Introduction

The unexpected thought grasped my attention. I never doubted God’s goodness, never doubted his love, never doubted his truth, but I had never walked this road before. Obeying God’s word was becoming costly. Pursing holiness brought more and more suffering not only in my life but also for my family. Why love when hate abounds? Why forgive when wounds are fresh? Why turn the other cheek when scars remain?

Maybe you have walked through a similar experience. Or maybe one is on its way. Why do the innocent suffer while the wicked prosper? Surely, this is not the way of God.

This is the cry of the Psalmist in Psalm 73. The Psalmist cannot reconcile his circumstances with the wisdom of his day. Wisdom taught that the righteous will have a good life, free from suffering, while the wicked will face ruin. Yet, he is experiencing affliction and punishment. That’s why I followed the Psalmist as he grappled with the expectation that God ought to be good to the pure in heart and I hope to take you with me.

  1. The Crisis (Ps. 73:1–12)

In verses 1–12 we meet the Psalmist in Crisis. Verses 1–3 convey the heart of the Psalmist’s dilemma. He knows that God is good to Israel, to those who are “pure in heart” (v 1, NIV), but conveys that his “feet had almost slipped” (v 2). In the Old Testament, sin is commonly characterized as feet that slip.1 The metaphor denotes calamity or even loss of faith. The Psalmist pictures his faith failing as something so quick and unexpected as slipping on a wet floor.

What made his faith almost slip? He was jealous of the arrogant when he saw the wicked’s peace or šālôm in the original Hebrew. The word šālôm indicates a person’s welfare, well-being, or prosperity.2 It also expresses a state of mind or internal condition of being at ease and satisfied. The Psalmist uses his poetic brushes to paint a picture of the wicked’s šālôm. “Look,” the Psalmist says, “the wicked are carefree, fat and sleek.” This image may communicate to our modern ears that one is slothful or lazy, but in ancient culture the image represented prosperity, blessing, and abundance. The wicked are satisfied and avoid illness and disease.

Because of their prosperity, the wicked wear “pride” as a “necklace.” The wicked’s violence and pride are on display to everyone, as if they were virtues. Even their imaginations dwell on evil deeds and their destructive and pervasive speech also leads others down the same path. The wicked scoff, “How would God know? … Does the Most High know anything?”

  1. The Turning Point (Ps. 73:13–17)

The Psalmist laments, “Why be pure?” for “All day long I have been afflicted” (v. 14a). This leaves him deeply troubled. But who can he turn to? If he shares his feelings, he would betray Israel, the people loyal to and dependent on God. The Psalmist is left broken and grieved as: “I was pierced in my kidneys” (LEB). In Hebrew, the kidneys were viewed as the seat of human joy and grief.3 Thus, the Psalmist experienced not only grief in his spirit, but also a deep pain in his heart.

However, he does not stay there. He enters the sanctuary of God. Entering the sanctuary is not necessarily a physical movement, for God is everywhere. Rather, the movement of the Psalmist indicates that he has returned to his God. Out of this return, his crisis will be resolved because, in the presence of God, he understands the fate of the wicked. How often do we run to other places to resolve our pain instead of taking it to the throne room of God? Here, the psalmist has set us an example.

  1. The Resolution (Ps. 73:18–28)

Upon entering God’s presence, the Psalmist’s plight resolves. He understands the fate of the wicked and the destiny of the righteous. The “stability” of the wicked is short-lived. They are in slippery places and will fall to ruin. Like a dream that is forgotten upon waking, the wicked will vanish.

As for the Psalmist, he reminds his soul that he is always with God. God has hold of his right hand. And where is God guiding him? To glory. The whole universe has nothing compared to the Lord as a reward. The Psalmist is not saying that there are no other good desires in life—friendship, community, safety, and health are all wonderful blessings. The Psalmist is using a hyperbolic expression: Compared to those desires, God is his supreme desire. The Psalmist’s wisdom and strength may fail, but God is his strength and portion forever.

In contrast to the wicked who are far off from God, the Psalmist concludes he possesses the chief and only good: to be near God. The Psalmist can look back and conclude that his godliness was not in vain. Why? Because only those who have a pure heart can be near God. Wealth, health, or even peace are not motivations for being pure in heart. Rather, it is the sacred gift of being near God that should motivate us. Lastly, the Psalmist made God his refuge—his safe place, his security, his spiritual haven—and instead of remaining silent, he will tell of all the Lord’s deeds.

Conclusion

Psalm 73 taught me that God is good to the righteous even when it seems like the wicked are flourishing. This Psalm contains treasures of wisdom because it shows us a godly response to the suffering that Jesus promises we will face in this world. Our desire and longing to be pure of heart should not come from the motive of wanting to be prosperous. Rather, it should be because we desire communion with the one who alone can satisfy and who alone is our good.

Will our response to suffering be one of envy as we see those around us prospering in their lives of sin? Or will we be like the Psalmist, who realized that even though this life is full of suffering, it does not compare with the glory that will be revealed to us? I might have cried, “Don’t let me suffer, don’t let me walk through this.” I may have doubted if he was enough. But this Psalm helped me pray, “God, your nearness is my good. God, your nearness is enough.” And so, I ask you, is his nearness what you desire above all else?

References

  1. Ryken, Leland, James C. Wilhoit, and Tremper Longman III, eds. 1998. Dictionary of Biblical Imagery. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 280.
  2. Clines, David J., ed. 1993. The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press.
  3. Chisholm, Robert B. 1998. “כִּלְיָה.” In New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis, edited by Willem A. VanGemeren, 662. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.