I. (41:1–3) The Lord Sustains Those Who Are Kind to the Poor. The opening section of the psalm expresses true covenantal faith: the person “who considers the poor” is kind to them because they live among God’s own people; presumably this consideration includes both financial help and energetic protection from exploitation (cf. Prov. 14:21; 22:16; 28:3; 29:14).

Generally in the OT “the poor” are specifically the poor in Israel (Ex. 23:11). This does not advocate a contraction of one’s sympathies, however; these are the poor a typical Israelite is likely to meet on a regular basis! In fact, the law protects the Gentile poor as well (Lev. 19:10; 23:22, the sojourner). Since these “poor” are “weak” (ESV mg. on Ps. 41:1) in influence, the blessed person’s kindness is therefore also generous, extended in the knowledge that the poor cannot pay it back. God honors the person who shows such kindness in true covenant faith; he “delivers” such a person, “protects” him, and, more specifically, “sustains him on his sickbed.”

The word rendered “poor” in verse 1 is dal, one of four main words so rendered. The others are ʻani, ʼebyon, and raʼsh. For such people, “poverty and lack of status leaves them exposed to injustice and thus helpless before cruel oppression within society.”360 While the Hebrew of 40:17 uses ʻani and ʼebyon for “poor and needy,” there is no reason to doubt that this text plays a similar role in the life of God’s people, namely, that of shaping their stance of loyalty toward those subject to exploitation.361 Whereas texts such as Psalm 72:4 make the protection of the poor the special duty of the Davidic king, this passage makes it a value for every member of the people.

This stance reflects Israel’s basic calling to be God’s fresh start on mankind, to be a nation whose corporate life displays properly functioning humanity. But an additional factor makes it necessary to stress this point, namely, the all-too-frequent oppression that took place even within Israel.

II. (41:4–10) My Enemies Hope for My Death. From the statement of faith the singer turns to his present situation of serious illness, compounded with the malice of those impatient for his death.

As often in the laments, the present distress calls (or should call) the singer’s misdeeds to mind; hence this stanza begins with a plea for forgiveness and closes with it as well (cf “be gracious to me”; vv. 4, 10).

The sickbed seems to be the setting for this stanza: the enemies are eager for the singer’s death (v. 5), visit him with insincere words, and cannot even keep a confidence (v. 6). They insist that “he will not rise again from where he lies” (v. 8). The chief result of their duplicitous visits is their spreading of falsehoods (v. 7)!

The stanza ends with a renewed prayer for grace, as well as a prayer: they say I will not rise again (v. 8), but you, O Lord, please “raise me up” (v. 10)!

One expects enemies to be treacherous, but in verse 9 the pain of betrayal comes from the singer’s “close friend,” one who received only kindness but has now “lifted his heel against” him. In John 13:18 Jesus applies this to Judas, who received only kindness (including foot washing) from Jesus; this enables the reader to see both the pain Jesus underwent for the sake of his own and also the callous treachery of Judas.

This stanza allows the person in trouble to describe vividly the pain and danger that comes from such treachery, and it leads to the response of trust.

III. (41:11–12) But I Am Sure You Will Uphold Me. The singer returns to the faith of Psalm 41:1–3; in light of that faith, he can be confident that God will continue to honor his “integrity” (specifically, his dedicated kindness to the poor; v. 1).

God’s “delight in me” (v. 11) echoes the delight of 40:6, 8. And there is a further privilege: “You have . . . set me in your presence forever” (41:12), a description of public worship (cf. Josh. 24:1) that lasts long beyond the limits of this life (Ps. 23:6).

Goldingay prefers to render 41:11–12 in this way:

    By this I came to know that you were pleased with me,

    that my enemy does not shout over me.

    As I—in my integrity you upheld me

    and made me stand before you forever.362

The verb forms behind the italics more readily support the way that the ESV (and other versions) have taken them.363 The confidence is that the enemy will not shout in triumph, a confidence grounded in the experiences that the worshiper remembers in verse 12: “You have upheld me . . . and set me,” and thus the worshiper can trust him to do so again.

IV. (41:13) Doxology Concluding Book 1. Each of the five books of the Psalter ends with a doxology (72:18–19; 89:52; 106:48; 150:6). These doxologies might be connected to their psalms, but then again they might not be. For example, 89:52 does not have a clear connection to Psalm 89, and the connection between Psalm 72:1–19 and 72:18–20 is uncertain (cf. comment on 72:18–20). Psalm 150 as a whole concludes both Book 5 and the Psalter.

