Deeper Commentary
Psa 73:1
Book III. A Psalm by Asaph-
This "Asaph" could be the Asaph of Hezekiah's time (Is. 36:3) who used the Psalms in the context of the events of the Assyrian invasion. The Asaph Psalms all have parts in them relevant to that context (Ps. 50, 73-83). Or the "Asaph" may have been the singers who were relatives of Asaph, prominent at the restoration (Neh. 7:44; 11:17,22). It could mean that the psalms were a part of a collection from the Asaphites, and the name "Asaph" was therefore simply used to identify the temple singers. And again, parts of the Asaph psalms also have relevance to the restoration. The fact the Asaph Psalms speak of elohim rather than Yahweh would support the idea that they were used in the exilic / restoration period. But Asaph was the "chief" of the Levites to whom David assigned the ministry of praise before the ark (1 Chron. 16:4,5). It seems he did compose his own Psalms, which were used by Hezekiah at his time (2 Chron. 29:30). So I would again suggest that all the Asaph Psalms were composed originally by David "for" [not necessarily "by"] Asaph, but were rewritten and edited for later occasions.
A case can be made that the whole of book 3 of the Psalter (Psalms 73-89) was written / edited in Babylon. The Psalms of Korah (83-87) seem to reflect the longing of the righteous remnant in Babylon for the temple services. And it is just possible that the entire Psalter was re-edited there in Babylon, under inspiration- for so many Psalms have elements of appropriacy to the exiles in Babylon and the restoration. The LXX titles of Psalm 56 [“Concerning the people that were removed from the Sanctuary”] and 71 [“Of the sons of Jonadab, and the first that were taken captive”] speak for themselves. Likewise the LXX attributes Psalms 146-148 to Haggai and Zechariah.
Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart-
This redefines "Israel" away from ethnic definition; the
Israel of God are the "pure in heart". This Psalm may initially
have been David's thanksgiving for God's restoration of his kingdom after
the rebellion of Absalom. It describes a struggle with the problem of
evil, but begins and ends with triumph that God ultimately is good to
Israel. This was particularly relevant to Judah in captivity. But again we
query why David so simplistically divides people into the very righteous,
of pure heart [which none have ultimately], and the worst sinners.
Here we have the conclusion stated at the beginning; those who
cleanse their hearts are the true Israel, and God is finally "good" to
them. But the psalm explains the path of moral and intellectual failure
that led the psalmist to this conclusion, at one point feeling equally
"surely" that having a pure or clean heart was pointless (:13). See on
:13.
Psa 73:2
But as for me, my feet were almost gone, my steps had nearly
slipped-
David recognizes that his steps and feet had been stabilized by God
(s.w. Ps. 40:2). He saw God's active involvement in helping him see
through the problem of evil, and praises God for it. This internal
psychological stabilizing of faith and understanding is just as much seen
today, through God's work through the Holy Spirit.
Psa 73:3
For I was envious of the arrogant, when I saw the prosperity of the
wicked-
Surely Asaph as praise leader of Israel was aware of the copious commands not to envy the wicked, e.g. “Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in Yahweh and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture” (Ps. 37:1–3). Proverbs says the same very often, e.g. “Do not envy the wicked, do not desire their company” (Prov. 24:1). To say "I was envious..." of the wicked is to admit to not having let God's clearest words have any real impact. We can all be the same. And we likewise could save ourselves so much grief if we just accepted God's simple words, rather than like Asaph having to learn the empirical way. This is what it is to believe God's word, rather than just read and be aware of it.
"Prosperity" is shalom. The psalmist has the same struggle as Job in Job 21:9, “their houses are in peace without fear”. Yet clearly true "shalom" is a gift from God to the righteous, as so many Bible passages make clear, e.g. "Yahweh turn His face toward you and give you peace” (Num. 6:26). We only have to slowly and carefully read these words of Asaph to see that he isn't reasoning right. He is misperceiving. The wicked do not have shalom. They only appear to have it; behind the nonchalant good life is all the stress and anxiety that comes from not being right with God. Nobody in the world really has shalom . And so it was by speaking these words out loud in prayer that Asaph came to see his error. We may live with the subconscious impression that the wicked are doing so well and life isn't fair to the righteous; but if we verbalize those thoughts before God in prayer, our error becomes apparent.
