Psalms 41:1–13
Blessed is the one who helps the weak, for the Lord will sustain them even when friends betray them; God upholds the heart of integrity and keeps His own in His presence forever.
1 Blessed is he who considers the poor. Yahweh will deliver him in the day of evil.
2 Yahweh will preserve him, and keep him alive. He shall be blessed on the earth, and he will not surrender him to the will of his enemies.
3 Yahweh will sustain him on his sickbed, and restore him from his bed of illness.
4 I said, “Yahweh, have mercy on me! Heal me, for I have sinned against you.”
5 My enemies speak evil against me: “When will he die, and his name perish?”
6 If he comes to see me, he speaks falsehood. His heart gathers iniquity to itself. When he goes abroad, he tells it.
7 All who hate me whisper together against me. They imagine the worst for me.
8 “An evil disease”, they say, “has afflicted him. Now that he lies he shall rise up no more.”
9 Yes, my own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, who ate bread with me, has lifted up his heel against me.
10 But you, Yahweh, have mercy on me, and raise me up, that I may repay them.
11 By this I know that you delight in me, because my enemy doesn’t triumph over me.
12 As for me, you uphold me in my integrity, and set me in your presence forever.
13 Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, from everlasting and to everlasting! Amen and amen.
Blessed is the one who helps the weak, for the Lord will sustain them even when friends betray them; God upholds the heart of integrity and keeps His own in His presence forever.
To conclude Book I of the Psalter with a meditation on the blessing of compassion, a lament over betrayal by a trusted friend, and a final declaration of God's favor through the upholding of integrity.
Blessed Mercy, Betrayed Trust, and the LORD Who Upholds His Servant
The LORD blesses merciful regard for the weak, sustains His servant through sickness, sin, slander, and betrayal, and remains worthy of everlasting praise.