Psalm 41: Lessons Regarding the Blessings of Walking in a Covenant Relationship With God
Introduction: Psalm 41 concludes the first of the five books of the Psalms. Each book concludes with a similar praise for God in the final verse. Here, David turned to God when he faced both treacherous friends and a sickness. He relied upon God’s Covenant promises to Moses in the Torah to trust in God’s faithfulness. Some believe that the Covenant promises of the Old Testament were limited to the Jews. But anyone can become an heir to the Old Testament Covenant promises through faith in Jesus Christ: “And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.” (Gal. 3:29). God’s Covenant promises in the Old Testament are made available to you through faith alone: “For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.” (Ro. 4:13). But this faith requires that you live in a Covenant Relationship where your faith produces the fruit of obedience. From David’s psalm, God reveals seven blessings that come from living in a Covenant relationship. These include: (1) protection, (2) healing, (3) mercy, (4) comfort, (5) God’s faithfulness, (6) salvation, and (7) eternal joy.
First, God blessed David with the Covenant promise of protection because his faith prompted him to help those who were in need. When your faith brings the fruit of love for the needy, you are also in a Covenant relationship with God. This can also bring God’s protection and blessings. Second, also because he loved others in need, God blessed David with the Covenant promise of healing. When you live by faith and obey God, you can also become an heir to the Covenant promises of healing. Third, David confessed his sins and prayed for God’s mercy. A Covenant relationship where you believe in Jesus’ atoning death and confess your sins also brings His mercy and forgiveness. Fourth, David lamented to God that his close friends had turned against him and sought to destroy him. David found comfort in God that he could not find in the world. If you live in a Covenant relationship where you are in fellowship with Jesus, you also can find comfort in Him. Fifth, when others sought to destroy him, David prayed for God to restore him to allow God’s Covenant promise with David to be fulfilled. God was faithful to keep His Covenant promise to David. His faithfulness to keep His Covenant with David blessed mankind with the King of Kings, Jesus Christ. When you live by faith in Jesus, you also become an heir to God’s Covenant promises. He will be faithful to keep His promises to you. Sixth, David prayed in faith for the ability to be with God forever. Jesus fulfilled this prayer. Faith in Jesus also puts you into a New Covenant relationship where you enjoy the blessing of salvation. Finally, David concluded with a praise for God that will last forever. This speaks to a joyful future relationship with Jesus that will bring eternal praises for Him. When you live by faith in a Covenant relationship with Jesus, He will bless you with an eternity of joy.
1. Protection: A Covenant Relationship Brings God’s Protection. Ps. 41:1-2.
David prayed for God to protect him just as he had protected the less fortunate. In the face of both enemies who sought to kill him and his own illnesses, David prayed the promises contained within the Torah to ask for both God’s protection and His blessings: “For the music director. A Psalm of David. 1 Blessed is one who considers the helpless; the Lord will save him on a day of trouble. 2 The Lord will protect him and keep him alive, and he will be called blessed upon the earth; and do not turn him over to the desire of his enemies.” (Ps. 41:1-2). The implication of verse one is that David had been one who helped the “helpless.” (Ps. 41:1). Thus, he prayed in faith for God’s protection and blessings. In this same psalm, David would soon confess: “I have sinned against You.”’ (Ps. 41:4). Thus, David was not proclaiming that God owed him a favor or that he was entitled to a blessing under God’s Law. Instead, he prayed in humility for God’s grace.
God’s promise to bless those who help those in need. As part of the Covenant that God gave to Moses, He promised to bless those who help the needy: “You shall generously give to him, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your work, and in all your undertakings.” (Dt. 15:10). “You may charge interest to a foreigner, but to your countrymen you shall not charge interest, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land which you are about to enter to possess.” (Dt. 23:20). “The LORD will command the blessing for you in your barns and in everything that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.” (Dt. 28:8). “One who is generous will be blessed, because he gives some of his food to the poor.” (Prov. 22:9). As an heir to the Covenant, God’s promises are available to you as well.
