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.
No comments:
Post a Comment