Envy of the arrogant / proud, imagining them to be happy, is exactly the feelings of the returned exiles in Mal. 3:14,15: "You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God;’ and ‘What profit is it that we have followed His instructions, and that we have walked mournfully before Yahweh of Armies? Now we call the proud happy; yes, those who work wickedness are built up; yes, they put God to the test and escape". It could be that Psalm 73 is an appeal to the returned exiles to follow Asaph's example and repent of their perspectives.
David had calmly urged not to be envious of the wicked (s.w. Ps. 37:1), but he himself almost failed in this (Ps. 73:3 s.w.). We can profess clearly how much we are not envious of others; and then find ourselves like David, caught in a pang of crisis when we wonder why our lives cannot be like those of the world around us. Solomon simplistically commanded not to be envious of the wicked, drawing a simple contrast between the wicked, and the righteous who are not envious of them (Prov. 3:31; 23:17; 24:1,19 s.w.). But this is not how it was in reality with his father David, who admits to almost having given in to envy of the wicked (Ps. 73:3) despite his earlier simplistic condemnation of such envy (Ps. 37:1), and was only saved from that by God's gracious action on his heart (Ps. 73:2). Solomon's proverbs seem to fail to address this complexity of situations because of his own self-righteousness; and yet all he says is inspired and true so far as it goes.
Psa 73:4
For there are no struggles in their death, but their strength is
firm-
"Firm" is the word used of the prosperous wicked amongst the exiles
(Ez. 34:20). But as Ezekiel points out, this was only a temporary
illusion. Ultimately, death is indeed a fetter (s.w. "struggles"), broken
only by God's grace in Christ. The Psalmist is for a moment forgetting the
Biblical picture of death, just as we can. He is thinking that a
peaceful death means they were blessed; whereas by implication, he expects
a difficult death.
Psa 73:5
They are free from the burdens of men, neither are they plagued
like other men-
Dt. 26:7 uses the word for "burdens" of the judgment of those who
break covenant. And God is not unmindful of who breaks covenant with Him.
David had earlier confidently stated that the "mischief" (s.w. "burdens")
of men would return upon their own heads at death and judgment (Ps. 7:16;
140:9). But in Ps. 73:5 he momentarily doubts this. Our understanding of
basic truths can suddenly be eclipsed by moments of doubt, just as we see
happening with the disciples on the lake during the storm. We
could render "They have no share in the misery of mortals", as if the
psalmist is thinking that they actually are not sharing in the results of
the curse in Eden. But he is forgetting that all the same they die, and
will be raised to judgment- they are not at all exempt from the curse on
Adam. And he is forgetting some words in Job, which as one of the oldest
Bible books he surely was aware of: “man is born for misery / burden” (Job
5:7). It's one thing to know God's word, quite another to feel and live it
as felt reality.
Psa 73:6
Therefore pride is like a chain around their neck, violence covers
them like a garment-
The conclusion therefore is that awareness of the reality of death
leads to humility, and those who refuse to perceive Divine judgment in
this life become proud and violent, believing they will not face judgment
for their actions. Chains were worn around the neck by leaders and
governors (we think of Joseph and Daniel being given one); so the
implication is that such men were in leadership positions within Israel.
Perhaps David has in view Saul and the Absalom-Ahithophel group.
Psa 73:7
Their eyes bulge with fat, their minds pass the limits of conceit-
This recalls the spirit of Job's complaints at the present prosperity
of the wicked. "Conceit" is the word usually translated "image", with
reference to idols. David perceives that idolatry is essentially a matter
of the heart, and he sees materialism as idolatry- a conception absolutely
relevant to our age. LXX "Their iniquity cometh forth from the
heart: the imaginations of their mind overflow".
