Psalms 41:1-10

1 Happy is the man who gives thought to the poor; the Lord will be his saviour in the time of trouble.

2 The Lord will keep him safe, and give him life; the Lord will let him be a blessing on the earth, and will not give him into the hand of his haters.

3 The Lord will be his support on his bed of pain: by you will all his grief be turned to strength.

4 I said, Lord, have mercy on me; make my soul well, because my faith is in you.

5 My haters say evil against me, When will he be dead, and his name come to an end?

6 If one comes to see me, deceit is in his heart; he keeps a store of evil, which he makes public in every place.

7 All my haters are talking secretly together against me; they are designing my downfall.

8 They say, He has an evil disease, which will not let him go: and now that he is down he will not get up again.

9 Even my dearest friend, in whom I had faith, who took bread with me, is turned against me.

10 But you, O Lord, have mercy on me, lifting me up, so that I may give them their punishment.

Psalms 41:1-10 Meaning and Commentary

To the chief Musician, a Psalm of David. In this psalm is a prophecy concerning Christ, and concerning Judas Iscariot, as runs part of the title in the Syriac version; and in the Arabic version it is called a prophecy concerning the incarnation, and the salutation of Judas; and certain it is that Psalm 41:9 is to be understood of him, and of his betraying Christ into the hands of his enemies, since it is cited and applied to him by our Lord himself, John 13:18; so that having such a sure rule of interpretation, we may safely venture to explain the whole psalm of Christ, which treats both of his humiliation and exaltation; for it neither agrees with David wholly, nor with Hezekiah, to whom some ascribe it, as Theodoret remarks.