Psalms 73, 77-78     Listen

Asaph writes about the wicked (Psalm 73)

A Psalm of Asaph.
1 ¶ Truly God is good to Israel,
To such as 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 boastful,
When I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 For there are no pangs in their death,
But their strength is firm.
5 They are not in trouble as other men,
Nor are they plagued like other men.
6 Therefore pride serves as their necklace;
Violence covers them like a garment.
7 Their eyes bulge with abundance;
They have more than heart could wish.
8 They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression;
They speak loftily.
9 They set their mouth against the heavens,
And their tongue walks through the earth.
10 Therefore his people return here,
And waters of a full cup are drained by them.
11 And they say, “How does God know?
And is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12 Behold, these are the ungodly,
Who are always at ease;
They increase in riches.
13 Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain,
And washed my hands in innocence.
14 For all day long I have been plagued,
And chastened every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
Behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of Your children.
16 When I thought how to understand this,
It was too painful for me—
17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God;
Then I understood their end.
18 Surely You set them in slippery places;
You cast them down to destruction.
19 Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment!
They are utterly consumed with terrors.
20 As a dream when one awakes,
So, Lord, when You awake,
You shall despise their image.
21 Thus my heart was grieved,
And I was vexed in my mind.
22 I was so foolish and ignorant;
I was like a beast before You.
23 Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You hold me by my right hand.
24 You will guide me with Your counsel,
And afterward receive me to glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but You?
And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.
26 My flesh and my heart fail;
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
27 For indeed, those who are far from You shall perish;
You have destroyed all those who desert You for harlotry.
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 Your works.

Asaph is the author of the Psalm. He was David's music man, choir director, part-time prophet, etc. - a well-rounded guy. In this passage Asaph begins by commenting about the envy he felt toward the prosperity of those who do not serve God. Notice verse 3, "For I was envious of the boastful, When I saw the prosperity of the wicked." In other words, LIFE AIN'T FAIR! We see a transition in his thinking in verses 16-17, "When I thought how to understand this, It was too painful for me—Until I went into the sanctuary of God; Then I understood their end." It's almost as though we can see the wheels turning in Asaph's head on this issue as we read further. His conclusion is clear in verse 27, "For indeed, those who are far from You shall perish; You have destroyed all those who desert You for harlotry." There it is: wickedness coupled with prosperity now, but destruction for eternity. Ultimately, life is fair after all.

On seeking God (Psalm 77)

To the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.
1 ¶ I cried out to God with my voice—
To God with my voice;
And He gave ear to me.
2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord;
My hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing;
My soul refused to be comforted.
3 I remembered God, and was troubled;
I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed.
Selah
4 You hold my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
5 I have considered the days of old,
The years of ancient times.
6 I call to remembrance my song in the night;
I meditate within my heart,
And my spirit makes diligent search.
7 Will the Lord cast off forever?
And will He be favorable no more?
8 Has His mercy ceased forever?
Has His promise failed forevermore?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies?
Selah
10 And I said, “This is my anguish;
But I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.”
11 I will remember the works of the LORD;
Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.
12 I will also meditate on all Your work,
And talk of Your deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary;
Who is so great a God as our God?
14 You are the God who does wonders;
You have declared Your strength among the peoples.
15 You have with Your arm redeemed Your people,
The sons of Jacob and Joseph.
Selah
16 The waters saw You, O God;
The waters saw You, they were afraid;
The depths also trembled.
17 The clouds poured out water;
The skies sent out a sound;
Your arrows also flashed about.
18 The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
The lightnings lit up the world;
The earth trembled and shook.
19 Your way was in the sea,
Your path in the great waters,
And Your footsteps were not known.
20 You led Your people like a flock
By the hand of Moses and Aaron.

In this Psalm Asaph talks about calling upon the Lord and reminds him of what he has done for his people in the past. In the first nine verses Asaph contemplates the rejection he feels he's experiencing at the moment. In verse 10 he determines to reflect on the demonstrations of God in his past. This is a good example for Believers today. When times are tough, just reflect back on how God has provided for you in the past. A positive outlook in one's walk with God is also emphasized in Philippians 4:8 (see notes), "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things."