Psa 73:8
They scoff and speak with malice; in arrogance, they threaten
oppression-
The LXX appears to reference the crafty counsel of Ahithophel at the
time of Absalom's rebellion: "They have taken counsel and spoken in
wickedness: they have uttered unrighteousness loftily".
Psa 73:9
They have set their mouth in the heavens, their tongue walks
through the earth-
The idea may be that they speak as if they are God; it is playing God
which is the basis for arrogance and price. But LXX has "Against
the heavens".
Psa 73:10
Therefore their people return to them, and they drink up waters of
abundance-
"A metaphor for the enjoyment of pleasure". This was how they got
people to turn after them, to follow them. David felt that by contrast he
had few followers because he didn't have any great hope of prosperity to
offer anyone.
Psa 73:11
They say, How does God know? Is there knowledge in the Most
High?-
It's unlikely they actually said those words. But this is an example
of where the unspoken implications of positions are stated for what they
effectively are. To accept God exists, as these men apparently did, but to
say that He has no awareness... is self contradictory. But this is what
their attitudes effectively stated.
Psa 73:12
Behold, these are the wicked-
The Psalmist has built up an image of wicked men having a great life
and then dying in peace. This isn't actually the case, but it was and is
the image which can be imagined as true.
Being always at ease, they increase in riches-
The wicked and indeed nobody is ever "always at ease". This is the
idealized image which the doubting psalmist had built up. It is the same
false image offered by the media and subliminal advertising today.
Job likewise frequently lamented that the wicked were "at ease" (Job 3:26;
12:6; 16:12; 20:20; 21:23); and Jeremiah too (Jer. 12:1). We simply
conclude that the appearance of "ease" in the apparently cool life of the
unbeliever is very strong. In our age it is pushed by visual images on
social media, of relaxation by swimming pools, expensive meals etc. But
one only has to think about it for a moment to see this is in fact all a
false image. Behind those images is probably much grief and unhappiness,
and this psalm will go on to put over it all the perspective of final
death and eternal judgment.
Psa 73:13
Surely in vain I have cleansed my heart, and washed my hands in
innocence-
The Psalm begins with the conclusion- that "surely" God is
good to His true Israel, those with clean hearts. But he got to that
conclusion through having the thought that "surely"... something else.
"Surely", he had once thought, the cleansing of hearts was all in vain.
This is the dialectic which all men must go through- being convinced one
way but coming to be convinced another way.
This language is appropriate to David who considers he washed the blood of Uriah from his hands by repentance, and had his heart cleansed by God's grace for the entire sin with Bathsheba (s.w. Ps. 51:4; 26:6). He would be suggesting that because he still suffered the consequence of the sin, all his cleansing from it was pointless grief. And yet this sense that "In vain I have cleansed my heart" could refer to how David in his youth had tried to cleanse his way according to God's word (s.w. Ps. 119:9); and now he momentarily considers he may have wasted his effort. Solomon uses the same word in saying that nobody can say "I have cleansed my heart" (Prov. 20:9); as if disagreeing with his father David on this point. Solomon may be suggesting that all you can do is live an externally clean life, you can never cleanse your heart- and this refusal to allow the Holy Spirit to cleanse him inwardly is what led to his apostasy. For disregarding deep, core level spiritual mindedness and trusting in externalities... is a sure path to spiritual disaster. And Solomon took it.
Psa 73:14
for all day long have I been plagued, and punished every morning-
"Punished" is LXX "reproved". David may again be railing at how the
consequences of his sin with Bathsheba continued, reproving him every
morning. He struggled to accept Nathan's inspired words about this
consequence. "Plagued" is used in the Bathsheba context (Ps. 32:6 s.w.).
Psa 73:15
If I had said, I will speak thus; behold, I would have betrayed the
generation of Your children-
LXX "I should have broken covenant with the generation of thy
children". He would no longer have been part of the promised seed if he
chose to go the way of the wicked. He may mean that he would have
been out of step with God's children throughout the generations; which
suggests, as in :1, that he considers God's true Israel, His faithful
children, as those who have clean hearts and accept His chastising hand.
