PSALM 41:4-9

I have seen in Psalm 41 a continual reminder of our theme, which is “A Psalm With Meaning For Then And Now”.  There are certainly applications for David, Christ the greater than David, and for us the lowly followers of Christ.  We draw the attention of our study time this week to verses 4-9. I will not quote them here for the sake of space but have your Bible open and ready to study.

            I am calling this section of verses 4-9 ‘A Person Of Sacrifice’.  In verse 4 let us look at ‘The Sacrifice Of The Soul’. This verse will certainly have great application to David himself.  He calls upon God as the ‘LORD’.  This is the great ‘I Am’, the God who keeps His promise of covenant.  The writer of Hebrews says if we approach Him we must believe that He is not the God who was, could be, but for him, He is the God who is in the perpetual present tense.  He approaches God claiming His ‘mercy’.  Mercy is God withholding from you and I what we deserve.  David desires for his soul, the inner man, the real David to be made whole.  He longs to be able to say, ‘It is well with my soul’.  David confesses the reason for his soul sickness is found in the phrase “…for I have sinned against thee.”  Oh, to just realize that we are sinners does little or no good.  We only see what a mess it has made to us, but O Lord let us see that it is against thee alone.  When we come to this point there is a true sacrifice of our soul on the altar of Calvary’s love.  Let us be in more earnest prayer for the healing of our soul than for the healing of our body.

            In verse 5-8 we are confronted with ‘The Sacrifice Of Speech’.  In verse 5 we have been made to see through our studies one of David’s army generals by the name of Joab.  He is certainly one who played both sides and kept all his bases covered.  He was partial to who ever would benefit him most.  He was not inclined to have a passion for God’s King to prosper, but only for himself to enjoy a state of prosperity.  I can hear him speak even behind David’s back and wish for the day of his death. He may even have foolishly dreamed of the possibility of one day he might sit upon the throne of Israel.

            In verses 6-8 my studies led me in the sacrifice of speech to David’s son Absalom.  David says when he comes to see me “…he speaketh vanity:” On the occasion of Absalom’s visit he would seem to be extremely concerned about his dad’s well being.  It was all ‘vanity’.  This word means empty, or of no value.  David had probably heard through the grape vine of Absalom’s plot to take the kingdom from him.  David knew that there were whispers behind his back of Absalom’s design to hurt his father.  He knew that there was talk of not only wishing him dead but thinking he could not live long in his present condition.  In verse 8 there has been talk that he will never get up from his bed of sickness.

            In verse 9 we are confronted with ‘The Sacrifice Of Supping’.  Here we are reminded of Ahithophel’s stand against David.  He was a trusted friend whom David had dined with on many occasions.  He stood and gave counsel against David to his son Absalom.  Let us remember his past had probably made him bitter and not better.  Ahithophel was the grandfather of Bathsheba.  He never forgave David of that great sin.  If he did forgive it is clear by his actions he never forgot it.  May the lives of these men serve us as an example of how we should not live in our relationship to a greater than David, our Lord Jesus Christ.

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