Faith and Unbelief in View of the Cross

1. Faith in Him and the Results (Psalm 41:1-3)

2. Unbelief and its hatred (Psalm 41:4-9)

3. The vindication of the Christ of the cross (Psalm 41:10-13)

The poor one (literally: the miserable, exhausted one) is the Lord Jesus suffering on the cross. Blessed are they who understand as to Him, who consider Him, for it means deliverance, salvation, preservation, victory and happiness. But unbelief mocks and sneers at Him. They speak against Him, make evil devices against Him, the sin-bearer, that an evil disease (literally: a thing of Belial) is upon Him and that He shall rise no more. All this points back to the cross and is still true of the unbeliever who rejects the cross. Verse 9 refers to Judas who betrayed Him. See John 13:18 and notice when our Lord quotes from this Psalm He omits the words “whom I trusted,” for the Omniscient One knew Judas, and did not trust him. And He, the Poor and Needy One, the Miserable One, the Forsaken One, had His prayer answered; He is the Risen One (Psalm 41:10); in God’s own presence, before His face (Psalm 41:12). The first book of the Psalms ends with praise, prophetic of the praise which is yet to fill all the earth. Amen and Amen.