Psalms 41 (ASV)

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Chapter Text

41:1 Blessed is he that considereth the poor: Jehovah will deliver him in the day of evil.

41:2 Jehovah will preserve him, and keep him alive, And he shall be blessed upon the earth; And deliver not thou him unto the will of his enemies.

41:3 Jehovah will support him upon the couch of languishing: Thou makest all his bed in his sickness.

41:4 I said, O Jehovah, have mercy upon me: Heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee.

41:5 Mine enemies speak evil against me, [saying], When will he die, and his name perish?

41:6 And if he come to see [me], he speaketh falsehood; His heart gathereth iniquity to itself: When he goeth abroad, he telleth it.

41:7 All that hate me whisper together against me; Against me do they devise my hurt.

41:8 An evil disease, [say they], cleaveth fast unto him; And now that he lieth he shall rise up no more.

41:9 Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, Who did eat of my bread, Hath lifted up his heel against me.

41:10 But thou, O Jehovah, have mercy upon me, and raise me up, That I may requite them.

41:11 By this I know that thou delightest in me, Because mine enemy doth not triumph over me.

41:12 And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, And settest me before thy face for ever.

41:13 Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, From everlasting and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen. Book II Psalm 42 For the Chief Musician. Maschil of the sons of Korah.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "light", "mercy", "blessed", "considereth", "poor", "jehovah", "deliver", and "evil". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "light" and "mercy", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The local ASV text gives this verse as the immediate unit, so "light" and "mercy" carries the first interpretive weight. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "light" and "mercy" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.