Psalm 73 begins Book III, which is composed of psalms 73-83, known as the Asaph group. The rest of the psalms in Book III are supposed to be written by the Sons of Korah.  the first part of the psalm starts with a note about the psalmist’s envy of the wicked and their prosperity.

It is a characteristic generality that Satan has us draw, for not all wicked people behave as this describes, nor do all prosper.  But it is sometimes hard for the poor servant of the Lord who struggles from day-to-day to watch the easy life of those who never know what it is to struggle, and then behave and speak irreverently to God, and even to deny him.

In that respect (economic snobbery not withstanding) the wealthy are not as fortunate as the poor because it is not very easy for those who do not depend on God for their daily bread to acknowledge their dependence on Him for anything else.  We do well to remember the 40 years that the Lord’s people spent in the wilderness with God providing their manna daily to teach them to depend on the Lord for all things.

With that, we should count ourselves blessed if we lack in earthly riches, for our reward comes later.

Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you…
For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;

you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
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 work

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy

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some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.