and most poignantly, the betrayal by a close friend (v. 9), which Jesus Himself would quote in reference to Judas (John 13:18). The psalm begins with a wisdom statement about the blessed man (v. 1-3), transitions into a personal lament and plea for mercy (v. 4-10), rises to a confident expression of faith (v. 11-12), and concludes with a doxology that closes the entire first book (v. 13). The opening verses are crucial; they establish the premise for David's appeal. He is not claiming perfect righteousness, but he is appealing to God on the basis of the covenant character he has striven to embody, the very character God promises to bless.

Key Issues

Mercy's Dividend

The world God made is not arbitrary. It runs according to fixed principles, established by its Creator. One of the central principles of this created order is that of sowing and reaping. This is not the impersonal karma of Eastern religion; it is the personal, covenantal reality of a God who responds to the actions of His creatures. What you plant, you harvest. And in the economy of the kingdom, the seed that yields the most remarkable dividend is the seed of mercy.

David begins this psalm by laying out the terms of this divine economy. He describes the man who is blessed, the man who is truly happy, as the one who "considers the poor." This is God's insurance policy, not one you pay into with cash, but one you pay into with character. By reflecting the merciful character of God toward those in need, you place yourself under the merciful care of God for when you are in need. And make no mistake, your "day of calamity" is coming. The question is not if, but when. And when it arrives, the man who has shown no mercy will find none, while the man who has been a conduit of God's mercy will find himself flooded by it.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 How blessed is he who considers the poor; Yahweh will provide him escape in a day of calamity.

The psalm opens with a beatitude. The Hebrew word is ashre, which signifies a deep, objective state of well being and happiness. This is not a subjective feeling, but a statement of fact. This happy man is the one who "considers the poor." The word for "considers" means to look at with intelligence and skill, to wisely perceive. This is not sentimental pity or a thoughtless handout. It is a wise, discerning, and practical engagement with the needs of the weak, the lowly, the one the Bible calls the dal. And what is the payoff for such a man? Yahweh Himself will deliver him. When the "day of calamity," the day of evil and trouble, inevitably comes upon him, God will be his escape. God honors those who honor His principles and imitate His character.

2 Yahweh will keep him and keep him alive, And he shall be blessed upon the earth; And do not give him over to the desire of his enemies.

David now elaborates on the nature of this deliverance. It is comprehensive. First, Yahweh will keep him and keep him alive. This is the promise of preservation in the midst of trouble. In the context of the Old Covenant, long life was a tangible sign of God's favor. Second, he will be blessed upon the earth. This is not a promise of some ethereal, otherworldly bliss. It is a Deuteronomic promise of real, tangible blessing in the land, in the here and now. God's blessings are not just spiritual; they have callouses on their hands. Third, David expresses his confidence that God will not give him over to the desire of his enemies. The Hebrew here has the force of a confident petition, "You will not give him over." The man who shows mercy to the weak finds that God becomes his mighty protector against his strong enemies.

3 Yahweh will sustain him upon his sickbed; In his illness, You restore him to health.

This verse brings the promise down to the most personal and intimate level. The day of calamity often takes the form of illness. When the merciful man is laid low on his sickbed, Yahweh will sustain him. God's grace is the sick man's strength. But the second clause is even more tender. A more literal rendering of "You restore him to health" would be, "You turn over all his bedding in his illness." This is a beautiful and striking metaphor. God is depicted as a gentle, attentive nurse, coming to the bedside of His suffering child to smooth his sheets, fluff his pillow, and make him comfortable. Our God is not a distant, abstract deity. He is the God who draws near in our weakness and personally attends to our needs with a tenderness that is almost breathtaking. He is the God who makes our bed.

Application

The principle laid out in this psalm is an eternal one. As James, the Lord's brother, would later say, "judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment" (James 2:13). The Christian life is to be characterized by this triumphant mercy, because we are the recipients of the greatest act of mercy the cosmos has ever known.

We were the poor. We were the weak, the spiritually destitute, the sick unto death. And the Lord Jesus Christ considered us. He did not just send help from a distance; He became poor for our sakes, that we through His poverty might become rich (2 Cor 8:9). He was not protected from His enemies, but was given over to their desire. He was not sustained on His sickbed, but was crushed for our iniquities. He did this to fulfill the principle of this psalm in a glorious, substitutionary way. He took the curse so that we might receive the blessing.

Therefore, our care for the poor and the weak is never a mechanism for earning God's favor. Rather, it is the natural, grateful, and joyful response of a heart that has been overwhelmed by God's grace. When we show mercy, we are simply giving away a thimbleful of the ocean of mercy we have received in Christ. And as we do, we find that our Father is pleased, and that He delights to pour out His blessings upon those who cheerfully reflect the character of His Son. He will deliver us in our day of calamity, if not always from it, then certainly through it, until the day He delivers us completely into a new heavens and a new earth, where there is no more sickness, and no more poor.