Chapter Forty

This psalm was written during the persecutions from Absalom, to which is indicated by David’s confession of his sinfulness before God (Ps 40:5) and especially the indication of the betrayal by a man close to him (Ps 40:10), who must be understood as Ahithophel.

May the Lord strengthen him who remembers and cares for the poor and the wretched (2-4). Abandoned during my illness I prayed to the Lord for mercy. My enemies greatly rejoiced over me; even my friend abandoned me (5-10). Heal me, Lord, do not let my enemies triumph over me, establish me before You forever (11-13).

Psalm 40:2. Blessed is he who considers the poor and needy! The Lord will deliver him in the day of trouble. Psalm 40:3. The Lord will protect him and keep him alive; he will be blessed on the earth. And You will not hand him over to the will of his enemies. Psalm 40:4. The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness. You will change his entire bed in his illness. These verses depict the condition of David even before his flight from Jerusalem, at a time when he was physically ill and when friends were gradually abandoning him, and the uprising of Absalom that was being prepared was growing. Then he himself experienced how difficult the position of a lonely sufferer is, how precious to him is sympathy from other people and how high is the virtue of compassion. Therefore David prays to God to send “blessedness”—a reward to those who sympathize with and help every sick and needy person. “May the Lord deliver them,” prays David, “from misfortunes, from enemies and make their life happy, help them in illnesses by sending them recovery (“You will change his entire bed in his illness”—You will turn the bed of illness into a bed of health).”

Psalm 40:5. I said: Lord! Have mercy on me, heal my soul, for I have sinned before You. After praying for others David turns to prayer for himself: he asks God to “heal his soul,” to forgive his sin (with Bathsheba) and to save him from his enemies.

Psalm 40:6. My enemies speak evil of me: “When will he die and his name perish? Psalm 40:7. And if anyone comes to see me, he speaks lies; his heart gathers unrighteousness, and when he goes out, he speaks about it. Psalm 40:8. All those hating me whisper together against me; they devise evil against me: Psalm 40:9. “A word of ruin has come upon him; he has lain down; he shall not rise again. Psalm 40:10. Even the man at peace with me, on whom I relied, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me. The enemies are waiting impatiently for his complete ruin. They visited David hypocritically during his illness, came in order to make sure of his weakness, and when they left him, they discussed what they had seen, scheming evil against David. They saw in David’s illness a curse from God (“a word of ruin has come upon him”), and therefore thought that the illness (which they believed to be incurable) should lead to his death. A cruel illness, incurable, was being endured by him. David can now only hope in God: even the man who was obligated to support him, the one close to him (“a man at peace with me”), upon whom David relied and who shared his table (the highest signs of closeness), strengthened the heaviness of his position (“lifted his heel against me”) through his betrayal. It is known from the historical books what trust David had in Ahithophel and what impression his betrayal made on him. By his deed Ahithophel foreshadowed Judas, a close disciple of the Savior, to whom He entrusted care for the material provision of Himself and His disciples, and who, although he enjoyed signs of love from his Teacher, especially at the Last Supper, nevertheless betrayed Him to His enemies (John 13:18).

Psalm 40:11. But You, Lord, have mercy on me and raise me up, and I will repay them. Psalm 40:12. From this I will know that You favor me, if my enemy does not triumph over me, Psalm 40:13. And You will preserve me in my wholeness and set me before Your face forever. David prays to God for forgiveness of his sin, for healing from illness and for the punishment of his enemies. In this deserved punishment of his enemies David will see a sign of God’s favor toward him and forgiveness of his sin (the past tense of verbs stands instead of the future). “And You will preserve me in my wholeness and set me before Your face forever”—that is, I will serve You eternally, throughout all the duration of my earthly life, or in the sense—this Your favor will serve as a pledge to me that beyond the grave I will stand before You, live near You.

Psalm 40:14. Blessed is the Lord, God of Israel, from ages past and to ages to come! Amen, amen! It represents a liturgical addition. The word “so be it, so be it” (Slavonic) (“amen, amen”) concludes the first collection of David’s psalms.