Psalm 41 - Caring For The Poor

Podcast Transcript (Auto-Transcribed by Apple Podcasts)

Hello, and welcome back to the very last Psalm in Book One of Psalms. And it has been quite a journey.

It has now been, oh, let me see, five episodes, about eight weeks or so, about two full months that we have been in this Book of Scripture and hope that it's been an encouragement to you.

I would love to hear kind of what Psalms really spoke out to you. I heard from some people, obviously Psalm 23 is a fan favorite and one that people love for great reason. And that was definitely an encouragement to my heart.

There were so many that really spoke out to me.

And I'll look forward to even for my own benefit, looking back on some of these episodes at different times, even just some of the specific topics that David brings out in many of these topics, like anger or sadness or a faith in God or a reliance on

God's name or singing to the Lord. Just so many things that come up in life that I need reminded of that I'll go back to and look again, not because I had anything great to say on it, but because God's Word is an encouragement and would encourage

you. If you like hearing God's Word read, there's an app that I really, really love called the Dwell App, D-W-E-L-L, the Dwell App. And they've got several different readers and they just go through the different portions of scripture.

You can select, okay, I want you to read these five verses on repeat, or hey, I want you to read these five chapters on repeat, or I think you can even put like a sleep timer.

And hey, after this amount of time, you can stop and all have gone to sleep hearing God's Word. And there's really no better kind of nighttime noise that you could possibly hear.

They are not a paid sponsor of this podcast, but it's something that I, every single week as a pastor and as a Christian, listen to that app and I found it very helpful for my walk with the Lord.

And I think they have, I think there's something you can pay monthly or every year you can pay an amount. And it's got a ton of resources.

So I would strongly encourage you if you really like hearing God's Word, if that's sometimes more helpful to you than reading it. Hearing God's Word was for most of human history, how God's people in took the word, they heard it.

And so I would encourage you with that. I'll put a link in the description if you want to look at the dwell app. So Psalm 41, for the choir director, a Psalm of David.

Happy is one who is considerate of the poor. Yahweh will save him in a day of adversity. Yahweh will keep him and preserve him.

He will be blessed in the land. You will not give him over to the desire of his enemies. Yahweh will sustain him on his sick bed.

You will heal him on the bed where he lies. I said, Yahweh, be gracious to me. Heal me for I have sinned against you.

My enemies speak maliciously about me. When will he die and be forgotten? When one of them comes to visit, he speaks deceitfully.

He stores up evil in his heart. He goes out and talks. All who hate me whisper together about me.

They plan to harm me. Something awful has overwhelmed him, and he won't rise again from where he lies. Even my friend in whom I trusted, one who ate my bread, has raised his heel against me.

But you, Yahweh, be gracious to me and raise me up. Then I will repay them. By this, I know that you delight in me.

My enemy does not shout and triumph over me. You supported me because of my integrity and set me in your presence forever. Blessed be Yahweh, God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting, amen and amen.

This is kind of an interesting close to this particular book of Psalms. I think if I were to ask every one of you listening, hey, how do you think book one of Psalms is going to end?

I don't think a single one of you would say, OK, that God blesses those who honor the poor. I don't think that would have been in anyone's mind. But it is how God starts off.

And here, God's not just speaking about financially poor, though that would certainly be a portion of it.

Here, it's those that are destitute, those that are in need, even as he talks about David and the kind of circumstances in which he's going through. Here, it's someone that's even physically poor, destitute, downtrodden.

We'll walk through this together. Verses one through four. Happy is one who is considerate of the poor.

Yahweh will save him in a day of adversity. One who is considerate of the poor. Our world, in certain elements, does not consider or value the poor.

There is a thought that anyone that doesn't have money is that way because of laziness or addiction. And frankly, that's just not true.

If you look at many of the statistics of those that are experiencing homelessness, those that are on, in America, some things of government aid are often not there because of just a desire for laziness, but because of tragic life circumstances,

because of abuse that they've undergone that has put them in very poor life circumstances. There are some people even that I know and that my wife knows that are in circumstances just like that, that because of abuse by others and because people have

been taken advantage of, that then they're experiencing drastic like loss and neediness because not of their own flaws or failures, but because of what others have done. And here, God doesn't say happy is the one who is considerate of the poor who

are poor for the right reasons. God even in the Torah, in the law, in Exodus, in Leviticus, in Deuteronomy, has some specific laws that he sets up to take care of those that are in need.

