Psalm 41 Sermon Notes

Psalm 41 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David

Sermon Notes

His Death, Our Triumph

7/16/2017

Lynchburg, Virginia

EXHORDIUM

The man who delivers the poor is the man who is considered in this psalm. The Lord delivers such a man in times of trouble, preserves him, keeps him alive, blesses him on the earth and delivers him from his enemies.

Who is such a man? And who are the poor?

Well, the poor come in many shapes and sizes. Sometimes even in the shape of kings. When a king or ruler is afflicted, it wise and prudent not take advantage of such a one.

Perhaps David means this phrase and this Psalm to be taken two ways. He is asking God to vindicate him. He has wisely considered the plight of the poor and sought to help them. He has not passed judgment upon them as evildoers. But his own enemies are not wise or prudent. They do not show mercy. They pounce.

EXEGESIS

Psalm 41:1 Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.

The psalmist is here talking about making wise decisions and judgments about the predicament of the poor or afflicted. In this case, David is that one who is afflicted. He is on his sick bed and his enemies take advantage of his trial to attack and condemn him. This is not a wise consideration.

Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.

² The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies.

Listen to the promises for those who wisely consider the poor and who seek to succour them in the hour of need. Such an one will be preserved of the Lord in his time of trouble. What goes around comes around. We who believe in the omniscience of God must understand that He is taking note of everything that happens. One of God’s primary providential actions is the use of irony for wicked doers. What wicked designs one plans comes back on their own heads. They do not forsee this because God is watching and planning the counter attack. It is ironic because the wicked laugh into their sleeves when they design evil. They like to play tricks. And it is divine justice when these tricks come suddenly upon their own heads.

So, the Lord notices. When you take care to judge wisely and help the poor, you are storing up God’s care for yourself. Think of this in a very practical sense. Mothers, when you serve your children in their illnesses, then God notices and will return that kindness to you, from your own children, likely, or from God’s hand directly.

God will keep such an one alive. Though the enemies seek to kill him, God will preserve him and not let them accomplish their wicked goal. And though they sought to take his blessing, God turns the wicked against him and blesses him two fold. This blessing may come in many forms. The knowledge of God’s preserving care is a great blessing. But he is also talking of earthly blessings, the very things that the wicked seek to take from him, God grants to him. This is to vindicate the righteous and thwart the wicked, making an open show of them.

³ The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness. ⁴ I said, Lord, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee.

The Lord will strengthen the wise and prudent man upon his sick bed. The enemies say that such a man is paying for his sins. But a wise and prudent man understands that this sickness is not due to sin but to reveal the glory of God. God strengthens such a man. He may heal him physically or enable him to suffer with grace.

Notice David’s prayer. Lord be merciful to me. David is merciful man and calls upon God’s mercy. He asks the Lord to heal his soul. Bodily illness is a good time to do soul work. David knows that his sickness is not due to his wickedness as his enemies accuse. Rather, he does easily admit that he is a sinner in need of forgiveness. He has sinned against God and desires to walk in that forgiveness.

In the epistle of James, we read James 5:14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

It does not say that the sickness is caused by the sin. I do believe that bodily, mental or spiritual sickness can be caused by specific sins. We should confess those, too. But we are all subject to illness. At such times, we are reminded of our need for the Lord and the fact that we are sinners before a holy God. We should do soul searching and seek to serve Him more diligently. That will reveal sin in our hearts that should be confessed and repented of. James encourages us to confess these sins one to another so that we may be healed. Chief among these sins are the sorts of things that David is talking about: envy, malice towards brothers or sisters in the Lord, spitefulness, talking wickedly about the righteous, false accusations. A sick bed is a good time to get rid of those things. When you do, the Lord heals your soul.

Psalm 41:5   Mine enemies speak evil of me, When shall he die, and his name perish?

David is sick and his enemies hope it is unto death. They are clearly the envious, those who would benefit from David departing. He has been a great man and a great leader. He has sinned, also, but repented and turned to the Lord, a man even after God’s own heart. Who would be the enemies of such a man? He is not talking about Goliath, the Philistines, or the surrounding nations. He is talking about enemies within the commonwealth of Israel. He is talking about enemies in his own administration. He is talking about enemies in his own house!

David’s sons were a trial to him. They were a threat to his kingdom, not wanting to wait until he died to take over. When will he die and his name perish, means when will our name be known. This is nothing less than envy and the edges of treachery, sedition and rebellion.

