Psalm 41

Personal Observations:

David’s intro (v. 1-3) is connected to wellness of those who intervenes on behalf of the needy. Is he suggesting that he (David) is one who considers the helpless and therefore incites the intervention of God or is the whole of this section of the passage to beckon God into action?

v. 4-9, David brings up the presence of His sin and the enemies that seem to loom around the corner. For the last few Psalms (38-40), there has been a continuous balance of presence between internal (personal sin) and external enemies.

v. 10-12, 13, David’s conclusion to the Psalm is a concise prayer request that ends with praise (v. 12). What’s more is that after this passage David re-concludes with a praise of repetition (everlasting to everlasting, amen and amen.

Prayer Requests/Praise Reports

Read Passage

Intro:

stands as the last psalm of the first book of the Psalter (), and the doxology that stands at the end of the psalm (41:13) actually serves as the conclusion for the whole book.

Wilson, G. H. (2002). Psalms (Vol. 1, p. 650). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. marks the conclusion of the first long run of entirely Davidic psalms (). Beginning with , a person other than David appears in the attribution of the psalm heading (“Sons of Korah”). In this literary context, raises the specter of the king’s illness and approaching death, and the change from Davidic psalms to the first Korahite collection creates an unsettled sense of transition and potential chaos in the reader.

marks the conclusion of the first long run of entirely Davidic psalms (). Beginning with , a person other than David appears in the attribution of the psalm heading (“Sons of Korah”). In this literary context, raises the specter of the king’s illness and approaching death, and the change from Davidic psalms to the first Korahite collection creates an unsettled sense of transition and potential chaos in the reader.

Wilson, G. H. (2002). Psalms (Vol. 1, p. 650). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Each of the five books of the Psalter ends with such a doxology (cf. 72:18–19; 89:52; 106:48; 150:6)

Jacobson, R. A., & Tanner, B. (2014). Book One of the Psalter: . In E. J. Young, R. K. Harrison, & R. L. Hubbard Jr. (Eds.), The Book of Psalms (p. 384). Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

P1. The Blessed (v. 1-3)

P2. The Prayer (v. 4-9)

P3. The Blessing (v. 10-13)

P1. The Blessed (v. 1-3)

The wisdom implicit in this psalm is reflected in Jesus’ words, ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy’ ().

David’s intro (v. 1-3) is connected to wellness of those who intervenes on behalf of the needy. Is he suggesting that he (David) is one who considers the helpless and therefore incites the intervention of God or is the whole of this section of the passage to beckon God into action?

Ade

P2. The Prayer (v. 4-9)

v. 4-9, David brings up the presence of His sin and the enemies that seem to loom around the corner. For the last few Psalms (38-40), there has been a continuous balance of presence between internal (personal sin) and external enemies.

P3. The Blessing (v. 10-13)

v. 10-12, 13, David’s conclusion to the Psalm is a concise prayer request that ends with praise (v. 12). What’s more is that after this passage David concludes with a song of blessing

The niv’s consistent translation of the Hebrew baruk (from brk) as “praise be …” obscures the fact that this is not an attempt to praise God but is rather an outpouring of the human desire to give back to God in blessing. The difference may seem subtle, but it is significant. To praise God is to call others to awareness of God’s great character, awesome power, and merciful benefactions to humans—a worthy activity. To bless God is a expression of the human desire to return goodness to God—in some way to give goodness and benefaction back to God himself. Although theologically we may bridle at the audacious idea that we might have anything to add to the complete and perfect wholeness that God is in and of himself, that is not really the point. What is at issue, and what is expressed in this doxology, is an attitude of wholehearted giving to God.

Review

Wilson, G. H. (2002). Psalms (Vol. 1, p. 656). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

This first stanza begins with the important Hebrew word ʾašre (“blessed, happy”), which also marks the beginning of the whole Psalter in 1:1. While the term is employed elsewhere in the psalms, its appearance here, at the beginning of the last psalm of Book 1, seems hardly fortuitous. This term here seems intentionally positioned to cause the reader to reflect back to the opening blessings in and 2 and to read the present psalm—with its rather tenuous portrait of a king at risk—against that more powerful earlier picture of the king as established and empowered by God presented in .

Read , ,

Wilson, G. H. (2002). Psalms (Vol. 1, pp. 650–651). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Blessed are the faithful

Blessed are the obedient

Blessed are the helpless

This section of the psalter reminds us that our joy does not reside in nor is it defined by our sins, our enemies, or the circumstances that surround us

This book of the psalter can best be summed up in

Matthew 5

1 When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.

2 He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,

3 “Blessed “μακάριος” (fortunate, happy) are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.

12 “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

As we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Lord next week, meditate on His Word in your faithfulness to God, follow Him faithfully out of obedience to God (), come to Him in your weakness always, and give God all your blessings.