Ps. 41.1 (consideration of the weak and poor)

“Blessed / is the one / who gives consideration / to the weak / and the poor; - in an evil time / Yhwh will / deliver him.” Is it difficult not to anticipate. As we have said often, in many psalms the entire thematic thrust of the psalm is contained in the first few verses. Often, like here, they work to summarize what will occur in the body of the psalm. At other times, they plant seeds that then be developed. The difficulty, in moving verse-by-verse, when reflecting on an opening line is that one is tempted to reveal the entirety of the psalm. For that reason, I want to simply begin to highlight certain threads that will be woven into the rest of the psalm. Blessedness--First, there is a compelling argument that these words were spoken by a priest to a sick person upon entering the Temple. In essence, he was telling this individual what Yhwh expected if he were to heal them. This is similar to another ‘entrance psalm’ that details the proper character of those who can enter the Temple and Yhwh’s presence. Second, this ‘blessedness’ will, not surprisingly, conclude the psalm at verse 13, except there it will be “Blessed by Yhwh, God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting”. This bookending is important. The first will signal the blessing that descends upon the sick man; the second will be a return of blessing in the form of liturgical praise to Yhwh. It is like ‘seed’ and ‘harvest’. Furthermore, this opening is a type of ‘wisdom-saying’ we have become familiar with; it is, in this way, something that can be learned, or passed on. It is, in a way, a ‘science’ of Yhwh. Many statements that begin, “blessed”, operate in just this fashion. Trustworthy--This points to an important ‘thread’: because this phrase operates in this manner, there is the sense that it is ‘apparent’ and ‘open to observation’. It is, in other words, not something hidden. In other words, if one does this one can expect Yhwh’s concern; Yhwh is trustworthy. As we will see, this contrasts sharply with the activities of the wicked in this psalm who operate in secrecy and duplicity and who can never be trusted in any of their representations. Weak and poor—the previous psalm concluded with the king placing himself among the “poor and needy”. As we saw there, this position was the prime place one should inhabit in order to gain Yhwh’s attention. Indeed, the ‘weak and the poor’, like the king, are objects of particular concern and devotion to Yhwh. This is true, largely, because it is often the case that these are the people kings are supposed to show a particular regard for. Therefore, for Yhwh to care for them, reveals his character as king as much as it reveals the character of those for whom he loves. That is to say, this ‘interrogation’ or ‘test’ is one that asks whether the one seeking Yhwh’s help has displayed the same concern for the weak and poor that Yhwh has. One can’t help but recall, “forgive us our debts/trespasses as we forgive our debtors/those who trespass against us.” As we indicated above, this “consideration” is also something that will not be ‘two-faced’, but rather one of sacrificial outpouring. It will not be self-interested and therefore An evil time—this is such an abstract description that we can look forward some and say that the ‘evil time’ in this psalm will involve both active pursuit by enemies and internal betrayal by friends. Furthermore, as hinted above, it will be a “time of deception” and “hiding”. Everything that occurs in the wicked transpires in an explicit attempt to cover-over the real purpose of their action. As we have seen in so many other psalms; the wicked will not be unified; they will be two-faced. Finally, it must be pointed out that the “consideration given to the “weak and poor” is not limited by the “evil time”. In other words, the consideration is one that must be an active disposition on the individual’s part. If that disposition is the case, then, in an “evil time” one can count on Yhwh. Deliverance—we have found this to occur in many different ways but almost always it involves the twin action of “lifting up” and “casting down” (of, blessing and cursing). Indeed, I don’t believe we have seen it otherwise. Here, though, we can already see something unique: just as one has ‘delivered’ the ‘weak and the poor’, so will that person be able to count on Yhwh to ‘deliver’ him. There is the sense here that it is precisely the display of Yhwh-affection towards Yhwh’s own that places one within the sphere of Yhwh’s blessing. If one lifts them up, one will be lifted up.