Be Jesus’ hands and feet for those who are in need1
Your faith should produce the fruit of obedience. When Moses gave the Law, he urged the Jews to commit to following all of it, not just the parts that they agreed with: “So you shall observe to do just as the LORD your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right or to the left.” (Dt. 5:32). “and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.” (Dt. 28:14). “Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go.” (Josh. 1:7). “Do not turn to the right nor to the left; turn your foot from evil.” (Prov. 4:27). King Josiah was later celebrated because his faith produced the fruit of complete obedience. “He did what was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of his father David and did not turn aside to the right or the left.” (2 Chr. 34:2; 2 Kgs. 22:2). Do you follow all of God’s Word? Or, do you pick and choose only the parts of God’s Word that you agree with?
Jesus is not your Lord if you refuse to do what He says. Without works, a person’s faith is dead: “Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.” (Jam. 2:17). A believer may proclaim Jesus as Lord. But Jesus is not your Lord if you disobey Him: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.” (Matt. 7:21). “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Lk. 6:46). “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.” (Jam. 1:22). “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Matt. 7:24). “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.” (Matt. 7:26). Is your faith evidenced through obedience to Jesus?
Jesus wants to bless you when you walk in Spirit-led obedience with Him. When studying the Law, it is important to begin by noting what the Law will not do. It is not a route to salvation. If that were the case, Christ’s death was not necessary (Gal. 2:21). Long before Jesus ever came, God condemned the Jewish religious leaders who had turned the Law and the festivals into a set of ritualistic obligations. People did what they were told, but their hearts were not in it (Amos 5:21; same Is. 66:3). Jesus’ greatest condemnations were therefore directed at religious leaders who turned the Law into a set of legalistic rituals (e.g., Matt. 23:24). We must be careful not to do the same in studying the Law. Christ came to fulfill the Law (Matt. 5:17). By faith in His atoning death, we are no longer judged under the Law as a condition of our salvation (Ro. 7:6; 8:3; Gal. 5:18). But this does not make the Law irrelevant. If your obedience is the fruit of your faith, Jesus wants to bless you: “If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.” (Jo. 13:17; Matt. 6:4; 10:41; Rev. 2:26). “But happy is he who keeps the Law.” (Prov. 29:18). If your motives are right and it is God’s will, the rewards for faith-led obedience may also be received in your lifetime: “Walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.” (Dt. 5:32-33; 4:40; Lev. 18:5). “Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.” (Ps. 19:11). “Surely there is a reward for the righteous . . .” (Ps. 58:11). “But you, be strong and do not lose courage, for there is reward for your work.” (2 Chr. 15:7). “So keep the words of this covenant to do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.” (Dt. 29:9). “[H]e who sows righteousness gets a true reward.” (Prov. 11:18). But you should never expect or demand a blessing. Are you putting yourself in a place where God can bless you?
If you love Jesus, you can also show it by helping the poor and the disadvantaged. God created you for His “good works.” (Eph. 2:10). This includes compassion and charity for those who are less fortunate: “One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the Lord, and He will repay him for his good deed.” (Prov. 19:17; Dt. 15:11; Matt. 5:42). “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.”’ (Matt. 25:40, 35). Conversely, Jesus warns: ‘“Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.”’ (Matt. 25:45). “He who oppresses the poor taunts his Maker, but he who is gracious to the needy honors Him.” (Prov. 14:31). “But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?” (1 Jo. 3:17). “He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be answered.” (Prov. 21:13). If you are not giving to the poor or your brothers or sisters in Christ who are in need, how much love and gratitude can you say you have for what Jesus did for you?
2. Healing: A Covenant Relationship Brings God’s Healing. Ps. 41:3.
David praised God for his healing. David then gave thanks because God also promised to heal and restore those who live in a Covenant relationship with Him. “3 The Lord will sustain him upon his sickbed; in his illness, You restore him to health.” (Ps. 41:3). The blessings for living in a Covenant relationship include: (1) protection from diseases (Ex. 15:26); and (2) a prolonged life (Ex. 20:12; Dt. 5:16; 5:32-33; 4:40; 6:1-2; 12:28; 22:6-7; 25:13-16; Lev. 18:5; Eph. 6:2-3). But these blessings are based upon God’s grace.
