Blessings and Suffering

Psalms 41:1-13
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

1 Blessed is he who considers the poor;
The LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.
2 The LORD will preserve him and keep him alive,
And he will be blessed on the earth;
You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.
3 The LORD will strengthen him on his bed of illness;
You will sustain him on his sickbed.

4 I said, "LORD, be merciful to me;
Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You."

5 My enemies speak evil of me:
"When will he die, and his name perish?"
6 And if he comes to see me, he speaks lies;
His heart gathers iniquity to itself;
When he goes out, he tells it.

7 All who hate me whisper together against me;
Against me they devise my hurt.
8 "An evil disease," they say, "clings to him.
And now that he lies down, he will rise up no more."

9 Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted,
Who ate my bread,
Has lifted up his heel against me.

10 But You, O LORD, be merciful to me, and raise me up,
That I may repay them.

11 By this I know that You are well pleased with me,
Because my enemy does not triumph over me.
12 As for me, You uphold me in my integrity,
And set me before Your face forever.

13 Blessed be the LORD God of Israel
From everlasting to everlasting!
Amen and Amen.

This psalm is about blessings and suffering which go hand in hand.  The blessings come as we consider the poor the needy.  By showering compassion on them as the LORD does on us, we find deliverance from trouble, our life preserved, and being kept out of the hands of our enemies; this is God’s blessing, to deliver and keep us.  This is a picture of our salvation and eternal security, the calling and perseverance of God’s saints who are all in Christ.  God strengthens us (Isaiah 41:10, 1 Peter 5:10) by showering mercy through grace upon us.  Like king David, we cry out for forgiveness when we sin, knowing our offense to God without excuse (1 John 1:8-10), and are forgiven in that mercy with healing of the soul through the gospel.  Yes, and if there is any physical healing, it is only to point to the greater healing within, and not the goal or glory to pursue.  We also will suffer for following God in Christ (2 Timothy 3:12), for our enemy pursues us as he did our Savior whom we now represent as His ambassadors (Psalm 22:13, 1 Peter 5:8, 2 Corinthians 5:20-21).  The enemy will send his representatives to slander us, to hate and hurt us, and lift up their heel against us to crush us as they tried to do to God’s Anointed (John 13:18).  But we remember the psalmist’s words and take heart that we can call out to God for mercy to deliver us and to heap coals of fire on our enemies in the end (Proverbs 25:22, Romans 12:20-21, Jude 1:6, Revelation 6:10).  The Lord will repay His enemies who are against us as His people.  Our victory is in the sacrifice of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57) and His atoning redemption which justifies us by His work and grace.  His righteousness is our integrity which guarantees we will see His face forevermore (Revelation 22:4) because He will place us there before Himself.  Blessings come from God in our suffering, blessings to glorify God as we praise and exalt Him from everlasting to everlasting, just as He is and always was and shall be (Psalm 90:2, Micah 5:2).  Amen and amen!