PSALMS 43

     We will begin this lesson by giving chapter 41 of Psalms in
metre.

                   THE PSALMS OF DAVID IN METRE

                            Chapter 41

Verse 1  "Blest he who wisely helps the poor, in trouble he shall help
          secure: The Lord shall keep him, he shall live, and blessing
          on the earth receive."
Verse 2  "Thou wilt not give him to the will Of foes that seek to do
          him ill. When laid upon the bed of pain, the Lord with
          strength will him sustain."
Verse 3  "On him thou wilt compassion take, And All his bed in
          sickness make. I said, Lord, pity, heal thou me, Because I
          have offended thee."
Verse 4  "My foes speak ill of me, they say, When shall he die? his
          name decay? If seeing me, his speech is vain; His heart
          hoards ills to tell again."
Verse 5  "All those who hate me, whisper lies, Against me hurtful
          things devise: Now his disease, say they, is sore, It binds
          him fast, he'll rise no more."
Verse 6  "Yea, ev'n my own familiar friend, The man on whom I did
          depend. Who ate my bread, pretending zeal, against me lifted
          up his heel."
Verse 7  "In mercy raise me up, O Lord, To render foes a due reward.
          By this I know thy love remains, because my foe no triumph
          gains.
Verse 8  "Thou dost my steps direct aright, And set me over in thy
          sight Let Isr'el's God, Jehovah, then be over blest. Amen,
          amen.

     We will now begin this lesson with the verse to verse study of
Psalms chapter 41.  Psalms 41:1 "{To the chief Musician, A Psalm of
David.} Blessed [is] he that considereth the poor: the LORD will
deliver him in time of trouble."

     Jesus said, In as much as ye have done it to the least of these,
you have done it also unto me.  I Peter 4:8 "And above all things have
fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the
multitude of sins."  We can easily see from this Scripture in 1 Peter
that God, wants us to be charitable. He especially wants us to be
charitable to those who are worse off financially than we are. The
best example of this in all the Bible was Jesus. He healed the lame,
gave sight to the blind, opened deaf ears, and fed the multitude. We
know that even the leper, who people avoided, was touched by Jesus and
healed. One of the parables that Jesus told about helping those in
need was the parable of the good Samaritan. Luke 10:33 "But a certain
Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he
had compassion [on him],"  To learn more about this read chapter 10 of
Luke.

     Psalms 41:2 "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."

     You can not out give God. If you give to the poor, God will give
back to you. If you pray for the sick, God will keep you healthy. If
you give a place of rest to someone homeless, you shall always have a
bed. Whatever you do for someone else God, will reward you for. You
can not give directly to God, but every time you help someone in need,
you are helping God. Of course, saint and sinner alike have troubles
from time to time, but God will help those who have generously helped
others. The type of person who helps others is a follower of Jesus.
This person already has eternal life in heaven to look forward to, but
this says, the Lord will keep him safe from his enemies here on the
earth, as well. Proverbs 16:7 "When a man's ways please the LORD, he
maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him."

     Psalms 41:3 "The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of
languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness."

     Languishing, in the verse above, means sickness. This, then,
means that God will be with him, even when he is sick. He will be
comforted, even in sickness. What a blessing to know that God will be
with us in the little trials that we have on this earth. Some sickness
is not caused by sin in our life. Job felt the presence of God when he
was very sick. God is our very present help in time of trouble. This
caring by the Lord is even sweeter than a mother wiping your hot brow
and bringing warm soup to you. It really means that we won't be sick
very long.

     Psalms 41:4 "I said, LORD, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for
I have sinned against thee."

     This verse is a total change from the previous verses. This is,
possibly, speaking of David. David goes back to confessing the sin he
has committed and asking for forgiveness. Do not give me justice, give
me mercy, is his cry.

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

     David had set a standard on the side of the Lord in his day.
Those classified as his enemies were, also, enemies of the Lord. These
enemies thought, if he would just die and get out of their way, they
could live any way they wanted to without a hurting conscience.
Usually people who speak evil of others are trying to cover up some
sin in their own life. They think, if they can make someone else look
bad, it will make them look better. They would like to get rid of him
and his name die out. They were not aware that David would live on.
God had promised that his descendents would reign. Of Course, this was
really speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ who will reign as Lord of
lords and King of kings. Jesus was in the lineage of David in the
flesh.