Turn to Jesus when you need healing2
God can restore the health of a faithful believer. Many believers don’t know what the Bible says about healing. Through Moses, God promised to pour out His blessings on those who live in faith-led obedience (Dt. 28:1-2). This can include His promise to withhold diseases and poor health: “And He said, ‘If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the LORD, am your healer.’” (Ex. 15:26; Dt. 7:15). ‘“See now that I, I am He, and there is no god besides Me; it is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand.”’ (Dt. 32:39). “ . . . the LORD binds up the fracture of His people and heals the bruise He has inflicted.” (Is. 30:26). “For He inflicts pain, and gives relief; He wounds, and His hands also heal.” (Job 5:8). “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” (Ps. 147:3). “He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.” (Ps. 107:20). Hezekiah later cried out to God when he was facing certain death. God answered his prayers by healing him and by adding 15 years to his life (2 Kgs. 20:1-7). If you are in need of healing, are you crying out to God?
All things are possible with God when you have faith. When you have faith, there is no miracle that is too big for God: “Is anything too difficult for the LORD?” (Gen. 18:14(a)). “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?” (Jer. 32:27). “I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.” (Job 42:2). “‘With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”’ (Matt. 19:26(b); Mk. 10:27(b); Lk. 1:37). “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?” (Ro. 8:31). God also wants you to turn to Him in faith when your health issues seem impossible. His miracles happen every day.
You cannot earn God’s healing through your works. David confessed that his suffering was due to his sins “As for me, I said, ‘O LORD, be gracious to me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”’ (Ps. 41:4). He appealed for healing based upon God’s mercy, not a sense of entitlement: “Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am pining away; Heal me, O LORD, for my bones are dismayed.” (Ps. 6:2). Because Jesus took your punishment, you can also appeal to Him for mercy and healing: “But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.” (Is. 53:5; 1 Pet. 2:24). He is so powerful that He healed a leper merely with His touch or His command: “Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, ‘I am willing; be cleansed.’ And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.” (Matt. 8:3). Although your faith-led obedience can bring His blessing of healing, you cannot earn His healings through your works. This would undermine Jesus’ sacrifice. God illustrated this principle in the Old Testament through His healing of the Syrian leper Naaman. Naaman wanted to earn his healing through a dramatic test of his strength in the raging mountainous rivers in Syria. He did not want to dunk himself seven times in the calm Jordan River (2 Kgs. 5:9-12). God never wants you to serve Him with the wrong motives. But He also wants you to know that He can show you mercy and restore your health when you are sick.
Cry out to God when you need deliverance from an illness or disease. Some think that a true person of faith should stoically accept an illness. But David cried out for God when he needed healing: “O LORD my God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me.” (Ps. 30:2). “There is no healthy part in my flesh because of Your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin.” (Ps. 38:3). Moses also cried out for God to heal his sister Miriam from her leprosy: “Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, ‘O God, heal her, I pray!”’ (Nu. 12:13). Hezekiah was a man faith because he cried out to God for divine healing (2 Kgs. 20:1-7). Thus, God welcomes your prayers to Him for healing.
Praise God when He delivers you from a health battle. Whenever God answered his prayers, David also praised God for His faithfulness. “I cried to Him with my mouth, and He was exalted with my tongue.” (Ps. 66:17). “You are my God, and I give thanks to You; You are my God, I exalt You.” (Ps. 118:28). “A Psalm of Praise, of David. I will exalt You, my God, the King, and I will bless Your name forever and ever.” (Ps. 145:1). David emphasized this point by concluding Psalm 41 with similar praises.
3. Mercy: A Covenant Relationship Brings God’s Mercy. Ps. 41:4-6.
David prayed for mercy from the punishment that he deserved for his sins. Because of his own sins, David suffered both in his health and through broken relationships. Thus, he prayed for God to show him mercy by withholding the punishment he deserved: “4 As for me, I said, ‘Lord, be gracious to me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.’ 5 My enemies speak evil against me, ‘When will he die, and his name perish?’ 6 And when he comes to see me, he speaks empty words; His heart gathers wickedness to itself; when he goes outside, he tells it.” (Ps. 41:4-6). God had promised to make David’s name great (2 Sam. 7:9). But his enemies wanted his name to be extinguished (Ps. 41:5). This meant that they wanted to kill him (e.g., Ps. 38:12; 41:5) and for him to be forgotten.
