Chú giải Kinh Thánh

God's kindness and truth have often been the support and comfort of the saints when they have had most experience of man's unkindness and treachery. David here found them so, upon a sick-bed; he found his enemies very barbarous, but his God very gracious. I. He here comforts himself in his communion with God under his sickness, by faith receiving and laying hold of God's promises to him (Ps 41:1-3) and lifting up his heart in prayer to God, Ps 41:4. II. He here represents the malice of his enemies against him, their malicious censures of him, their spiteful reflections upon him, and their insolent conduct towards him, Ps 41:5-9. III. He leaves his case with God, not doubting but that he would own and favour him (Ps 41:10-12), and so the psalm concludes with a doxology, Ps 41:13. Is any afflicted with sickness? let him sing the beginning of this psalm. Is any persecuted by enemies? let him sing the latter end of it; and we may any of us, in singing it, meditate upon both the calamities and comforts of good people in this world.

This psalm, ascribed to David, has, in its general design and spirit, a strong resemblance to Psalm 38. The occasion on which it was composed is not certainly known; but, like that, it seems to have been when the author was suffering under bodily sickness, not improbably brought on him by mental sorrows caused by the ingratitude of his friends, or by those nearly related to him in life. it is certain that his bodily sufferings were either caused or aggravated by the neglect of his friends; by their cold treatment of him; by their ingratitude toward him; by the reports which they circulated in regard to him. See Psalm 38:11-12; compare Psalm 41:5-9. It was this unkindness certainly which greatly increased his suffering, and which probably gave occasion to the psalm. Who the persons were that thus treated him with neglect and coldness cannot now be ascertained; nor is it necessary to know who they were in order to appreciate the meaning and the beauty of the psalm. Their conduct is so accurately and so feelingly described, that it would be no particular advantage to be made acquainted with their names.

The case, therefore, in the psalm is that of one who is sick; who is forsaken by his friends; who is subjected to unkind remarks alike when they are with him and when absent from him; of one, therefore, whose only refuge is God, and who looks to him for sympathy.

According to this view, the psalm may be conveniently divided into four parts:

I. The psalmist dwells on the blessed character of one who does show compassion or kindness to the poor and the suffering; the blessedness of the man who is merciful, Psalm 41:1-3. This is evidently a reflection forced upon him by the opposite conduct of those whom he supposed he might have regarded as his friends, and to whom he had a right to look for sympathy and kindness. In his own mind, therefore, he contrasts their actual conduct with the character of the truly kind and merciful man, and is led, in few words, to describe the happiness which would follow if proper kindness were shown to the poor and the afflicted. He says that the effect of such conduct would be:

(a) that the Lord would deliver such an one in the time of trouble, Psalm 41:1;

(b) that the Lord would preserve him alive, Psalm 41:2;

(c) that he would be blessed upon the earth, Psalm 41:2;

(d) that the Lord would not deliver him to the will of his enemies, Psalm 41:2;

(e) that he would strengthen him on the bed of languishing, and would make his bed in his sickness, Psalm 41:3.

II. An appeal to God for mercy, and for restoration to health, with an humble confession that it was for his own sin that he was suffering; and with a purpose not to attempt to justify himself, or to say that he had not deserved this at the hand of God, Psalm 41:4. He makes no complaint of God, much as he had occasion to complain of his friends.

III. A statement in regard to the manner in which he had been treated in his sickness, Psalm 41:5-9.

(a) His enemies took occasion to speak evil of him, and to utter the wish, in a manner which would be most painful to a sufferer, that he might die, and that his name might perish, Psalm 41:5.

(b) If they came to see him in his sickness, instead of speaking words of kindness and comfort, they spoke only "vain" and unmeaning words; they sought occasion to gratify their own malignity by finding something in his manner, or in his language, which they could repeat to his disadvantage, Psalm 41:6.

(c) All that hated him took occasion now to conspire against him, to lay together all that they individually knew or could say that would be injurious to him, and to urge their individual causes of complaint against him in a general statement in regard to his character, Psalm 41:7.

