Psalm 73

Surely God is good to Israel,
    to those who are pure in heart.
But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
    I had nearly lost my foothold.
For I envied the arrogant
    when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
They have no struggles;
    their bodies are healthy and strong.
They are free from common human burdens;
    they are not plagued by human ills.
Therefore pride is their necklace;
    they clothe themselves with violence.
From their callous hearts comes iniquity;
    their evil imaginations have no limits.
They scoff, and speak with malice;
    with arrogance they threaten oppression.
Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
    and their tongues take possession of the earth.
Therefore their people turn to them
    and drink up waters in abundance.
They say, “How would God know?
    Does the Most High know anything?”
This is what the wicked are like—
    always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.
Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure
    and have washed my hands in innocence.
All day long I have been afflicted,
    and every morning brings new punishments.
If I had spoken out like that,
    I would have betrayed your children.
When I tried to understand all this,
    it troubled me deeply
till I entered the sanctuary of God;
    then I understood their final destiny.
Surely you place them on slippery ground;
    you cast them down to ruin.
How suddenly are they destroyed,
    completely swept away by terrors!
They are like a dream when one awakes;
    when you arise, Lord,
    you will despise them as fantasies.
When my heart was grieved
    and my spirit embittered,
I was senseless and ignorant;
    I was a brute beast before you.
Yet I am always with you;
    you hold me by my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
    and afterward you will take me into glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
    And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
    but God is the strength of my heart
    and my portion forever.
Those who are far from you will perish;
    you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
But as for me, it is good to be near God.
    I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge;
    I will tell of all your deeds.

• Psalm 73:1-28

Type of Psalm

Didactic psalms: These psalms are psalms that are intended to teach.  In most cases the psalm instructs us in moral principles.

Matthew Henry’s Summary

“This psalm, and the ten that next follow it, carry the name of Asaph in the titles of them. If he was the penman of them (as many think), we rightly call them psalms of Asaph. If he was only the chief musician, to whom they were delivered, our marginal reading is right, which calls them psalms for Asaph. It is probable that he penned them; for we read of the words of David and of Asaph the seer, which were used in praising God in Hezekiah’s time, 2 Chron. 29:30. Though the Spirit of prophecy by sacred songs descended chiefly on David, who is therefore styled ‘the sweet psalmist of Israel,’ yet God put some of that Spirit upon those about him. This is a psalm of great use; it gives us an account of the conflict which the psalmist had with a strong temptation to envy the prosperity of wicked people. He begins his account with a sacred principle, which he held fast, and by the help of which he kept his ground and carried his point, ver. 1. He then tells us, I. How he got into the temptation, ver. 2-14. II. How he got out of the temptation and gained a victory over it, ver. 15-20. III. How he got by the temptation and was the better for it, ver. 21-23. If, in singing this psalm, we fortify ourselves against the life temptation, we do not use it in vain. The experiences of others should be our instructions.”

• Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm 73:4 “The wicked seem to go through life in good health, and then die a painless death.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

My Thoughts

Asaph starts with the classic lament.  The wicked are prospering.  I am not.  Lord, why?

But then he speaks of what this does to the wicked.  They become arrogant.  Arrogance leads to becoming a force unto themselves.  They oppress others, thinking the others to be inferior.

But then, Asaph thinks that he needs to fight fire with fire.  And the light bulb comes on.  If he did so, he would betray his children.  For once you have your riches and an army to protect them, you gain enemies at a tremendous rate.  The wicked tyrant, or his children, become the hunted rather than the hunter.

By following the world’s idea of success, we lose ourselves and we endanger those around us.

Then near the end of this psalm, we see some very often quoted, and memorized passages.  God will be our strength and portion.  And it ends with similar words to what Paul says in Philippians 1:21.  To live is Christ, to die is gain.  It is good to be near God.  We can take refuge in the Sovereign Lord.

But we do not just take refuge there.  We tell others of His great deeds.

Psalm 74

O God, why have you rejected us forever?
    Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?
Remember the nation you purchased long ago,
    the people of your inheritance, whom you redeemed—
    Mount Zion, where you dwelt.
Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins,
    all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary.
Your foes roared in the place where you met with us;
    they set up their standards as signs.
They behaved like men wielding axes
    to cut through a thicket of trees.
They smashed all the carved paneling
    with their axes and hatchets.
They burned your sanctuary to the ground;
    they defiled the dwelling place of your Name.
They said in their hearts, “We will crush them completely!”
    They burned every place where God was worshiped in the land.
We are given no signs from God;
    no prophets are left,
    and none of us knows how long this will be.
How long will the enemy mock you, God?
    Will the foe revile your name forever?
Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?
    Take it from the folds of your garment and destroy them!
But God is my King from long ago;
    he brings salvation on the earth.
It was you who split open the sea by your power;
    you broke the heads of the monster in the waters.
It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan
    and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert.
It was you who opened up springs and streams;
    you dried up the ever-flowing rivers.
The day is yours, and yours also the night;
    you established the sun and moon.
It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth;
    you made both summer and winter.
Remember how the enemy has mocked you, Lord,
    how foolish people have reviled your name.
Do not hand over the life of your dove to wild beasts;
    do not forget the lives of your afflicted people forever.
Have regard for your covenant,
    because haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land.
Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace;
    may the poor and needy praise your name.
Rise up, O God, and defend your cause;
    remember how fools mock you all day long.
Do not ignore the clamor of your adversaries,
    the uproar of your enemies, which rises continually.

