THE BLESSED MAN Between psalm 1 and psalm 41: The first division of the book of psalms, for the Jews, includes psalms 1 to 41. And the two psalms 1 and 41 partake of the following features: 1- Both start by the word “Blessed” (asher in Hebrew); The first proclaims bless for him who “meditates in the law of the Lord day and night”, to practice His commandment practically in his daily life; While psalm 41 blesses him who “considers the poor”. … The first proclaims the living love of the believer for the commandment of God; and the last one proclaims his living love for the poor, being a brother of Christ, the Object of God’s care and love. 2- The two psalms are prophetic, talking about the oppression of the wicked of the Lord Christ, His passion, and His victory. The Lord Christ referred to psalm 41, as being a prophecy about the betrayal of Judas (John 13: 18); So did St. Peter (Acts 1: 16). The title: To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. And according to the Syrian version: A psalm of David, when he designated overseers to care for the poor. And according to the Arabic version: A prophecy about the incarnation, and about the greeting (kiss) of Judas. This psalm was probably written during the rebellion of Absalom. The general frame: 1- Concerning the poor 1 -- 3 2- The rejected poor 4 -- 9 3- The conquest of His resurrection 10 – 13 https://coptic-treasures.com/ 1- CONCERNING THE POOR: (1 – 3) If the first part of the psalm is greatly didactic, yet it also suits the didactic aspect of the temple’s liturgy; particularly that its last verses (11 – 13) represent a thanksgiving to God in the temple; hence this psalm is both didactic and liturgical; as well as a personal lamentation. “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 in the earth; You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies” (1, 2) Now, who is that poor, whom we are committed to care for? 1- It is obvious that the word ‘poor’ means (the weak), or (the helpless). God, in His riches, longs to pour His gifts on mankind, not just the material gifts, but His self-giving, to let them, being His children, enjoy His divine bosom. This free gift is a divine grace given by the Holy Spirit of God; yet, on condition of our own desire to give; in order for the mutual love between God and His children to be realized. Our giving is consummated practically in His poor brethren; for He says: “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25: 40). + How great is the rank of the poor, to be considered as brethren of the Lord. The poor may stretch his hand begging; but it is the Lord who receives your gift. + You may be informed that I am clothed in light as a garment; Yet, when you clothe a naked poor, I, personally feel clothed and warm. You may believe that I am sitting at the right hand of My Father in heaven; Yet, if you go to visit someone in prison, you will find me there. https://coptic-treasures.com/ + When you see a poor man, remember that, although apparently he is not Christ; yet, it is He who seeks your gift, and who takes it in the person of the poor. + If the Lord Christ, Your Creator, is not ashamed to stretch His hand and to receive the gift given to the poor, … We should rather not feel disgusted to serve the poor and to give them comfort; For by serving them, our hands are sanctified; and when we lift them up in prayer, God will see them blessed, have compassion on us, and give us our request. (St. John Chrysostom) 2- The “poor” here is, as well, the poor in faith, and in the knowledge of God and His love; who is in need of the Word of God. As according to the apostle Paul: “as poor, yet making many rich” (2 Corinthians 6: 10); meaning that we may be poor in money, yet we are rich in the Lord Christ, by Whom we make many rich. By the true love, together with work and continuous prayer, we lift many up from the poverty of faith, knowledge, love, and obedience to the divine commandment. … “Blessed is he who considers the poor”. 3- The poor whom we are committed to consider, is the Lord Christ, who, being Rich, He, for our sake, made Himself poor; and, being the Creator of all, He made Himself helpless; He asked the Samaritan woman to give him to drink (John 4: 7) …. He longs for the hearts of His children, to cover them with the fountains of His love, from which He also drink. Let us consider our Christ who, for our sake, became a servant and poor. Let us consider Him, who, in His passion and His crucifixion, cries out, “I thirst!” (John 19: 28). https://coptic-treasures.com/ When His disciples offered Him food, He said to them: “I have food to eat, of which you do not know” (John 4: 32). What is that food, but our union with Him, receiving His passion and His crucifixion, to enjoy the power and glory of His resurrection. + “Consider the poor and the weak”, namely, consider Christ. Understand in Him the hidden riches; The poor whom you see is Him, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2: 3). Consider as well the needy, the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the sick, and the prisoner; for if you consider those, you would be able to understand Him who says: “I was hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick, and a prisoner…”: (Matthew 25: 35, 36) (St. Augustine) By caring for the poor, whether for material or for spiritual things, we would be caring for Him who became poor for our sake, and would unite with Him, who came down to earth for our sake. The fruits of such practical care and understanding will be: 1- “The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble”.