A Social Worker, Attacked Psalm 41

For the leader. A psalm of David.
Whether this psalm was written by David or not, it is certainly characteristic of David, and it matches a time of David’s life, when he was being slandered by Absalom, his son, and his son’s friends, even though David had done good for the poor. When a psalm says, “For the leader”, it probably means the music or choir leader.

How blessed is he who acts with wisdom for the needy;
Yahweh will deliver him in a day of trouble.
It is clear throughout Scripture that those who assist the poor receive certain helps from God. It is recognized that they receive few benefits from the earth, and because of this, every injustice is righted by God. God punishes those who oppress the poor personally (Psalm 82, Exodus 22:22-24). And God also rewards those who help the poor, especially if they receive no reward for it in this life (Proverbs 19:17;28:27; Matthew 5:7; Luke 12:32-33). This psalm, then, begins by speaking of the one who helps the poor and the help that he or she will receive from God.
But it is not speaking of anyone who helps the poor. The person who does so flippantly, or as the mood hits him or her don’t receive this blessing. Rather, the one who makes plans for the poor and carries them out. The one who thinks about the poor and then brings that plan to fruition—that’s the one who is assisted. And he or she isn’t assisted in any way, but they are helped when they need it most, when they are in terrible trouble. At the time of their greatest crisis, God will step in and help them.

Yahweh will watch over him and keep him alive
And he will be called blessed on the earth;
And not hand him over into the power of his enemies.
Yahweh will sustain him upon his sickbed;
When he is ill You will restore him to health.
What kind of crises does the psalm speak about? When people are rising up against him or her and trying to destroy him—then God steps in and delivers them from harm. When the helper of the needy is sick, even as the needy are often sick—then God steps in and heals them. These are just two examples, but they show the justice that God has. If one helps people, gaining nothing for himself or herself, when they are in crisis, then God will help such a one when they are in crisis and there is no one else to help.

I said, "Yahweh have mercy on me
Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You."
The psalmist moves here from general principles to his specific situation. Here, the psalmist admits two things—that he is one who has helped the needy, and that he is a sinner. Yes, he has done good, and yet he has also done evil. He is like most of us that can’t be characterized as either a good guy or a bad guy. He is one who has done great good for those around him. And yet he also has done impure things, things that God has a hard time forgiving. So he is pleading for God’s mercy, to forgive him, to make him a good guy.

My enemies speak evil against me:
"When will he die and his name perish?"
If one comes to visit, he speaks falsely;
His mind gathers to itself mischief,
When he goes outside, he speaks openly.
All my foes whisper together against me;
Devising evil for me,
"May a great harm be poured out on him;
So when he lies down, he will not get up again."
Even my close friend, in whom I trusted
Who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me
The psalmists particular crisis he is dealing with is enemies that are attempting to destroy him. They aren’t taking out knives to kill him or whips to flog him—rather they are spreading terrible rumors about him. They are openly wishing for his death. They come to visit him, knowing he is ill, and hopes that he says something malicious or impure so they can tell everyone about it. And if he doesn’t say anything they can twist out of shape, they just make up something, tearing down his reputation. Even his friends are against him, doubting the psalmist because of the rumors that have been spread.

But You, Yahweh, have grace to me and raise me up
So I may pay them back.
By this I will know that You are pleased with me
Because my enemy will not revel over me
As for me, because of my integrity, you will be my support
You will place me in your presence forever
Now the psalmist has confidence in Yahweh because of the promise of the first part of the psalm. God does help those who have helped the needy, so God will help the psalmist in his time of crisis. He can rest on this, and not be depressed. He knows that God will give him the upper hand—eventually—over his enemies.

Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel
From everlasting to everlasting. Amen and amen.
This last verse is a unique part of the book of Psalms. The book is divided up into five sections, because Psalms is so large it had to be divided up into five scrolls. At the end of each scroll there is a unique praise given to God that is not found anywhere else. They are not especially creative, nor do they always fit the psalm that they are attached to, but they give a praise to God at the end of each section, and they each say “amen” as if to finish a prayer. This psalm is the end of scroll 1, and this two line praise is the conclusion to the scroll.