• Psalm 74:1-23

Type of Psalm

Psalms of Affliction: Psalms where the psalmist is crying out in pain or distress, asking God where He is in the psalmist’s time of need.  But no matter how dire the circumstances or how long the lament, there seems to always be a word of praise.  Otherwise, why do we go to God in such times, other than to recognize Him as the only one who can help us?

Matthew Henry’s Summary

“This psalm does so particularly describe the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, by Nebuchadnezzar and the army of the Chaldeans, and can so ill be applied to any other event we meet with in the Jewish history, that interpreters incline to think that either it was penned by David, or Asaph in David’s time, with a prophetical reference to that sad event (which yet is not so probable), or that it was penned by another Asaph, who lived at the time of the captivity, or by Jeremiah (for it is of a piece with his Lamentations,) or some other prophet, and, after the return out of captivity, was delivered to the sons of Asaph, who were called by his name, for the public service of the church. That was the most eminent family of the singers in Ezra’s time. See Ezra 2:41; 3:10; Neh. 11:17, 22; 12:35, 46. The deplorable case of the people of God at that time is here spread before the Lord, and left with him. The prophet, in the name of the church I. Puts in complaining pleas of the miseries they suffered, for the quickening of their desires in prayer, ver. 1-11. II. He puts in comfortable pleas for the encouraging of their faith in prayer, ver. 12-17. III. He concludes with divers petitions to God for deliverances, ver. 18-23. In singing it we must be affected with the former desolations of the church, for we are members of the same body, and may apply it to any present distresses or desolations of any part of the Christian church.”

• Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm 74 ” ‘There is no longer any prophet.’ God-sent ministers are as needful to the saints as their daily bread, and it is a great sorrow when a congregation is destitute of a faithful pastor. It is to be feared that with all the ministers now existing, there is yet a dearth of people whose hearts and tongues are touched with the celestial fire. ‘Nor is there any among us who knows how long.’ If someone could foretell an end, the evil might be borne with a degree of patience, but when none can see a termination or foretell an escape, the misery has a hopeless appearance and is overwhelming. Blessed be God: He has not left His church in these days to be so deplorably destitute of cheering words; let us pray that He never may. Contempt of the Word is very common and may well provoke the Lord to withdraw it from us; may His longsuffering endure the strain and His mercy afford us still the word of life.”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, Spurgeon and the Psalms

My Thoughts

This is labeled in the opening as a psalm of Asaph.  Yet, the verb tense and the overall lament seem to be from after the destruction of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar.  If this is the Asaph used to lead worship by David and Solomon, then the prophetic verb tense is wrong.  The details would be extremely striking.  Yet, this could be as Rev. MacArthur and Matthew Henry suggest as another person, maybe of the line of Asaph that is also named Asaph.

The psalm starts with a request to God to remember that He made a promise to the Chosen People.  Then it goes into detail regarding the destruction of the temple.  Part of the lament is that God’s foes are mocking God.

Then there is an interlude.  God is our salvation.

This is followed by several “It was you …” statements.  They are not praising God in general terms, but they praise God for specific things.

But then the psalmist returns to a “remember” statement.  This time remembering that God’s foes are still mocking God.  The psalmist is basically pleading with God to defend His Holy name.

Psalm 75

We praise you, God,
    we praise you, for your Name is near;
    people tell of your wonderful deeds.
You say, “I choose the appointed time;
    it is I who judge with equity.
When the earth and all its people quake,
    it is I who hold its pillars firm.
To the arrogant I say, ‘Boast no more,’
    and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horns.
Do not lift your horns against heaven;
    do not speak so defiantly.’”
No one from the east or the west
    or from the desert can exalt themselves.
It is God who judges:
    He brings one down, he exalts another.
In the hand of the Lord is a cup
    full of foaming wine mixed with spices;
he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth
    drink it down to its very dregs.
As for me, I will declare this forever;
    I will sing praise to the God of Jacob,
who says, “I will cut off the horns of all the wicked,
    but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.”

