Psalms 73:1-15

Deceptive Prosperity

Psalms 73:1

The opening psalms of this third Book of Psalms are by Asaph; see 2 Chronicles 29:30. The r.v. margin substitutes only for surely in Psalms 73:1. There is none good but God and God is only good. “His every act pure goodness is; His path unsullied light.” Israel, as here intended, is not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. See John 1:47 and Romans 2:28.

We have in these verses a good man's temptation. In every age God's people have asked whether God can possibly know all that is taking place on the earth, and if He does know, why He allows evil to prosper. The dark spirit who is ever at our elbow whispers that we should have done as well, and better, if we had not been quite so scrupulous in our business dealings; and we are held back from giving expression to our thoughts only by the fear that we might cause God's weaker children to stumble. This reticence is, of course, wholly commendable. A Christian man confessed the other day that the irreligion of his children was due to his critical and captious speech. By all means keep these dark and faithless thoughts locked in your own breast; you have no right to scatter thistle-down.