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Psalms 73

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The Psalmist's Initial Struggle 1–3

1
A Psalm of Asaph. Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart. ​
2
But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped. ​
3
For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. ​

The Deceptive Prosperity of the Wicked 4–12

4
For there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm. ​
5
They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men.
6
Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment. ​
7
Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish. ​
8
They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression: they speak loftily.
9
They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth. ​
10
Therefore his people return hither: and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them. ​
11
And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High? ​
12
Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches.

Doubt and Despair 13–15

13
Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency. ​
14
For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning. ​
15
If I say, I will speak thus; behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children. ​

The Turning Point in the Sanctuary 16–22

16
When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me;
17
Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. ​
18
Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. ​
19
How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors.
20
As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image. ​
21
Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins.
22
So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee. ​

Assurance and Eternal Hope 23–28

23
Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand. ​
24
Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. ​
25
Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. ​
26
My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. ​
27
For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. ​
28
But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Psalms 73

Verse 1

Truly God is good to Israel — The title names Asaph (H623); the psalm opens with the conclusion it reaches by v.28. 'Clean' is bar, pure; the clean heart is the one Christ blesses: 'Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God' (Matt 5:8).

Verse 2

my feet were almost gone — 'Gone' is natah, to stretch or turn aside; 'slipped' is shaphak, literally poured out. Both describe a foot sliding from the path. The answer to such a slip is in Ps 94:18: 'When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O LORD, held me up.'

Verse 3

I was envious at the foolish — Qana, to be jealous or envious; the same temptation is forbidden in 'Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious' (Ps 37:1) and in Prov 23:17. 'Foolish' is halal, the boaster; 'prosperity' is shalom, peace or ease.

Verse 4

no bands in their death — Chartsubbah is a fetter or pang, so the wicked die without pain, and 'their strength is firm' (bari, fat and sound). Compare Job 21:23, 'One dieth in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet.' Their end is judged from the sanctuary in v.17.

Verse 6

pride compasseth them about as a chain — Anaq is to put a collar on the neck; pride is their necklace, as 'a chain on thy neck' is an ornament in Ezek 16:11. 'Violence' (chamas) covers them as a garment (shith, attire), so that violence clothes them.

Verse 7

Their eyes stand out with fatness — Cheleb is fat, the richest part. The figure is of a face swollen with abundance: 'They are inclosed in their own fat' (Ps 17:10). 'More than heart could wish' is literally they pass beyond the imaginings (maskith) of the heart.

Verse 9

They set their mouth against the heavens — The mouth is set (shathath) against heaven, while the tongue 'walketh' (halak) over the earth. Pharaoh's 'Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice' (Ex 5:2) is the pattern; v.11 gives their words.

Verse 10

his people return hither — A hard verse. 'His people' may be the wicked man's followers, who 'return' (shub) to him, and 'waters of a full cup are wrung out' (matsah, to drain) to them. Contrast the cup in the LORD's hand (Ps 75:8).

Verse 11

How doth God know? — The same speech is in Job 22:13, 'How doth God know? can he judge through the dark cloud?' and Ps 94:7, 'The LORD shall not see'. 'God' is El; 'the most High' is Elyon. Yet 'he knoweth the secrets of the heart' (Ps 44:21).

Verse 13

I have cleansed my heart in vain — Zakah, to make clean; 'in vain' is riq, emptily. 'Washed my hands in innocency' recalls the worshipper's vow, 'I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar, O LORD' (Ps 26:6), here turned into a charge of wasted effort.

Verse 14

plagued, and chastened every morning — 'Plagued' is naga, to be touched or struck; 'chastened' is tokechah, rebuke or correction. The LORD's reproof is called a blessing in Ps 94:12: 'Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD'; cf. Heb 12:5.

Verse 15

the generation of thy children — 'Offend' is bagad, to deal treacherously, so speaking thus would betray 'the generation' (dor) of God's sons. Christ gives a like warning against offending 'one of these little ones which believe in me' (Matt 18:6).

Verse 17

the sanctuary of God — Miqdash, the holy place. There 'their end' (acharith, the latter end) is understood: 'the end of the wicked shall be cut off' (Ps 37:38), while 'the end of that man is peace' (Ps 37:37). Compare Ps 77:13, 'Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary.'

Verse 18

slippery places — Chelqoth, smooth places; the footing that nearly failed Asaph in v.2 now belongs to them. The same figure is in Ps 35:6, 'Let their way be dark and slippery', and Jer 23:12. 'Destruction' is mashsha'ah, ruin.

Verse 20

when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image — The dream vanishes on waking: 'He shall fly away as a dream' (Job 20:8). The LORD is said to awake in Ps 78:65 and Ps 7:6. 'Image' is tselem, a phantom or shadow; 'despise' is bazah.

Verse 22

I was as a beast before thee — 'Foolish' is baar, brutish, and 'beast' is behemah, the dumb animal. The same word for brutish is in Ps 92:6, 'A brutish man knoweth not', and Prov 30:2, 'Surely I am more brutish than any man'. The ignorance was before God.

Verse 23

thou hast holden me by my right hand — Achaz, to seize and hold. 'Nevertheless' turns from v.22 to what God has done: the grasp is his, not Asaph's own. Compare 'I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not' (Isa 41:13) and 'thy right hand upholdeth me' (Ps 63:8).

Verse 24

afterward receive me to glory — 'Receive' is laqach, to take, the verb of 'he shall receive me' (Ps 49:15) and of Enoch, 'God took him' (Gen 5:24). 'Counsel' (etsah) is his guidance now; 'afterward' (achar) looks past death; 'glory' is kabod.

Verse 25

Whom have I in heaven but thee? — The only desire (chaphets) left is God himself; heaven and earth together cover everything. Paul speaks alike: 'I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord' (Phil 3:8).

Verse 26

God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever — 'Strength' is tsur, rock; 'portion' is cheleq, an allotted share. The LORD said to Aaron, 'I am thy part and thine inheritance' (Num 18:20); 'The LORD is my portion' is repeated in Lam 3:24.

Verse 27

go a whoring from thee — Zanah, to commit harlotry; the figure for Israel's turning to other gods (Ex 34:15; Ps 106:39). The 'far' (rachaq) are set against the one who draws near (v.28). James says friendship with the world is enmity with God (Jas 4:4).

Verse 28

it is good for me to draw near to God — Qirbah is nearness; the 'good' (tov) of v.1 is now personal. 'Trust' is machaseh, a refuge. James echoes the line: 'Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you' (Jas 4:8). 'Declare' is saphar, to recount.