• Psalm 75:1-10

Type of Psalm

Didactic psalms: These psalms are psalms that are intended to teach.  In most cases the psalm instructs us in moral principles.

Psalms of thanksgiving for God’s mercies to individuals:  Giving God thanks as noted.

Matthew Henry’s Summary

“Though this psalm is attributed to Asaph in the title, yet it does so exactly agree with David’s circumstances, at his coming to the crown after the death of Saul, that most interpreters apply it to that juncture, and suppose that either Asaph penned it, in the person of David, as his poet-laureate (probably the substance of the psalm was some speech which David made to a convention of the states, at his accession to the government, and Asaph turned it into verse, and published it in a poem, for the better spreading of it among the people), or that David penned it, and delivered it to Asaph as precentor of the temple. In this psalm, I. David returns God thanks for bringing him to the throne, ver. 1, 9. II. He promises to lay out himself for the public good, in the use of the power God had given him, ver. 2, 3, 10. III. He checks the insolence of those that opposed his coming to the throne, ver. 4, 5. IV. He fetches a reason for all this from God’s sovereign dominion in the affairs of the children of men, ver. 6-8. In singing this psalm we must give to God the glory of all the revolutions of states and kingdoms, believing that they are all according to his counsel and that he will make them all to work for the good of his church.”

• Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm 75:1 “’You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name’ (Exod. 20:7). For us, ‘God’ is not a general concept with which we designate the highest, most holy, most powerful being imaginable; rather, ‘God’ is a name. When pagans say ‘god,’ it is something quite different from what it is when we, to whom God himself has spoken, say ‘God.’ For us, God is our God, the Lord, the One who lives. ‘God’ is a name, and this name is the most sacred thing we possess, for what we have in it is not something we thought up, but God himself in his whole being, in his revelation. If we can say ‘God,’ it is only because God, in his incomprehensible grace, has made himself known to us. When we say ‘God,’ it is as if we can hear God himself speaking to us, calling us, comforting us, commanding us; we feel him acting for us, creating, judging, renewing. “We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks; your name is near’ (Ps. 75:1 ). ‘The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run into it and are safe’ (Prov. 18:10). The word ‘god’ is nothing. The name ‘God’ is everything.”

• Dietrich Bonhoeffer, I Want to Live These Days with You, devotional compiled from several of his writings

My Thoughts

But God chooses the time.  God is sovereign.  And God will judge.  The wicked may drink spiced wine and enjoy life … for now.

The image in this short psalm is of a horn being lifted.

There is a relationship with the use of a horn as a metaphor being a source of power.  When rams or stags fight each other for dominance in the world of wild animals, they crash their horns together and the strongest horns produce the leader of that group of hooved animals.  In us, when we raise our horn, we are relying on our strength and not God’s strength.  We are doing so arrogantly.

We should go to God humbly and trust in His timing and in His wisdom.

Some Serendipitous Reflections

Psalm 73

“1. Imagine your life now is ‘just a dream’ (or a nightmare), and when you awake, all will return to ‘normal’. What heavy burden, human ill or gross injustice would you like to wish away, as if it were but a dream? Do you ever share Asaph’s envy? Does his insight satisfy you? Why or why not?
“2. Name some rich and famous people who have committed suicide, gone through a string of unhappy marriages or lost fortunes to drugs and alcohol? What comes first: the problems or the money? What problems does money create? If you were suddenly rich and famous, would you be free of these problems?
“3. When your feet have stumbled in this area, how have you recovered your balance? Can the group help?
“4. Have you had a ‘sanctuary’ experience? When?·Where? What happened? What are you doing to keep that faith perspective alive?
“5. How would you ex­ plain to a child why God does not knock down bullies and troublemakers at school?”

• Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups

Psalm 74

“1. On which side of the watershed are you: Focused on the ‘they’ who ruined life for you? Or the ‘you’ who can do something about it?
“2. Have you ever felt like God had forgotten you or your cause: ‘forever’? What triggered your tears? Your anger? Or do you keep all such emotion inside?
“3. Can you ‘be yourself’ with the group? With God? What would God do in your  situation now if you ‘let it all hang out’? What is God likely to do if you’re not honest?
“4, What event in your lifetime caused a crisis in faith? Did you have any warning? What about God was called into question? Is the problem resolved? Could it ever be? Can the group help?”

Psalm 75

“1. What has held the world together for you in hard times? Give an example.
“2. Does ‘because I said so’ satisfy you? How do you deal with the mysteries of God’s relationship to life’s events?
“3. For what do you praise God today? Wondrous deeds? Upright judgment? Firm hold on the world? Uplifting righteous­ ness? Other?”

There is one set of questions for each of these psalms.

Substitute whatever group for any reference to a small group or ask who could come to your aid.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.