Psalm 73:1-28
1 Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. 2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. 3 For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 4 For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek. 5 They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind. 6 Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment. 7 Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies. 8 They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression. 9 They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth. 10 Therefore his people turn back to them, and find no fault in them. 11 And they say, "How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?" 12 Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches. 13 All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. 14 For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning. 15 If I had said, "I will speak thus," I would have betrayed the generation of your children. 16 But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, 17 until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end. 18 Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin. 19 How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors! 20 Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms. 21 When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, 22 I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you. 23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. 25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that 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 For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you. 28 But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.
The Psalmist admits here to having been envious of the wicked (verse 3), for their bodies are perfect (verse 4) and they seem to be "always at ease, they increase in riches" (verse 12). This is an uncanny description of what modern advertising and pornography present to us. We are constantly bombarded with images and messages about "the good life" where everything is fun and sexy. It is no surprise then that we envy this life, and seek to escape from the ugly realities of our own life. The problem is that this apparent happiness of the sexually immoral is just a fantasy, a "phantom" (verse 20). The reality is that heaven is more real and long-lasting than our time here on earth, and that there is a God who is good to the "pure in heart" (verse 1). When we get caught up in the fantasies of the wicked we become "brutish and ignorant" (verse 22). In contrast when we are aware of God's presence we can say that "there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you" (verse 25). Which "good life" am I really seeking: the world's or God's?
Lord, thank you for the reality of heaven, and forgive me for chasing fantasies. Please hold my hand (verse 23) and "guide me with your counsel" (verse 24), that you may one day "receive me to glory" (verse 24).
1 Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. 2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. 3 For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 4 For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek. 5 They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind. 6 Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment. 7 Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies. 8 They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression. 9 They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth. 10 Therefore his people turn back to them, and find no fault in them. 11 And they say, "How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?" 12 Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches. 13 All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. 14 For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning. 15 If I had said, "I will speak thus," I would have betrayed the generation of your children. 16 But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, 17 until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end. 18 Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin. 19 How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors! 20 Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms. 21 When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, 22 I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you. 23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. 25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that 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 For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you. 28 But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.
The Psalmist admits here to having been envious of the wicked (verse 3), for their bodies are perfect (verse 4) and they seem to be "always at ease, they increase in riches" (verse 12). This is an uncanny description of what modern advertising and pornography present to us. We are constantly bombarded with images and messages about "the good life" where everything is fun and sexy. It is no surprise then that we envy this life, and seek to escape from the ugly realities of our own life. The problem is that this apparent happiness of the sexually immoral is just a fantasy, a "phantom" (verse 20). The reality is that heaven is more real and long-lasting than our time here on earth, and that there is a God who is good to the "pure in heart" (verse 1). When we get caught up in the fantasies of the wicked we become "brutish and ignorant" (verse 22). In contrast when we are aware of God's presence we can say that "there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you" (verse 25). Which "good life" am I really seeking: the world's or God's?
Lord, thank you for the reality of heaven, and forgive me for chasing fantasies. Please hold my hand (verse 23) and "guide me with your counsel" (verse 24), that you may one day "receive me to glory" (verse 24).