Psalm 41

A Basic Outline
Fortunate status of the impartially kind, 1-3
…the Lord will deliver..
…the Lord will preserve..and keep
…he will be blessed..
…will not deliver him to the will of..enemies.
…the Lord will strengthen..
…You will sustain..
David’s multifaceted dilemma, 4-10
.my request, 4a
…be merciful..heal..
.my sin problem, 4b
…for I have sinned..
.my enemies, 5-8
…enemies speak evil of me..
…if he comes to see me, he speaks lies
…his heart gathers iniquity..he tells it.
…all who hate..whisper together against..
.my friend’s betrayal, 9
…even my own familiar friend…against me.
.my request, 10
…be merciful..raise me up
David’s indicator of God’s pleasure, 11
…by this I know that You are well pleased..
…enemy does not triumph
David’s source of eternal security, 12
…You uphold me..and set me..
David’s praise, 13
…blessed be the Lord God..

What sticks out this time?
“By this I know that You are well pleased with me, because my enemy does not triumph over me.” The existence of enemies doesn’t mean God isn’t well pleased. The evil efforts of enemies doesn’t mean that God isn’t well pleased.
What difference does this make?
Maybe the keywords for today are “triumph over.” I need to remember that David had enemies and his enemies spoke lies and made up stories. In other places they drew back their bows. Saul pursued David for years. Absalom ran David out of Jerusalem. I need to remember that David spoke this Psalm in a life marked by conflict with enemies.
So, does David have only the final outcome of conflict with enemies in view? Or, does he have each individual victory in view as evidence of God’s pleasure? Or, some combination of the two?
Seems like I need to remember that victory over an enemy is because of God’s mercy in my life. If that enemy rises again to pursue (like Saul did in David’s life) then I don’t need to panic. I need to pray.
It would be shortsighted on my part to view any conflict as evidence that God is not pleased with me… because many are the afflictions of the righteous.
Lord, help to process my circumstances with truth from Your word… to enjoy Your merciful deliverance when it comes and to call out for more when it’s needed.

What sticks out?
David doesn’t expect to avoid the sickbed and he looks to the Lord for deliverance when it comes.
It sounds like David is looking back on a time of sickness… The principles or truth that David is trying to hand off are in verses 1-4. In verses 4-13, David is recounting what happened…
He was sick. He’s had a sin problem. He had enemies, too. Even familiar friends had turned on him. In this situation he cried out for the Lord’s mercy. He even looked forward to deliverance and praised the Lord.
After the dilemma had passed, David composed the Psalm and handed off what he learned. God had been merciful to David, the one who had been merciful to the poor.