Read Psalm
73-74 & Romans
5
To discover:
As you read consider how an
eternal perspective impacts the present.
To ponder:
Psalm 73 begins
psalms related to Asaph, a choir leader at the temple (title and 1 Chr 16v5).
It starts affirming God’s goodness to those in Israel
who are “pure in heart” – ie. those who are unadulterated in their devotion to
God. Asaph confesses that he almost slipped from this purity out of envying the
wicked in their prosperity (73v1-3). With echoes of Job, he relates that
prosperity: In a general sense they seem free from struggle or ill health. And
it is because of this that they do evil; and by laying claim to heaven and
earth win people to themselves who assume God does not see or know what they’re
doing (73v4-12). By contrast Asaph considers himself plagued and punished daily
(perhaps a reference to hardship), and so has felt it pointless to be pure,
turning from doing wrong (73v13-14). Yet he displays righteousness by realizing
it would have been detrimental to others if he had voiced his doubts – a lesson
to us (73v15). Nevertheless, he found considering these things oppressive,
until he entered the temple sanctuary and gained a true perspective. There he
realized that whatever prosperity the wicked enjoy, when God arises and so
chooses, they will be suddenly destroyed by terrors – a reference perhaps not
just to death but what lies beyond (73v18-20). Like Job, on seeing this Asaph
acknowledges that when embittered in his envy he was ignorant and like a beast
(73v21-22). This may refer to him not displaying the supremely human quality of
trust in God. But he recognises that God has always held him, guides him, and
will eventually take him to glory – a clear Old Testament pointer to the
afterlife. In the light of that, Asaph affirms his utter desire for God which
means that earth has nothing he could envy or long for by comparison, as even
if he were to die, God is his strength and portion forever (73v23-26).
“Portion” here refers to God like the portion of the promised land given as an
inheritance to each Israelite. It’s a way of saying God is all Asaph desired,
and is his ultimate reward. And so he concludes that the unfaithful will perish
whilst he now knows it is good to be near God, making him one’s refuge. He will
therefore tell of God’s deeds (73v27-28).
The psalm helps us process our own
struggle over why as God’s people we may suffer when those who despise God
prosper. It also restores a right perspective within which we are reminded of
the wonder that God doesn’t just give us good things, but his very self, from
which glory follows. We are therefore encouraged to stick with him in all
purity of heart.
Psalm 74 also communicates confusion
as to God’s purposes. It asks why God has rejected and is angry with his
people. It then describes Mount Zion in ruins and the sanctuary destroyed, most
likely referring to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians (2 Kgs 25).
This means this psalm wasn’t composed by Asaph who lived earlier (see title),
but may be like one of his psalms or for the choir he once headed. The prayer
is that God would remember his people that he purchased from Egypt – the cost
was probably the price that had to then be paid for the firstborn from Israel
(Ex 13v1-16). The destruction of the sanctuary and all other places of worship
is described in tragic detail. And it is added that the people are left without
miraculous signs or prophetic messages, with no sense how long this will last
(74v4-9). The picture is of true God-forsakenness. And so the psalmist asks how
long the enemy will revile God’s name – no doubt, by implying he is impotent by
their victory. He also asks why God holds back, praying that he would destroy
them. What follows is a meditation to support the psalmist’s continued
conviction that God is king from of old who brings salvation. It speaks of his
power in dividing the Red Sea , and uses the myth of
Baal’s conquest of sea monsters as an illustration of God crushing Pharoah, or
the armies that faced Israel
in the desert. It then looks to God’s drying up rivers – ie. the Jordan ,
as Israel
crossed into their land. The point is that God has proved his power to save his
people. Indeed, it is he who created and sustains the days and seasons
(74v12-17). And so, the psalmist urges God to remember how the enemy had mocked
him by destroying the sanctuary, and asks him not to hand over his precious dove
(Israel ) to
wild beasts (the enemy). Instead, he prays that God would remember his covenant
and act against the violence that fills the land (probably that of the
conquerors who remained), freeing the oppressed so that the poor and needy
praise him (74v18-21).
The psalm ends on this same note –
the call for God to “rise up” and defend his own cause (74v22-23). And this is
essentially its point. It’s concerned with his honour, seen in judging those
who oppose his people and mock his name, and in restoring the place whereby he
is worshipped. The former was fulfilled when Persia
conquered Babylon , and the latter
when the people return and rebuilt the temple. But both events look to the
establishment of the church as the temple place for worshipping the Lord, and
the final judgement in which all will know he is God. It is his power that will
complete all these things, and it is proved not only by creation and the
redemption of Israel
from Egypt , but
now by the works and resurrection of Christ too.
Praying
it home:
Praise God for how
the glory to come gives perspective to the injustice and hardship of the
present. Pray that you would continue to trust him as one who is pure in heart.
Thinking
further:
None
today.
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