“My enemies say of me in malice, “When will he die, and his name perish?” And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words, while his heart gathers iniquity; when he goes out, he tells it abroad. All who hate me whisper together about me; they imagine the worst for me. They say, “A deadly thing is poured out on him; he will not rise again from where he lies.” Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.” -Psalm 41:5–9
Little can be said to add to or clarify the weight of the clearly articulated malice that has been leveled against the Psalmist.
“When will he die?” is the mantra of his visitors. Of course, they flatter him with their lips while in his presence but their hearts are far from desiring his good. As soon as they go out, his chastisement is the talk of the town. Adding insult to injury, not only have his enemies hoped for his demise, but his closest friends—those with whom he supped—have turned against him.
The idiom “lifted his heel against me” speaks to the horse or donkey that kicks his master, the one who tends to and feeds it. A similar maxim is used in Acts 9 when Jesus tells Paul, “it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.” Pricks, or goads, were sharpened sticks mounted behind the animal pulling a cart or carriage to keep it from raising its heel against the driver.
One important takeaway here is to think of this passage in light of verse one: “Blessed is the one who considers the poor!” It would further be enlightening to think of this in light of its deeper Christological revelation. Is not this what they said—and continue to say—of Christ? He was chastened to death for our sins; and like Judas, who ate bread with Jesus then lifted his heel against him, how often do we too often draw nigh to Jesus with our lips when our hearts are far from him (Matthew 15:8 Cf. James 4:8)?
Thankfully, Jesus died for this sin too.