For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David.
1Blessed is he who considers the poor.
Yahweh will deliver him in the day of evil.
2Yahweh will preserve him, and keep him alive.
He shall be blessed on the earth,
and he will not surrender him to the will of his enemies.
3Yahweh will sustain him on his sickbed,
and restore him from his bed of illness.
4I said, “Yahweh, have mercy on me!
Heal me, for I have sinned against you.”
5My enemies speak evil against me:
“When will he die, and his name perish?”
6If he comes to see me, he speaks falsehood.
His heart gathers iniquity to itself.
When he goes abroad, he tells it.
7All who hate me whisper together against me.
They imagine the worst for me.
8“An evil disease”, they say, “has afflicted him.
Now that he lies he shall rise up no more.”
9Yes, my own familiar friend, in whom I trusted,
who ate bread with me,
has lifted up his heel against me.
10But you, Yahweh, have mercy on me, and raise me up,
that I may repay them.
11By this I know that you delight in me,
because my enemy doesn’t triumph over me.
12As for me, you uphold me in my integrity,
and set me in your presence forever.
13Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel,
from everlasting and to everlasting!
Amen and amen.
Jacob was the son of Isaac and Rebekah, born immediately after Esau, and Abraham was his grandfather. He achieved the right of the firstborn by trickery, in offering his older brother, Esau, food in exchange for the birthright, who cared little for this position. He also received the blessing of firstborn from his father Jacob before his death by cunning, and with the assistance of his mother Rebekah.
After his deception of Esau, receiving the blessing from his father, Jacob escaped to his uncle Laban, who in turn deceived Jacob into working for fourteen years for the marriage of Jacob to Leah, and then his beloved Rachel. Laban also sought to deceive Jacob of wages, but God intervened to ensure he would prosper. In a time of trial, when he feared the wrath of Esau, upon returning to the land of Canaan, Jacob had an encounter with God, and his name was changed to Israel, the one who wrestles with God. Even though his early life was characterized by deception, God worked through the situation to ensure that Jacob would be the one in the line of the patriarchs, to create a great nation and ultimately fulfill His purposes in the earth, especially through the future Messiah. The Messiah would guarantee the promise of the land to Abram and a person who would rule over Abraham's descendants, but also He would bring blessings to all the people of the earth (Gen 12:1-3).
In spite of Jacob's early failure by deception, God worked through him, and finally, Jacob became a different type of man after his struggle with God. As one has said,
"Despite Jacob’s faults, God chose him to be the leader of a great nation that still bears his name today. But for this, it is unlikely that we would know much about Jacob, who appears to be in the middle of events while the key players are those around him. There is no great wisdom or bravery in Jacob to speak of, and we are tempted to see him as little more than God’s passive instrument. If we are tempted to think that, because we aren’t in the spotlight performing great acts for God, we are unimportant to Him, then we should consider the life of Jacob and know that, in spite of our failings, God can and will still use us in His plan."
For more on Jacob, see "Who was Jacob in the Bible?", https://www.gotquestions.org/life-Jacob.html