Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 41:3

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Psalms 41:3. The Lord will strengthen him — Good, benevolent, and merciful as he is, he must also die: but he shall not die as other men; he shall have peculiar consolations, refreshment, and support, while passing through the valley of the shadow of death.

Thou wilt make all his bed — הפכת haphachta, thou hast turned up, tossed, and shaken it; and thou wilt do so to all his bed - thou wilt not leave one uneasy place in it-not one lump, or any unevenness, to prevent him from sleeping. Thou wilt do every thing, consistently with the accomplishment of the great decree, "Unto dust thou shalt return," to give him ease, refreshment, and rest. We may sum up the privileges of the merciful man:

1. He is generally blessed, Psalms 41:1.

2. He will be delivered in the time of trouble, Psalms 41:1.

3. He will be preserved by a particular providence, Psalms 41:2.

4. He shall be kept alive amidst infection and danger, Psalms 41:2.

5. He shall be blessed on the earth in his temporal concerns, Psalms 41:2.

6. His enemies shall not be able to spoil or destroy him, Psalms 41:2.

7. He shall be strengthened on a bed of languishing, to enable him to bear his afflictions, Psalms 41:3.

8. He shall have ease, comfort, and support in his last hours, Psalms 41:3.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 41:0 A friend’s treachery

At the time of the writing of this psalm, David was ill and unable to help himself. One of his closest friends took the opportunity to act treacherously against him. The psalm would suit such circumstances as when his trusted adviser Ahithophel plotted his overthrow by organizing the rebellion of Absalom (see v. 9; cf. 2 Samuel 15:12,2 Samuel 15:31).

Those who help the needy will themselves receive help from God when they are in trouble (1-3). David knows that many are glad to see him lying helpless because of his sickness and are hoping he will die. To his face they say that they hope he will recover, but behind his back they plot against him (4-6). They encourage one another with the news that he has no hope of recovery (7-9).
David prays that he will recover so that he can deal with the plotters (10). He is confident that his uprightness before God will guarantee God’s help and so bring him victory (11-13).

BOOK 2: PSALMS 42-72

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

“Blessed is he that considereth the poor: Jehovah will deliver him in the day of evil. Jehovah will preserve him and keep him alive, And he shall be blessed upon the earth; And deliver not thou him unto the will of his enemies. Jehovah will support him upon the couch of languishing: Thou makest all his bed in his sickness.”

“Blessed is he that considereth the poor” “This corresponds with `Blessed are the merciful’ from the Sermon on the Mount. Such a person is preserved, blessed and strengthened by God. The psalmist here recognizes himself as an illustration of his case in point.”Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, p. 510.

“Deliver not… to the will of his enemies” There is a confidence here, “That the wicked hopes of his enemies shall be confounded by actual events.”The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 477.

“Upon the couch of languishing” This is an obvious reference to illness; and it is quite obvious that the Bible gives us no information whatever about any such serious illness that might have afflicted David.

“However, if we place this psalm in the times of the rebellion of Absalom, it fits exceptionally well. “The bosom friend” (Psalms 41:9) could well be Ahithophel; and David’s illness would have led to David’s omission of many duties as charged by Absalom (2 Samuel 15:2-6).”H. C. Leupold, p. 329.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing - The word rendered strengthen here means to support; to uphold; to sustain. The idea here is, that God would enable him to bear his sickness, or would impart strength - inward strength - when his body failed, or when but for this aid he must sink under his disease and die. The word rendered languishing means properly languor or sickness; and more generally something sickening; that is, something unclean, unwholesome, nauseating, Job 6:6. The idea here, in accordance with what is stated above, is, that acts of religion will tend to promote our welfare and hap piness in this life; and more particularly that the man who shows favor Psalms 41:1 to those who are weak, sick, helpless, will find in turn that God will support him when he is sick. Thus, Psalms 18:25, “With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful.”

Thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness - Margin, as in Hebrew: “turn.” So the Septuagint, ἔστρεψας estrepsas. Luther renders it, “Thou dost help him.” The idea is, that God will turn his bed or his couch; that is, that he will render favor like turning his couch, or making his bed when he is sick; or, in other words, he will relieve his suffering, and make him comfortable on his bed. It does not mean that he will turn his sickness to health, but that he will relieve and comfort him, as one is relieved and soothed on a sick bed by having his bed made up. This, too, is in accordance with the general sentiment that God will show himself merciful to those who are merciful; kind to those who are kind. On the bed of languishing it will be much to be able to remember that we, in our health, have contributed to the comfort of the sick and the dying.

(a) The recollection itself will do much to impart inward satisfaction then, for we shall then appreciate better than we did when we performed the act the value of this trait of character, and have a deeper sense of gratitude that we have been able to relieve the sufferings of others;

(b) we may believe and trust that God will remember what we have done, and that he will manifest himself to us then as our gracious supporter and our comforter.

It will not be because by our own acts we have merited his favor, but because this is his gracious purpose, and because it is in accordance with his nature thus to bestow kindness on those who have been kind to others.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Let us turn at this time in our Bibles to Psalms 41:1-13 . This is another one of the psalms that begins with a beatitude. The very first psalm begins with a beatitude, "Blessed is the man." Here again,

Blessed is he that considereth the poor, the LORD will deliver him in the time of trouble ( Psalms 41:1 ).

Now the Bible has much to say about God's concern and God's interest with the poor. And God is constantly exhorting us in His Word that we should be concerned for the poor. That we should seek to help the poor. It is biblical that our concern should be for the poor. In fact, there is a scripture that says, "He that lendeth to the poor, lendeth to the Lord" ( Proverbs 19:17 ). So if ever you want to loan the Lord anything, go out and find a poor person and lend them some money. Not looking, really, for a return from them, but just looking to the Lord to return it to you. Because really you are lending to the Lord, and He actually pays fantastic interest. "Blessed is he who considers the poor." One of the blessings, "The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble."

Secondly,

The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou will not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all of his bed in his sickness ( Psalms 41:2-3 ).

Now, it is an interesting thing that the psalmist speaks of God in such a personal kind of a way. If you have been generous towards the poor, if you have been interested in giving to the poor, among other things, God will take care of you when you are sick in bed. Now, this is an interesting concept concerning God, and is certainly far from the pagan concepts of their gods. Can you imagine this being said of Jove? Or of Jupiter or of Buddha or whatever? That he will take care of you when you're sick in bed. And yet, we think of God in these beautiful, intimate kind of relationships, of even watching over us when we are sick. When we are languishing on our bed, taking care of us.

Now, this is the first part of the psalm. The first three verses declaring, really, the interest, the concern, and the blessedness if we will just take care of the poor. The interest we should have, the concern for the poor.

Now he turns to his own case and he said,

I said, LORD, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee. Mine enemies speak evil of me, When shall he die, and his name perish? ( Psalms 41:4-5 ).

This is what his enemies were saying, "When is he going to die, when is he going to perish?"

And if he comes to see me he, speaks emptiness: his heart gathereth iniquity to himself; and when he goeth abroad, he tells it ( Psalms 41:6 ).

He comes and he sort of, you know, interrogates me. Or he acts in very friendly, gets me to confide in him, and then he goes out and tells everything that I have confided. And,

All that hate me whisper together against me: and they seek to devise my hurt. They say an evil disease cleaves fast to him: and now he is lying down, he is not going to rise again ( Psalms 41:7-8 ).

As the psalmist is crying out his woe, in the next verse, actually, he utters a prophecy concerning Jesus Christ and His betrayal by Judas Iscariot.

Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me ( Psalms 41:9 ).