And the Book of Proverbs, David's son Solomon, deals with this at length, that if we turn a blind eye or a deaf ear to the poor, to the cries of the needy, and we can help in some way, that we have very much gone against God's nature, that God has

given them enough food, shelter or clothing to at least be able to get to this spot in their life. And so then for us to say, okay, well, I can't sustain them because what if they, you know, what if they buy drugs with the two dollars that I give

them? We are being very short-sighted, and we're not necessarily viewing things in the way that God would have us to. But often when we read about the poor or the needy, we strictly think about those that might be panhandling at a corner.

And it included the phrase, the poor included a lot more than just that in the Bible, in the Old Testament.

You can think even of the story of Naomi and Ruth that they had a house, but they didn't have a means of income, that they were financially poor even though they had a house.

You can look at in the New Testament in Matthew 24, Matthew 25 when Jesus is talking about on the last day and really viewing was God's Spirit in people, motivating them to the fruit of the Spirit, especially love or like in James 2, if God's Spirit

was motivating them to actually take care of others. Faith that moves to action, that real faith, not just a, oh yeah, I mentally assent to that, but a real faith that resulted in action.

Jesus says in Matthew 25 that that's evidenced through, I was hungry and you fed me.

So it could be someone that has a job, that has a house, but doesn't have a lot of money for food, could be a single mom, could be a single dad, could be an elderly person, could be any number of things, could be a college student that is just trying

to make it through so that then they can get like a good solid job and be able to be a productive member in society. And they're just eating ramen every day for weeks.

And you might know, okay, I know this college student, I know they don't come from much. And so maybe I'll just give something to help them. He says, I was hungry and you fed me.

He says, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. That might be, even as I say that, it might be something like a person that is experiencing homelessness at this time, that you give something to them.

I can think my youth group growing up went to some trips down in Arizona, into the Phoenix area to do some missions trips.

And one of the things that we did while we were there was gave out water bottles to people because it was 114 degrees, 116 degrees. I think the coolest day was like 99 degrees and we were just over the moon. So Jesus says, I was hungry.

You gave me food. I was thirsty. You gave me drink.

He says, I was naked and you clothed me. That can be something that maybe you work in tandem with a place like here in Essex. We've got Eastern Interfaith Outreach Center that helps to get people back on their feet and give them food and clothing.

Maybe it might be something like a Ronald McDonald house or something else that you would team up with them, that you would be a part of a group of people that are helping out in some ways.

And then Jesus says, I was in prison and you visited me, which is a very, very intriguing thought, because those that are in prison, as we think about it, often we're like, oh yes, they deserved everything that they got.

But Jesus places value and he says a living active faith that's real, a person that knows God knows that even those that have done wrong are worthy of friendship or respect.

Maybe it might be something that you become a pen pal with someone that's in prison and you share the gospel with them, you converse with them.

There are so many different ways in which that could manifest, but I'd encourage you like have a care, have a consideration for the poor because it's something that God values and it's something that he talks about all throughout the Bible, like

literally from the beginning to the end. He says this is something that I value and that I care about.

So don't just view it as, okay, the people that are the most perfect, those are the ones that are deserving of my consideration, you know, every person is. And when we see light and life the way that God does, then we want to shine that out.

We want to share that life with everyone, not just those that we deem worthy. Verse number two, the person that is considered of the poor, Yahweh will keep him and preserve him. He will be blessed in the land.

You will not give him over to the desire of his enemies. Yahweh will sustain him on a sick bed. You will heal him on the bed where he lies.

God promises benefit and blessing for generosity and care of others.

