the Lord delights in us

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
1 Blessed is the one who considers the poor!
In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him;
2 the Lord protects him and keeps him alive;
he is called blessed in the land;
you do not give him up to the will of his enemies.
3 The Lord sustains him on his sickbed;
in his illness you restore him to full health.

4 As for me, I said, “O Lord, be gracious to me;
heal me, for I have sinned against You!”
5 My enemies say of me in malice,
“When will he die, and his name perish?”
6 And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words,
while his heart gathers iniquity;
when he goes out, he tells it abroad.
7 All who hate me whisper together about me;
they imagine the worst for me.

8 They say, “A deadly thing is poured out on him;
he will not rise again from where he lies.”
9 Even my close friend in whom I trusted,
who ate my bread, has lifted his 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 delight in me:
my enemy will not shout in triumph 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

Psalm 41 begins, in verses 1-3, by proclaiming the blessings poured out from the Lord upon those who consider the poor. The kindness of those towards the lowly does not go unnoticed by the Lord.  The poor is a reference to those who cannot care for themselves, whether it be through financial means or protection from the wicked. Just as the saints of old cared for the poor and lowly we too should care for them, especially those that are apart of the body of Christ.  Notice the blessings of the Lord, He delivers him, protects him, and sustains him on his sick bed.  The Lord cares for those in their time of need who have cared for others.  Let us emulate the psalmist life and have our lives marked by the care we give to those who are in need of the most care. 

his presents distress (4-10)

Then he moves again to his present distress which involved his enemies seeking to cause him harm.  He describes how they are coming to him on his sick bed and uttering empty words.  They are pretending to care and be concerned but are only seeking to gather more against the psalmist to spread it abroad (gossip was just as present and harmful then as it is today). The psalmist even tells us that his close friend is rising up against him.  This is to show the severity of the pain he is going through.  Jesus actually references verse 9 while talking about the betrayel of Judas.  This give us a visual image of the pain Jesus went through by being betrayed by one of his disciples. 

                   Man of sorrows, what a name!
                                For the Son of God, Who came
                         Ruined sinners to reclaim.
                                  Halleluiah! What a Savior!

                     Bearing shame and scoffing rude, 
                                In my place condemned He stood;
                         Sealed my pardon with His blood.
                                    Halleluliah! What a Savior!

his hope is in the Lord

But the psalmist does not despair from the pain and turmoil but trusts in the Lord for deliverance.  His hope and confidence stands firm in the Lord to deliver him because of his faith and integrity.  He has faith in the Lord because he has cared for the poor and lowly.  He knows that the Lord delights in him because of his integrity and has set him in His presence. 

Can you pray with the same confidence?  Do you know that the Lord delights in you? 

The glorious truth for us today is that the Lord does delight in us, not because of our integrity, but rather the integrity and righteousness of the spotless Lamb, Jesus Christ.  And the Lord, who is ”from everlasting to everlasting,” hears our prayers (1 Jn 5:14-15) and is faithful to sustain us and deliver us in our time of need.  

“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.”

- one overwhelmed with joy because he knows the Lord takes delight in him