However we can legitimately interpret the Hebrew to the effect "If I had
spoken out publically like this, I would have caused to stumble the
generation / community of your children amongst whom I live". "Generation"
can mean effectively 'community' as in Ps. 24:6 "This is the generation of
those who seek Him". Asaph is now sharing with us his inner struggles- but
after coming to the stated conclusion that he was so wrong. And he, the
choirmaster of Israel, had these deep questions and struggles with him. It
is common in our age to hear Christian leaders speaking of their struggles
and doubts, and for this to be seen as somehow cool. The path of maturity
is to not speak those doubts for fear of causing others to stumble. There
is of course a fine line between this and hypocrisy.
Psa 73:16
When I tried to understand this, it was too painful for me- "Painful" is s.w. "trouble" in :5. The wicked appear not to have pain or "troubles", but David struggled with the whole problem of evil and the apparent prosperity of the wicked, and this was a pain or trouble to him of itself. David was generally a very spiritual man, but we have here an insight into how even the most spiritually minded have their dark nights of the soul.
Psa 73:17
until I entered God’s sanctuary, and considered their latter
end-
This could not have been true for the exiles, who were unable to do
this. The Psalm originated with David, but was reapplied to the exiles and
all who later would struggle with the problem of the apparent prosperity
of the wicked. On entering "the sanctuary", he saw the plates around the altar
which were all that was left of Korah’s rebellion (Num. 16:38), those who
were thrown down into the earth (:18). David perceived the wicked of his
age as no better than the wicked within Israel during the wilderness
journey.
Up until this point in the Psalm, the psalmist has been complaining that the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer; their righteousness is apparently pointless. But he now comes to a Kingdom perspective. At the last day, there will be judgment. And he recalls how rebels against God have at times had their judgment ahead of that last day. This changes everything for him.
Psa 73:18
Surely You set them in slippery places, You threw them down to
destruction-
This continues the allusion to the fate of Korah and his supporters
(:17). "Thrown down" or "fall" was to be the fate of the unjust princes of
Israel (s.w. Ps. 82:7) just as it had been the fate of Korah and the
princes with him (Num. 16:2). Asaph begins the psalm by saying
that his feet had nearly slipped (:2). He is saying that he, the
relatively righteous man, because of his bitterness and jealousy of the
wicked, had almost had the same punishment as them. But he concludes by
saying that he has come near to God (:28), another allusion to Korah and
the princes who sought to inappropriately drawn near to God.
Psa 73:19
How they were suddenly destroyed! They were completely swept
away with terrors-
The lament is that the wicked seem to be so prosperous, and then
David remembers
that one day God will awake (:20). But it is ridiculous to think that God
is now actually asleep. The judgment of the rebellious princes in Num. 16
is seen as a pattern for all later rebels; and perhaps David has in view
the rebels against him at the time of Absalom. The wages of sin is death (Rom.
6:23)- not 'it will be death at the judgment', it is right now the
response God makes to sin. Because God is without time, the judgment has
effectively happened to them. We are come to "God the judge of all"- even
now (Heb. 12:23).
Psa 73:20
As a dream when one wakes up, so, Lord, when You awake, You will
despise their fantasies-
LXX "O Lord, in thy city thou wilt despise their image". David
envisages judgment day being administered in Zion, when these men would be
resurrected, judged, and die "the second death". To be despised by God is
judgment enough. Their "fantasies", their self image (the Hebrew implies)
will be revealed as vain. GNB "They are like a dream that goes
away in the morning; when you rouse yourself, O Lord, they disappear".
"The morning" is the day when the Lord Jesus shall arise as the dawn (Mal.
