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1.
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Blessed is he that considereth the poor. Here, as in
many places, the poor man is not one who is financially badly off, but instead
one in dire straits who knows that his only help is in God (e.g. 82:3,4; Prov.
21:13; Isa. 11:4; etc.). Thus was David at this time. The word consider
describes a man of affairs who gives his mind to a serious matter; as, for
example, Hushai walking a tight-rope of diplomacy at Absalom’s court on
David’s behalf: 2 Sam. 17:5-15.
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The Lord will deliver him. Writing when the crisis is
still unresolved, David put his faith into words.
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2.
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The Lord....will keep him alive. The first of several
intimations that David was now physically in poor straits.
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Blessed upon the earth should read here: blessed in
the Land — written at a time when David was in danger of being hunted
right out of it! The future tenses in vv. 2,3 should perhaps be read as
requests: May the Lord preserve him....do not thou deliver him,
etc.
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3.
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Make all his bed in his sickness probably implies: In
all his recurring sickness God is in constant attendance to comfort him. There
was an earlier sickness in David’s life (see on Psa. 30). The first hint
of this later prostration is in 2 Sam. 15:3,7, a period of four years (not
forty, as in AV) during which the revolt was being carefully prepared. See also
Psalms 6 and 38.
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4.
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Heal my soul means ‘Give me back my
health.’ And Be merciful unto me implies what is now said
explicitly: I have sinned against thee (51:4; 2 Sam. 12:13), and this
sickness is one of the penalties for that great lapse. J.J. Blunt (Undesigned
Coincidences, pp. 157-161) traces very graphically how all this complex of
troubles — including Ahithophel’s otherwise puzzling disloyalty
— stemmed from David’s sin with Bathsheba.
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5.
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Mine enemies speak evil of me, When shall he die? In
his sickness David evidently had friends who kept him informed about the rising
tide of disaffection. But without the king’s dominant personality to hold
things together, they were powerless.
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And his name perish: “And his line become
extinct” (NEB). It may be surmised that Benjamites of the house of Saul
(e.g. Shimei) saw in this rebellion an opportunity. They would help Absalom
overthrow the authority of his father and would then, after some appropriate
interval, throw out Absalom too so as to bring back the Benjamite kingship. Thus
the name and dynasty of David would perish, in spite of the great promise
that it was to last forever (2 Sam. 7:16).
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6.
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And if he come. Note the change from
“enemies” (v. 5) to a singular pronoun. This individual was
doubtless Ahithophel, still nominally David’s chief adviser whilst already
hand in glove with Absalom.
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He speaketh vanity, i.e. feigning sympathy and
commiseration with the sick man. This suggests a remarkable (inspired?) level of
insight for the critically ill David.
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His heart gathereth iniquity to itself. All through
this sick visit the villain is eagerly studying the wretched patient for every
symptom of weakness and approaching death — which in his deluded state he
considers additional evidence of David’s “iniquity”.
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When he goeth abroad (to a meeting of the chief
conspirators), he telleth it.
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7.
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All that hate me whisper together against me: against me do
they devise my hurt. How galling for the suffering king to know that all
this was going on and yet to feel utterly powerless to cope with the
situation.
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8.
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An evil disease. Literally, a thing of
Belial. This was the abuse hurled at David by Shimei (2 Sam. 16:7),
the implication being: He is paying now for his iniquity. A variety of guesses
is available about this word Belial: (a) “no profit”,
i.e. worthlessness. (b) “no yoke”, i.e. a son of Belial
being one who thrusts aside all moral restraints. (c) “the Lord of
Night”, compressed into one word. (This is supported by 2 Cor. 6:14,15:
“light....darkness....Christ....Belial”. Also the alternative form
Beliar — “Lord of Light” — is then seen as
an obvious attempt at upgrading.)
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He shall rise up no more, implying: ‘He
won’t last long anyway; so the sooner the country has a new settled
government the better.’
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9.
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Mine own familiar friend is, undoubtedly, Ahithophel.
See also what David says of him in 55:12-14, 20.
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Which did eat of my bread. It is considered an act of
great baseness among Eastern nations for a man to do an evil deed against him
whose hospitality and table he has accepted (cp. Obad. 7).
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Hath lifted up his heel against me. Most simply, this
is the figure of an animal kicking against its master (i.e. Acts 9:5). But as to
its application to Gen. 3:15, see notes on Par. 4.
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10.
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Be merciful unto me. How well David knew that he needed
God’s forgiveness.
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And raise me up. And God did! Psalm 71 and verses 11-13
here celebrate the fact.
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That I may requite them. And, being raised up, David
didn’t! The magnanimity in 2 Sam. 19:22 is superb: “Shall there any
man be put to death this day in Israel?”