(d) They especially sought to injure him by reporting that a disease clave to him which was the result of sin, perhaps of an irregular life, and that there was no prospect that he would be again restored to health; that the hand of God was upon him, and that he must sink to the grave, Psalm 41:8.

(e) All this was aggravated by the fact that his own familiar friend, some one who had enjoyed his confidence, and had partaken of the hospitality of his table, had abused his friendship, and was found among his detractors and calumniators, Psalm 41:9.

IV. An earnest invocation of the mercy of God, and an expression of the confident assurance of his favor, closes the psalm, Psalm 41:10-13.

This psalm, like Psalm 38, which it so much resembles, is one that will be always eminently useful to those who are visited with sickness, and who, at the same time, are deprived of the sympathy in their sufferings which the afflicted so much need and desire, and who, instead of sympathy, are subjected to detraction and calumny - their enemies taking advantage of their condition to circulate unfavorable reports in regard to them, and their heretofore professed friends withdrawing from them, and uniting with their calumniators and detractors. Such cases may not be very common in the world, but they occur with sufficient frequency to make it proper that, in a book claiming to be inspired, and designed to be adapted to all times and all classes of people, they should be referred to, and that we should be told what is the true source of consolation in such troubles. Indeed, a book professing to come from God would be defective in the highest degree if such a case were not provided for, and if suitable instructions for such an occasion had not been furnished by precept, or example, or both. On the phrase in the title, "To the chief Musician," see the notes on the title to Psalm 4:1-8.

The blessedness of the man who is merciful to the poor, Psalm 41:1-3. The psalmist complains of his enemies, and prays for support, Psalm 41:4-10; and blesses God for having heard his prayer, and preserved him from his adversaries, Psalm 41:11, Psalm 41:12. A fine doxology closes the Psalm, Psalm 41:13.

The title as before. The Syriac says it was "A Psalm of David, when he appointed overseers to take care of the poor." The Arabic says, "It is a prophecy concerning the incarnation; and also of the salutation of Judas." It appears to me to have been written on the same occasion as the three former, and to relate to David's malady and cure, and the evil treatment he had from his enemies during his affliction. Our Lord, by accommodation, applies the ninth verse to the treachery of Judas, John 13:18; but as to any other direct reference to Christ, or his history, I believe the Psalm has none.

INTRODUCTION TO Psalm 41

To the chief Musician, a Psalm of David. In this psalm is a prophecy concerning Christ, and concerning Judas Iscariot, as runs part of the title in the Syriac version; and in the Arabic version it is called a prophecy concerning the incarnation, and the salutation of Judas; and certain it is that Psalm 41:9 is to be understood of him, and of his betraying Christ into the hands of his enemies, since it is cited and applied to him by our Lord himself, John 13:18; so that having such a sure rule of interpretation, we may safely venture to explain the whole psalm of Christ, which treats both of his humiliation and exaltation; for it neither agrees with David wholly, nor with Hezekiah, to whom some ascribe it, as Theodoret remarks.

XLI.

Recalling the treachery of some pretended friends, the writer in this psalm pronounces, in contrast, a eulogy on those who know how to feel for and show compassion to the suffering. There is nothing, however, to indicate who the author was, or what particular incidents induced him to write. Possibly the sickness is entirely figurative, and the psalm is the expression of the feelings of the community of pious Israelites.

The doxology in Psalm 41:13 does not belong to the psalm, but closes the first book of the collection. (See General Introduction.) The parallelism is very imperfect.

The Psalmist is suffering from an illness which threatens to be fatal. Treacherous enemies, and among them one who had been a trusted friend, eagerly anticipate his death. But his confidence in Jehovah remains unshaken.

It is much disputed whether the Psalmist is to be thought of as still lying on his sick-bed, or as restored to health and recording his past experience. In the latter case ‘I said’ in Psalm 41:4 must be supposed to govern Psalm 41:4-12, or at least Psalm 41:4-10. But the former alternative appears preferable, for it is unnatural to regard the prayer of Psalm 41:10 as part of a narrative, and the verb in Psalm 41:4 can be rendered ‘I have said’, or ‘I say’.

