Psalms 41:9-13
Thou Favourest Me
Psalms 41:9, Yea, mine own familiar friend, in
whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me. Psalms chapter 41 teachings about giving and about persecution.
It is interesting to see the Biblical teaching of giving and persecution spoken
of in the same chapter. This is because when you give to God to help spread the
truth of the Word of God often you will face spiritual opposition and
persecution.
These last verses of Psalms 41 are
Messianic verses. It seems appropriate
to find Messianic verses in connection with a chapter in Psalms which talks
both about giving and persecution. No matter what or how much you give to God
you will never give as much as Christ. No matter how much you are persecuted
for living by faith in the Bible you will never suffer the way Christ
suffered. I Timothy 2:6 says, Who gave
himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. I Peter 3:18
says, For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the
unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but
quickened by the Spirit.
Psalms 41:9 says, Yea, mine
own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted
up his heel against me. The reason that Psalms 41:9 is a Messianic verse is because it
makes reference to the betrayal of Christ by Judas Iscariot. The book of Matthew gives account of the
betrayal of Christ by Judas. Matthew 26:21-25 says, And as they
did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. And
they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him,
Lord, is it I? And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray
me. The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but
woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It had been good for that
man if he had not been born. Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said,
Master, is it I? He saith unto him, Thou hast said. Matthew
27:3-5 says, Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was
condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to
the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the
innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? See
thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and
departed, and went and hanged himself.
One of the worst forms of persecution
can come when you are betrayed by those who are closet too you. It happened to
Jesus and it could happen to you if you live by faith in the Bible. The story
of Judas is the story of human tragedy. Judas gave up his position as one of
the 12 disciples for a mere 30 pieces of silver. There are many in this world that have turned away from the Word of God and
from living by faith in Christ simply because they are greedy of gain.
In thinking about the story of Judas,
however, what should also be thought about is how the betrayal of Christ by
Judas set in motion the events which led to the crucifixion of Christ. Christ
died for the sins of the world so that whosoever repents of their sins and
turns to him might be saved. This is why Romans 8:28 says, All things
work together for good to them that love God to them that are the called
according to his purpose. No one has given the way Christ has given. No one has suffered
the way Christ has suffered when he gave his life a ransom for the world and
when he suffered for the sins of the world on the cross of
If you give to God by giving of the
Word of God then you will be persecuted. You may even face betrayal just as
Jesus did. Concerning persecution and concerning betrayal the Bible says in
Psalms 41:10-13, But thou, O LORD, be merciful unto me, and raise me up, that I
may requite them. By this I know that thou favourest
me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me. And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest
me before thy face for ever. In these verse we are
reminded of several important promises which God has given to all those that
trust in Him: mercy, favor, triumph, integrity, and the presence of God.
When the Bible talks about giving it
emphasis the spiritual needs of man, the need for the Word of God. If you want
to be a giver the way Jesus was a giver when He walked this earth then be sure
to give of the Word of God and to not be greedy of gain. Those that do their
part in the giving of the Word of God will suffer because of evil men who are
in opposition to the truth. This is why
you should consider the promises given in these verses.
God promises mercy to those that trust
in him. Mercy is not getting what we deserve. All men are sinners. There are
consequences to sin and there is judgment for sin. What a blessing it is to repent
of sins and turn to Christ and receive mercy. II Corinthians 4:1 says, Therefore
seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not. Whenever you
are spared judgment for your sins or whenever you are spared from the
consequences of your sins it is only because of the mercy of God. It is the
mercy of God that enables men to have the opportunity to serve Christ and to
help in the spread of the Word of God.
Psalms 41:11 says, By this I
know that thou favourest me, because mine enemy doth
not triumph over me. In this verse notice that favor and triumph are mentioned
together. To have the favour of God means that God is
going to do things for you that otherwise he would not have done. To have the
favor of God is equivalent to the New Testament teaching of being a joint-heir
with Christ. Romans 8:17 says, And if children, then heirs; heirs
of God, and joint-heirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer with him, that we
may be also glorified together.
There is victory in Jesus: victory
over sin, victory over temptation, victory over the devil, victory over your
sufferings. When spiritual opposition and persecution comes your way it cannot
stop you from doing your part in the giving of the Word of God because Jesus
favors those that trust in him.
Psalms 41:10-11 says, But thou, O LORD, be merciful unto
me, and raise me up, that I may requite them. By this I know that thou favourest me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me. Jesus was
betrayed and delivered unto death. They crucified him. But he rose again the
third day. No matter how bad things get just remember this: God keeps his
promises. No matter how bad things get just remember there is eternal life in
Jesus. If you give of the Word of God you will be persecuted. But in the end
you know that God has mercy and favor for you to triumph over those that
persecute you. You have already triumphed, if you have turned from your sins to
Jesus because in Jesus there is eternal life. I Peter 1:3 says, Blessed be the God and Father of our LORD Jesus Christ, which
according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
Psalms 41:12 says, And as for
me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy face for ever. In this
verse we are reminded that righteousness is of Christ. Salvation is by grace
through faith and not of works. The keeping of the 10 commandments will not
bring eternal life. But faith in Christ will. This verse is an Old Testament way
of explaining the eternal security of the believer: once saved always saved.
And this verse is also a reminder of Gods promise to never leave or forsake
you. John 10:28 says, And I give unto them eternal life: neither shall any man pluck
them out of my hand. Hebrews 13:5 says, I will never leave thee, nor forsake
thee. These two promises go together. Once saved always saved and
therefore always in the presence of God. Giving and persecution go together
because when you give of the Word of God there are always those that will
oppose the Bible. If you are going to pick up your cross and follow Christ,
today and tomorrow, and not just today but the rest of your life then you need
to remember these promises: mercy, favour, triumph,
and being upholden in the presence of God.
The last verse of Psalms 41, Psalms
41:12 says, Blessed be the LORD God of
We know God keeps his promises because
the LORD God of
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Copyright; 2013 by Bruce Creech
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