In the thirteenth chapter of the gospel of John, verse John 13:18 , Jesus quotes this verse as referring to Judas Iscariot and the betrayal of one of His own followers. So it is interesting that as the psalmist is speaking of his own position, that suddenly he lapses over into prophecy and speaks to the Lord.

But thou, LORD, be merciful unto me, raise me up, that I may requite them. By this I know that thou favorest me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me. And as for me, you uphold me in mine integrity, and you set me before thy face for ever ( Psalms 41:10-12 ).

And the psalm closes with a benediction.

Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen ( Psalms 41:13 ).

Now this is the end of the first book of psalms. There are actually five books of psalms. Some of the old Bible scholars see in the five books of psalms sort of a sequel to the five books of Moses, the five books of the Pentateuch. In the five books of the Pentateuch you find God speaking unto man, giving the laws, and establishing the covenant with man. In the Psalms, they see in the five psalms the sequel to the Pentateuch, only it is now man expressing himself to God in his worship and his praise and all. Whether or not they can actually be tied together, the five books of the psalms with the five books of the Pentateuch, is a thing for theologians to worry about. We don't need to concern ourselves with it. However, each of the books of the psalms do end with a benediction, similar to what we have here, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting. Amen, and amen." "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

1. God’s blessings on the merciful 41:1-3

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 41

David assured the godly in this thanksgiving psalm that those who help the needy would experience deliverance themselves from the Lord. He had learned this lesson through a difficult experience, to which he referred.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

More specific blessings are protection, long life, a good reputation on earth, protection from enemies, sustenance in sickness, and restoration to health. In the Mosaic Law, God’s promised blessings for the righteous were mainly physical, though there were spiritual blessings too. Under the Law of Christ (Galatians 6:2), most blessings are spiritual, though some are physical.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing,.... When on a sick bed, or a death bed, where he lies languishing, and ready to expire; when his natural strength, spirits, and heart fail him, then the Lord strengthens him with strength in his soul; and is the strength of his heart, and his portion for ever. The Targum is,

"the Word of the Lord shall help him in his life, and shall appear to him on the bed of his illness, to quicken him;''

thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness; or "all his bed thou hast turned" or "wilt turn in his sickness" t; meaning not the recovery of him from a bed of sickness to a state of health, which is the sense given by many; much less a turning him from a state of ease and rest into trouble and distress; but making him easy and comfortable on a bed of sickness; which, in a literal sense, is done when a sick person's bed is turned or made, or he is turned upon it from side to side; so the Lord, by the comforts of his Spirit, makes a sick and death bed easy to them that believe in Christ, and often puts that triumphant song into their mouths in their dying moments, "O death! where is that sting?" c. 1 Corinthians 15:55 and this is the peaceful end and blissful state of such who wisely consider Christ and believe in him; low estate, through the sins of his the insults of his enemies, and the treachery of one of his disciples, is described in the following verses.

t הפכת "versasti", Pagninus, Montanus; "vertisti", Vatablus; "ita vertes", Michaelis; so Ainsworth; δεμνια οι μετεθηκεν, Apollinarius.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

To the chief musician. A psalm of David.

      1 Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.   2 The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies.   3 The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness.   4 I said, LORD, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee.

      In these verses we have,

      I. God's promises of succour and comfort to those that consider the poor; and,

      1. We may suppose that David makes mention of these with application either, (1.) To his friends, who were kind to him, and very considerate of his case, now that he was in affliction: Blessed is he that considers poor David. Here and there he met with one that sympathized with him, and was concerned for him, and kept up his good opinion of him and respect for him, notwithstanding his afflictions, while his enemies were so insolent and abusive to him; on these he pronounced this blessing, not doubting but that God would recompense to them all the kindness they had done him, particularly when they also came to be in affliction. The provocations which his enemies gave him did but endear his friends so much the more to him. Or, (2.) To himself. He had the testimony of his conscience for him that he had considered the poor, that when he was in honour and power at court he had taken cognizance of the wants and miseries of the poor and had provided for their relief, and therefore was sure God would, according to his promise, strengthen and comfort him in his sickness.

