A Reflection on Psalm 73: An Advice to Young Christians

According to my personal experience, I think young Christians who were recent converts usually have mistaken ideas for their Christian future. They assume God will bless your life all the way with a good job, good spouse, good family, good health, all the good news, and only happy times. But they will soon realize that to be a Christian in this world doesn’t turn out to be the most enviable thing in the world. Rather, they will find out that their lives seem so ordinary that those who do not believe in God do not envy them. On the contrary, they feel envious to unbelievers when they see the affluent, successful, happy, and blessed life of those unbelievers. As the Psalmist describes in verses 4 and 5, those who do not believe in God seem to have a better life.

They have no struggles;
    their bodies are healthy and strong.
They are free from common human burdens;
    they are not plagued by human ills. (4, 5)

In this Psalm, the Psalmist calls God’s people “those who are pure in heart” (1) and unbelievers “the arrogant” or “the wicked” (3). This is the way in which the Old Testament view believers and non-believers. It does not mean that “the godly” are always flawless in their morality but that they are the ones who strive to live the kind of life regulated by God’s words. In the same token, when the Old Testament mentions “the wicked,” it does not necessarily mean they are the ones who are morally depraved, but that they are the ones whose lifestyle or philosophy is governed by the disregard of God in their lives. So you can be morally straightforward and a model citizen but you can be the wicked before God when you proudly declare, “I don’t need God. He is only for weaklings or losers.”

Here in this Psalm, the Psalmist was perplexed that when he saw the prosperity of the wicked. Everything was going well with them. The godless people were wealthy, successful, happy, blessed, healthy, strong, and having good time. On the other hand, when he looked at his life, it seems to get nowhere.

He lists the seemingly successful living of the wicked. First, they seem to have no suffering in this life (4-5): “At the top, envying the wicked who have it made, Who have nothing to worry about, not a care in the whole wide world.” (The Message) Second, they do not care about in their conducts (6-9). They revile God. They scoff the unsuccessful and boast in their success. They instill fear in others by intimidation. They know how to use people, especially the weak. But they don’t have any qualms; they deny that they have any responsibility toward God. They say, “How would God know? Does the Most High know anything?” (11). Third, the worst part for the Psalmist to swallow up is that they are very popular among people (10): “People actually listen to them—Can you believe it? Like thirsty puppies, they lap up their words.” (The Message) Their words are more heard than those of believers.

So negative emotions such as anger and jealousy arose in the Psalmist’s heart:

Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure
    and have washed my hands in innocence. (13)

His life was plagued by some problems and trials in his life, which he did not explicitly mention: “All day long I have been afflicted, and every morning brings new punishments.” (13) Maybe his child suddenly died while his ungodly friends enjoy the success of their children, or his banishment from the temple because he spoke the truth while his unbelieving friends relish their promotion? Maybe. Anyway, his question was: “I tried to serve God, I denied my self, I tried to live a holy life, I tried to love God. But why do the ungodly prosper, while a believer like me goes through difficulties?”

The Message translation expresses his inward feeling as follows:

What’s going on here? Is God out to lunch?
    Nobody’s tending the store.
The wicked get by with everything;
    they have it made, piling up riches.
I’ve been stupid to play by the rules;
    what has it gotten me?
A long run of bad luck, that’s what—
    a slap in the face every time I walk out the door. (11-14: The Message)

He was starting to feel sorry for himself. He was badly shaken in his faith. He was almost thrown off his balance. He was on the verge of being fallen. He was losing his faith.

“But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold.  For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.” (2, 3)

And he was almost tempted to betray his faith: “If I had said, ‘I will speak thus, I would have betrayed your children.” (15) This person’s foothold was almost losing. He was almost on the verge of falling to the temptation. He doubted the value of believing in God; so his emotion was down. He was depressed and embittered. He argued with God in anger, “What is the benefit of believing in you?” “When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.” (21, 22)

In our personal experience we sometimes feel the same perplexity. You know in theory that you are blessed by God. But in your actual experience you don’t feel that you are more blessed because of your faith in God than non-Christians. Rather, you see them prosper in the world; they are successful; they are wealthy; they are healthy. They seem to have no pain or burden. There have the sufficient reasons why they brag themselves, and why they become proud and arrogant, boldly speaking blasphemy: “How can God know?  Does the Most High have knowledge?” (11) When you argue with non-believers in the Oval, they bragged about their sinful and amoral and carefree life, mocking God and Christianity. You wish a lightening flashed down in front of them at least to prove that God is living. But nothing happens. Rather, those who spoke blasphemous words seem to have good jobs and glamorous wives or gorgeous husbands and enjoy lives with sumptuous parties and exotic vacations. You wonder, “Where is God?  Does he really know what’s going on in this world?” Thus you become perplexed.