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11.
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By this I know that thou favourest me: s.w. 2 Sam.
15:26 (“delight”).
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12.
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Mine integrity is used of both Jacob and David in spite
of their sins (s.w. Gen. 25:27: plain).
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And settest me before thy face for ever. David’s
firm belief in the promise of 2 Sam. 7:16.
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13.
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This verse reads as a natural conclusion to the psalm (and cp.
1 Chron. 29:10), suggesting that Psalm 41 was inserted here as a fit ending to
Book 1. On the other hand (see Par. 1), this verse reads equally well as a
formal separate conclusion.
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1.
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Blessed is he that considereth the poor. This refers to
Jesus preeminently (Matt. 11:5; Luke 4:18). (Judas was the faithless
“poor” — desperately in need of help, but by his own
deliberate action removing himself from the one place where help could be
obtained. And, in the end, all the ill-gotten gains of the one who “bare
the bag” left him only the “poorer”!)
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2.
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The Lord will....keep him alive could as readily mean
make him alive, i.e. resurrection (s.w. Ezek. 37:10).
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And thou wilt not deliver him to the will (nephesh =
soul) of his enemies. This is apparently the precise opposite of
Luke 23:25: Jesus was so delivered. But the further perspective of the
resurrection alters this seeming contradiction: it was certainly not his
enemies’ “will” that he be raised from the dead!
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3.
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The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed. Should this
be linked with the reclining (see John 13:23) at the Last Supper?
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Sickness is s.w. “grief(s)” in Isa.
53:3,4.
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4.
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For I have sinned against thee, in that there was the
bearing of the sins of others, but also the feeling of all the natural
propensities of an Adamic nature. Such a burden made him feel, understandably,
unworthy of his Father’s care — though of course such a feeling was
not correct!
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5.
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Mine enemies speak evil of me, When shall he die?
Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin: “It is expedient that one man should die
for the people” (John 11:50). Not to mention all the earlier plots against
his life (Mark 3:6; John 5:16,18; 7:1; etc.).
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And his name perish suggests hostility to the very idea
of a Messiah from the house of David — a hostility marvellously
appropriate to the outlook of the Sadducean chief priests. Furthermore, Jesus
died childless, and presumably without a “name” to be perpetuated to
succeeding generations. But it was not true, for “he shall see his
seed” (Isa. 53:10,11; Psa. 22:30,31).
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6.
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If he come to see me, he speaketh vanity. Dissimulation
must have been a constant feature of Judas’ relations with his Master
throughout the last year or so of the ministry:
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“Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and
one of you is a devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it
was that should betray him, being one of the twelve” (John
6:70,71).
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“The callousness of a ‘mouth-friend’ ”
(N.P. Holt) is seen especially in his “Hail, master” and his kiss
of betrayal.
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His heart gathereth iniquity to itself. This expresses
a growing conviction by Judas that Jesus was the wrong sort of Messiah, and this
feeling finally led to his wicked betrayal. These words alone veto the popular
notion that a well-intentioned Judas sought by pretended “betrayal”
to force Jesus to assume then and there the role of King of the Jews.
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When he goeth abroad, he telleth it. His secret
meetings with the chief priests and their operatives (Matt. 26:14,15; John
13:30). The details may be easily imagined: ‘He is in a mood of deep
pessimism, talking of failure and death. What better time for action? We must
move quickly!’
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7.
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They devise my hurt: Matt. 26:3,4.
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8.
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A thing of Belial (mg.). The gospel equivalent:
“He casteth out demons by Beelzebub the prince of demons”
(Matt. 12:25-29; Mark 3:23-27; Luke 11:17-22).
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The RSV reads: “A deadly thing has
fastened upon him; he will rise not again from where he lies.”
Consider the symbolism of Acts 28:3-5:
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“And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid
them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his
hand. And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they
said among them-selves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath
escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live. And he shook off
the beast into the fire, and felt no harm.”
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In this “victory” over the deadly serpent, the
apostle was plainly a pattern of Christ set forth before the eyes of man (cp.
Gal. 3:1), as well as a fulfillment of Christ’s own words (Mark
16:18)!
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He shall rise up no more: Matt. 26:62-66.
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9.
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LXX: The man of my peace, in whom I set my hope.
Compare Mark 14:10: “Judas, the one of the twelve”
might mean the exceptional one, the traitor; or, the one of outstanding ability,
who might have outshone Peter or John. But, “in whom I trusted” is
not quoted by the Lord in John 13:18. Jesus “knew what was in
man” (John 2:24,25), and so put real trust in no man.