Incidentally, the subtitle to this Psalm says, "To the Chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of Asaph." Here's what Easton says about it. "The words 'upon Jeduthun' probably denote a musical instrument; or they may denote the style or tune invented or introduced by Jeduthun, or that the psalm was to be sung by his choir."

Asaph doesn't cut Israel any slack (Psalm 78)
In this Psalm, Asaph takes his readers on a journey through time - from the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt to King David.

Introduction

A Contemplation of Asaph.
1 ¶ Give ear, O my people, to my law;
Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings of old,
3 Which we have heard and known,
And our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children,
Telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD,
And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.
5 For He established a testimony in Jacob,
And appointed a law in Israel,
Which He commanded our fathers,
That they should make them known to their children;
6 That the generation to come might know them,
The children who would be born,
That they may arise and declare them to their children,

Israel...don't be like your ancestors.

7 That they may set their hope in God,
And not forget the works of God,
But keep His commandments;
8 And may not be like their fathers,
A stubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation that did not set its heart aright,
And whose spirit was not faithful to God.
9 The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows,
Turned back in the day of battle.
10 They did not keep the covenant of God;
They refused to walk in His law,
11 And forgot His works
And His wonders that He had shown them.

God's miraculous leadership out of Egypt

12 Marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers,
In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
13 He divided the sea and caused them to pass through;
And He made the waters stand up like a heap.
14 In the daytime also He led them with the cloud,
And all the night with a light of fire.

God provided water from the rock.

15 He split the rocks in the wilderness,
And gave them drink in abundance like the depths.
16 He also brought streams out of the rock,
And caused waters to run down like rivers.
17 But they sinned even more against Him
By rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness.

God provided manna.

18 And they tested God in their heart
By asking for the food of their fancy.
19 Yes, they spoke against God:
They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
20 Behold, He struck the rock,
So that the waters gushed out,
And the streams overflowed.
Can He give bread also?
Can He provide meat for His people?|”
21 Therefore the LORD heard this and was furious;
So a fire was kindled against Jacob,
And anger also came up against Israel,
22 Because they did not believe in God,
And did not trust in His salvation.
23 Yet He had commanded the clouds above,
And opened the doors of heaven,
24 Had rained down manna on them to eat,
And given them of the bread of heaven.
25 Men ate angels’ food;
He sent them food to the full.

God provided quail.

26 He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens;
And by His power He brought in the south wind.
27 He also rained meat on them like the dust,
Feathered fowl like the sand of the seas;
28 And He let them fall in the midst of their camp,
All around their dwellings.
29 So they ate and were well filled,
For He gave them their own desire.

God judged Israel in the wilderness.

30 They were not deprived of their craving;
But while their food was still in their mouths,
31 The wrath of God came against them,
And slew the stoutest of them,
And struck down the choice men of Israel.
32 In spite of this they still sinned,
And did not believe in His wondrous works.
33 Therefore their days He consumed in futility,
And their years in fear.
34 When He slew them, then they sought Him;
And they returned and sought earnestly for God.
35 Then they remembered that God was their rock,
And the Most High God their Redeemer.
36 Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth,
And they lied to Him with their tongue;
37 For their heart was not steadfast with Him,
Nor were they faithful in His covenant.
38 But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity,
And did not destroy them.
Yes, many a time He turned His anger away,
And did not stir up all His wrath;
39 For He remembered that they were but flesh,
A breath that passes away and does not come again.
40 How often they provoked Him in the wilderness,
And grieved Him in the desert!
41 Yes, again and again they tempted God,
And limited the Holy One of Israel.

Israel did not recall God's deliverance from the Egyptians.

