My Steps had Nearly Slipped
Psalm 73:1-6, 8, 12-17, 20-26 (The beginning of BOOK III - Psalms 73–89)
A Psalm of Asaph.
1 Truly God is good to the upright, 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; I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 For they have no pain; their bodies are sound and sleek.
5 They are not in trouble as others are; they are not plagued like other people.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them like a garment…..
8 They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression….
12 Such are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.
13 All in vain I have kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence.
14 For all day long I have been plagued, and am punished every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will talk on in this way,”
I would have been untrue to the circle 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 perceived their end….
20 They are like a dream when one awakes; on awaking you despise their phantoms.
21 When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart,
22 I was stupid and ignorant; I was like a brute 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 other than you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
These selected verses give a clear sense of the psalm’s direction.
The psalm writer, Asaph, opens with a line we know are the right words, “God is good to the upright, to those who are pure in heart.” But immediately after saying those words Asaph thinks, “That is not true. The upright have a difficult time and the wicked have an easy time.” For nine verses (4-12), 30% of the psalm, Asaph reflects on how easy life is for those people who ignore God, who act with violence, who live in pride and exercise malice. Then in vs 13 and 14 Asaph dives deep in the self-pity of just how hard it is to be good in a world where the wrong doers get away with whatever they want. But then in vs. 21 and 22, Asaph recognizes how “embittered” they have become because of their reflections on the easy life of the wicked and the hard life of those who seek to do good.
Vs. 15 is the change in the psalm – “If” Asaph had said aloud what they were thinking – they would have betrayed all those people who have tried to follow God. It was the community of God’s people that stopped Asaph from giving up following, it was the thought of God’s people that stopped Asaph from going to the other side.
The community of faith matters for two reasons, it holds us accountable to not abandon our following of God, and the community of faith draws us to worship, “until I went to the sanctuary”, and in worship we see things as they truly are, God is on the throne and that is our only hope in this life and for the life to come. Worship reminds us of who is in charge, and who is worthy of our commitment.
PRAYER:
Lord God, we have walked the road of despair as we have seen the wicked succeed and the godly struggle. We have almost slipped. We thank you for the community of faith that grounds us, reminding us that we are not alone in following you. Draw us into worship that we may see who you are, in glory, and honour, and power. In Jesus’ name. Amen.