David appealed to God for help by asking for mercy. David did not recite God’s promises and demand that He fulfill them. Instead, he knew that he was a sinner who did not deserve God’s help. Thus, he appealed for God’s mercy and grace: “Applying the petition to David and other sinful believers, how strangely evangelical is the argument: heal me, not for I am innocent, but ‘I have sinned.’ How contrary is this to all self-righteous pleading!” (Charles Spurgeon on Ps. 41) (italics original).
David received mercy because he was merciful. David’s request for mercy in Psalm 41:4 connects to David’s help for the disadvantaged in Psalm 41:1. David received God’s mercy because he was merciful to those in need. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.” (Matt. 5:7). “With the faithful You show Yourself faithful; with the blameless You prove Yourself blameless;” (Ps. 18:25; same, 2 Sam. 22:26). These blessings are available to you as well. God is merciful when you show mercy to others.
Give thanks that God is merciful and longsuffering. God did not immediately judge David when he sinned. He instead allowed David to experience tribulation to bring him back to Him. You can give thanks that God is also slow to anger and quick to forgive you: “Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, ‘The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in faithfulness and truth;” (Ex. 34:6). “For the LORD your God is a compassionate God; He will not abandon you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.” (Dt. 4:31). He gives you mercy each time you repent and return to Him: “The Lord’s acts of mercy indeed do not end, for His compassions do not fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” (Lam. 3:22-23). “For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great compassion I will gather you.” (Is. 54:7). “Then you will say on that day, “I will give thanks to You, LORD; for although You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me.” (Is. 12:1). For these reasons, God deserves your praise for being slow to anger and quick to forgive.
Jesus’ mercy is available through faith and the confession of sin. David would have had to follow God’s Law to receive mercy and forgiveness. This would have required blood sacrifices (Lev. 17:11; Heb. 9:22). Jesus became the final one-time sacrifice to fulfill the Old Testament sacrificial laws (Heb. 10:12). The only act of obedience required to receive this blessing today is to believe that He died for your sins, to confess your sins, and make Him both your Lord and Savior (Ro. 10:13; Acts 2:21; Jo. 3:16; 1 Jo. 1:9).
4. Comfort: A Covenant Relationship Brings God’s Comfort. Ps. 41:7-9.
David lamented to God that his close friend was amongst those who betrayed him. In his time of sorrow, David cried out to God for comfort because his friend betrayed him: “7 All who hate me whisper together against me; they plot my harm against me, saying, 8 ‘A wicked thing is poured out upon him, so that when he lies down, he will not get up again.’ 9 Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.” (Ps. 41:7-9). “David was betrayed by his own son Absalom (2 Samuel 15) and by a trusted adviser named Ahithophel (2 Samuel 15:12 and 15:31) [This also pointed to Jesus.] . . . In the ultimate and most sinister sense, this was fulfilled when Judas betrayed Jesus. Jesus specifically applied these words to Judas and his treachery. In John 13:18, Jesus quoted this phrase, but only the words He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me. Some think Jesus deliberately left off the words in whom I trusted because He didn’t trust Judas. However, Jesus did make him the treasurer among the disciples (John 12:6 and 13:29).” (David Guzik on Ps. 41) (italics original).
David’s friends slandered him. David felt grief at his friend’s betrayal (Ps. 41:9). He also was frequently the victim of slander: “For I have heard the slander of many, terror is on every side; while they took counsel together against me, they schemed to take away my life.” (Ps. 31:13; 41:7; 71:10). He frequently lamented the scorn that he received: “All who see me deride me; they sneer, they shake their heads,” (Ps. 22:7). “I also have become a disgrace to them; when they see me, they shake their head.” (Ps. 109:25).
Job also lost the respect of everyone around him. Satan also turned all of Job’s friends against him: “4 I am a joke to my friends, . . .” (Job 12:4a). “My friends are my scoffers; . . .” (Job 16:20; 17:2; 19:9,13-14, 19; 30:10). Even children rejected him: “Even young children despise me; I stand up and they speak against me.” (Job 19:18).
