Psalms 73 First, there is in this Psalm a description of the prosperity of the wicked, and of that hauteur and pride which they in their prosperity manifested, then of the afflictions of the godly, operating in the Psalmist, and he supposed in others, as a temptation. In ver. 21 we have the recover... [ Continue Reading ]
Psalms 73:13 Notice I. How forgetfulness of God leads us to chafe under the painful dispensations of human life. It is an honest confession which we find in the third verse: "I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked." It is the actual stress of life, contact with all it... [ Continue Reading ]
Psalms 73:16 The rectifying influence of the sanctuary. There has been some little difference of opinion among expositors as to the precise reference of the word here translated "sanctuary." Literally it means "the holies" of God, and so it may be taken either as the holy things or the holy places... [ Continue Reading ]
Psalms 73:17 I. What "the sanctuary" was into which David thus opportunely went, it is not very easy to decide. Perhaps the expression "sanctuary" meant the whole precincts of the tabernacle or Temple. Or, more likely still, it relates not to place at all, but to a certain frame of mind, or inner a... [ Continue Reading ]
Psalms 73:22 I. Consider the character and condition of this man at first, and before he was turned to the Lord: "So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before Thee." He acted the fool because he did not know the truth, and he missed the truth because he acted the fool. II. After describi... [ Continue Reading ]
Psalms 73:25 I. God is the Christian's inheritance as the light of his intellect. II. God is the Christian's inheritance as the refuge of his conscience. III. God is the Christian's inheritance as the rest of his soul. He gives the soul (1) security; (2) happiness; (3) support in the hour of deat... [ Continue Reading ]
Psalms 73:26 I. Life and immortality, we are told, were brought to light by the Gospel. But the immortality of the soul was not first taught and believed when our Lord confuted Sadducean unbelief, or when He consoled His faint-hearted disciples on the eve of His Passion. The doctrine of immortality... [ Continue Reading ]
Psalms 73:28 The experience of ordinary life gives proof that "nearness" is not a geographical fact. You may live positively close to a man, and yet for every real purpose of neighbourhood for any sympathy which may be formed, or any benefit which may accrue you may still be as wide asunder as the... [ Continue Reading ]