Psalms 41:2-12

2 The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive; [and] he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him to the will of his enemies.

3 The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness.

4 I said, LORD, be merciful to me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee.

5 My enemies speak evil of me, When shall he die, and his name perish?

6 And if he cometh to see [me], he speaketh vanity: his heart gathereth iniquity to itself; [when] he goeth abroad, he telleth [it].

7 All that hate me whisper together against me: against me do they devise my hurt.

8 An evil disease, [say they], cleaveth fast to him: and [now] that he lieth he shall rise no more.

9 Yes, my own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, hath lifted up [his] heel against me.

10 But thou, O LORD, be merciful to me, and raise me up, that I may requite them.

11 By this I know that thou favorest me, because my enemy doth not triumph over me.

12 And as for me, thou upholdest me in my integrity, and settest me before thy face for ever.

Psalms 41:2-12 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.