For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: Psalm 73:1-12

1 Surely God is good to Israel,
    to those who are pure in heart.

2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
    I had nearly lost my foothold.
3 For I envied the arrogant
    when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

4 They have no struggles;
    their bodies are healthy and strong.
5 They are free from common human burdens;
    they are not plagued by human ills.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
    they clothe themselves with violence.
7 From their callous hearts comes iniquity;
    their evil imaginations have no limits.
8 They scoff, and speak with malice;
    with arrogance they threaten oppression.
9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
    and their tongues take possession of the earth.
10 Therefore their people turn to them
    and drink up waters in abundance.
11 They say, ‘How would God know?
    Does the Most High know anything?’

12 This is what the wicked are like –
    always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.

A. Find Out:

1. What declaration does the psalmist first make? v.1
2. But what had happened to him and how? v.2,3
3. What had he envied, but what was their outworking? v.4-6
4. What sort of hearts led them to do what? v.7-9
5. What did they say? v.11
6. So what was it that he had been envious about? v.12

B. Think:

1. What had nearly been the psalmists downfall?
2. What specific things had got to him?
3. Yet what does he acknowledge about them?

C. Comment:

This, you will note, is a psalm of Asaph, presumably the Asaph who had been David’s prophetic worship leader (see 1 Chron 15). This is a remarkably honest psalm about the stirrings of heart that had been his. It concerns a problem many of us face: how can the wicked be rich and get away with it before God?

He first of all declares God’s goodness but recognises that God’s blessing is for the pure in heart (v.1) those who are all out for God. Then he confesses he had almost fallen (v.2) as he had struggled with envy (v.3) as he looked and saw the prosperity of the wicked. He looked at their lives and saw that in their prosperity they seemed healthy and strong (v.4) and free from the problems that the common man suffered (v.5). It was this that really got to him. Why can’t my life be like that is a common temptation?

But then as he looked on them he recognised pride in them (v.6a) and saw that that pride led them to violence (v.6b). He saw that their hearts were hard and callous (v.7) and therefore didn’t worry about doing wrong. Their pride also led them to speak maliciously and threaten others (v.8). They boasted (v.9), they led others astray (v.10) and mocked God (v.11). Yet still their affluence got to him! (v.12). It is a common temptation and we’ll see how he resolves it tomorrow in the second half of the psalm.

D. Application:

1. Don’t only see the good side of prosperity, see the whole picture.
2. Realise the temptations that come with affluence and resist them.

Passage: Psalm 73:13-28

13 Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure
    and have washed my hands in innocence.
14 All day long I have been afflicted,
    and every morning brings new punishments.

15 If I had spoken out like that,
    I would have betrayed your children.
16 When I tried to understand all this,
    it troubled me deeply
17 till I entered the sanctuary of God;
    then I understood their final destiny.

18 Surely you place them on slippery ground;
    you cast them down to ruin.
19 How suddenly are they destroyed,
    completely swept away by terrors!
20 They are like a dream when one awakes;
    when you arise, Lord,
    you will despise them as fantasies.

21 When my heart was grieved
    and my spirit embittered,
22 I was senseless and ignorant;
    I was a brute beast before you.

23 Yet I am always with you;
    you hold me by my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
    and afterwards you will take me into glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
    And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
    but God is the strength of my heart
    and my portion for ever.

27 Those who are far from you will perish;
    you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
28 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.

A. Find Out:    

1. Why did the psalmist feel he’d been wasting his time? v.13,14
2. What did he feel about his thinking and speaking? v.15,16
3. When did change come? v.17
4. What did he then realise about the wicked? v.18-20
5. How did he view how he had been? v.21,22
6. What did he realise about himself? v.23-26
7. How was he contrasted with the wicked? v.27,28

B. Think:

1. What has the psalmist previously thought about his life?
2. What did he come to see?
3. What had been the turning point?

C. Comment:

Yesterday we saw the psalmist envying the wicked who had become prosperous. Now he continues, first of all bemoaning his own state, feeling it’s been a waste of time seeking to be pure (v.13), for trials and troubles still have befallen him (v.14). He had sought to understand but to no avail (v.16) and he feared if he said anything it would lead others of God’s children astray (v.15). But then he went to the Temple to seek God (v.17) and in God’s presence all became clear.

There he realised first that God would hold the wicked accountable and He would deal with them (v.18-20). He also realised what an awful state he had been in (v.21,22). As it all became clear he realised what a wonderful relationship with the Lord (v.23-26) he had and rejoiced in that. Yes, he saw the contrast between the wicked who will be judged (v.27) and himself who is blessed in God’s presence (v.28). Suddenly all is clear!

In the midst of trials in this Fallen World, in the face of the wicked apparently getting away with their wicked deeds and getting richer and richer, it is easy to fall prey to wrong thoughts. The remedy is to seek the Lord, and spend time in His presence. Before the Lord all things become clear.

D. Application:

1. The world can appear confusing.
2. For clarity, spend time in the Lord’s presence.