Psalm 41:7 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.

All that hate me whisper together against me,.... That is, they privately conspired against him; see Mat 22:15; against me do they devise my hurt; not only to take away his name and credit, but his life.

"All mine enemies whisper against Me unto the same thing" [Psalm 41:7]. Against Me all unto the same thing. How much better with me unto the same thing, than against me "unto the same thing." What is, "Against me unto the same thing"? With one counsel, with one conspiring. Christ then speaks unto you, You consent against Me, consent ye to Me: why against Me? Wherefore not with Me? That same thing if you had always had, you had not divided you into schisms. For, says the Apostle, "I beseech you, brethren, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no division among you." [1 Corinthians 1:10] "All mine enemies whisper against Me unto the same thing:" against Me do they "devise evil to Me." To themselves rather, for "they have gathered iniquity to themselves;" but therefore to Me, because by their intention they are to be weighed: for not because to do nothing was in their power, to do nothing was in their will. For the devil lusted to extinguish Christ, and Judas would slay Christ; yet Christ slain and rising again, we are made alive, but to the devil and to Judas is rendered the reward of their evil will, not of our salvation....The intention wherewith they spoke, not what they spoke, did He consider, who related that they spoke evil of Him, "Against Me they devised evil to Me." And what evil to Christ, to the Martyrs what evil? All has God turned to good.

"Against me." Here he shows their evil counsel, how they might do harm. And first he sets forth the counsel of enemies. Second he shows that in this also some good friends concurred, at "The man of my peace." And first he sets forth the order of deliberating, showing that first the counselors assemble. Second they discuss what they deliberate about. Third they determine what is to be done. And he describes these three things here. He says therefore, "All my enemies whispered against me." The Gloss says, "He went out." And after follows, "To the same effect," etc. And this is found in the text of Jerome, yet it matters not. And he says, "They whispered," that is, they spoke silently; and this is the manner especially of counselors, and especially of evil counsels and evil men, who do this in secret. Lev. 19: "You shall not be a slanderer nor a whisperer among the peoples." Sir. 28: "The whisperer and the double-tongued is accursed," etc. And he says, "Against me." And thus they are not good counsels but evil. Ps. 36: "He has meditated iniquity on his bed." And therefore "they devised evil things against me." Ps. 1: "Blessed is the man who has not gone," etc. "They determined an unjust word against me," that is, an unjust thing. This, therefore, they determined in their council. Jn. 11: "It is expedient for you that one man should die for the people." And from that hour they plotted, etc. Mt. 21: "This is the heir; come, let us kill him." Wis. 2: "Let us condemn him to a most shameful death." This unjust word is found in Jer. 18: "You know, O Lord, their counsel against me unto evil and death."

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.

So of others, all act alike.

(Heb.: 41:8-10) Continuation of the description of the conduct of the enemies and of the false friend. התלחשׁ, as in Sa2 12:19, to whisper to one another, or to whisper among themselves; the Hithpa. sometimes (cf. Gen 42:1) has a reciprocal meaning like the Niphal. The intelligence brought out by hypocritical visitors of the invalid concerning his critical condition is spread from mouth to mouth by all who wish him ill as satisfactory news; and in fact in whispers, because at that time caution was still necessary. עלי stands twice in a prominent position in the sense of contra me. רעה לּי belong together: they maliciously invent what will be the very worst for him (going beyond what is actually told them concerning him). In this connection there is a feeling in favour of בּליּעל being intended of an evil fate, according to Psa 18:5, and not according to Psa 101:3 (cf. Deu 15:9) of pernicious or evil thought and conduct. And this view is also supported by the predicate יצוּק בּו: "a matter of destruction, an incurable evil (Hitzig) is poured out upon him," i.e., firmly cast upon him after the manner of casting metal (Job 41:15.), so that he cannot get free from it, and he that has once had to lie down will not again rise up. Thus do we understand אשׁר in Psa 41:9; there is no occasion to take it as an accusative by departing from the most natural sense, as Ewald does, or as a conjunction, as Hitzig does. Even the man of his peace, or literally of his harmonious relationship (אישׁ שׁלום as in Oba 1:7, Jer 20:10; Jer 38:22), on whom he has depended with fullest confidence, who did eat his bread, i.e., was his messmate (cf. Psa 55:15), has made his heel great against him, lxx ἐμεγάλυνεν ἐπ ̓ ἐμὲ πτερνισμόν. The combination הגדּיל עקב is explained by the fact that עקב is taken in the sense of a thrust with the heel, a kick: to give a great kick, i.e., with a good swing of the foot.