Psalm 41

This the last Psalm of the first book.

David starts by declaring that "blessed are those who have regard for the weak". Often people despise the weak. This is not just confined to those who are bullies or are tyrannical. When we feel vulnerable or weak ourselves there can be a natural, and unsightly, tendency to look down on someone we imagine to be weaker than ourselves, so providing some sore of illusory comfort for ourselves. We need to avoid this, and instead always have regard for the weak. If we do this then we will live under the protection of the Lord.

This does not mean that we will not have any trouble, but that the Lord will rescue and protect us when we do. The promise is not that we will not have any foes, but that the Lord will not give us over to the desire of our foes.

David is still wrestling with the problem of sin in his own life, and seeks mercy from the Lord. Enemies and friends alike seem to be against him. The solution in these situations is not to lash out at friends and enemies alike, but to look to the mercy of God.

Note that at the end David is still talking of the Lord being pleased with Him and having integrity. We so easily think we are either perfect or complete rubbish. The truth is that until the return of Christ we are a mixture of goodness and sin. If we know Christ then the goodness is increasing and the sin decreasing, but both are still there, and at different times we are more aware of one than the other, but both are always still there to some degree.