4:2). All of human experience will then be revealed as a momentary dream,
their "image" (AV) will change. We must realize that our current
experience, of unfairness and injustice, is in fact not reality. It is a
dream, a fantasy world. The reality is life with God and His eternal
Kingdom. Ps. 39:6 has the same idea: "Surely every man walks like a
shadow", like an image that is not the reality. "What I mean, my friends,
is this: there is not much time left, and from now on married people
should live as though they were not married; those who weep, as though
they were not sad; those who laugh, as though they were not happy; those
who buy, as though they did not own what they bought; those who deal in
material goods, as though they were not fully occupied with them. For the
fashion of this world passes away" (1 Cor. 7:29-31). The Greek word for
"fashion" 'passing away' is the language of the theatre, 'the scenery',
whereby scenes and stage props and background are changed to presents a
totally different appearance. This world is just a stage at the theatre,
with the props and scenery just passing away and not the actual reality
that they represent. Paul has the same image in 1 Cor. 4:9 "we are made a
spectacle [on a stage] to the world, both to angels and men".
Psa 73:21
For my soul was grieved, I was embittered in my heart-
AV "Thus my heart was grieved"- for the
tragedy of that rebellion, for the tragedy of men experiencing Divine
condemnation. He didn’t gloat over the punishment of the wicked as he thinks
about it at this point, although he does elsewhere. He grieved
for it; it pricked his conscience, right within the depths of his being (AV "pricked in my reins").
Psa 73:22
I was so senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before You-
The
LXX sounds very much like an allusion to Job in his final realization and
resolution of 'the problem of evil': "But I was vile and knew not: I
became brutish before thee" (cp. Job 40:4). Envying the wicked is indeed
being senseless and ignorant, and David uses these terms elsewhere about
those who shall be condemned (Ps. 49:10; 92:6). The fact is, even those as
spiritual as David or Asaph can at times be totally unspiritual in their
perspective, and like him need to take a grip and return to reality. We
surely have all known this.
Psa 73:23
Nevertheless, I am continually with You. You have held my right
hand-
He is "with God", or "always close to You", because God
holds his hand- not because of his righteousness nor closeness to God. For
in :22 he has just lamented his unspirituality. We would expect "You are
continually with me". But he realizes that the fact God had been with him
meant that he had been with God. As noted on :22, David recognizes that he has temporarily lost
perspective and spiritual focus during his time of envy at the wicked's
prosperity. But he marvels that all through that weak period, be it
minutes or months, God had remained with him and held his hand. This rules
out for all time the attitude of separation from God's people whilst they
pass through the dark nights of the soul which afflict all of us. We are
to reflect God's continuance with us through it all.
Psa 73:24
You will guide me with Your word-
"Your word" probably doesn't refer to the "Bible", because David
would probably only have known the Pentateuch and Job. And he didn't have
the scrolls readily available to him for much of his life. Perhaps the
prophetic word he had in view was the promise of restoration and kingship,
the final flourishing of his kingdom. This was the same word which in
essence the exiles were to be guided by as they too struggled with the
problems of justice and evil. And the end point of that guidance was to be
"glory"; perhaps a return to the sanctuary where the glory was visible, or
the glory of the reestablished Davidic kingdom.
And afterwards receive me in
glory-
In this life, David felt his prayers had been "received" (s.w.
Ps. 6:9). His experience of answered prayer was therefore a foretaste of
his faith that God would finally receive or accept him (Ps. 49:15; 73:24
s.w.). The desire to be received "to glory" may refer to David's belief
that he would again be able to enter the sanctuary and see God's glory
there, a desire he so often expresses in the exilic Psalms.
"Afterwards" is the word used for "end" in :17. The psalmist foresees that
the prosperous wicked will meet their "end" at the "end", the last day. At
that day, at that "end" or "afterwards", he would be received to glory,
taken from the sanctuary beyond the veil; whilst they would be cast down
to an eternal grave. "Receive me" is literally 'to bring up' and can refer
to resurrection, as it does clearly in Ps. 49:15: "God will redeem my soul
from the power of Sheol, for He will receive me [s.w.]". Ps. 49 is in the
same context, of the psalmist reflecting how the wicked will eternally
perish at the same time as he is resurrected to eternal life. What is in
view is resurrection and judgment at the last day, not going to heaven on
death.