Most suppose that 41:13 is not tied to Psalm 41. This is probably right; however, the confidence with which the psalm ends, and the mention of “forever” (v. 12), could indicate that this is a suitable conclusion.364

I. (42:1–5) My Soul Pants for God. The song begins with a poignant expression of longing for God himself, using the image of thirst: “As a deer pants for flowing streams.” The intense imagery of desperate thirst reflects the dry climate in which the people of Israel lived, one in which anyone would feel his need for water keenly. The song presents the thirst for God as having the same kind of intensity.

For the pious, the answer to this longing comes in public worship; this is clear from the phrase “appear before God” (i.e., at the sanctuary; Ex. 23:17) and from Psalm 42:4, which recollects previous participation in sanctuary worship. As C. S. Lewis puts it, the psalmists’ “longing to go up to Jerusalem and ‘appear before the presence of God’ is like a physical thirst.”368

The singer represents himself as separated from this worship and subject to taunts from those who despise his faith. The question “Where is your God?” is rhetorical; it implies that God is nowhere to be found, or at least irrelevant—or even indifferent—to anyone’s needs (cf. 79:10; 115:2; Mic. 7:10; Joel 2:17; Mal. 2:17; cf. Deut. 32:37; Isa. 36:19). While Psalm 42:3 simply tells us that “they” say this, verse 10 goes on to label the speakers as “adversaries.” For the faithful to sing this is to begin to appreciate how much such taunts should cause them distress.

The singer closes the stanza by addressing his “soul,” his inmost self. Being “cast down” is an understandable reaction to these troubles, but the song has each person encouraging himself that God will return him to worship: “I shall again praise him.”

Jesus uses the words of the refrain in Matthew 26:38//Mark 14:34: “My soul is very sorrowful” (using the Greek version of the psalm). He uses these words to admit his distress frankly, to confess his craving for his disciples to “watch” with him, and to reaffirm his confidence in his eventual vindication (for this confidence cf. Matt. 16:21; 17:22–23; 20:18–19; 26:29).

II. (42:6–11) Has God Forgotten Me? The second stanza sharpens the description of the singer’s situation: he is far from Jerusalem, site of the sanctuary.

When people sing of “the land of Jordan and of Hermon” and the otherwise unknown “Mount Mizar,” they will think of locations north of the Sea of Galilee (near the source of the Jordan River). The point is that these are a long way from Jerusalem. All faithful Israelites knew that God was not literally absent; thus the psalm speaks of “your waterfalls” as well as “your breakers and your waves” (Ps. 42:7). God is the Maker and Ruler of all. Further, he fills the person’s days and nights with his “steadfast love” (v. 8, the subject of “song” and “prayer”)—echoing the day and night of tears (v. 3). Nevertheless, each of the faithful must feel that the sanctuary is where he meets God most fully; hence his separation has left his soul “cast down within” him (v. 6) because he wonders why God has “forgotten” him (v. 9). This stanza ends, as does the first, with self-encouragement.

Verse 7 uses two images of unruly water, perhaps to contrast with the “flowing streams” of verse 1; the first portrays two waterfalls plunging into a valley, calling to one another with a “roar,” while the second portrays the raging sea, in which one might drown (Jonah 2:3).

III. (43:1–5) Vindicate Me So That I Can Come Back to the Temple. The third stanza now focuses on asking God to “vindicate” the speaker against the “ungodly people” and the “deceitful and unjust man” who torment the singer with their taunts (cf. 42:3, 10). (For the request to vindicate cf. comment on 26:1–3.)

Verse 2 echoes 42:9–10, both in its calling God a “refuge” (cf. “rock” in 42:9) and in its sadness.

In verse 3 the song personifies God’s “light and . . . truth” as if they were guides sent to “lead” the singer back to the sanctuary at God’s “holy hill.” The sanctuary is God’s “dwelling” (cf. 26:8). The Hebrew word is mishkan, which can also be rendered “tabernacle” (as in the Pentateuch); it is related to the word shekina, used in postbiblical Hebrew for the special presence of God at his sanctuary.

The stanza closes, as do the others, with encouragement.