(1) Lifting our sight up to the Lord Christ, by the work of His Holy Spirit, will lift us up high, to pass safely over trouble. . What is trouble but falling into temptation or being surrounded by sin? No salvation from evil temptations except by considering the Savior, who became poor because of our sins. Seeing Him on the cross, covered with wounds of love for our sake, grace will destroy the work of sin in our members; will save our body together with our soul, and, as believers, we will enjoy the life of glorious fellowship. https://coptic-treasures.com/ Our care for the poor, the needy, the humiliated, and the prisoners, with the spirit of true love, and the wisdom of spirit; would prepare our soul for the work of the free grace inside us. For, loving God in our suffering brethren, He will listen to the hidden sighs of our hearts, and will defend us against every sin. Our love for others, and our compassion on them, is nothing but love for ourselves, and an enjoyment of God’s love and compassion in our depths. * “Give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you” (Luke 11: 41) * “Break off your sins by being righteous, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor” (Daniel 4: 27) * “In mercy and truth, atonement is provided for iniquity” (Proverb 16: 6) * “For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy” (James 2: 13) * “As water extinguishes a blazing fire, so almsgiving atones for sin” (Sirach 3: 30). * “Store up almsgiving in your treasury, and it will rescue you from every disaster” (Sirach 29: 12) * “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5: 7) + If you have mercy on the widow, your sins will be forgiven; for it is written: “Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow; Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord, Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1: 17, 18). (St. John Chrysostom) + In baptism, the forgiveness of sins is granted once for everyone; but the unceasing continuous work – following the example of baptism – will again grant God’s mercy … The divine Teacher exhorts us to be merciful (Luke 11: 40, 41). And, searching for the salvation of those upon whom He has given such a great https://coptic-treasures.com/ sacrifice, He referred, as well, to that, those who, after having baptism, commit sin, could be purified anew. Beloved brethren, the divine counsels, in the Holy Book with its old and new testaments, exhort the people of God perpetually, and everywhere, to do works of mercy … + For he who gives no mercy would not be worthy of God’s mercy, nor would get any portion of the divine compassion by his prayers. (Cyprian the martyr) We can also understand “the trouble” (1), as being periods of tribulations or sufferings, allowed by God to dwell upon His children to chasten or to justify them… For although He allows for them, Yet His eyes will stay looking down on us with compassion, as long as we so look upon the poor. + He who loves the poor will be, as though, has an intercessor in the house of the ruler…. He who opens up his door before the needy, will, as though, holds in his hand the key of God’ door! … And he who lends those who ask him, will be rewarded by the Lord of all. (St. John El-Tabaiisy) 2- “The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive” (2) Promising His people that, “With the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you” (Matthew 7: 2): He also promises him who considers the poor in simple temporal issues, to be preserved against any evil, until He is brought forth to the life of the age to come; …. By https://coptic-treasures.com/ providing the temporal, man would enjoy the heavenlies, and the earthly blessings as well. + If we have mercy upon the others, we shall be greatly rewarded; For the Lord Christ promised us “a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, to be put in our bosom” Luke 6: 38).. (St. Cyril the Great) + If, for the sake of a cup of cool water, given to a guest, we may get the kingdom of heaven, how much more of goods we would get, if we call him to enjoy our riches; and invited him to our table! + If we have compassion on a blind man, we would be given sight, and would be led to the kingdom of heaven; For he who trample here in pits, would eventually become your guide, who takes you up to heaven. (St. John Chrysostom) 3- “And he will be blessed on the earth” (2) For him, the earth will turn into heaven. He who loves the poor will enjoy the new land, the land of the living, the church life, where his heart would be filled with joy and gladness … He would enjoy the work of the Lord Christ dwelling in him; who sets His kingdom in him, as a kingdom of praise, exultation, and thanksgiving on the riches of the free grace of God. Actually, many of those who started, in Jesus Christ, to practice giving by true love, have felt an amazing inner joy, the cause for which they have no obvious knowledge; … It is the gift of the Spirit to them! https://coptic-treasures.com/ 4- “He will not deliver him to the will of his enemies” (2) The enemy is the devil; No one should think of any man to be his enemy! 