Psalm 73 Bible Study

Psalm 73 Bible Study

Introduction

This Psalm begins what is called the “third book of Psalms.”

Asaph was the writer.

(JPCS Ps 1-88): Asaph was a Levite of the family of Gershom and one of the three chief musicians appointed by David to preside over the choral services of the sanctuary (1 Chronicles 16:5). He was selected by the Levites to lead the music when David brought the ark up to Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 15:16–19).

(JPCS Ps 1-88): Asaph was chosen to lead the choirs at the new site for the ark in Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 16)

(JPCS Ps 1-88): Asaph’s name has gone down in sacred history as an honored seer as well as a gifted singer.

(JPCS Ps 1-88): They led the service of praise and thanksgiving when the foundation of the new temple was laid (Ezra 3:10)

(JPCS Ps 1-88): In Psalm 73 the psalmist returns to the problem which vexed David in Psalm 37 and which puzzled the anonymous author of Psalm 49. It is the agelong problem of the seeming prosperity of the wicked and the equally vexing and parallel problem of the suffering of the godly.

(JPCS Ps 1-88): God says, “Money is powerless to save, and the advantages it secures are fleeting.” In Psalm 73 the emphasis is on the word worship. It is better to have your hand in the hand of God than to have it in the pock-et of some rich sinner.

VERSES 1-3

(JPCS Ps 1-88): some to the conclusion that if God is good then He is not omnipotent, and if He is omnipotent then He is not good.

(v1) (JPCS Ps 1-88): The fight has already been fought and won. The psalmist is going back over the problem, but it is no longer troubling him

(JPCS Ps 1-88): He begins, then, with the confidence that God is good to Israel and to all whose hearts are pure. All the seeming evidence to the contrary notwithstanding, this is the position he takes after thoughtful, prayerful consideration. God is on the throne and He is a good God.

(vv2-3) (JPCS Ps 1-88): he had come through some very serious doubts.

(JPCS Ps 1-88): The problem had been so vexing, so seemingly unanswerable, that he had almost lost his faith, had almost decided that wickedness paid.

(JPCS Ps 1-88): Paul calls in Colossians “intellectualism and high-sounding nonsense”)

(JPCS Ps 1-88): the psalmist deals with one area such intellectuals like to attack.

(v3) (JPCS Ps 1-88): Because he was envious of their style of life, he almost lost his footing on the firm ground of faith.

VERSES 4-16

(vv4-16) (JPCS Ps 1-88): four seemingly irreconcilable facts about the prosperity of the wicked.

(vv4-5) The ungodly are blessed.

(JPCS Ps 1-88): These people might have experienced clinical death, but the fact that they were resuscitated is evidence that they did not experience final and irrevocable death.

(JPCS Ps 1-88): All too often wicked people do die softly, seemingly free from all the terrors of death. That does not mean that they have escaped those terrors. It only seems that they have.

This brings to light even more when Jesus was born to a family who were considered poor peasant.

(JPCS Ps 1-88): He came as a poor person, tasting the trials and troubles of the poor.

(v6) The behavior of the ungodly was very sinful.

(V7) (JPCS Ps 1-88): There seems to be not a single cloud in their sky. He thinks of their crooked business dealings, always aimed at those unable to retaliate. He thinks of the trail of sorrow and unhappiness they leave behind—broken homes, broken hearts. Still the sun smiles down on them as though they were the favored of Heaven itself.

(v8) The ungodly spoke many blasphemies.

(JPCS Ps 1-88): The thought that there might be a God in Heaven who will call them to account seems ridiculous to them.

(vv10-11) Notice what the wicked said:

(v10) In other words, they squeezed out every last drop our of the pleasure this world offered.

(v11) In other words, they were saying, “if there is a God, He must be blind, deaf, dumb and impotent.

(vv12-16) Notice here what the writer said:

Notice the honesty about the writers feelings; jealous and feeling justified to feel that way…his life of faith was giving him an unfair deal.

He got to the point that he started believing that nothing was gained by living in the fear of God.

(v15) In the midst of his fleshly feelings, deep down he knew that these feelings were wrong and they would cause a weaker believer to stumble in their faith.

(v16) He is simply “wringing his hands.”

This assumed dichotomy was simply too much for him to study; he was overwhelmed.

The question we end up with is this: How can God be both “good” and “omnipotent?”

VERSES 23-25

The Psalmist reveals to us his foolishness.

What he now speaks about is the ACTUAL dichotomy between him and the wicked.

(vv17-19) The reality of his blindness finally set in!

He finally wised up and took his perplexing problem to the Lord.

He didn’t go in with the mindset to keep fighting. He went in, sat down and allowed God to speak to him. GOD OPENED HIS EYE!!!

The key perspective that God reminded him of was this: This life was not all there was to it. There was a life to come when all accounts would be settled.

(slippery places) I think of news reports of gang-style/mafia-style murder. These people have much wealth, but they also live behind locked doors and constantly look over their shoulder.

(vv20-22)

He is not saying that God is asleep on the job.

He is stating that in due time, God does bring judgement. The wicked will dissolve as quickly as the a dream does when the sun rises.

(vv21-22) He is simply stating his foolishness.

He was reproved of his unbelief toward God’s goodness and justice.

(vv23-25)

(v23) Quote: “How much better to hold hands with God than to have a hand in every successful business venture in the world!” John Phillips, Exploring Psalms 1–88: An Expository Commentary, vol. 1, The John Phillips Commentary Series (Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp., 2009), Ps 73:23.

Illustration: In Africa, when tribesmen wish to catch a monkey, they put a few tasty nuts in ajar with a small opening and stake the jar firmly to the ground. The monkey comes along and discovers the nuts. He puts his hand into the jar and catches some nuts in his fist. The monkey’s clenched fist is too big to pass back through the narrow neck of the jar, but he refuses to let go of his prize—even when he sees the man coming with a stick to knock him on the head. The monkey will jump, squeal, and whimper, but he won’t let go. Such is the attitude of the godless rich. No wonder Jesus said it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter Heaven. John Phillips, Exploring Psalms 1–88: An Expository Commentary, vol. 1, The John Phillips Commentary Series (Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp., 2009), Ps 73:23.

(v24) Who better than God to hold your hand and guide you past the slippery places???

(v25) Notice who his #1 delight is; God and God alone!!!

For us, one glimpse of Jesus is all it takes for our desires to only be set on Him again.

Bible story: I think about when Jacob saw Rachel for the first time; no desire for another.

VERSES 27-28

What you have witnessed in the life of the Psalmist is that he just came full circle.

(v27) Notice who he compares the worlds riches too; a woman on the street. (disease, dishonor and death are her final gift)

(v28) Once again, there are two different ways a person can go: Either trusting riches (or) trusting the Lord.

Appearances are often times contrary to reality. That is the case here.

C. T. Studd had his share of the good things of life. He was born to wealth, lived in a stately manor on beautiful grounds, attended Cambridge, and was the idol of the sporting world. He heard D. L. Moody preach and left his life of privilege to lead a band of missionaries to the Congo, there to live in a grass hut on native food. “If people want pretty houses,” he said when summing up the principles of the mission he founded, “for God’s sake and ours, let them stay at home in the nursery. If they are afraid to cycle or to walk and need to be carried about in sedan chairs, let them remain in a lady’s boudoir at the seaside.” John Phillips, Exploring Psalms 1–88: An Expository Commentary, vol. 1, The John Phillips Commentary Series (Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp., 2009), Ps 73:28.