I remember one spring Saturday afternoon when I was a young Christian. I was scheduled to share a testimony at my church in front of a few attendants. So it was not a meeting worthy of spending time writing my testimony in such a wonderful spring afternoon, at least in my immature opinion. When I looked at other students on my college, they were busy going out for hiking or movies with their dates. Here I was sitting down in my cramped and damp room to write a testimony. I felt perplexed because they looked happier and having much better time than me.

I remember one well-known Korean pastor’s story. He came to America to study in a seminary. He was a poor student, but he had a sense of pride that he had been called as a servant of God. Once one wealthy Korean-American doctor invited him. Visiting the doctor’s luxurious mansion, he saw the striking contrast between him and the doctor: He was a poor man to barely eke out even though he was called to be a servant of God but the doctor, who was not a believer, was showing off his wealth to him. Who stands better in this world? He was perplexed.

If one is in the situation of perplexity, his or her spiritual eyes become blind and he or she is very vulnerable to temptation. Satan whispers to him or her, “What good is it to live a pure and holy life? It does not make any difference. Look at non-Christians. They live better and happy lives. Why do you struggle to enter into a narrow gate? Enjoy life!”

Isn’t it this is our experience, too?  Even though you live a pure and holy life, who’ll recognize you?  Rather, non-believers will mock you as freaks or virgins or weaklings.  Also that fact that you become a Christian does not give you a better job or income.  Who’ll recognize your inner change? They will recognize your outward appearance but not inner change or your inner struggle to live a holy life before God. Thus temptation becomes real: It seems there is no difference between believing God and not doing.

But if you look at this Psalm, you will find that after the agonizing experience this Psalmist reached a conclusion that God is indeed good to those who are faithful to him.  That’s why he started this Psalm with that conclusion:

“Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.” (1)

So it is a good study to find out how this person overcame his perplexing and being almost fallen, and came to reach that conclusion.

He knew that if he had blurted out to other fellow believers what was going on in his mind, he could have discouraged them (15). He was perplexed with the way in which God works. But he bit his tongue and habitually came to the sanctuary of God. Then something happened to him in the place of worship: He gained his faith and inner peace. Look at verses 16-20:

When I tried to understand all this,
    it troubled me deeply
till I entered the sanctuary of God;
    then I understood their final destiny.

Surely you place them on slippery ground;
    you cast them down to ruin.
How suddenly are they destroyed,
    completely swept away by terrors!
They are like a dream when one awakes;
    when you arise, Lord,
    you will despise them as fantasies. (16-20)

I don’t know why he decided to come to God’s temple. But probably it was because of his good spiritual habit (A good spiritual habit pays!). Then, what did he begin to understand at the sanctuary of God? He said that then he began to understand the final destiny of the ungodly (17). So far, he began to see only one aspect of their lives. But now he began to see the whole picture of the life of the ungodly. What did he see in the destiny of their lives?  First, he began to understand that God placed them on slippery ground. “Surely you place them on slippery ground.” (18) These people bragged about their own freedom and free will. But contrary to their thinking, God put them in that situation. People boast about their sins and rebellion against God. But in their ignorance, they were completely unaware that God had let them live like that, thus that he had actually placed them in that slippery situation so that their ruin might be so complete. It is not that God had failed to notice their conducts. He knew! He knew that their lives were nothing but fantasies that would vanish like a dream. “An instant end to all their happiness, an eternity of terror. Their present life is only a dream! They will awaken to the truth as one awakens from a dream of things that never really were!” (19-20: Living Bible) So he paid no attention to their blasphemous words and behaviors.

Upon this realization, the Psalmist began to feel ashamed because he was envious of those people who stood on very slippery ground. He thought they might be something, but to God, they were nothing like dreams or fantasies. Do you know this truth? Don’t envy the world and the worldly people. God let them enjoy all the sins so that their fall may be absolutely complete. Yes, people say, “I am free, There is no God, How can God know?” They brag about their unbelief. But don’t you know that they are actually falling into the trap that God has perfectly set up? The Bible says it is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Heb 10:31).

Sometimes God seems to be silent. He seems to sleep, even though it is impossible for him to sleep. He seems to be far away. He seems not to know what’s going on. But suddenly he wakes up. He acts and despises the ungodly as fantasies, or phantoms as we witness the final destruction of Hitler and his Third Reich.