Jesus was also rejected and scorned. Even though He never sinned, Jesus received scorn and slander: “And those passing by were speaking abusively to Him, shaking their heads,” (Matt. 27:39). “Those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,”’ (Mk. 15:29). His disciples also betrayed Him, denied Him, and deserted Him.
God offers you comfort during your distress. David frequently turned to God whenever he was in need of comfort: “May You increase my greatness and turn to comfort me.” (Ps. 71:21). “Show me a sign of good, that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed, because You, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.” (Ps. 86:17). He will never forsake you in your time of need: “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or in dread of them, for the LORD your God is the One who is going with you. He will not desert you or abandon you.” (Dt. 31:6). You can also praise God because He is always ready to shower you with compassion and love: “Shout for joy, you heavens! And rejoice, you earth! Break forth into joyful shouting, mountains! For the LORD has comforted His people and will have compassion on His afflicted.” (Is. 49:13).
Jesus offers you comfort when you turn to Him. When you suffer, you can always turn to Jesus for comfort: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (1 Cor. 1:3-4). He restores you when you feel sad: “But You, LORD, are a shield around me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head.” (Ps. 3:3). “A Psalm of David. I will exalt You, LORD, for You have lifted me up, and have not let my enemies rejoice over me.” (Ps. 30:1). “But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” (Lk. 21:28). When others around you are in pain, Jesus also wants you to share with them the same “comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (1 Cor. 1:4).
Turn to Jesus when you need comfort3
5. Faithfulness: A Covenant Relationship Brings God’s Faithfulness. Ps. 41:10-11.
David prayed for restoration to allow him to fulfill God’s Covenant with him. Because his enemies sought to extinguish God’s Covenant with David, David prayed for God’s restoration so that God’s Covenant of an eternal kingship could be fulfilled: “10 But You, Lord, be gracious to me and raise me up, that I may repay them. 11 By this I know that You are pleased with me, because my enemy does not shout in triumph over me.” (Ps. 41:10-11). “The psalmist wants to be raised up so that he may expose their wickedness, put them to shame for their betrayal, and bring their plans to an end. He will do this by his recovery as an answer to prayer and by his report of their wickedness. The honor of God and the righteous do this, for this kind of treachery is no harmless sin. And, if in fact the psalmist was David, then as the leader of the nation he had the responsibility to do this, for they tried to get rid of him by wicked lies. This was not personal revenge; it was far more important than that.” (Allen Ross, A Commentary of the Psalms: Volume 1 (1-41), Kregel Academic (2011) p. 885) (italics original).
David had faith in God’s promises to deliver him from his many enemies. Even though David faced enemies who sought to destroy him, he wrote about God’s faithfulness in the past tense because he knew that God would be faithful (Ps. 41:11). Because God was faithful to keep His promises to David, He prevented his enemies from destroying him: “He also brought me out into an open place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me.” (Ps. 18:19). “Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand.” (Ps. 20:6). “But You, LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, and the One who lifts my head.” (Ps. 3:3).
God is pleased with those who fear Him by hating evil and have faith in Him. Even though he had sinned, David proclaimed that he knew that God was still “pleased” with him (Ps. 41:11). Like David, God will also be pleased with you if you fear Him and have faith in His promises to you: “Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, on those who wait for His faithfulness,” (Ps. 33:18). “The LORD favors those who fear Him, those who wait for His faithfulness.” (Ps. 147:11). To fear the Lord is defined as “hating” what God calls as evil: “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; pride, arrogance, the evil way, and the perverted mouth, I hate.” (Prov. 8:13). Do you hate what God calls evil in the Bible and trust in his faithfulness during your times of distress?
Share your testimony of God’s faithfulness with others. David shared that his deliverance was proof of God’s faithfulness (Ps. 41:11). “He also brought me out into an open place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me.” (Ps. 18:19). “Then my enemies will turn back on the day when I call; this I know, that God is for me.” (Ps. 56:9). When God is faithful to deliver you, do you share your testimony with others?