The Psalm consists of four stanzas, of which the second and third cohere closely.

i. The first stanza is an expansion of the beatitude, ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.’ The language is general, but the Psalmist is thinking of himself. Conscious, like Job (Job 30:25), of having shewn compassion towards others, he trusts that he may receive the blessings promised to the compassionate. And further, the picture of the spirit which wins divine approval emphasises the wickedness of the treatment which he is himself experiencing (Psalm 41:1-3).

ii. iii. A prayer for restoration introduces the description of his present situation. The malice and hypocrisy of his enemies are vividly delineated. The climax of all is the perfidy of a trusted friend (Psalm 41:4-9).

iv. From his enemies he turns to God with renewed prayer for restoration, and expression of confidence in the continuance of His favour (Psalm 41:10-12).

If David was the author of the Psalm, the false friend can hardly be other than Ahithophel, and the Psalm must have been written shortly before the outbreak of Absalom’s rebellion. Absalom’s sneer at Hushai (2 Samuel 16:17) well illustrates the confidential relation of a trusted counsellor to the king, and the depth of his own perfidy.

It is true that the narrative in 2 Sam. makes no reference to an illness such as is here described; but that narrative necessarily passes over many details. Such an illness would account for the remissness in attending to his official duties, which Absalom’s words to the suitors for justice seem to imply (2 Samuel 15:3). It would account also for the strange failure of David’s natural courage which his flight from Jerusakm at the first outbreak of the rebellion appears to indicate.

Unnerved by sickness, in which he recognised a just punishment for his sins, David watched the growing disloyalty of his courtiers, and in particular of Ahithophel, without feeling able to strike and crush the conspiracy before it came to a head. Comp. generally, Psalms 55.

Ps 41:1-13.

The Psalmist celebrates the blessedness of those who compassionate the poor, conduct strongly contrasted with the spite of his enemies and neglect of his friends in his calamity. He prays for God's mercy in view of his ill desert, and, in confidence of relief, and that God will vindicate his cause, he closes with a doxology.

1-3. God rewards kindness to the poor

(Pr 19:17).

From

Ps 41:2, 11

it may be inferred that the Psalmist describes his own conduct.

poor--in person, position, and possessions.

Blessed is he - See the notes at Psalm 1:1. Literally, "Oh the blessings of him that considers the poor." The object is to describe the advantages of doing what is here said; or the excellence of the spirit which would be manifested in such a case, and the effect which this would have on his own happiness. These happy effects are described in the remainder of this verse, and in the two following verses.

That considereth - The word used here - from שׂכל śâkal - means properly to look at, to behold; then, to be prudent or circumspect; then, to attend to; and then in general to act prudently, wisely, intelligently, in any case. Here it means to attend to; to show an interest in; to care for. The idea is that of not neglecting; not passing by; not being indifferent to; not being hard-hearted and uncharitable toward.

The poor - Margin, "the weak," or "the sick." The word used in the Hebrew - דל dal - means properly something hanging or swinging, as of pendulous boughs or branches; and then, that which is weak, feeble, powerless. Thus it comes to denote those who are feeble and helpless either by poverty or by disease, and is used with a general reference to those who are in slow or humble condition, and who need the aid of others. The statement here is of a general nature - that he is blessed who shows proper sympathy for all of that class: for those who need the sympathy of others from any cause - poverty, sickness, a low condition, or trouble. The particular thing here referred to was a case of sickness; where one was borne down by disease, perhaps brought on by mental sorrow, and when he particularly needed the sympathy of his friends. See Psalm 41:5-8.

The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble - Margin, as in Hebrew: "in the day of evil." This is the first happy effect or result of showing proper sympathy with others in their troubles. It is a statement of the general principle that the Lord will deal with us as we do with others. See this principle stated and illustrated in Psalm 18:24-26.