Psalm 41: 1 – 13
Trouble Insurance
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
1 Blessed is he who considers the poor; The LORD will deliver him in time of trouble. 2 The LORD will preserve him and keep him alive, and he will be blessed on the earth; You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies. 3 The LORD will strengthen him on his bed of illness; You will sustain him on his sickbed. 4 I said, “LORD, be merciful to me; Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.” 5 My enemies speak evil of me: “When will he die, and his name perish?” 6 And if he comes to see me, he speaks lies; His heart gathers iniquity to itself; When he goes out, he tells it. 7 All who hate me whisper together against me; Against me they devise my hurt. 8 “An evil disease,” they say, “clings to him. And now that he lies down, he will rise up no more.” 9 Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. 10 But You, O LORD, be merciful to me, and raise me up, tThat I may repay them. 11 By this I know that You are well pleased with me, because my enemy does not triumph over me. 12 As for me, You uphold me in my integrity, and set me before Your face forever. 13 Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.
Why do we need insurance?
Insurance is a means to protect you financially. You've worked hard to build a solid financial footing for you and your family, so you want to be sure that everything is protected. Accidents and disasters can and do happen, and if you aren’t adequately insured, it could leave you in financial ruin. You need insurance to protect your life, your ability to earn income, and to keep a roof over your head.
You can insure almost anything under the sun, but certain things absolutely need to be properly insured. This typically includes your life, your health, and your property. At a minimum, it's important to have health insurance to cover medical costs for yourself and your family; life insurance, which can help provide your loved ones a measure of financial security when you pass away; homeowner's or renter’s insurance to cover your home; and car insurance to protect your vehicle.
One thing we learn in today’s scripture that a good insurance which our Precious Holy Spirit recommends we get is ‘trouble insurance.’
Look at the features and benefits of this policy and how you can sign up.
. The LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.
. The LORD will preserve him and keep him alive.
. He will be blessed on the earth
. Our Holy Father will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.
. The LORD will strengthen him on his bed of illness. Our Holy God will sustain him on his sickbed.
So, you might ask what the cost is and what or where do I sign. He tells us right from the start of the Psalm – ‘Blessed is he who considers the poor.’
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
The Psalm opens with David bewailing an illness which has left him in a weak state and declaring that those who have consideration for him in that state will be blessed by YHWH. Indeed, he declares that it is YHWH Who will support him on his sickbed, and is in process of restoring him.
He frankly admits that his suffering is partly due to his sinfulness, and asks for God’s mercy to be shown to him, but at the same time he bewails the fact that his enemies are taking advantage of the situation and are speaking against him, hoping for his death. They come to see him, as befits a king, but it is clear that it is all a false front, and is simply so that they can talk glibly to him, and then take lying tales about his situation to the outer world, where there is much whispering and expectation of his death.
What saddens him most is that even one who was close to him, whom he had trusted, and who had eaten bread with him, had proved false.
He prays that YHWH will raise him up from his sickbed, and enable him to requite himself on such enemies. He is so certain that this will be so that he considers that it demonstrates that YHWH delights in him, something further proved by the assurance that he has that YHWH will not allow his enemies to triumph over him. And he closes the Psalm by expressing his confidence that God will uphold him in his integrity and will indeed set him before His face forever.
Many relate it to the machinations and plottings of Absalom as being at a time when David was going through a severe illness. Such an illness would explain why he was caught so totally unawares. The treacherous friend is then seen as being Ahithophel.
1 Blessed is he who considers the poor; The LORD will deliver him in time of trouble. 2 The LORD will preserve him and keep him alive, and he will be blessed on the earth; You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies. 3 The LORD will strengthen him on his bed of illness; You will sustain him on his sickbed.
This first section of the book of Psalms commenced with a declaration of blessedness, on those who meditate in God’s Instruction day and night, and here it ends with a description of the blessedness of those who consider the weak. We may think in terms of, ‘blessed are the merciful, for they will obtain mercy’ (Matthew 5.7).
David sees himself as one of the weak. He was clearly going through a severe illness, severe enough for his enemies to hope that it would bring about his end.
As I just mentioned God’s blessing on those who consider the weak and helpless is threefold:
. He will deliver him in the day of evil so that he might escape the worst of that evil, in the same way as he himself seeks to deliver the weak and helpless from evil.
. He will preserve him and keep him alive, just as he seeks to keep alive the weak and helpless.
. Such a one will be blessed on the earth, because he has been a blessing.
We have here a prayer of gratitude for the aid provided to a person in their illness by those who have their interests at heart, which includes the desire that they might be blessed.
4 I said, “LORD, be merciful to me; Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”
Lying on his sick bed the Psalmist has been made to face up to his own sins. And he confesses his sin to God and prays that He will have mercy on him and heal him wholly within. There is nothing like an illness for making us face up to the truth about ourselves.
5 My enemies speak evil of me: “When will he die, and his name perish?” 6 And if he comes to see me, he speaks lies; His heart gathers iniquity to itself; When he goes out, he tells it. 7 All who hate me whisper together against me; Against me they devise my hurt. 8 “An evil disease,” they say, “clings to him. And now that he lies down, he will rise up no more.”
He explains to God the behavior of his enemies towards him;
. They are looking forward to his death, constantly asking how soon it will come.
. They come to see him, pretending to be loyal, when all the time he knows very well that once they leave his sick room they spread abroad anything that is derogatory to him and continually add to the rumors of his soon demise.
Behind his words there clearly lies a plea that God will observe their behavior and counteract it.
‘An evil disease.’ Literally ‘a thing of Belial’. They might have intended by this that in their view David was stricken because of his wickedness. Thus, his death must be seen as certain.
9 Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.
What grieves him most is that one of his closest friends, to whom he has demonstrated such love and generosity, even inviting him to the king’s g’s table, has taken the part of his enemies and has acted against him.
In John 13.18 these words are applied by Jesus to the behavior of Judas. He was saying that what had happened to David himself, had also now happened to great David’s greater son. It was the fate of all who truly served God.
10 But You, O LORD, be merciful to me, and raise me up, tThat I may repay them. 11 By this I know that You are well pleased with me, because my enemy does not triumph over me. 12 As for me, You uphold me in my integrity, and set me before Your face forever.
The Psalmist prays that God will heal him and raise him up so that he might deal with his enemies as they deserve and maintain the throne for YHWH and expresses his joy in recognizing that his deliverance reveals that God delights in him. It demonstrates that God is upholding him in his integrity and has set him before His face forever.
We should note that the reason that he does expect God to uphold him is because of his integrity. It is not simply because he is God’s ‘favourite’ as such, but because he is also loyal and true to YHWH and walks in His ways. That indeed is why He sets him before His face for ever. To be ‘set before His face forever’ is to be living in His presence and under His protection, knowing that His eye is ever upon him, both now and for ever. We note here again David’s assurance of God’s eternal interest in him. This is especially emphatic in the light of the following reference to ‘from everlasting to everlasting’. He has at this moment eternity in his heart.
13 Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.
The Psalm then ends with words which not only conclude the Psalm but also the whole section. They declare a blessing on YHWH the God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting. May He be blessed and praised forever! Amen and amen.