His own sons and others in his administration plot against him while he is on his sickbed. Perhaps we can gather more of us to resist David.

⁶ And if he come to see me, he speaketh vanity: his heart gathereth iniquity to itself; when he goeth abroad, he telleth it.

We know that David had enemies close at hand because they were close enough to be let into the sick room. I suppose he had them watched less they try to dispatch him on his bed. Were these sons? Absalom. Close counselors. Ahithophel? Or, military commanders? Joab.

These come to him when he is weak and sick acting like they want to minister to him, speak to him, listen to him. But they are not really there for that reason. They want to take advantage of him. They want to get him to say something that he will regret. Once he gets a tidbit on David, he spreads it abroad to try to drum up more opposition.

There are many who do such things. Now, even reporters constantly stick a microphone in someone’s face when they are in the worst possible condition to speak, either after a family disaster or even an athlete or politician after a bitter defeat. They are just hoping they will say something that will go viral. Can you believe he said that? And we liked him yesterday!

⁷ All that hate me whisper together against me: against me do they devise my hurt.

David’s enemies whisper behind his back. They do not dare to oppose him openly because many will come to his defense. They must gather their sons of belial in the cover of darkness and in the whispering corners of the court.

Romans 1:28-32 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; ²⁹ Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, ³⁰ Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, ³¹ Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: ³² Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Did you catch this list of those who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. These are wicked doers: fornicators, covetous, envious, murders, haters of God, backbiters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, unmerciful. Furthermore, they know that doing these things is worthy of death but they do them anyway and try to gain support.

Among them are whisperers. Whisperers, really? Worth of death? Sometimes we tell you to keep it down, whisper. Are you worthy of death for that?

Well, it depends. What are you whispering about? Did you know that Judy is not what she seems, nice, honest, friendly, righteous? Let me tell you what she said last week that day she came to school sick and had to go home with the flu. The mouth that speaks such things and the ears that eagerly listen are wicked. They are plotting. They are disloyal. They are friends with envious, spiteful, unmerciful people. And this is true whether you are in fight grade or in your fifth decade.

Do not devise hurt against others by whispering against them. Speak of others what you would speak openly. Do not try to gain a faction against a friend. School and church cliques do this. Don’t be among them.

Give cause to the poor. Who is the one in ill health? Reach out to them. Try to understand them. Bring them into the group. Who is the one who has a hard time being part of the group? Maybe you are a home school clique and talk about the Christian school or public school kids in the church, “They think they are so special.” Or, maybe you talk about those home-schoolers, “Oh, they think they are so righteous.” Whatever your temptation is, resist it by the power of the Holy Spirit so that you do no evil.

Do not judge each other, unrighteously, through self-righteousness, or envy. On the contrary, love one another. Build one another up through edification.

⁸ An evil disease, say they, cleaveth fast unto him: and now that he lieth he shall rise up no more.

This is part of the whispering. He has an evil disease. He deserves what he got. The Lord is punishing him. Remember Job’s friends who said the same? They were wrong and God rebukes them. Do not judge another’s hard times or calamity. Rather, watch and pray for them. Desire their good and not their downfall. Do not spread lies or rumors about them. Do not take their weakness as an opportunity to overthrow them.

Certainly, in a political sense, this is often the case. The news constantly reports on this sort of thing. A politician says something stupid and the news reports,  “I don’t know how he will ever recover from such a gaff.” Well, he could recover but if you are reporting in such a way as to increase his enemies and his downfall then he may not recover. That is wicked doing. In politics, nearly all sides do it, particularly now. Do not add to this and do not listen to it either.

Granted, politicians, pastors, friends, all need to be held accountable to real sins. The Bible has a way to do that. Go to him privately and confront his real sin. Maybe it is a misunderstanding. Maybe it is a real failure. If he repents forgive him. If not, then take another friend and try to persuade him. The purpose in such a process is to win your brother and try to preserve him in body and soul. That is a good and godly response. It is not done in whispering behind his back. It is done in confronting real grievances and sins face to face. Anything else is cowardice and treachery.

⁹ Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.

Heel- object of attack from behind.

Who was David talking about here? We don’t know. Joab? Ahithophel? Absalom?

Shalom- Familiar Friend. A peaceful friend, a trusted friend. This part is very sad. Who can a king trust? Well, almost no one. Do they love me for my power? My riches? The status is brings them? Or, because they truly are my friend. David had a close friend in Jonathan and Jonathan did not fail him. But who is this one who is very close to David, so close David trusts him with secrets, musings, plans, hopes, his own sins and failures? Such a close friend is a very dangerous enemy.