42 They did not remember His power:
The day when He redeemed them from the enemy,
43 When He worked His signs in Egypt,
And His wonders in the field of Zoan;
44 Turned their rivers into blood,
And their streams, that they could not drink.
45 He sent swarms of flies among them, which devoured them,
And frogs, which destroyed them.
46 He also gave their crops to the caterpillar,
And their labor to the locust.
47 He destroyed their vines with hail,
And their sycamore trees with frost.
48 He also gave up their cattle to the hail,
And their flocks to fiery lightning.
49 He cast on them the fierceness of His anger,
Wrath, indignation, and trouble,
By sending angels of destruction among them.
50 He made a path for His anger;
He did not spare their soul from death,
But gave their life over to the plague,
51 And destroyed all the firstborn in Egypt,
The first of their strength in the tents of Ham.

Once delivered from Egypt into Canaan, Israel provoked God.

52 But He made His own people go forth like sheep,
And guided them in the wilderness like a flock;
53 And He led them on safely, so that they did not fear;
But the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54 And He brought them to His holy border,
This mountain which His right hand had acquired.
55 He also drove out the nations before them,
Allotted them an inheritance by survey,
And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.
56 Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God,
And did not keep His testimonies,
57 But turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers;
They were turned aside like a deceitful bow.
58 For they provoked Him to anger with their high places,
And moved Him to jealousy with their carved images.

In Canaan, God judged Israel's sin.

59 When God heard this, He was furious,
And greatly abhorred Israel,
60 So that He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh,
The tent He had placed among men,
61 And delivered His strength into captivity,
And His glory into the enemy’s hand.
62 He also gave His people over to the sword,
And was furious with His inheritance.
63 The fire consumed their young men,
And their maidens were not given in marriage.
64 Their priests fell by the sword,
And their widows made no lamentation.

God delivered Israel from their enemies by King David.

65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
Like a mighty man who shouts because of wine.
66 And He beat back His enemies;
He put them to a perpetual reproach.
67 Moreover He rejected the tent of Joseph,
And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68 But chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion which He loved.
69 And He built His sanctuary like the heights,
Like the earth which He has established forever.
70 He also chose David His servant,
And took him from the sheepfolds;
71 From following the ewes that had young He brought him,
To shepherd Jacob His people,
And Israel His inheritance.
72 So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart,
And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.

Now here's a different kind of a Psalm - a Maschil (KJV) according to the subtitle. That means, according to Easton, it's "a song enforcing some lesson of wisdom or piety." The NKJV substitutes the word in the subtitle "Contemplation" for "Maschil." Asaph is credited with this one, and it seems to be his purpose to warn future generations of the consequences of turning their backs on God. He does so by giving a history lesson summarizing several of Israel's past rebellions. Asaph integrates into this history the process of Israel's continual falls: (1) a disregard for God...followed by (2) a chastening by God...followed by (3) a repentance toward God. This seems to be a continuous cycle in Israel's history; Asaph uses this Psalm to teach a lesson on obedience to God for future generations.

Incidentally, Zoan (verses 12, 43) was probably the city where Moses and Aaron negotiated with Pharaoh. We are told in Numbers 13:22 (see notes), "Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt." Abraham resided for a time in Hebron, so you can see that Zoan was an old city. It was the capital of Egypt at the time Jacob and his family moved to Egypt. The "field of Zoan" seems to be functionally equivalent to "Goshen" where Jacob's people settled in Egypt.

Ephraim seems to epitomize Israel's wrongdoings in this Psalm. Historically speaking, Asaph may be referencing the Philistine incursion and victory at Ebenezer, which resulted in the loss of the ark and the destruction of Shiloh (I Samuel 4:1-11, see notes). The passage beginning with II Samuel 2:1-11 (see notes) gives us a little insight into the struggle between Judah (the tribe that was supportive of David) and Ephraim (the tribe that was supportive of Saul's line). As a matter of fact, it would be Ephraim who would later have a key role in the rebellion of the Northern 10 tribes that would split under an Ephraimite, King Jeroboam (II Kings 12, see notes). It's important to note that the northern tribes never served God after that time. Asaph drives the point home in verses 67 and 68 regarding the struggle between Ephraim and Judah. The rest of the Psalm praises the leadership of David as God's chosen man.

Incidentally, Matthew refers to this Psalm in citing a quotation by Jesus in Matthew 13:35 (see notes).