Psalm 41
1 Happy are those who consider the poor;
the Lord delivers them in the day of trouble.
2 The Lord protects them and keeps them alive;
they are called happy in the land.
You do not give them up to the will of their enemies.
3 The Lord sustains them on their sickbed;
in their illness you heal all their infirmities.
4 As for me, I said, “O Lord, be gracious to me;
heal me, for I have sinned against you.”
5 My enemies wonder in malice
when I will die, and my name perish.
6 And when they come to see me, they utter empty words,
while their hearts gather mischief;
when they go out, they tell it abroad.
7 All who hate me whisper together about me;
they imagine the worst for me.
8 They think that a deadly thing has fastened on me,
that I will not rise again from where I lie.
9 Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted,
who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel against me.
10 But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,
and raise me up, that I may repay them.
11 By this I know that you are pleased with me;
because my enemy has not triumphed over me.
12 But you have upheld me because of my integrity,
and set me in your presence forever.
13 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and Amen.
Psalm 41 is a communal thanksgiving. It may date from the time of Solomon. Psalm 41 closes the first book of the Hebrew Psalter (cf. Psalms 72:18-19; 89:52; 106:48; 146:10). The superscription "To (or "For" or "Of") the leader," found also in Psalms 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and others, may indicate the liturgical collection from which this psalm was taken or its authorship.
Psalm 41: 1-3 is a hortatory or didactic introduction. The psalm begins with a piece of wisdom. 1 Happy are those who consider the poor; the Lord delivers them in the day of trouble. 2 The Lord protects them and keeps them alive; people will call them happy in the land. The Hebrew verbal root underlying the word "happy" means "to tread, advance, proceed, go straight," and the biblical word "happy" designates those who have pursued and attained the good life through righteous means -- those who have done well by doing good. The Septuagint translates the Hebrew 'ashr' with makarios, the same word used in the New Testament for "blessed" (as in the Beatitudes, Matthew. 5:3-11), and there is no biblical understanding of happiness apart from righteousness. You do not give them up to the will of their enemies. The writer does not identify who these enemies are. Context suggests that they are internal (as distinct from foreign) exploiters and oppressors of those with limited economic and social resources. 3 The Lord sustains them on their sickbed; in their illness, you heal all their infirmities. The point here is that if the Lord helps the poor, then those who worship the Lord will need to do so as well.
Psalm 41:4-10 contains a shift to a lament. 4 As for me, I said, “O Lord, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you.” The prayer begins and ends as a petition for the grace of God because the psalmist perceives his or her suffering due to sin. The illness gave rise to speculation about sin, which have added more suffering to the experience. 5 My enemies wonder in malice when I will die, and my name perishes. His concern for the perishing of his name would suggest that, if married, he has no children. It may suggest that he has not yet married. 6 In addition, when they come to see me, they utter empty words, while their hearts gather mischief; when they go out, they tell it abroad. 7 All who hate me whisper together about me; they imagine the worst for me. 8 They think that a deadly thing has fastened on me, that I will not rise again from where I lie. 9 Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel against me. Jesus in John 13:18 refers to this verse in the context of Judas betraying him. 10 However, you, OLord, be gracious to me, and raise me up, that I may repay them. Such a statement, while abrupt, comes out of the context that justice is a matter of equalizing the scales of justice. If his enemies have done him wrong, then right is a matter of addressing the lack of balance. His prayer is a plea for the doing of the righteous will of God. Such a hope to repay the enemies for what they have done is not in accord with the New Testament. The statement is jarring, but congruous in the overall context of this psalm. Like several psalms (Psalm 137, for example) this psalm's understanding of righteousness includes a sense of retributive justice. God rights the wrongs of the world by inversion: Evil inflicted becomes punishment upon the perpetrator, and the agent of that punishment may very well be -- indeed, ideally should be -- the erstwhile victim. In the moral universe in which the writing of much of the Hebrew Bible and other sacred literature from the ancient Near East, God restores balance when God equalized suffering in kind. The psalmist prays, in this verse, for recovery from illness to wreak vengeance on those who have aggravated the psalmist's suffering. As he concludes, 11 by this I know that you are pleased with me; because my enemy has not triumphed over me. 12 However, you have upheld me because of my integrity, and set me in your presence forever. This would suggest communion with the Lord in the temple, which would be a sign of the blessing of the Lord.
The final verse, not part of the Psalm, but rather a conclusion to the first book of the psalter: 13 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.
The lament portion of this psalm is troubling to me, especially as we might think about prayer. Rather than push back directly, I would like to offer a way of thinking about prayer. For me, a helpful image of prayer is a conversation that occurs in the presence of God. Sometimes, we have a battle with ourselves, but we do so in the presence of God. When we have this conversation with a conscious acknowledgement of being in the presence of God, we become different. Therefore, when we leave the moment of prayer, we are different persons because of that experience.[1] Prayer involves us in growing a faith that truly hopes for the unseen. Idolatry is demanding the beatific vision. Idolatry demands a direct encounter with the deity. Idolatry demands that God make me happy or holy here and now. Genuine prayer of faith develops patience in the one who prayers. Faith grasps the promise of the word of God. Too often, we emotionally attach ourselves to what we can feel, experience, and see.[2] When we talk in the presence of God and open ourselves to growth, we become different. We become people who trust God more fully and love our neighbors more intensely. Thus, prayer is not about getting us in control of our circumstances. Prayer is about giving up control. Prayer is less about asking for the things we have allowed to attach themselves to us. Rather, prayer is about relinquishing our attachments in some way. For that reason, prayer becomes a transformational experience. We change, and we leave in the hands of God how much else is going to change.
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