Of course, this is a Messianic verse in that it applies to Judas. He was close to Jesus and lifted up his heal against Him. Because he was in the inner circle, he knew exactly how to bring about Jesus’s arrest and downfall. In Jesus’s case, there were no secret sins to divulge. But a close friend who turns enemy does not need to do that. He can expose someone’s righteousness to evil men as easily as his sins.

If you have been in authority as a boss, or as a leader, or as a pastor for any length of time, then you know the sting of this verse. It is one of the most difficult things to understand. How can someone who is so close turn and become so vile? The answer is almost always mimetic rivalry. There is a sinful disposition latent in all of us to despise that which superior to us in some way, even if that way is only imagined. Cain was envious of God’s acceptance of Abel. So, he killed him. Ishmael hated Isaac because he was a true son and heir of his father. Esau hated Jacob because it was clear that the hand of God was upon him. Joseph’s brothers hated him because Jacob loved him and God visited him in dreams. Jesus’s brothers thought He was out of His mind because He spoke strange things as if told to Him directly by His Heavenly Father. The disciples despised each other when they tried to get close to Jesus. And, so we see this unhealthy competitive rivalry crop up in us.

Women sin this way, too. They compete with one another over children like Rachel and Leah. They despise their sisters who are more blessed in their homes, or abilities. Or, the other side is to look down upon those who have not been so blessed, perhaps with a self-righteous view that God has chosen them for more blessing because of their own righteousness.

Children envy one another, often based upon their perception of who mom or dad love the most. You parents, of course, try to love all your children to the utmost. But the children catch on to subtle differences and sometimes harbor deep seeded roots of bitterness that grow into ugly trees of vengeance.

So, stop all that. Be content with your own blessing. Be pleased when God blesses others, even your real or perceived rivals. Do not lift up your heal against your friends, parents, bosses, teachers, or siblings.

¹⁰ But thou, O Lord, be merciful unto me, and raise me up, that I may requite them. ¹¹ By this I know that thou favourest me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me.

Shalom, familiar friend.

Shalem, repay, or complete the transaction.

What do they think is peace, anyway? Treachery? God will vindicate me and then we will see how this turns out. But this takes patience and letting God do His divine ironic work.

David uses great wisdom as his kingdom ends. He does not pay evil for evil. Three treacherous men from his life are left alive and passed on to Solomon. But David commands Solomon to put restrictions upon these men in his mercy to them. He spoke of Adonijah, who tried to usurp the kingdom from Solomon. He spoke of Shimei who had cursed David. And he spoke of Joab, who had long been a thorn in David’s side.

Joab and Adonijah die on the same day in a plot against Solomon. Shemei is spared until he goes afoul of the command of Solomon but is also eventually killed. God turns their wickedness upon their own heads.

1 Kings 2:44-46 The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness which thine heart is privy to, that thou didst to David my father: therefore the Lord shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head; ⁴⁵ And king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord for ever. ⁴⁶ So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; which went out, and fell upon him, that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.

EXHORTATION

¹² And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy face for ever.

David is not claiming absolute integrity. He has already confessed that he is a sinner and has sinned against God. In this, he seeks God’s grace and forgiveness. But in the accusations that his enemies make against him, he knows that he is innocent. He maintains his integrity against those accusers. He is free to defend himself and likely did so against false claims. However, it is difficult to put down the rumors of whisperers, especially when they have been in the inner chambers of the king and claim inside knowledge. When David denies what they are saying, it is only his word against theirs. Such a person can always find a listening ear and there may be now way to answer that will be believed.

In such cases, you must wait upon God to uphold you in your integrity. You know and God knows and maybe know one else really knows. What is the truth? But the righteous man will trust in God to vindicate him over time.

David pleads to be able to sit in God’s tribunal. Set me before your face, O Lord, forever. This is a plea both to be in God’s presence because David is blessed there and also for him to be in God’s presence as the One who sees all. God knows the truth and will make it plain.

¹³ Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen.

Finally, David commends all of this to God. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel. He is the one who is from everlasting to everlasting. That is, in essence the revelation of God’s name, YHWH, the eternally existent one, the who was and is and is to come. I Am from the beginning to the end. I AM THAT I AM.