6. Salvation: A Covenant Relationship Brings God’s Salvation. Ps. 41:12.
David looked forward to dwelling with God forever. As part his faith, David believed that God would uphold his integrity in the face of the lies against him and also allow him to dwell forever with God: “12 As for me, You uphold me in my integrity, and You place me in Your presence forever.” (Ps. 41:12). “Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the sustainer of my soul.” (Ps. 54:4). Jesus came to make David’s requests possible.
Praise Jesus for making your salvation possible4
David looked forward to the opportunity to live with God in heaven. Although the Jews did not have a full understanding of heaven and hell, David knew that he could live “forever” with God after death: “As for me, You uphold me in my integrity, and You place me in Your presence forever.” (Ps. 41:12). “You will make known to me the way of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” (Ps. 16:11). “For You make him most blessed forever; You make him joyful with the joy of Your presence.” (Ps. 21:6). Those who reject God’s Covenant also cannot join the future “assembly of the righteous” in heaven: “5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.” (Ps. 1:5).
Out of love, Jesus died on the cross so that everyone might find eternal life. Out of love, God planned before time began to send Jesus to die on the cross to allow all who believe to have eternal life: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies,’” (Jo. 11:25-26; 14:19). Through Jesus, you can “obtain an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,” (1 Pet. 1:4). “And [Jesus] said to him, ‘Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”’ (Lk. 23:43). Paul “was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak.” (2 Cor. 12:4). “but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,” (2 Tim. 1:10). “To the one who overcomes, I will grant to eat from the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.’” (Rev. 2:7b). “The one who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.” (Rev. 21:7). Are you praising Jesus for your gift of eternal life?
7. Joy: A Covenant Relationship Brings God’s Joy. Ps. 41:13.
David professed with joy the blessings that God deserves forever. Out of gratitude, David praised God and declared that He would be praised forever in heaven: “13 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.” (Ps. 41:13). Each of the remaining books within the Psalms end with a similar benediction that blesses Yahweh “forever” and concludes with “Amen”. These include: Book Two (Ps. 72), Book Three (Ps. 89), Book Four (Ps. 106) and Book Five (Ps. 150).
Praise Jesus for the joy He creates in your life5
Those in a covenant relationship with God will praise Him forever. The psalms are filled with joyful praises for God: “Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone works wonders. And blessed be His glorious name forever; and may the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen.” (Ps. 72:18-19). “Blessed be the LORD forever! Amen and Amen.” (Ps. 89:52). “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, From everlasting to everlasting. And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ Praise the LORD!” (Ps. 106:48). “Everything that has breath shall praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!” (Ps. 150:6). In heaven, joyful praise will go on forever: “My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD, and all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever.” (Ps. 145:21). This praise will not be forced upon you. It will spring naturally from your joy.
Your eternal praise will be the fruit of the joy Jesus will offer you in heaven. Faith in Jesus also brings the blessing of joy through the Holy Spirit: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,” (Gal. 5:22). “for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Ro. 14:17). “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Ro. 15:13). The Psalms can help you to find joy by turning your focus away from yourself and back to God where it belongs. When Saul was trying to kill David, David wrote in one of his many psalms that he would always praise God (Ps. 34:1). Moreover, David and other psalmists were joyful in their praises: “I will rejoice and be jubilant in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.” (Ps. 9:2). “But rejoice, all who take refuge in You, sing for joy forever! And may You shelter them, that those who love Your name may rejoice in You.” (Ps. 5:11). “My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to You; and my soul, which You have redeemed.” (Ps. 71:23). “I rejoice at Your word, like one who finds great plunder.” (Ps. 119:162). If you are under attack, you can find joy by turning to Jesus. In heaven, His joy and blessings will cause you to sing His praises forever.
Jesus is the fulfillment of Psalm 41. “Psalm 41 looks forward to the coming King from David’s line . . . Jesus will cause wisdom for the poor, and He Himself is the blessed man who blesses the poor (Luke 6:20). Jesus bruised His heel as He crushed the serpent’s head. Jesus has been raised from the dead and will recompense His enemies. Jesus will prompt all God’s people to say, ‘Blessed be Yahweh God of Israel! From the age and unto the age, amen and amen.’” (James M. Hamilton Jr., Evangelical Bible Theology Commentary Psalms (Vol. I: Psalms 1-72) (Lexham Academic 2021) p. 443).
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