July 13th Psalm 41
A Psalm of David
A sick man’s prayer
1: Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will
deliver him in time of trouble. 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. 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. 5: Mine enemies speak evil of me, When shall he die, and his
name perish? 6: And if he come
to see me, he speaketh vanity: his heart gathereth iniquity to itself; when he
goeth abroad, he telleth it. 7:
All that hate me whisper together against me: against me do they devise my
hurt. 8: An evil disease, say
they, cleaveth fast unto him: and now that he lieth he shall rise up no more. 9: Yea, mine own familiar friend, in
whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me. 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. 12:
And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy
face for ever.
Doxology
for the Genesis book
13: Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting, and to
everlasting. Amen, and Amen.
To
the chief musician,
[1]The Second Book –
Exodus
Psalm 42 – 49 Israels
Ruin
Psalm 50 – 60 Israels
Redeemer
Psalm 61 – 72 Israels
Redemption
Psalm 42
Maschil for the sons of Korah
B The Exodus Section Ruin & Redemption – Israel in view
(Israel’s
ruin)
Thirsting for God
1: As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth
my soul after thee, O God. 2:
My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear
before God? 3: My tears have
been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy
God? 4: When I remember these
things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went
with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a
multitude that kept holyday. 5:
Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou
in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance. 6: O my God, my soul is cast down
within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan,
and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar. 7: Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all
thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. 8: Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the daytime,
and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my
life. 9: I will say unto God my
rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression
of the enemy? 10: As with a
sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me,
Where is thy God? 11: Why art
thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in
God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my
God.
Today
we are reading from Psalm 41 & 42. After Psalm 41 we move from a section
which has a clear link to the book of Genesis to a second section which is
linked to Exodus. In Psalm 1 David spoke of the Blessing of God on the
righteous man who delights himself in the Law of the Lord but in Psalm 41 David
says blessed is the man who does not forget to help the poor. The Lord will
deliver him in the time of trouble. Then he further expands his ideas. He says
The LORD will preserve him and keep him alive. And so he will continue to be
blessed on the earth and his enemies will never be able to triumph over him,
even when he is laid aside on his bed sick. In this state David asks that the
LORD will show him mercy and heal his soul because he is sick because he has
sinned. This was the unique condition of the Mosaic Covenant, the Lord promised
health to the righteous and sickness if they forsook him but it was only to
bring them back to the Lord. David’s enemies say terrible things about him,
such as when is he going to die because then nobody will ever remember his
name. Those who hate David whisper bad things about him and plan to do him
injury. They whisper saying an evil disease has come to him and he will never
rise from his bed. Even my own close friend in whom I trust, who ate bread with
me has lifted up his heal to stamp on me. O Lord be merciful to me and raise me
up again so that I may be able to revenge myself against them. I know that you
look kindly on me because have not allowed my enemies to win a victory over me.
You keep me together and I will always look to you. Then in the last verse we
have a doxology for this first section of the Psalms. He says blessed is the
LORD God of Israel,
from eternity to eternity. Amen, Amen. Psalm 42 is a Psalm dedicated to the
sons of Korah. It is a Psalm expressing in the most beautiful words, the
deepest feeling of the heart to the LORD. In this Psalm we are on holy ground.
The Psalmist begins by saying that just as the young deer pants for water so
his heart pants after the Lord. In the words of the Lord Jesus who said,
blessed is the man who hungers and thirsts after righteousness. He goes on to
say my soul thirsts for the living God. When can I come and present myself to
him? This longing for the Lord comes against a background of spiritual battle.
He has been in tears day and night and his enemies say that God has left him.
This causes him to pour out his soul even more to the Lord because I remember
when I went up with the people of God to the temple with joy and praise. Then
he asks himself why are you depressed my soul? Why are you disturbed? Hope in
God because I will yet praise him for sending me help. O Lord my God my soul is
depressed in me and so I will continually remember you wherever I go. The deep
waters have overcome me yet the Lord will yet command deliverance for me in the
day and in the night I will sing and pray to him. I will say to my God – my
rock, why have you forsaken me? Why am I in mourning because of the oppression
of my enemies? My enemies rebuke me like a sword that cuts to my bones. They
ask where is your God now? Why is my soul depressed? I will place my hope in
the Lord and I will yet praise him who is my health.
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