The Psalmist also saw the whole picture of the blessed lives of the godly. God will give them the joy of having fellowship with him: “God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever (26).” He protects and guides them to glory: “You hold me by my right hand (23),” “You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory (24).”

In many ways we don’t see the invaluable riches of God’s spiritual blessings, because by nature they are spiritual and invisible and internal. But they tremendously affect our whole beings. God’s love, mercy, forgiveness, grace deeply mold our inner beings and immensely transform our lives. Paul expresses this truth well in 2 Corinthians 3:18: “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” Having the foretaste of God’s glory, we also look for the future glory of our reality: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Ro 8:18)  

When the Psalmist saw the whole pictures of the terrible destiny of the ungodly and the incalculable blessings of the godly, his faith was once again fully restored. He confesses:

Whom have I in heaven but you?
    And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
    but God is the strength of my heart
    and my portion forever.

Those who are far from you will perish;
    you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
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. (25-28)

Of course, his faith was restored because God, in his mercy, had initiated his restoration. “By the grace of God I am what I am.” But we cannot fail to notice the Psalmist’s spiritual habit of coming to the temple. Maybe he came to the temple mechanically or habitually or mindlessly. But when he came to God, his faith was restored. So we see the importance of drawing near to God through our daily Bible reading and prayer and attending Sunday services regularly.

God surely blesses those who are faithful to him. God, who is the creator of the heaven and the earth, guarantees this truth. And my personal experience sees eye to eye to the conclusion.

When I was a young Christian, I knew in theory that Christians are much more blessed than non-Christians, but in my emotion or heart I didn’t believe it. So I secretly envied them. So in my teaching and preaching, I didn’t have a real confidence to tell the people that you must believe in God. But like this Psalmist, by the grace of God, he led me and enlightened my mind until I slowly came to realization that how blessed I am because he made me a Christian.

I didn’t appreciate the blessedness of inner transformation by God. I was impatient and easily-angered and hot-tempered, brewing the thought of revenge. But I have come to know God little by little, especially his grace and forgiveness and love. My heart was filled with joy, and praise and songs came into my heart. I sensed that my inner life was being slowly transformed. Now I appreciate how blessed I am! Can wealth transform me? Can success change me? No, only God’s grace can do that. How blessed is that I am a Christian by the grace of God!!!

Once Joe Walton says in his sermon that it is the best gift for a human being to know his or her God. Paul prayed to the Ephesian Christians, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.” We are living in a society in which the words such as “love”, “grace”, “mercy”, “peace”, “joy”, “faithfulness”, “patience”, “long-suffering”, “generosity” are very foreign to many people. They do not know the pricelessness of these spiritual blessings. But I was so thankful that I came to know such incomparable treasures because God, in his mercy, showed his glory to such an undeserving sinner like me. I am so grateful that God is my God. I want to emphasize again that knowing God is such a great blessing. It profoundly affects your whole being, so you become if not a great person, then a transformed person.

Life is not only for material, pleasure, or only yourself. God has a bigger purpose in your life. You can be an angel of God, an agent of his love for someone. Human beings are not created not for ruling others, or using others, or dominating others. We are created to serve others, especially, for the weak, the despised, and the neglected in love and prayer. I really am thankful to God that, without God, I could have lived only for myself, but that, in his mercy, he led me to live for him and his kingdom. If you become the instrument of saving one’s soul through leading him or her into Christ through your teaching and love and service, that’s worthy of life. At the end of your life, you will know your life was not “nothing” but somehow you are used for the improvement of others’ lives. Christ came into the world so that we may become useful again for him. It seems that those who enter the narrow gate seem foolish. But it is not. The Bible, the life experience, and the Holy Spirit confirm that, if you are faithful to God, he will SURELY bless your life. But if you do not believe in God, your life seems to go well but your ends will be “nothing” because you will fall into the hands of the living God.

Back to that pastor’s testimony in this reflection: After coming back from America, the pastor had a very fruitful and successful ministry. One day he got the news that the doctor committed a suicide. How might the pastor have felt at that moment?  Alas, instead of being envious of his wealth, I could have been a better witness of the gospel to him! Yes, don’t be deceived by the world’s pomp and glory. Let us the see the final destiny of the world and feel sorry for them because they are like sheep without a shepherd, and tell them, “It is dreadful to fall into the hands of the living God. Your life stands on very slippery ground. Please come back to God because he is surely good to those who are faithful to him.”