That doesn't mean like I can't guarantee you, oh yeah, you'll make all of your money back or you will, you know, you'll never get a cold again if you care for others and if you're generous, I attempt to be generous with my money both to our local

church and the programs and things that we have to be able to make all of that happen, to care for even some of the other people that operate as pastors at our church. I try and take care of them, tried to be generous for even our Annie Armstrong

offering, and I still got a cold a couple weeks ago. I think some of you will remember that when my voice was way lower. I still got a cold, and so this doesn't mean, okay, I was generous.

I tried to take care of the poor through my giving, take care of the poor that are poor and spiritually poor, and so God didn't sustain me on my sickbed. He didn't take away my cold.

He didn't prevent me from having a cold, so therefore he's not true. No, no, no. So here David is illustrating, he's speaking, you know, this is a poem.

He's saying, here is the kinds of things that God will do. He will take care of you. He will care for you.

He won't allow your enemies to be victorious over you. And I think for us, sometimes we think, okay, if I give this money, then I'm a part of the problem rather than part of the solution, and that's just not true.

You never know how God will work when you are generous for others.

Then he goes into all of his enemies and their lies, their deceit, and maybe you've been in that situation before, and I'd like to encourage you with the fact that God sees, God knows, and God will make it right one day.

God has promised his justice, his vengeance on all evil, and so you can rest assured that even if it's not immediate, that God will care for and will take care of evil.

I do want to reference in verse number nine, this was something that, let me look at the cross reference here. Yeah, this was something I believe, yeah, John 13, 18, that was referenced in regards to Judas and Jesus.

It says, even my friend in whom I trusted, one who ate my bread has raised his heel against me.

And here, or there in John 13, the Apostle John references this verse in this Psalm as saying this was Judas and his interaction with Jesus, the Judas who was Jesus' friend and whom he trusted.

He was one of the 12 that traveled with him, one who ate his bread, the person that shared meals with him and we can think even of the Last Supper that Judas was at and he was the one that raised his heel against Jesus to try and crush the only son

of God. He says, but you Yahweh be gracious to me and raise me up, then I will repay them. By this I know that you delight in me. My enemy does not shun and triumph over me.

You supported me because of my integrity and set me in your presence forever. That should be our goal, that we have an integrity with the Lord, that who we are before God is honest and open.

It doesn't mean that we're perfect, but it does mean that we go to God and we say, God, like I know I did that. I know he said that it was not right and I am not going to pursue that. I'm not going to make that a habit of my life.

I was wrong and I know I was wrong and I need your forgiveness and I need you to cleanse me.

And then it says, as a result of integrity, just being open, being genuine, being honest with God and with man, then the result is that he sets us in his presence forever. God's not looking for the most perfect to set in his presence forever.

He's looking for those that will honestly come to him and will say the same thing about themselves, the real thing about themselves that he says, that we are sinners, but that Christ came to save us, gave us that gift of salvation, and that as we

respond to that in faith, as we receive that, then we can know everlasting life, that that's the person that he wants to set in his presence. It's not the holiest, but those that are honest with him. That would say, okay, God, I'm turning to you.

I'm turning imperfectly. I'm turning flawed, but I believe in you. I believe in your righteousness.

I believe that I am the kind of person that you say that I am, and so I am in desperate need of you. Then the closing to all of Book One of Psalms, blessed be Yahweh, God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting, amen and amen.

Today, how will you bless the Lord? Will you be considerate of those that are in need? In need of food, water, shelter, friendship?

Will you care for those? Will you rely on God's vengeance and His justice? And will you trust that He will provide for your needs, that He will protect you?

Psalm's Book 1 has been all about trusting God despite circumstances, that the here and now is not great, but the one that dives into, that continually devours and meditates on the Word of God, they will be like a tree that's planted by the rivers of

water, that brings forth their fruit and their season, their leaf doesn't wither, whatever they do prospers. The wicked are not so, but they are like the chaff that the wind drives away.

Psalm 1 again says, therefore, the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment or sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord hears, He knows the way of the righteous and His ears are attentive to their prayers. Today will you choose God?

I'm going to choose your way. I'm going to be right with you. I'm going to be honest with you.

And I'm going to allow that relationship with you, me being in your presence to affect how I view other people and how I care for them. Thanks for tuning in. Have a wonderful day.

Tomorrow, we start a whole new study. Thank you for watching.