Psalm 41
Look to the Lord!
Intro
√ Still sick!
Psalm 41 marks the end of Book 1 of 3 in the psalms. We find David still suffering, sick as the result of his own sin - still under the discipline of the Lord.
David's illness was prolonged, and serious.
Anyone who has suffered a long illness or spent a prolonged time in rehabilitation knows that one of the most difficult trials one experiences is the emotional aspect.
Stuck in bed - one's mind tends toward depression and hopelessness which only makes it more difficult to become healthy physically.
Hopeless thoughts and hopeless words can cause a person to forget the promises of God.
√ So, what's a person to do when they find themselves in the midst of a prolonged, or even terminal illness?
David provides the answer to that question - let's look together at what he found in his own experience.
Ap. Disciple and discipleship
Whether you're under the disciple of the Lord for some sin in your life, or whether you're under His discipleship…
…it's critical to remember that we've been called to a long race. If you want to finish well - learn from His discipline, or from His discipleship you'll need to set your heart and mind on David's advise.
Look to His Word (vs. 1-4)
Ps. 41:1 Blessed is he who considers the poor; The LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.
Ps. 41:2 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.
Ps. 41:3 The LORD will strengthen him on his bed of illness; You will sustain him on his sickbed.
Ps. 41:4 I said, “LORD, be merciful to me; Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”
√ Look to His Word
David had a lot of time on his hands to think about his life.
The sin which put him in the sick bed.
The plots of his enemies who sought to take advantage of his situation.
The future - if he had one!
From the perspective of his bed things didn’t look too good!
So, David looked to
the Word of God.
Note our text…
Ps. 41:1 Blessed is he who considers the poor; The LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.
Ps. 41:2 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.
Ps. 41:3 The LORD will strengthen him on his bed of illness; You will sustain him on his sickbed.
Ps. 41:4 I said, “LORD, be merciful to me; Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”
Notice that David appeals to the Lord for mercy and healing.
On what basis does he appeal to the Lord? The promises of His Word!
Look with me at Deut. 15:1-11…
Deut. 15:10 “You shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand.
Deut.
As David lay in his sickbed he had a choice to make, would he give up and lose hope for himself, or would he look to the Word of God and place his hope for deliverance on His promises?
David chose to look to the Word of God and place his hope for healing there.
You see, prior to David's sin he had practiced mercy and compassion by providing for the poor and disadvantaged in
Perhaps it was God's promise in Deut. 15 by which David appealed to God and believed that God would hear his prayer (vs. 4) and heal him!
Ap. Reminds us that many of God's promises are conditional
Like David we all find ourselves sinners who deserve God's judgment. However, we find in David's life and ours that God is merciful to sinners who have shown mercy to other sinners.
God's promises to us are often conditioned upon our own attitude toward others.
Ex. His promise of forgiveness
Mr. 11:24 “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
Mr. 11:25 “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.
Mr. 11:26 “But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”
God's Word is filled with promises to His children. Yet, I wonder how many of God's promises are hindered by our own unwillingness to extend to others what we ask of God for ourselves?
Be open to the voice of His Spirit. If you find that God's promises are hindered in your life be willing to do what God may ask of you.
So, if you find yourself stuck in a sick bed, or suffering a prolonged trial…
…look to God's Word
and fill your mind with His promises.
Don't look to Man (vs. 5-9)
Ps. 41:5 My enemies speak evil of me: “When will he die, and his name perish?”
Ps. 41:6 And if he comes to see me, he speaks lies; His heart gathers iniquity to itself; When he goes out, he tells it.
Ps. 41:7 All who hate me whisper together against me; Against me they devise my hurt.
Ps. 41:8 “An evil disease,” they say, “clings to him. And now that he lies down, he will rise up no more.”
Ps. 41:9 Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against me.
√ Don't look to Man!
You'll remember that compounding David's trail was the presence of his enemies - those who looked for ways to take advantage of his situation.
Here we find David describing what these people were saying about him and his situation.
“When will he die, and his name perish?” - vs. 5
“An evil disease,” they say, “clings to him. And now that he lies down, he will rise up no more.” - vs. 8
Further more David tells us that they lie and gossip about him to others!
They were like vultures circling around his bed waiting for him to die so that they could swoop down and take whatever they wanted.
Their evil words must have been a burden to David.
Ex. Paramedics
√ David's friends
And if all that wasn’t enough to discourage David, he finds that even his closet friend is against him!
Ps. 41:9 Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against me.
A reference to Ahithophel David's most trusted advisor who turned against him in Absalom's rebellion.
Also, the scripture that Jesus quoted regarding Judas' betrayal.
What's the lesson for us?
Don't look to Man - people - for deliverance or even for encouragement!
Ex. People will disappoint you
√ In the midst of a trail
Whether we look at David's experience, or Job's, or even Jesus'…
…we find that the people around them (and us!) often don't have any idea as to what purpose or why a person is going through the trail that they are.
David's friends and family turned away from him.
Job's friends provided no comfort.
Jesus' friends and family abandoned Him.
Each found that they could not look to Man for the comfort and the deliverance they needed.
Only God proved faithful.
Ps 27:10 When my father and my mother forsake me, Then the LORD will take care of me.
God alone is willing to come near
us when we're…
Sick
Rejected
Cursed
Chained by sin
…Jesus comes along side of every person and ministers love, life and healing.
So, if you find yourself stuck in a sick bed, or suffering a prolonged trial…
…don't look to Man
for help - look to the Lord He alone will not disappoint you!
Look to the Lord (vs. 10-13)
Ps. 41:10 But You, O LORD, be merciful to me, and raise me up, That I may repay them.
Ps. 41:11 By this I know that You are well pleased with me, Because my enemy does not triumph over me.
Ps. 41:12 As for me, You uphold me in my integrity, And set me before Your face forever.
Ps. 41:13 Blessed be the LORD God of
√ Look to the Lord
I'm sure its obvious to all of us that the answer David found to ward off the hopeless thoughts and hopeless words filling his mind was to…
…look to the Lord!
In the midst of his sickness and the attacks of his enemies David looked to the Lord for hope and healing.
The truth is that no matter what people might be saying about him, or how sick he was…
…David was sure that God had heard his prayer, forgiven him his sin, and would yet raise him out of his sick bed!
So let the wicked spread their lies and gossip, let Satan take his best shot…
…at the end of the day God would bring David back to good health and would judge those who had wrongly attacked David.
Ap. Look to the Lord brothers and sisters
What David found to be true in his experience is our promise also. Paul said…
Phil.
Phil.
Phil.
This is the same Paul who was…
Beaten 5 times with a scourge
Beaten 3 times with rods
Stoned to death
Shipwrecked on 3 occasions
Spent 24 hours floating in the sea
Threatened with death innumerable times
Imprisoned at least 5 times
Rejected by the very churches he established
…but like the Energizer Bunny - never gave up!
How? Because he had learned to look to the Lord for his strength when despair and hopelessness invaded his heart and mind.
The promise of God is still true today. If you will…
Look to His Word
Don’t look to Man
Look to the Lord
…you'll find the same strength, comfort, hope and peace that David found in his life.
Close
√ Hope for the hopeless
Ex. Amy Carmichael
Ap. Make the best of your situation