Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

Psalm 41. This is a lament in which a person who fulfills his responsibilities to the poor, and yet is suffering severely, prays for God's help and vindication. The psalm describes a serious illness but can be applied more generally if the illness is taken as simply one example of severe suffering.

41:1-3 The Lord Sustains Those Who Are Kind to the Poor. The opening section expresses true covenantal faith: the person who considers the poor is kind to them because they are fellow members of God's own people (usually "the poor" in the OT refers specifically to the poor in Israel); presumably his kindness includes both financial help and energetic protection of them from exploitation. These "poor" are "weak" (ESV footnote) in influence, and therefore this person's kindness is also generous, extended in the knowledge that they cannot pay it back. God honors the person who shows such kindness in true covenant faith; he delivers him, protects him, and more specifically, sustains him on his sickbed.