Psalm 73

BOOK III : Psalms 73-89

1A psalm of Asaph.
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. ^[a]

5 They are free from the burdens common to man;
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 ^[b] ;
the evil conceits of their minds know no limits.

8 They scoff, and speak with malice;
in their 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. ^[c]

11 They say, “How can God know?
Does the Most High have knowledge?”

12 This is what the wicked are like—
always carefree, they increase in wealth.

13 Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure;
in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.

14 All day long I have been plagued;
I have been punished every morning.

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

16 When I tried to understand all this,
it was oppressive to me

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 As a dream when one awakes,
so when you arise, O 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 afterward 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 forever.

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 wonderful and relevant entry by Oswald Chambers:

So I’m going hiking this weekend and I’m really going to try and enjoy it.  The allure that other’s feel for climing and walking and taking in the fresh air has somehow eluded me over the years, mostly because I’m such a nit-pick-whiner that worries about all the details and ends up missing the big picture.

The truth of the matter is once I do get outside and climb or hike or end up where I am meaning to, I always seem to enjoy it.  God’s creation is worth more than a few early mornings.

I wonder why more people don’t ponder the ultimate statistic - that 10 out of 10 people die.  That’s a staggering reality that most people somehow get distracted away from until they actually do bite the dust.  What a foolish thing to be distracted from or simply ignore.

I’m not saying you should have some pessimistic death-centered life — just take a moment and think about the fact you won’t be here forever.  Think about more than free Root Beer floats at Sonic or who the local sports team is playing, etc.  If people just for a MOMENT pondered more than the MOMENT they’re currently in then we might just find something significant beneath the surface.

“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” (James 1:2)

From the heart of me I pray that these words do not fall  without great impact.  I want them to hit me like an icy rain in the midst of a great storm, stinging me from slumber or distraction.

I am such a foolish man!  How often I have read this and how truly I fail to believe it.  I cry in unbelief.  I struggle in my struggle and fall within my mind.  Why can only hindsight find me praising!  Why can the countless times my King has built me convince this wicked heart.  I toil and toil.  I yearn and yearn.  But I come back to the same road and am found wanting.

What a treacherous road this is, the one of unbelief.  What a shattered heart it finds or rather creates.