Slices
Prepare
Jesus says, ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest’ (Matthew 11:28). Come to Christ today and ask him for rest.
Bible passage
A psalm of Asaph.
1 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.
5 They are free from common human burdens;
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;
their evil imaginations have no limits.
8 They scoff, and speak with malice;
with 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.
11 They say, ‘How would God know?
Does the Most High know anything?’
12 This is what the wicked are like –
always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.
13 Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure
and have washed my hands in innocence.
14 All day long I have been afflicted,
and every morning brings new punishments.
15 If I had spoken out like that,
I would have betrayed your children.
16 When I tried to understand all this,
it troubled me deeply
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 They are like a dream when one awakes;
when you arise, 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 afterwards 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 for ever.
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.
Explore
In our readings in Luke, Jesus has been teaching about the different paths one could take in life – and this psalm follows a similar theme. It’s a ‘wisdom’ psalm, with the psalmist exploring some of the themes from his life, from which we can also learn.
The psalmist sets out the way of ‘the arrogant’ and ‘the wicked’ in verses 3–12, a path which can feel attractive to us – who wouldn’t want to avoid being ‘plagued by human ills’, (v 5)? Do you sometimes feel conflicted between living God’s way and living in the way of the world? Sometimes, the apparently carefree lives of the wicked don’t seem fair (v 12)! But in the end, the wicked will perish (vs 18–20,27) – and it will be God’s doing (v 18).
Meanwhile, like the psalmist, we can feel weary (v 16) – Jesus did too! – and even bitter (v 21). But verses 23–28 are a marvellous expression of what it means to have faith. Unlike the psalmist, we know that Jesus has conquered over all – and we can be near God because of all he achieved for us on the cross (v 28). ‘Surely God is good’ (v 1).
Respond
Read through Psalm 49 – another wisdom psalm – and pray for God to give you wisdom to live in today’s world.
Deeper Bible study
‘Be near me Lord Jesus, I ask you to stay / close by me for ever and love me I pray … fit us for heaven to be with you there.’1
Psalm 73 begins the third set of psalms. Almost the numerical centre of the book, it is the theological centre, looking back as a synopsis but marking a shift to a more questioning attitude. Psalm 72 ends with a paean: ‘may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen.’ But so does the very final psalm: ‘Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.’ Psalm 73 reinforces the major message which flows through Psalms 1–72, that godliness does not mean relying upon our own strength or resources, but relying on God: what the psalmists constantly called ‘taking refuge’ in God.2 In Psalm 73, however, a questioning note enters. Why do the wicked prosper? Why doesn’t God act?
The psalmist’s Scripture was the Torah, in which it was unquestioningly proclaimed that God’s curse upon the unrighteous was both immediate and tangible:
‘Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed … your womb … the crops … your herds’.3 In the psalmist’s experience, in contrast, the ‘wicked’ were healthy, happy, strong and carefree (vs 3–12). Envy of them almost destroyed him (vs 2,3). Was it all an illusion? Had he kept his heart pure for no purpose? (v 13). Then somewhere, perhaps in the Temple itself, the psalmist found ‘sanctuary’ (v 17), a place where he could face himself and how he was acting before God: ‘I was a brute beast before you’ (v 22). He saw that nothing on earth should matter to him but God. His flesh and heart may fail, but God would never fail him (v 26). Fleetingly, his mind reaches for the answer in an unnamed eternity: ‘afterwards you will take me into glory … my portion for ever’ (vs 24,26). Finally, he knows that God is all he needs: ‘it is good to be near God’ (v 28).
Lord of all, forgive me for the times I doubt you, losing my faith. Thank you for never failing me. All I want is to know you are near me.
1 Anon c1885, ‘Away in a Manger’ 2 The word ’refuge’ occurs in 32 of the first 72 psalms: eg Pss 2,5,7,9,11,16,25,46 3 Deut 28:16–19
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Daniel 6,7; 2 John
Pray for Scripture Union
Give thanks to God for Lottie, for leading her to faith and giving her life new purpose and meaning through the SU beach mission at Sutton on Sea.
