Psalm 41 – Blessed are Those
What are the requirements to be blessed by God? Psalm 41 – Blessed are those, addresses this question, while raising other questions.
Psalm 41
In this lament, the answer to the question, who is blessed by God, would seem very simple. We are told in Psalm 41 – blessed are those who have regard for the weak.
The psalm begins with the benefits of being blessed.
“Blessed are those who have regard for the weak; the Lord delivers them in times of trouble.
He protects and preserves them—they are counted among the blessed in the land—he does not give them over to the desire of their foes.
The Lord sustains them on their sickbed and restores them from their bed of illness.” (1-3)
The writer then goes on to talk about his troubles.
“I said, “Have mercy on me, Lord; heal me, for I have sinned against you.”
My enemies say of me in malice, “When will he die and his name perish?”
When one of them comes to see me, he speaks falsely, while his heart gathers slander; then he goes out and spreads it around.
All my enemies whisper together against me; they imagine the worst for me, saying,
“A vile disease has afflicted him; he will never get up from the place where he lies.”
Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me.” (4-9)
He speaks of his integrity and trust in God:
“But may you have mercy on me, Lord; raise me up, that I may repay them.
I know that you are pleased with me, for my enemy does not triumph over me.
Because of my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever.” (10-12)
And ends with a word of praise:
“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.” (13)
What does it meant to consider the poor?
Blessed are those who consider the weak or the poor depending on which translation you use. Poor is not simply those who are financially poor, as one commentator states.
“And when David speaks of the poor he is not solely focused on financial means like we typically think when we say that someone is “poor.” In Hebrew that word can refer to the ideas of scrawny, unimportant, helpless, powerless, insignificant, oppressed, and dejected. Of course, it can also refer to those who don’t have sufficient financial means – and oftentimes those who lack financial resources experience these other problems.” Psalm 41 Commentary – Explaining The Book
To consider doesn’t mean we rush out and give them money. Rather, we take time to consider their situation. How best might we help them? Do we consider those who have less than us in our deliberations? Including political situations. Do we have concern for them? What actions might most help them? If you don’t do this, you will miss out on blessings.
Psalm 41 – Blessed are Those
It’s David’s confidence in the Lord that helps him deal with his sufferings. Notice it is concern for poor that brings about blessings, not beliefs or confession of sin. While these are important, we will be blessed by how much we consider the poor. He begins the lament portion of the psalm, verse 4, with acknowledging his sin, but that isn’t why he is blessed. A good reminder for us. We will be judged by how we treat the least among us.
What about you? Do you consider yourself blessed?
(For another take on this psalm, see Psalm 41 verse 13 – Endings and Transitions: What is your Indomitable Core? – Patricia M Robertson)
This post is part of a series of blog posts on the Psalms. Sign up to follow this blog and and receive a free copy of Still Dancing, the second book in my Dancing through Life Series. click here to sign up
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