Saturday, February 11, 2017

BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO ARE KIND TO THE POOR AND THE WEAK

Proclamation:
“Blessed are those who have regard for the weak; The Lord delivers them in times of trouble.  The Lord protects and preserves them, they are counted among the blessed in the land … The Lord sustains them on their sickbed and restores them from their bed of illness.”  Psalm 41:1-3 (NIV)

Explanation:
The words of this psalm were written by King David under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  Most of The Bible scholars think that David was making predictive references to Jesus, The Christ, in this psalm.  The reference to Judas Iscariot, one He trusted and shared bread with that turned against Him, (Psalm 41:9) is considered a prophecy. (John 13:18)  However, literally David’s friend and counsellor Ahithophel turned on him and counselled Absalom against him. (2 Samuel 16:21)  Additionally, the original Biblical Hebrew word which has been translated to mean weak or poor was written in the singular form.  This is also thought to be a reference to Jesus, The Christ.  Jesus, though He was rich, became poor for our sakes. (2 Corinthians 8:9)  Blessed is the man who has compassion for, and helps the poor and the weak, for he that is kind to the poor lends to The Lord and He will repay or reward him for doing so. (Proverbs 19:17)  Jesus said as you have done it to the least of these people, you have done it to Me. (Matthew 25:35-40)  The Lord protects and preserves the poor and weak believers, He is a refuge for them in times of trouble. (Psalm 9:9)

Application:
We are blessed in order to be a blessing to others.  Those of us who have compassion for the less fortunate, the poor, the weak, the hungry, and the sick, will be blessed.  Giving to the poor and the hungry, helping the weak, and visiting the sick demonstrates Christ-like behavior and our love for our fellow man.  The Lord God protects and provides for them.  If we allow The Holy Spirit of God to use us to be a blessing to them, then we ourselves will be blessed. (Proverbs 11:25)


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