Psalms 73

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

A clean heart - To all true Israelites, who love God, and serve him in spirit and truth.

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

My feet - My faith in God’s providence, was almost overthrown.

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

No bands - They are not dragged to death, by the sentence of the magistrate, which they deserve.

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

As other men - As good men frequently are.

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

And speak - Boasting of their oppressions.

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

Against - Against God, blaspheming his name, and deriding his providence. Walketh - Using all manner of liberty, reproaching all sorts of persons.

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

Turn - To this wicked company. Waters - And partake of the same prosperity with their leaders. God seems to give them a full cup of consolation, as if he would wring out all his blessings upon them.

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

Behold - These seem to be the words of the psalmist, summing up the matter.

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

In vain - Hence I was sometimes tempted, to think that religion was a vain, unprofitable thing. True religion is here described by its two principal parts, the cleansing of the heart, and the hands.

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

Offend - By grieving, discouraging and tempting them to revolt from God.

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

To know - To find out the reason of this providence.

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

Until - ‘Till I consulted the word of God. He alludes to the practice of those times, which was, in difficult cases to resort to God’s sanctuary, and the oracle therein. Their end - There I learned that their prosperity was short.

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

Terrors - With God’s dreadful judgements unexpectedly seizing upon them.

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

They awake - Out of the pleasant dream of this vain life. Despise - Thou shalt make them despicable both to themselves and to all others; raise them to shame, and everlasting contempt. Image - All their felicity and glory, which shall be evidently discerned to be, no real or substantial thing, but a mere image or shadow.

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

Pricked - I was deeply wounded with disquieting thoughts.

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

Nevertheless - Although I gave thee just cause to cast me off, yet thou didst continue thy care and kindness to me. Hast held - That my faith might not fail.

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

Go a whoring - Those who revolt from thee, to work wickedness; which is called whoredom in scripture.