Psalm 73
1 Truly God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
my steps had nearly slipped.
3 For I was envious of the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.4 For they have no pangs until death;
their bodies are fat and sleek.
5 They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them as a garment.
7 Their eyes swell out through fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies.
8 They scoff and speak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.
9 They set their mouths against the heavens,
and their tongue struts through the earth.
10 Therefore his people turn back to them,
and find no fault in them.
11 And they say, “How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12 Behold, these are the wicked;
always at ease, they increase in riches.
13 All in vain have I kept my heart clean
and washed my hands in innocence.
14 For all the day long I have been stricken
and rebuked every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
I would have betrayed the generation of your children.16 But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their end.18 Truly you set them in slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
19 How they are destroyed in a moment,
swept away utterly by terrors!
20 Like a dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
21 When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
22 I was brutish and ignorant;
I was like a beast toward you.23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.27 For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;
you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
28 But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.
The world is in turmoil. There is genocide in Darfur. Most of Africa is ruled by dictators and war lords. Hamas is raining rockets down on Israel. Terrorists are blowing up shopping centers, busses, and trains throughout Europe, Asia and the Middle East. In our own country, the greedy have created havoc with our economy. Everywhere you look we seem to reward bad behavior. The bad guys get stronger and richer and more powerful. But Psalm 73 tells us it was that way in early Israel also.
But if we seek God’s strength and God’s guidance, we shall receive God’s reward, which is much greater than any reward the world can bestow. God is a just God. He will punish those that deserve it and reward those that love Him and trust in His guidance.
As with the oil speculators, who lost money when the price of oil fell, and the bankers and mortgage companies whose businesses collapsed from the weight of bad debt, the evil dictators and war lords will be destroyed by the very people they seek to destroy. For in the end, good shall triumph over evil.
Dear God, we honor You and praise You. We pray that You will guide us along Your path of righteousness, that we may be worthy of Your love. Protect us from the evil ways of this world, that we may triumph with You in the next. We ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Steve Boggs