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Which did eat of my bread is even more pointed than
John 13:18 in emphasizing that Judas did indeed share the memorial bread along
with the others. What a heinous crime: to share fullest fellowship with the
Master, and then to “betray” him! But every disciple should remember
that such things are recorded for his admonition (1 Cor.
10:11,12).
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Hath lifted up his heel. A direct allusion to Gen.
3:15, but with a peculiar twist: Jesus is represented as the serpent and Judas
as the Saviour, lifting up his heel to crush a dangerous
“serpent” underfoot! This means, then, that Judas saw his Master as
the potential destroyer of Israel — thus the need for his own drastic
action. Did the decision that Jesus be crucified, with a large Roman nail in the
heel, all at once switch Judas’ perspective so that he now saw himself as
the serpent? And hence his end, in a garden suspended from a tree — his
fate the same as his Old Testament counterpart Ahithophel (2 Sam. 17:23; Matt.
27:5). The climax was that the “serpent” was indeed crushed in the
death of Jesus, but certainly not in the way the leaders of Israel (and Judas)
expected. (As to “heel”, see Par. 5.)
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10.
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Raise me up. LXX uses the word for
resurrection.
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That I may requite them, not out of personal
vindictiveness, but as God’s appointed Judge. It was (and always has been)
the duty of a king in Israel to administer justice and punish rebellion against
God. Although Jesus always yearned to save his enemies (John 5:34,40; Matt.
23:36,37; Luke 13:6,9; etc.), he could in no case (nor would he desire to)
disregard God’s righteous requirements. Any theology that does not find a
place for Jesus the righteous Judge of all mankind is not worth the
name!
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11.
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Mine enemy doth not triumph over me. “The last
enemy that shall be destroyed is death” (1 Cor. 15:26).
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12.
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For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine
iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are
more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me. How very
appropriate these words are to the one who bears the burden of sin on behalf of
all mankind!
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13.
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Like 72:19, highly appropriate to the theme and outcome of the
psalm.
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a.
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Genesis 49:17: In Jacob’s prophecy, Dan (which
signifies “judgment”) is called a serpent that bites the horse
heels, causing its rider to fall backward. Perhaps Dan is given the
serpent role because this tribe sponsored the introduction of idolatry among the
twelve tribes (Judg. 18:30) — the reason, perhaps, also for Dan’s
omission from Revelation 7. The “idolatrous” influences (of a
different sort!) in Israel at the time of Christ caused his bruising in the
heel.
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b.
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Genesis 49:19: “Gad, a troop shall overcome him,
but he shall overcome at the last (literally, at the heel).” This
is certainly typical of Jesus, overcome by a mighty “troop” in his
death, yet finally himself overcoming his enemies “at the heel”
— an obvious allusion back to Gen. 3:15.
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c.
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Joshua 8:13: In order to conquer the Canaanite city of
Ai, Joshua set “liers in wait” nearby (literally, “at the
heels” of the city). By serpent-like subtlety, he drew the men out
of the city, which was then captured by those who waited “at the
heels”, and the power of Ai was broken.
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d.
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Job 18:9: Bildad pictures, among the calamities that
would befall the “wicked” Job, that “the gin (trap) shall take
him by the heel (aqeb).” But the “gin” of
God’s judgment that took Job by the heel finally proved out to his
vindication, and to Bildad’s condemnation! The enemies of
Christ set a snare for his heels also; but in the climax they found they had
tripped up themselves (Prov. 1:16-18)!
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e.
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Psalm 49:5: “Wherefore should I fear in the days
of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?” But
consider this alternative translation as suggestive of Christ:
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“Why should I fear in the days of evil, when my wicked
supplanters (or those wicked ones who would trip up my heels)
shall compass me about?”
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Jesus had nothing to fear from such men, for he knew that even
when they “tripped him up” in death, God would “lift him
up” out of the grave to vindication and glory.
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f.
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Psalm 56:5,6: “Every day they wrest my words: all
their thoughts are against me for evil. They gather themselves together, they
hide themselves, they mark my steps (aqeb), when they wait for my
soul.” But....“in God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what
man can do unto me....Wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling?” (vv.
11,13).
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g.
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Psalm 89:50,51: “Remember, Lord, the reproach of
thy servants; how I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty people;
wherewith thine enemies have... reproached the footsteps (aqeb) of
thy Messiah.”
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h.
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Song of Songs 1:8: When the Shullamite inquires where
her beloved is to be found, she is counselled to follow the footsteps
(aqeb) of his flock. If we would follow in Christ’s
“heels”, we will of course do as best we can what he did: that is,
use our “heels” to crush the head of the “serpent” Sin!
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