5- “The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness; You will sustain him on his sickbed” (3) Giving alms would help the living believer to enjoy spiritual and physical healing; not as a pay-back of his own work, but because the merciful God grants His free grace to him, who proclaim receiving it through offering love and mercy to others (Mathew 5: 7). According to St. Augustine, “the bed” here, refers to the spiritual weakness; for the soul, troubled by sin, finds pleasure in the pleasures of the body, as though on a comfortable bed; yet it is a bed of illness; And the Lord, in His compassion demands https://coptic-treasures.com/ from him to “arise and take up his bed, and go his way to his house” (Mark 2: 11). … In other words, He grants the soul the strength of resurrection, not to be borne by the body to vain pleasures; but, by the spirit, she would bear the body in holiness and purity, to set forth to the heavenly home, and to find her comfort in the bosom of God the Father. … It is as though, giving alms would give us the chance to enjoy the free work of God; in which we arise from the bed of our body, and set forth with perfect freedom, like with the wings of a dove toward the heavenlies.. The following are the blessings of giving alms, or let us say of the practical love: God will deliver us in time of trouble; namely, in the day of judgment, turning it into a joyful day of the Lord, a day of everlasting wedding. The Lord will preserve us from tribulations, and grant us the new life in Him; The Lord will turn our earth into a joyful heaven; The Lord will lift us up from the bed of temporal pleasures, to set forth, by His Holy Spirit, to the true comfort in the heavenlies; By it, we would be liberated from the evil enemy, the devil, and all his works, to enjoy the fatherhood of God working in us; and to have a place in His divine bosoms. 1- THE REJECTED POOR: (4 – 9) “I said,’ Lord, be merciful to me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against You’” (4) This prayer is extremely eloquent in the Hebrew language. For, what could man do more than to confess his sins, honestly and faithfully?! How could this prayer be connected to his previous talk about considering the poor? It so seems that the psalmist has fallen under divine chastisement; for he connects his tribulation to his iniquity; and anticipates that, for the sake of considering the poor, God https://coptic-treasures.com/ will consider him as being, himself, poor; … yet not without a confession of his sins. Here, showing that what man gets as fruits of giving gifts with love, is not for the sake of his self-righteousness, but out of God’s free mercies; when the psalmist confesses his sin, seeking mercy and healing. It is as though the psalmist says: If I have considered my poor brethren, it would not be a favor on my part; for You consider me, a poor man, wounded with sins, and in need of You as a Physician of the soul and the body. + God will heal you, only if you proclaim your wound; if you deliver yourself under the hands of the physician, fervently seek his help; whether he cleanses, burns, or cuts; and endure in submission, to get healed. You will be healed if you present yourself to the hysician; not that he would not recognize your illness, even if you attempt to hide it; but because revealing it would be the beginning of the way to restore your health. (Father Caesarius, bishop of Arle) The psalmist used to start his confession by accusing himself; before complaining against the evil enemy oppressing him. He does not start by justifying himself, nor casting the blame on others; but seeks help from the physician to heal him first, then to protect him from what would dwell upon him from outside; saying: “My enemies speak evil of me: ‘When will he die, and his name perish? (5) The evil enemy wishes to wipe the children of God out; thinks that this would actually be realized; forgetting that “a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again” (Proverb 24: 16). https://coptic-treasures.com/ According to some, this is the voice of the Lord Christ, falsely accused by His enemies, who plotted to kill Him, and bring His name to perdition. … Yet, He will continue to utter his voice in His church that suffers for His sake, whose name, the world intends to wipe out, together with the name of her Christ. The book of Acts tells us about St. Peter and St. John: “They called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus” (Acts 4: 18). + That is about the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ; Yet, would it not be understood concerning His members?! As our Lord walked with this body on earth; and they saw the people follow him, they said:: “When will He die, and His name be no more?” Namely, If we kill Him, His name will be completely wiped out from earth; He will deceive people no more. Getting people to understand that He was only human, and no salvation would come through Him, men would forget all about Him, and His name would be mentioned no more. …. But it so happened