Monday 28th
Psalm 41
NIV (v1) – ‘Blessed are those who have regard for the weak; the LORD delivers them in times of trouble.’
ESV (v1) – ‘Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble the LORD delivers him . . .’
We return today to our looking through the books of the Bible and to the next forty Psalms, 41-80.
This first verse in the forty first psalm starts with a statement, ‘Blessed is the one who considers the poor’ or as the NIV translates it ‘the weak’ Scholars say that it could be translated either way ‘poor or weak’ the surrounding verses indicating that here it is regarding someone who is sick for v3 mentions the sickbed ‘The LORD sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health.’
Considering the poor and weak are an important aspect of the outworking of our faith, we can look back over relatively recent history and think of those such as Florence Nightingale or Dr Barnardo who had an empathy toward those who were less fortunate, Nightingale towards the sick and suffering and Barnardo to those who were orphaned and homeless. Others of course were just as concerned and so should all who have been touched by the grace of God. We see it outworked today with the Foodbanks which have been set up by charitable and Christian organizations, and in relief agencies that have sprung up over recent decades to give aid to those in parts of the world that have been devastated through war, famine, or pestilence.
Proverbs 14:21says, ‘Whoever despises his neighbour is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor.’ We are also encouraged in Proverbs 31:9 to ‘defend the rights of the poor and needy.’
In the New Testament it is James who reminds us that ‘Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this; to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.’ We need to apply this to our modern society and its application would be to consider those who are poor, needy, and sick. How we consider them is a personal thing, some may be able to give out of their own resources, others may be able to give of their time giving encouragement and consolation, others may be able to show it by doing something practical that will be a means of blessing to the one who has the need, it is all about doing what Jesus would want us to do in expressing his love and concern for those around us, especially of the household of faith.
Moving on into the rest of this chapter we find that it is a psalm of David and he himself is weak and sick, he acknowledges that his sickness is a result of sin ‘As for me, I said, ‘O LORD, be gracious to me; heal me for I have sinned against you!’’ (v4) But he knew that as he came and confessed it before the LORD God, that God would be faithful towards him and would raise him up. (v10) As I have said before, not all sickness is a direct result of personal sin, but it behoves us if we are suffering to examine our hearts before God and ask that should there be anything in us that is dishonouring to God, that we confess it and bring about healing. ‘And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.’ (James 5:15-16)
The psalm ends with an exaltation of the LORD God, ‘Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.’ (v13) It has a double amen, a double affirmation, of ‘be it so’ or ‘so be it’ This chapter ends what is normally classed as the first book of the Psalms, the Psalms being divided into five books or sections.