Old Testament

Psalms 73

Envy, the Sanctuary, and God Alone

8 passages

Overview

Asaph confesses that the apparent prosperity of the wicked nearly caused him to abandon his faith, but entering the sanctuary of God restores his vision — revealing the fleeting end of the wicked and drawing him to declare that nearness to God, not earthly fortune, is the soul's true and sufficient good.

Passages

1–3The Psalmist's Crisis of Faith Begins 4–11The Seduction of Godless Prosperity 12Behold the Wicked: The Psalmist's Bitter Acknowledgment 13–16The Dark Night of the Just: Temptation, Silence, and the Limits of Human Understanding 17–20The Turning Point: Illumination in the Sanctuary 21–22Confession of Former Ignorance 23–26Communion with God: The Psalmist's True Treasure 27–28Final Contrast: Perishing Apart from God vs. Flourishing in His Presence

Study Resources

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Psalms 73

¹A Psalm by Asaph. Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.

²But as for me, my feet were almost gone. My steps had nearly slipped.

³For I was envious of the arrogant, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

⁴For there are no struggles in their death, but their strength is firm.

⁵They are free from burdens of men, neither are they plagued like other men.

⁶Therefore pride is like a chain around their neck. Violence covers them like a garment.

⁷Their eyes bulge with fat. Their minds pass the limits of conceit.

⁸They scoff and speak with malice. In arrogance, they threaten oppression.

⁹They have set their mouth in the heavens. Their tongue walks through the earth.

¹⁰Therefore their people return to them, and they drink up waters of abundance.

¹¹They say, “How does God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?”

¹²Behold, these are the wicked. Being always at ease, they increase in riches.

¹³Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence,

¹⁴For all day long I have been plagued, and punished every morning.

¹⁵If I had said, “I will speak thus”, behold, I would have betrayed the generation of your children.

¹⁶When I tried to understand this, it was too painful for me—

¹⁷until I entered God’s sanctuary, and considered their latter end.

¹⁸Surely you set them in slippery places. You throw them down to destruction.

¹⁹How they are suddenly destroyed! They are completely swept away with terrors.

²⁰As a dream when one wakes up, so, Lord, when you awake, you will despise their fantasies.

²¹For my soul was grieved. I was embittered in my heart.

²²I was so senseless and ignorant. I was a brute beast before you.

²³Nevertheless, I am continually with you. You have held my right hand.

²⁴You will guide me with your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.

²⁵Whom do I have in heaven? There is no one on earth whom I desire besides you.

²⁶My flesh and my heart fails, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

²⁷For, behold, those who are far from you shall perish. You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to you.

²⁸But 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.

Psalms 72 Psalms 74