When Life is Unfair - When The Wicked Prosper

PSALM 73

The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous.

A Psalm of Asaph.

1 Surely God is ^agood to Israel,

To those who are ^bpure in heart!

2 But as for me, ^amy feet came close to stumbling,

My steps ¹had almost slipped.

3 For I was ^aenvious of the ¹arrogant

As I saw the ^bprosperity of the wicked.

4 For there are no pains in their death,

And their ¹body is fat.

5 They are ^anot ¹in trouble as other ²men,

Nor are they ^bplagued ³like mankind.

6 Therefore pride is ^atheir necklace;

The ^bgarment of violence covers them.

7 Their eye ¹bulges from ^afatness;

The imaginations of their heart ²run riot.

8 They ^amock and ¹wickedly speak of oppression;

They ^bspeak from on high.

9 They have ^aset their mouth ¹against the heavens,

And their tongue ²parades through the earth.

10 Therefore ¹his people return to this place,

And waters of ^aabundance are ²drunk by them.

11 They say, “^aHow does God know?

And is there knowledge ¹with the Most High?”

12 Behold, ^athese are the wicked;

And always ^bat ease, they have increased in wealth.

13 Surely ^ain vain I have ¹kept my heart pure

And ^bwashed my hands in innocence;

14 For I have been stricken ^aall day long

And ¹^bchastened every morning.

15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”

Behold, I would have betrayed the ^ageneration of Your children.

16 When I ^apondered to understand this,

It was ¹troublesome in my sight

17 Until I came into the ¹^asanctuary of God;

Then I perceived their ^bend.

18 Surely You set them in ^aslippery places;

You cast them down to ¹^bdestruction.

19 How they are ¹^adestroyed in a moment!

They are utterly swept away by ^bsudden terrors!

20 Like a ^adream when one awakes,

O Lord, when ^baroused, You will ^cdespise their ¹form.

21 When my ^aheart was embittered

And I was ^bpierced ¹within,

22 Then I was ^asenseless and ignorant;

I was like ¹a ^bbeast ²before You.

23 Nevertheless ^aI am continually with You;

You have taken hold of my right hand.

24 With Your counsel You will ^aguide me,

And afterward ^breceive me ¹to glory.

25 ^aWhom have I in heaven but You?

And ¹besides You, I desire nothing on earth.

26 My ^aflesh and my heart may fail,

But God is the ¹strength of my heart and my ^bportion forever.

27 For, behold, ^athose who are far from You will ^bperish;

You have ¹destroyed all those who ²^care unfaithful to You.

28 But as for me, ^athe nearness of God is my good;

I have made the Lord ¹God my ^brefuge,

That I may ^ctell of all Your works.

^a Ps 86:5

^b Ps 24:4; 51:10; Matt 5:8

^a Ps 94:18

¹ Lit were caused to slip

^a Ps 37:1; Prov 23:17

¹ Or boasters

^b Job 21:7; Ps 37:7; Jer 12:1

¹ Or belly

^a Job 21:9; Ps 73:12

¹ Lit in the trouble of men

² Or mortals

^b Ps 73:14

³ Lit with

^a Gen 41:42; Prov 1:9

^b Ps 109:18

¹ Lit goes forth

^a Job 15:27; Ps 17:10; Jer 5:28

² Lit overflow

^a Ps 1:1

¹ Or they speak in wickedness; From on high they speak of oppression

^b Ps 17:10; 2 Pet 2:18; Jude 16

^a Rev 13:6

¹ Or in

² Lit walks

¹ Or His

^a Ps 23:5

² Lit drained out

^a Job 22:13

¹ Lit in

^a Ps 49:6; 52:7

^b Jer 49:31; Ezek 23:42

^a Job 21:15; 34:9; 35:3

¹ Or cleansed my heart

^b Ps 26:6

^a Ps 38:6

¹ Lit my chastening

^b Job 33:19; Ps 118:18

^a Ps 14:5

^a Eccl 8:17

¹ Lit labor, trouble

¹ Lit sanctuaries

^a Ps 27:4; 77:13

^b Ps 37:38

^a Ps 35:6

¹ Lit ruins

^b Ps 35:8; 36:12

¹ Lit become a desolation

^a Num 16:21; Is 47:11

^b Job 18:11

^a Job 20:8

^b Ps 78:65

^c 1 Sam 2:30

¹ Or image

^a Judg 10:16

^b Acts 2:37

¹ Lit in my kidneys

^a Ps 49:10; 92:6

¹ Or an animal

^b Job 18:3; Ps 49:20; Eccl 3:18

² Lit with You

^a Ps 16:8

^a Ps 32:8; 48:14; Is 58:11

^b Gen 5:24; Ps 49:15

¹ Or with honor

^a Ps 16:2; Phil 3:8

¹ Or with

^a Ps 38:10; 40:12; 84:2; 119:81

¹ Lit rock

^b Ps 16:5

^a Ps 119:155

^b Ps 37:20

¹ Or silenced

² Lit go to a whoring from

^c Ex 34:15; Num 15:39; Ps 106:39; Hos 4:12; 9:1

^a Ps 65:4; Heb 10:22; James 4:8

¹ Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord

^b Ps 14:6; 71:7

^c Ps 40:5; 107:22; 118:17

New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Ps 73:1-28). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

73:1 God is good. What clouded the psalmist’s heart and troubled his relationship with the Lord has been resolved.

73:2 my feet had almost stumbled. An obedient life is often compared to a walk along a straight path (Prov. 1–9). The psalmist describes doubt and skepticism with the image of falling off a path.

73:6 pride is their necklace. The prosperity of the wicked leads to the deeper sins of pride and violence.

73:7 eyes swell out. A figure for a heart made insensitive by overindulgence (1 John 2:16).

73:9 against the heavens. The proud are not afraid to talk as if they had created the world themselves, leaving God behind (Acts 20:22).

73:13 in vain. These verses show the poet’s attitude before he resolved the issue in his mind.

73:15 If I had said. If he had broadcast his doubts and complaints before coming to a solution, he would have instilled doubt in the community of God.

73:16 this. That is, the prosperity of the wicked and the suffering of the righteous.

73:17 into the sanctuary. The change came for him when he entered the presence of God revealed in the temple.

their end. Though the wicked may prosper for a time, their final lot is destruction. See “The Final Judgment” at Matt. 25:41.

73:20 Like a dream. God will come in judgment against the wicked. When He does, their prosperity will seem like a dream.

73:22 brutish and ignorant. His negative emotions blocked clear thinking about God and His ways.

73:23 you hold my right hand. God is close to the worshiper to counsel and guide him.

73:24 to glory. While some take this to refer to earthly fame and reputation, it is more likely a reference to eternal glory. Nothing will break the intimate fellowship the psalmist enjoys with God (Rom. 8:38, 39).

The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version. 2005 (R. C. Sproul, Ed.) (799). Orlando, FL; Lake Mary, FL: Ligonier Ministries.