SETTING FORTH A FAR GREATER THAN DAVID
PSALM 41:1-13
PSALM 41:1-13
Key verse: v. 9, “Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.”
John 13:18, “I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me.”
Introduction:
David was a man with a wide range of experience which he used to set forth One far greater than he, his Messiah.
“Jesus Christ betrayed by Judas Iscariot is evidently the great theme of this Psalm, but we think not exclusively. He [Judas] is the antitype [the opposite type] of David, and all his people are in their measure like him; hence words suitable to the Great Representative are most applicable to those who are in Him.” –Charles H. Spurgeon
I. HE BECAME POOR FOR OUR SAKES v. 1
A. Jesus is said to be “poor and needy” here, Psalms 40:17, “But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.”
1. This is the man of sorrows, Isaiah 53:3, “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”
2. Jesus was known for His sorrows, Isaiah 53:4, “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.”
3. His soul was sorrowful as He contemplated the cross, Matthew 26:37-38, “And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. 38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.”
B. He endured the contradiction of sinners against Himself, Hebrews 12:3, “For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.”
1. It pleased the Lord to bruise Him for our sins, Isaiah 53:10, “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.”
2. His suffering for our sins brought satisfaction to the Father, Isaiah 53:11, “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.”
II. MINE ENEMIES SPEAK EVIL OF ME v. 5
A. The insolent conduct of his enemies, 1 Samuel 2:3, “Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.”
1. They speak wickedly against the Lord Jesus Christ, Psalms 139:20, “For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain.”
2. They speak against the Lord’s servants, Numbers 12:8, “With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”
a. These who speak evil against God’s men do not know their INTIMATE relationship with the Lord, Deuteronomy 34:10, “And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,”
b. The Lord still maintains a close relationship as that of a friend with those He has called to preach His Word, Exodus 33:11, “And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.”
B. The enemies of the Lord desire TO RUIN His reputation among the people of the nation, Mark 3:6, “And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might DESTROY HIM.”
1. Recently so-called DIGNITARIES have spoken AGAINST the Lord, Psalms 119:23, “Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes.”
2. The Lord WARNED US of this, John 15:18, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me BEFORE it hated you.”
a. The world has hated Jesus WITHOUT A CAUSE, John 15:25, “But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.”
b. However they are under Satan’s power, John 14:30, “Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.”
III. MINE OWN FAMILIAR FRIEND HATH LIFTED UP HIS HEEL AGAINST ME v. 9
A. Those who hurt the Lord and His church appear to be friends, 2 Samuel 15:12, “And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counsellor, from his city, even from Giloh, while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong; for the people increased continually with Absalom.”
1. It was an “inward” [close] friend who turned against the Lord, Job 19:19, “All my inward friends abhorred me: and they whom I loved are turned against me.”
2. Satan had entered Judas, John 13:26-27, “Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. 27- And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.”
B. God has turned the hurt into a blessing, John 16:33, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
C. The Lord has helped us, therefore we rejoice, Psalm 28:7, “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.”
CONCLUSION