Psalm 41

1 Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.
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.
3 The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness.
4 I said, LORD, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee.
5 Mine enemies speak evil of me, When shall he die, and his name perish?
6 And if he come to see me, he speaketh vanity: his heart gathereth iniquity to itself; when he goeth abroad, he telleth it.
7 All that hate me whisper together against me: against me do they devise my hurt.
8 An evil disease, say they, cleaveth fast unto him: and now that he lieth he shall rise up no more.
9 Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.
10 But thou, O LORD, be merciful unto me, and raise me up, that I may requite them.
11 By this I know that thou favourest me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me.
12 And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy face for ever.
13 Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen.

Key Verse:
9 Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.

Key Observation:
Messianic psalm foretelling of Judas.

Memory Verse:
12 And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy face for ever.

Devotion:
The verse “Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me” is an obvious reference to Judas. McGee suggests that the psalm might have been written to commemorate David’s flight from his son, Absolam. Particularly this verse might apply to Ahithophel, who hung himself when Absolam did not listen to his counsel. Ahithophel himself is a foreshadowing of Judas.

Notice the next verse: “But thou, O LORD, be merciful unto me, and raise me up, that I may requite them.” Isn’t that a prayer for the resurrection? Judas, according to Psalm 109, is one of the few people who we know before the judgment is sent to hell. But I suggest to you that Judas is not the principle behind this; Satan is, and the Lord will one day exact his vengeance. The words of the song echo through my mind hearing the voice of Ricky Skaggs singing them: “Where were you when they crucified my Lord?” I was not, like you, born yet. But unless the Lord had revealed himself to me, I surely would have found myself on the wrong side, the side of the vast majority of the world. That majority too, will one day soon find themselves facing an Angry God. It will literally be (Jonathan Edwards) “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”.

The price of your salvation, and mine, was the destruction of the Son, as He took on the sins of the world. There are some today who insist, contrary to Scripture, that He did not take on the sins of the world, but somehow limited His sacrifice to only those who would receive Him. “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” Beware of wresting the scriptures to your own destruction. Whenever you are tempted to reinterpet the Bible, you are telling God that you are unwilling to believe Him. I have already said this once. God says it. He has required you to simply believe Him. That’s all there is to it.

But it is not enough that the Son died for the sins of the world. He was raised from the dead, and that is the proof of victory over death that you and I have. We shall live because He lives too. Men have struggled against this for eons, but the truth is simple. “He that believes has life everlasting, but he that believes not shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him as righteousness. Pat Davis believed God, and it was reckoned unto him as righteousness. Not one thing that I ever did, or could do, qualified me for what God gives to all who believe. That is grace! Have you believed? Or do you need to pray: “Lord, I believe. Help thou my unbelief!”