Psalms73
New American Standard
1 God certainly is good to Israel, To those who are pure in heart!
2 But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling, My steps had almost slipped.
3 For I was envious of the arrogant As I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 For there are no pains in their death, And their belly is fat.
5 They are not in trouble like other people, Nor are they tormented together with the rest of mankind.
6 Therefore arrogance is their necklace; The garment of violence covers them.
7 Their eye bulges from fatness; The imaginations of their heart overflow.
8 They mock and wickedly speak of oppression; They speak from on high.
9 They have set their mouth against the heavens, And their tongue parades through the earth.
10 Therefore his people return here, And abundant waters are drunk by them.
11 They say, “How does God know? And is there knowledge with the Most High?”
12 Behold, these are the wicked; And always at ease, they have increased in wealth.
13 Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure And washed my hands in innocence;
14 For I have been stricken all day long, And punished every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak this way,” Behold, I would have betrayed the generation of Your children.
16 When I thought of understanding this, It was troublesome in my sight
17 Until I entered the sanctuary of God; Then I perceived their end.
18 You indeed put them on slippery ground; You dropped them into ruin.
19 How they are destroyed in a moment! They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors!
20 Like a dream when one awakes, Lord, when stirred, You will despise their image.
21 When my heart was embittered And I was pierced within,
22 Then I was stupid and ignorant; I was like an animal before You.
23 Nevertheless I am continually with You; You have taken hold of my right hand.
24 You will guide me with Your plan, And afterward receive me to glory.
25 Whom do I have in heaven but You? And with You, I desire nothing on earth.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
27 For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You.
28 But as for me, the nearness of God is good for me; I have made the Lord God my refuge, So that I may tell of all Your works.
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Psalms 73Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Psalms 73. The full AI study guide (summary, themes, context) has its own page.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The psalmist's temptation. (1–14). How he gained a victory over it. (15–20). How he profited by it. (21–28).
vv1-14
The psalmist was strongly tempted to envy the prosperity of the wicked; a common temptation, which has tried the graces of many saints. But he lays down the great principle by which he resolved to abide. It is the goodness of God. This is a truth which cannot be shaken. Good thoughts of God will fortify against Satan's temptations. The faith even of strong believers may be sorely shaken, and ready to fail. There are storms that will try the firmest anchors. Foolish and wicked people have sometimes a great share of outward prosperity. They seem to have the least share of the troubles of this life; and they seem to have the greatest share of its comforts. They live without the fear of God, yet they prosper, and get on in the world. Wicked men often spend their lives without much sickness, and end them without great pain; while many godly persons scarcely know what health is, and die with great sufferings. Often the wicked are not frightened, either by the remembrance of their sins, or the prospect of their misery, but they die without terror. We cannot judge men's state beyond death, by what passes at their death. He looked abroad, and saw many of God's people greatly at a loss. Because the wicked are so very daring, therefore his people return hither; they know not what to say to it, and the rather, because they drink deep of the bitter cup of affliction. He spoke feelingly when he spoke of his own troubles; there is no disputing against sense, except by faith. From all this arose a strong temptation to cast off religion. But let us learn that the true course of sanctification consists in cleansing a man from all pollution both of soul and body. The heart is cleansed by the blood of Christ laid hold upon by faith; and by the begun works of the Lord's Spirit, manifested in the hearty resolution, purpose, and study of holiness, and a blameless course of life and actions, the hands are cleansed. It is not in vain to serve God and keep his ordinances.
vv15-20
The psalmist having shown the progress of his temptation, shows how faith and grace prevailed. He kept up respect for God's people, and with that he restrained himself from speaking what he had thought amiss. It is a sign that we repent of the evil thoughts of the heart, if we suppress them. Nothing gives more offence to God's children, than to say it is vain to serve God; for there is nothing more contrary to their universal experience. He prayed to God to make this matter plain to him; and he understood the wretched end of wicked people; even in the height of their prosperity they were but ripening for ruin. The sanctuary must be the resort of a tempted soul. The righteous man's afflictions end in peace, therefore he is happy; the wicked man's enjoyments end in destruction, therefore he is miserable. The prosperity of the wicked is short and uncertain, slippery places. See what their prosperity is; it is but a vain show, it is only a corrupt imagination, not substance, but a mere shadow; it is as a dream, which may please us a little while we are slumbering, yet even then it disturbs our repose.