that, although He died, yet His name did not perish, but became like a seed of wheat, that through its death, it produced more wheat. Christ died, and His name did not perish; the martyrs died, and the church grew, and the name of Christ grew among the nations. Vain was their view against Him; It was better for them to believe in Him, “to consider the poor and needy”; He who though rich, became poor for their sake, to become rich by His poverty. https://coptic-treasures.com/ ‘Ahitophel’, who plotted to have David killed, and to bring his name to perdition; became a symbol of the devil who stirred up many against the Son of David, to get rid of Him by the cross Then, the words of David came to be uttered in a more perfect way in the Person of the Lord Christ; saying: “And if he comes to see me, he speaks vain words; his heart gathers iniquity to itself; When he goes out, he tells it. All who hate me whisper together against me; Against me they devise my hurt. ‘An evil disease’, they say, ‘clings to him; and now that he lies down, he will rise up no more’” (6 – 8) This prophecy was realized in the Person of the Lord Christ, when the high priests, the priests, the scribes, the Pharisees, Pilate, and Herod, gathered together against Him, whispered among themselves, namely, had counsel in secret, and condemned Him against the law; with the assumption that when he dies and buried, He will rise no more. All those who attended His trial, His scourging, and His crucifixion, spoke vain words against Him; and, bearing iniquity in their hearts, they assumed that what He goes through is a sign of God’s displeasure with Him. Hence, when they go out, they uttered blasphemies against Him. https://coptic-treasures.com/ He who enters by his ‘self’ into the events of salvation, enters and goes out to utter blasphemies of iniquity; Whereas he who enters into it by grace, “will go out and find pasture” (John 10: 9); will find in it a flood of love, satisfying to the soul. As, according to the apostle Paul: “To the one, the aroma of death to death; and to the other the aroma of life to life” (2 Corinthians 2: 16). After taking about the enemies who crucified Christ, he talks particularly about ‘Judas’, the betraying disciple who delivered Him; saying: “Even My own (bosom) friend in whom I trusted, who ate My bread, has lifted up his head against Me” (9) + Who is His (bosom) friend? It was Judas … who betrayed Him by a false kiss (John 6: 70). (St. Augustine) 2- THE CONQUEST OF THE LORD’S RESURRECTION: (10 -- 13) “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” (10, 11) They assumed that He died, was buried, to rise no more. But, having died for our sake and in our name, He is risen as well in our name, to cry out, saying: “Be merciful to me, and raise Me up”. Although “He has the power to lay his life down, and the power to take it again” (John 10: 18); as He Himself proclaimed ; Yet, being our representative; in obedience, He died, and in obedience, He rose, for us to become in Him children of obedience, and the object of pleasure to God the Father … His resurrection proclaimed our justification in Him, to say: “By this we know that You are well pleased with us” (11). … We became the object of pleasure to the Father, after having been the object of https://coptic-treasures.com/ pleasure of the enemy, who reigned over our hearts and our life, and who used us to the account of the kingdom of darkness He says: “Raise me up, that I may repay them” (10). By His own will He delivered Himself to death; then He is risen proclaiming the conquest of life, to condemn sin and death … and He will come again to judge the sinners. According to St. Athanasius: [Death, being mere lying down, … I shall rise again]. By the power of resurrection we learned the spirit of victory and conquest, not by violence nor by boasting, but by meekness, granted to us by Christ Jesus, by whom we come to be the object of His pleasure and acceptance, to be abide before Him forever.: “As for me, You uphold me in my integrity; and set me before Your face forever” (12) The psalm ends by a collective liturgical doxology; As what He gets of blessings will bring joy to the whole church. . “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting, Amen, Amen” (13) According to some, this doxology is the end of the first division of the book of psalms (Psalm 1 to 41), where the believer praises God of the catholic church (the new Israel), as a deposit of the life of heavenly praise, in the higher Jerusalem. ---------------------- AN INSPIRATION FROM PSALM 41 GLORY BE TO YOU, O CRUCIFIED LOVER OF MANKIND https://coptic-treasures.com/ + Grant me, O Lord, to behold You in every poor; O who became poor for my sake, to flood me with Your riches. + How amazing You are in Your love! You long to grant me fellowship of Your heaven, the practical love in particular; I show compassion on the poor, to experience Your compassion on me, the poor. + The enemy intended to bring Your name to perdition by the cross; You engraved my name on Your wounded palm; And granted me the power of Your resurrection + The wicked oppressed You and Killed You by the cross; And You made me the object of the Father’s pleasure;
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