Psa 73:25
Whom do I have in heaven? There is no one on earth whom I desire
besides You-
David felt forsaken by all at this time, so the origin of the Psalm
(however it was later reused by the exiles) was at a time when he was
largely forsaken by men; perhaps at the time of Absalom's putsch. For
David, Yahweh was not one of a number of deities; he didn't believe in
Yahweh as well as idols. And this is a theme he develops in :27.
He had no gods in Heaven apart from Yahweh, and "Earth has nothing I
desire besides you". That is the place of maturity, but the psalmist
arrived at it through a period of envy of others who apparently did have
all the desirable things on earth. Again we see the path of prayer; he
moves on from being envious to reflecting that he doesn't want all the
things he was once envious of: "Earth has nothing I desire besides you".
All he wanted was relationship with God. Despite his flesh and heart
failing (:26), perhaps referring to moral and intellectual lapses, he now
realizes that despite them, he has no desire nor passion for any other god
nor for anything material on earth. He reaches the acme of spiritual
maturity whilst still recognizing he would "fail" in some ways (:26). The
psalmist comes to this profound position before God through the path of
prayer; the early verses are a monologue, speaking with himself, but he
comes to talk directly to God through that. His self talk becomes talk to
God.
Psa 73:26
My flesh and my heart fails-
Perhaps initially written in David's health crisis after the sin with
Bathsheba and whilst on the run from Absalom.
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever- There is a repeated Biblical theme that the believer's relationship with the Father too is essentially mutual. We are God's portion / inheritance (Dt. 4:20; 9:29; Eph. 1:18), and He is our inheritance (Ps. 16:5,6; 73:26; Lam. 3:22-24; Eph. 1:11 RV); we inherit each other. David felt he was alienated from his rightful inheritance whilst on the run from both Saul and Absalom; and the exiles felt likewise.
Psa 73:27
For, behold, those who are far from You shall perish. You have
destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You-
This helps the exiles understand that distance from God is not a
geographical question of being far from the sanctuary, but such distance
and closeness to God is rather a spiritual matter. "Unfaithful" suggests
idolatry (s.w. Ps. 106:39), and suggests that the wicked he had envied
were in fact idolaters. If the initial context of the Psalm is Absalom's
rebellion, then we can see another hint that they too were involved with
idolatry.
Psa 73:28
But it is good for me to come close to God. I have made the Lord Yahweh my refuge, that I may tell of all Your works- Here we have the conclusion that we all need to come to. For the first time, Asaph uses the term "Yahweh". He has come back to feeling covenant relationship with Yahweh. The value of Psalm 73 is in the path the psalmist takes to come to this- of frustration with God, a sense that he isn't being fairly treated, and yet also of deep contrition about his own sins and foolishness. There is a clear path in this prayer. Frustration with life's unfairness leads him to a personal conviction of sin, and thence to calm trust in God's final salvation and eternal justice. It's when man gets caught up on any of those earlier stages that life goes wrong and faith is shipwrecked.
I noted on :27 that David is protesting his sole allegiance to Yahweh and
not to idols in addition. In the course of this prayer, David persuades
himself that it is he who is close to God, and those he has envied for
their wealth are far from Him (:27).
You
are not alone, I am not alone; “For I am with you”. God is with us for us
in His Son. Of course, we must draw near to Him (Ps. 73:28); and yet He is
already near, not far from every one of us (Acts 17:27). David often
speaks of drawing close to God, and yet he invites God to draw near to him
(Ps. 69:18). Yet David also recognizes that God “is” near already (Ps.
75:1). I take all this to mean that like us, David recognized that God
“is” near, and yet wished God to make His presence real to him. Truly can
we pray David’s prayers. So often, prayer is described as coming near to
God (Ps. 119:169 etc.)- and yet God “is” near already. Prayer, therefore,
is a way of making us realize the presence of the God who is always
present.
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