Psalm 73: When the Ungodly Seem to Win

Core Theme: For when you’re doubting, wavering, or wondering whether any of this is worth it

Background

Asaph, one of the chief musicians in David’s day, wrote Psalm 73. It opens with a statement of faith, but it quickly becomes clear that it is the testimony of a man looking back on a time when he nearly lost his footing.

What shook him is something many believers have faced. He looked around and saw people who ignored God doing very well, while he, trying to live rightly, was struggling. The psalm tells us honestly how close he came to giving up, and just as honestly what brought him back.

Psalm 73 (KJV)

1 Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart.

2 But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped.

3 For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

4 For there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm.

5 They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men.

6 Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment.

7 Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish.

8 They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression: they speak loftily.

9 They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth.

10 Therefore his people return hither: and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them.

11 And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High?

12 Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches.

13 Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency.

14 For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning.

15 If I say, I will speak thus; behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children.

16 When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me;

17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.

18 Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction.

19 How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors.

20 As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image.

21 Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins.

22 So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee.

23 Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand.

24 Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.

25 Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.

26 My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.

27 For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee.

28 But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.

The heart of it

Asaph does not hide how close he came. His feet were almost gone, he says, and his steps had nearly slipped. The reason is plain: he envied those who seemed to have it all. They were healthy, comfortable, proud, and seemingly untouched by trouble, and they spoke as if God could not see them or did not care.

Then comes the question many of us have asked quietly. In verse 13 he says he has cleansed his heart in vain. In other words: Was it worth it? Has doing right gotten me anything? That is the very heart of doubt and wavering faith, and it is written into the Word of God. The Lord does not hide it from us.

Notice what Asaph does with the question, though. He does not shout it to the people around him. In verse 15 he holds back so he will not lead others astray. He carries it to the place where God is, and that changes everything. The circumstances did not change first. His understanding did. Scripture warns us against this very trap: “Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity” (Psalm 37:1). Asaph found out why that warning is there.

Walking through it

Verse 13: “Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency.”

This is the question of the core theme, spoken out loud. Asaph is tempted to believe that living for God has been pointless. Notice that he does not say it to dismiss God. He says it in prayer, to the One who can answer. If you have felt the same, you are not the first believer to wonder, and you are not being rebuked for it. The Lord lets Asaph’s honest words stand in His Word so that you know you can speak yours.

Verse 17: “Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.”

Here is the turning point of the whole psalm. Asaph does not get new information about his circumstances. He gets a new perspective in the presence of God. In the sanctuary, the place where God is worshipped, he sees how it ends for those who live without Him. The ground they stand on is slippery (verse 18), and what looked so solid is gone like a dream when one wakes (verse 20). The promise runs the other way, too: “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you” (James 4:8). When you cannot make sense of what you see, the answer is not to try harder to figure it out. It is to go where God is, in His Word, in prayer, in worship, and let Him show you the end of the road.

Verses 23–24: “Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand.”

Look at the contrast with verse 2. There, Asaph’s feet were almost gone. Here, he is being held. His grip was not what kept him from falling away. God’s was. That is a great comfort for a wavering heart, because it means your security does not depend on how strong your faith feels tonight. Jesus said of those who are His: “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:28). And verse 24 looks past this life: “…and afterward receive me to glory.” For the believer, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8).

Verses 25–26: “Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.”

This is where the doubt finally loosens its hold. In verse 3, Asaph wanted what the wicked had. Now there is nothing on earth he desires beside God. Notice verse 26 is not pretending the struggle is over: “My flesh and my heart faileth.” There will be days when you feel that. But “God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.” Strength is not something you have to produce. It is something He is for you. “The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot” (Psalm 16:5).

Carrying this forward

If you are in the middle of it now, watching others seem to do well while you struggle, and wondering whether you have followed God for nothing, you are in good company. Asaph was a man of God and a leader of worship, and he nearly slipped. Do not stay alone with the question. Take it into the presence of God. Open His Word, pray honestly, worship even when you do not feel like it, and ask Him to show you what you cannot see from where you stand. If you have trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are already being held by a hand that does not let go, and your end, unlike the end of those far from Him, is to be received to glory.

If the Lord has already brought you through a season like this, remember what He showed you. It is easy to forget as the days get easier, and to slowly drift back toward looking at everyone else’s life instead of toward Him. Keep coming back to the place where Asaph ended up, and say with him: “But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works” (Psalm 73:28).