“Blessed is He Who Considers the Poor” (Ps 41)

Blessed is he who considers the poor; the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble. The LORD will preserve him and keep him alive, and he will be blessed on the earth; You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies. (vs1-2)

The Lord Jesus Christ is risen from the dead because He pleased God in saving sinners. He promised, “The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive”. In exalting Christ, God reveals His character, that He is FOR the poor. He is for those who cannot help themselves spiritually, and He is FOR Him who helps the poor by laying down His life as atonement to make way for grace to flow freely. Christ suffered the curse, but He put away sins, and God rewarded Him justly and eternally, giving Him the throne and the salvation of His people. It says, “he will be blessed on the earth; You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies”. Now, He is BLESSED on the earth, as the Church hears the gospel of His victory, and we are born again by the power of His Spirit, being delivered from bondage, sin, and wrath to come! We bless His great and marvelous name that He saves poor and weak sinners who can't help ourselves, who can't deserve, and He saves ENTIRELY by His earning mercy for us. God is gracious to sinners, and He loves the Man who makes Him able to be so!

He is the sinner's substitute, taking our sins upon Himself, as His own, and then paying the penalty with His blood (vs3-4). He endured the fullness of wrath in our place, because we could never do so. He said, “Lord, be merciful to me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against you”. He is the One who took our place, paid for what we've done, and suffered unimaginably to make restitution for what He took not away. He is the One who became guilty because sin was laid to His charge, and He took it as if He did it, because justice was so exact that He felt the guilt and the grief. He did no sin, but He was made the meeting place for the numerous sins of God's elect. Therefore, don't fear that justice is dishonored in salvation, as if mercy needs to be questioned instead of enjoyed. Sin, all sin of everyone who obeys the gospel, has already been paid in full, and you may have mercy FREELY, because of Him. Christ paid for our spiritual peace.

You'd think, when the Son came to save sinners, that people would rejoice and the world would be full of praises, but from His birth, man tried to kill Him, and sinners hated Him for His salvation (vs5-9). He says, “My enemies speak evil of me: 'When will he die, and his name perish?' And if he comes to see me, he speaks lies; his heart gathers iniquity to itself; when he goes out, he tells it”. The self-righteous were OFFENDED that He demanded faith in Him, that no other offering could be accepted, except His obedience for us. The self-governing were upset that He demanded repentance and faith, that we must live by the rule of the Son, as well as receive His mercies, that we are to obey and live godly, if we'll escape the wrath to come. And, yet, He successfully endured it all, going to God, so that His enemies would never win. He made sure of Himself, not by human assistance, but by the hand of the Almighty whom He pleased with His deeds and words. Likewise, let you and I rely upon God amidst the hatred of this world. He knew what it means to have friends betray Him, even as we do, saying, “Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me”. We come preaching Christ, and men will not bow, and yet, when hated, afflicted, and tempted to hide the gospel, we repose ourselves on the God who sees our labors, delights in our ambition, and who promises that it isn't in vain. Man SHOULD love you, but God will.

We know, by the resurrection and enthronement of Christ – His exaltation to the place of all power – that God is pleased with Him by the victory that He gave (vs10-13). It is written, “But You, O Lord, be merciful to me, and raise me up, that I may repay them. By this I know that You are well pleased with me, because my enemy does not triumph over me”. It is the same with us: by believing the gospel, we get power over sin, even when dirty, tempted, and attacked by all. He has REAL favor for us; it isn't merely words, but He actually gives us salvation that conquers sin, brings peace to the soul,and enables us to obey in an ungodly world, overcoming our natural lust for sin. This salvation isn't philosophical or in theory; it is the actual experience of humans who believe God and then enjoy His power to make us happy. Heaven will show God's favor to us, even as the peace we enjoy on earth reveals just a foretaste of what is coming. He will be faithful to those who help the poor, and we enjoy this faithfulness now and forever.