Psalm 41:6 Kommentar

God's kindness and truth have often been the support and comfort of the saints when they have had most experience of man's unkindness and treachery. David here found them so, upon a sick-bed; he found his enemies very barbarous, but his God very gracious. I. He here comforts himself in his communion with God under his sickness, by faith receiving and laying hold of God's promises to him (Psa 41:1-3) and lifting up his heart in prayer to God (Psa 41:4). II. He here represents the malice of his enemies against him, their malicious censures of him, their spiteful reflections upon him, and their insolent conduct towards him (Psa 41:5-9). III. He leaves his case with God, not doubting but that he would own and favour him (Psa 41:10-12), and so the psalm concludes with a doxology (Psa 41:13). Is any afflicted with sickness? let him sing the beginning of this psalm. Is any persecuted by enemies? let him sing the latter end of it; and we may any of us, in singing it, meditate upon both the calamities and comforts of good people in this world. To the chief musician. A psalm of David.

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 41 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 Psa 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, Joh 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.

And if he come to see me,.... Meaning anyone of his enemies, when they came, as pretended, to pay him a friendly visit. A late learned writer (x) interprets this of Absalom, who visited his father when he had the smallpox, which he thinks, after mentioned, of which his enemies expected he would die, when Absalom pretended great concern for his life; though he, with others, were plotting against him, should he live, to destroy him; he speaketh vanity; lies and falsehoods, in an hypocritical manner, with a double heart; his mouth and his heart not agreeing together; see Mat 22:16; his heart gathereth iniquity to itself; amasses to itself greater treasures of wickedness still, thought that itself is desperately wicked, and very wickedness: this is to be understood of the enemies of Christ observing his words and actions, and laying them up, with a wicked intention, against a proper time; when he goeth abroad, he telleth it; as in the instances concerning giving tribute to Caesar, destroying the temple, and saying he was the son of God, Mat 22:17; compared with Luk 23:2; compared with Mat 26:60, compared with Joh 19:5. (x) Delaney's Life of King David, vol. 2. p. 157, 158.

Judas went out, and he spoke. He went out from the faith, he went out from the council and number of the apostles. He went out from Christ’s banquet to the villainy of Satan; he went out from the grace that sanctifies to the noose that strangles. He went to speak vain things to infidels. He went outside, leaving behind the mysteries of life that lay within. He went out, for he had never known the mysteries that are contained in Scripture.

"And entered in to see" [Psalm 41:6]. What Christ suffered, that suffers also the Church; what the Head suffered, that suffer also the Members. "For the disciple is not above his Master, nor the servant above his Lord." [Matthew 10:24] ... If to Christ's Members you belong, come within, cling to the Head. Endure the tares if you are wheat, endure the chaff if you are grain. [Matthew 13:30] Endure the bad fish within the net if you are a good fish. Wherefore before the time of winnowing do you fly away? Wherefore before the time of harvest, do you root up the grain also with yourself? Wherefore before you have come to the shore, have you broken the nets? "They go abroad, and tell it."

Now, the outcome of events testifies to these things: furtively they conversed together and looked for the way to implement the plot. Then they made a charge of overthrow, saying to Pilate, “He makes himself king and forbids us paying tribute to Caesar,” which is what the prophecy says: “They set up a lawless plan against me.” That is, they leveled a charge of lawlessness against me.

And sinners procure this by lying in ambush. Thus he first sets forth the manner of ambush. Second he shows the effect of the ambush, at "He came in." Concerning the first he does three things. For first he proposes the deceitful entry. Second, the feigned speech. Third, the insidious disposition. He says therefore, "If he came in to see me." Jerome has, "to visit"; as if to say: they did not come for the sake of friendship, but for the sake of spying. Thus the leaders of the Jews came to catch Jesus. Thus also after the death of Christ, many entered the Church to catch and lie in ambush against holy men. This is what the Apostle says in Gal. 2: "On account of false brethren secretly brought in, who crept in to spy out our liberty." As to the second he says, "He spoke vain things," that is, the people of the Jews spoke false things against Christ, because with their mouth they feigned sweet words. Mt. 22: "Master, we know that you are truthful." And inwardly they plotted death. Ps. 12: "They have spoken vanities, each one to his neighbor; with deceitful lips they have spoken with a double heart." As to the third he says, "His heart gathered iniquity to itself." An insidious disposition is one that gathers words with which to harm the just man. For these do not act like bees that gather honey, but like dung beetles that gather dung. But the good gather honey, because from divine sweetness they sweeten others. And therefore he says, "His heart gathered iniquity to itself." And he says, "to itself," that is, against itself. Prov. 1: "They lie in ambush against their own blood." Or, "to itself," that is, to achieve its own desire, because if they could catch him in some evil, they would greatly rejoice. Sir. 18: "If you grant to your soul its desires, it will make you a joy to your enemies." Thus they spoke against Christ, Mt. 27: "We have remembered that that deceiver," etc. Next the effect of the ambush is shown, because going out they slandered; hence he says, "He went out and spoke to the same effect." He went out either from pretense, or from malice, or from familiarity, or from friendship; because before he was and appeared as a friend, and thus he spoke to the same effect, that is, falsehood, as before, and words of falsity. Or he went out from the bosom of truth, or from the friendship he feigned, or from the Church, or from the company of Christ. Jn. 6: "Many of his disciples went back."

The Psalmist celebrates the blessedness of those who compassionate the poor, conduct strongly contrasted with the spite of his enemies and neglect of his friends in his calamity. He prays for God's mercy in view of his ill desert, and, in confidence of relief, and that God will vindicate his cause, he closes with a doxology. (Psa 41:1-13) God rewards kindness to the poor (Pro 19:17). From Psa 41:2, Psa 41:11 it may be inferred that the Psalmist describes his own conduct. poor--in person, position, and possessions.

to see me--as if to spy out my case. he speaketh . . . itself--or, "he speaketh vanity as to his heart"--that is, does not speak candidly, "he gathereth iniquity to him," collects elements for mischief, and then divulges the gains of his hypocrisy.