      2. We must regard them more generally with application to ourselves. Here is a comment upon that promise, Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Observe, (1.) What the mercy is which is required of us. It is to consider the poor or afflicted, whether in mind, body, or estate. These we are to consider with prudence and tenderness; we must take notice of their affliction and enquire into their state, must sympathize with them and judge charitably concerning them. We must wisely consider the poor; that is, we must ourselves be instructed by the poverty and affliction of others; it must be Maschil to us, that is the word here used. (2.) What the mercy is that is promised to us if we thus show mercy. He that considers the poor (if he cannot relieve them, yet he considers them, and has a compassionate concern for them, and in relieving them acts considerately and with discretion) shall be considered by his God: he shall not only be recompensed in the resurrection of the just, but he shall be blessed upon the earth This branch of godliness, as much as any, has the promise of the life that now is and is usually recompensed with temporal blessings. Liberality to the poor is the surest and safest way of thriving; such as practise it may be sure of seasonable and effectual relief from God, [1.] In all troubles: He will deliver them in the day of evil, so that when the times are at the worst it shall go well with them, and they shall not fall into the calamities in which others are involved; if any be hidden in the day of the Lord's anger, they shall. Those who thus distinguish themselves from those that have hard hearts God will distinguish from those that have hard usage. Are they in danger? he will preserve and keep them alive; and those who have a thousand times forfeited their lives, as the best have, must acknowledge it as a great favour if they have their lives given them for a prey. He does not say, "They shall be preferred," but, "They shall be preserved and kept alive, when the arrows of death fly thickly round about them." Do their enemies threaten them? God will not deliver them into the will of their enemies; and the most potent enemy we have can have no power against us but what is given him from above. The good-will of a God that loves us is sufficient to secure us from the ill-will of all that hate us, men and devils; and that good-will we may promise ourselves an interest in if we have considered the poor and helped to relieve and rescue them. [2.] Particularly in sickness (Psalms 41:3; Psalms 41:3): The Lord will strengthen him, both in body and mind, upon the bed of languishing, on which he had long lain sick, and he will make all his bed--a very condescending expression, alluding to the care of those that nurse and tend sick people, especially of mothers for their children when they are sick, which is to make their beds easy for them; and that bed must needs be well made which God himself has the making of. He will make all his bed from head to foot, so that no part shall be uneasy; he will turn his bed (so the word is), to shake it up and make it very easy; or he will turn it into a bed of health. Note, God has promised his people that he will strengthen them, and make them easy, under their bodily pains and sicknesses. He has not promised that they shall never be sick, nor that they shall not lie long languishing, nor that their sickness shall not be unto death; but he has promised to enable them to bear their affliction with patience, and cheerfully to wait the issue. The soul shall by his grace be made to dwell at ease when the body lies in pain.

      II. David's prayer, directed and encouraged by these promises (Psalms 41:4; Psalms 41:4): I said, Heal my soul. It is good for us to keep some account of our prayers, that we may not unsay, in our practices, any thing that we said in our prayers. Here is, 1. His humble petition: Lord be merciful to me. He appeals to mercy, as one that knew he could not stand the test of strict justice. The best saints, even those that have been merciful to the poor, have not made God their debtor, but must throw themselves on his mercy. When we are under the rod we must thus recommend ourselves to the tender mercy of our God: Lord, heal my soul. Sin is the sickness of the soul; pardoning mercy heals it; renewing grace heals it; and this spiritual healing we should be more earnest for than for bodily health. 2. His penitent confession: "I have sinned against thee, and therefore my soul needs healing. I am a sinner, a miserable sinner; therefore, God be merciful to me," Luke 18:13. It does not appear that this has reference to any particular gross act of sin, but, in general, to his many sins of infirmity, which his sickness set in order before him, and the dread of the consequences of which made him pray, Heal my soul.