vv21-28
God would not suffer his people to be tempted, if his grace were not sufficient, not only to save them from harm, but to make them gainers by it. This temptation, the working of envy and discontent, is very painful. In reflecting upon it, the psalmist owns it was his folly and ignorance thus to vex himself. If good men, at any time, through the surprise and strength of temptation, think, or speak, or act amiss, they will reflect upon it with sorrow and shame. We must ascribe our safety in temptation, and our victory, not to our own wisdom, but to the gracious presence of God with us, and Christ's intercession for us. All who commit themselves to God, shall be guided with the counsel both of his word and of his Spirit, the best counsellors here, and shall be received to his glory in another world; the believing hopes and prospects of which will reconcile us to all dark providences. And the psalmist was hereby quickened to cleave the closer to God. Heaven itself could not make us happy without the presence and love of our God. The world and all its glory vanishes. The body will fail by sickness, age, and death; when the flesh fails, the conduct, courage, and comfort fail. But Christ Jesus, our Lord, offers to be all in all to every poor sinner, who renounces all other portions and confidences. By sin we are all far from God. And a profession Christ, if we go on in sin, will increase our condemnation. May we draw near, and keep near, to our God, by faith and prayer, and find it good to do so. Those that with an upright heart put their trust in God, shall never want matter for thanksgiving to him. Blessed Lord, who hast so graciously promised to become our portion in the next world, prevent us from choosing any other in this.
Key Words
מִזְמוֹר: properly, instrumental music; by implication, a poem set to notes
אָסָף: Asaph, the name of three Israelites, and of the family of the first
אֱלֹהִים: gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative
טוֹב: good (as an adjective) in the widest sense; used likewise as a noun, both in the masculine and the feminine, the singular and the plural (good, a good or good thing, a good man or woman; the good, goods or good things, good men or women), also as an adverb (well)
יִשְׂרָאֵל: Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity
בַּר: beloved; also pure, empty
לֵבָב: the heart (as the most interior organ);
רֶגֶל: a foot (as used in walking); by implication, a step; by euphemistically the pudenda
מְעַט: a little or few (often adverbial or compar.)
נָטָה: to stretch or spread out; by implication, to bend away (including moral deflection); used in a great variety of application
Cross References
Psalms 73Direct warning against envying the wicked, which is the exact temptation described in this verse.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The exact metaphor of the prosperity of the wicked vanishing like a dream when one awakens.
Supported by JFB
Defines the true 'Israel' as those with a clean, circumcised heart, not merely outward identity.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The wicked setting their mouth against the heavens is epitomized in the beast's blasphemy against God.
Supported by JFB
Inquiring in God's sanctuary as the place where spiritual sight and understanding are restored.
Supported by JFB
The writer humbles himself, confessing he was foolish, ignorant, and brutish like a beast.
Supported by Matthew Henry, John Calvin
Parallels 'it is good for me to draw near to God' with 'Draw nigh to God'.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Job's classic complaint matching the Psalmist's struggle over why the wicked live and become mighty.
Supported by John Calvin, JFB
Echoes the wicked saying, 'How doth God know?' and doubting the Lord's knowledge.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The precise ritual and moral language of washing hands in innocency.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Parallels God as the portion of the believer's inheritance and cup forever.
Supported by JFB
The 'full cup' wrung out to them relates to God's cup of judgment.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The 'slippery places' echo the Song of Moses warning that 'their foot shall slide'.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Connects the vain shadow/image of human life with the dream metaphor.
Supported by JFB
The brutish/foolish man cannot understand the deep thoughts of God's providence.
Supported by Matthew Henry