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Blessed is he who considers the poor;
The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.
2 The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive,
And he will be blessed on the earth;
You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.
3 The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness;
You will sustain him on his sickbed.
4 I said, “Lord, be merciful to me;
Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”
5 My enemies speak evil of me:
“When will he die, and his name perish?”
6 And if he comes to see me, he speaks lies;
His heart gathers iniquity to itself;
When he goes out, he tells it.
7 All who hate me whisper together against me;
Against me they devise my hurt.
8 “An evil disease,” they say, “clings to him.
And now that he lies down, he will rise up no more.”
9 Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted,
Who ate my bread,
Has lifted up his heel against me.
10 But You, O Lord, be merciful to me, and raise me up,
That I may repay them.
11 By this I know that You are well pleased with me,
Because my enemy does not triumph over me.
12 As for me, You uphold me in my integrity,
And set me before Your face forever.
13 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
From everlasting to everlasting!
Amen and Amen.
By Mike Chaffin
Blessed are those who consider the poor. While reading this poem of David I was immediately reminded of Jesus teaching the Beatitudes during the Sermon on the Mount.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3-10
What does it mean to consider the poor? In this Psalm it means to show mercy and kindness. I recently read a quote that said, “we don’t have to agree with someone on anything to show kindness to them.” As a Christian we are marked by our love. The lost of this world sees our Christian love in the form of kindness and mercy. John and James both wrote that if we won’t love a person in need, we don’t love Christ.
We can disagree with people. In fact, the Bible instructs us to disagree with people who reject Christ. We are to love them though and continue to show kindness. We can disagree with people who are oppose the Christian message and still show kindness. However, we must disagree with false teachers and false religions. We aren’t to support them, participate or help them spread their false message in any way. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t be kind to them.
The fifth beatitude is a blessing on the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. In David’s psalm after confirming the blessings of taking care of the poor he asks for God’s mercy and forgiveness. God grants us mercy when he forgives us. As Jesus pointed out in the parable of the goats and sheep, those who practice mercy know Jesus, those who do not aren’t obeying the commandment to love one another. A serious offense that leads us away from Christ.
He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. Titus 3:5