     Psalms 41:6 "And if he come to see [me], he speaketh vanity: his
heart gathereth iniquity to itself; [when] he goeth abroad, he telleth
[it]."

     This reminds me of the trouble {righteous} Job had. His so called
friends accused him of being a sinful man, because he had this disease
in his body. In fact, they had talked so badly about Job, that Job had
to pray for them before God would forgive them. Just as God punished
the {friends} of Job for their iniquity, God will punish those bearers
of bad news here. They are only pretending to be his friend.

     Psalms 41:7 "All that hate me whisper together against me:
against me do they devise my hurt."

     Pretending to be his friends, they are really his enemies. They
are two-faced, also. They do not say these things to his face. They
get out and whisper behind his back. They really want to destroy him.

     Psalms 41:8 "An evil disease, [say they], cleaveth fast unto him:
and [now] that he lieth he shall rise up no more."

     It is very easy to declare an illness that someone else has as
evil. The person can even figure out how this illness is a punishment
from God, like Job's friends confessed. So many ministers today are
proclaiming that all illness is because of sin. That just is not true.
The disciples asked Jesus, who had sinned the blind man, or his
parents. Jesus answered them and said: neither one.  We must be
careful about proclaiming someone else's illness as a judgement of
God. If we judge our brother, the illness could come to us. We are not
to judge others at all. Luke 6:37 "Judge not, and ye shall not be
judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye
shall be forgiven:"

     Psalms 41:9 "Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted,
which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up [his] heel against me."

     It is bad enough for our enemies to speak out against us, but
when a close friend turns against you, it is almost unbearable. Judas
Iscariot called Jesus friend, and yet he betrayed Him. Many of us, who
are trying to get something done for God, have felt this very same
hurt. Many times it is your closest friend who you thought had been in
total agreement with you. I have even felt this hurt from family, as
well. There is no way to ignore this type of hurt. The only
consolation that we do have is that, we have not suffered to the
extent that the Lord Jesus did.

     Psalms 41:10 "But thou, O LORD, be merciful unto me, and raise me
up, that I may requite them."

     David is asking God to heal him, but more than that, to show
these people that the Lord had not abandoned him. This very thing
happened to Job. Job was restored all that he had lost. In fact, God
gave him twice as much as he had before.  Can you even imagine how
those who opposed Jesus felt on resurrection morning?
     Psalms 41:11 "By this I know that thou favourest me, because mine
enemy doth not triumph over me."

     David knows that God is with him, because his enemies did not
overwhelm him. Sometimes it takes a while for us to be victorious over
our enemies, but if we do not doubt God, we shall be victorious.

     Psalms 41:12 "And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity,
and settest me before thy face for ever."

     David is saying, here, that the Lord not only saved him, but
saved his good name, as well. This is like the Christian who is saved:
they are not only saved from further sin in this life, but for all of
eternity, as well. David knows that God has forgiven him and that this
is forever.

     Psalms 41:13 "Blessed [be] the LORD God of Israel from
everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen."

     This is a thankful David who speaks blessings to the Lord. The
Lord is already blessed, but He likes to hear us speak blessings
toward Him anyhow. This is our way of saying; Lord I love you. It is,
also, recognizing the eternity of God. Amen means so be it. Amen.































                             Questions 43

1.  Blessed is he that considereth the _____.
2.  Quote 1 Peter chapter 4 verse 8.
3.  What is a very popular parable that Jesus told of helping those in
    need?
4.  What will happen to you, if you give to the poor?
5.  Quote Proverbs chapter 16 verse 7.
6.  What does languishing mean?
7.  Who was an example of someone sick, who was righteous in God's
    sight?
8.  David was really saying, do not give me justice, give me _______.
9.  In verse 5, who was speaking evil of him?
10. What were they wanting to happen to David?
11. Whose enemies were these evil ones?
12. Who was David's name carried on by?
13. What happened to Job's friends who talked so badly about him?
14. Pretending to be his friend, they were really his ________.
15. In verse 8, they called his disease what?
16. What does Luke chapter 6 verse 37 say about judging?
17. Who had lifted his heel against him in verse 9?
18. Who called Jesus friend, and yet betrayed HIM?
19. When a close friend, or a family member, come against us for what
    we are doing for God, what can we take consolation in?
20. What is David really asking for in verse 10?
21. How does David know that God favors him?
22. What, besides his person, had God saved for David?
23. Who does David call the Lord in verse 13?