PSALM 41 GOD OF MERCY, GOD OF LOVE

Written by , Rector of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, Richmond, Virginia
 
¹ Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the LORD delivers him in times of trouble.
² The LORD will protect him and preserve his life; he will bless him in the land and not surrender him to the desire of his foes.
³ The LORD will sustain him on his sickbed and restore him from his bed of illness.
⁴ I said, “O LORD, have mercy on me; heal me, for I have sinned against you.”
⁵ My enemies say of me in malice, “When will he die and his name perish?”
⁶ Whenever one comes to see me, he speaks falsely, while his heart gathers slander; then he goes out and spreads it abroad.
⁷ All my enemies whisper together against me; they imagine the worst for me, saying,
⁸ “A vile disease has beset him; he will never get up from the place where he lies.”
⁹ Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.
¹⁰ But you, O LORD, have mercy on me; raise me up, that I may repay them.
¹¹ I know that you are pleased with me, for my enemy does not triumph over me.
¹² In my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever.
¹³ Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.

Through the eyes of divine love, what disease could be more vile than that of sin? The enemies of the soul are the devil and all those who have enlisted in his service. But that same divine love will not allow the Lord to “surrender” a soul “to the desires of his foes.” Rather, only the soul itself can so surrender himself. The Lord has promised to “sustain him on his sickbed and restore him from his bed of illness.”

The situation of which the psalmist speaks is unknown, even the identity of the writer is a matter of conjecture. But, it is not difficult to envision Jesus on the night before he was arrested, tried, scourged, and crucified, having these words on his lips. The Second Adam, the Incarnate Son of God, took our vile illness upon himself so that we might know that God will “not surrender [us] to the desires of [our] foes.”

^53:4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:4-6)

Thanks be to God! Through him the way to the everlasting presence of the Father has been made available to us. “Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.”

Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen. (BCP, p.99)

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