Psalms 73:1-28

Psalms 73:89

Gordon Churchyard

The Psalms of David (Book 3).

Now I Understand

Psalms 73

Jesus said, "Make sure that your valuable things are in *heaven". (Matthew 6:20) (*Heaven is the home of God.)

Introduction

Here are some of the things that you should know as you read the psalms in this book.

1. At the top of each psalm (say it "sarm") is a title in Dark Letters. This title is not in the *Hebrew psalm. It is not part of the Bible. It is there to give us help to remember the psalm and what it is about.

2. Under the title are some words either that Jesus said, or that somebody said about him. These words are from the *Gospels. They are part of the Bible.

3. The psalm itself is in a box. Everything that is in the box is part of the psalm. This includes the words at the top that tell us who wrote the psalm and why. In this book, we believe that these words are true and that they give us some help to understand the psalm. Other parts from the Bible are also in boxes, except the verses under the titles.

4. Words in brackets like this: () are not in the *Hebrew Bible. They give us help to understand what the psalm means.

5. The *Hebrew writers of the psalms used some words that we cannot translate into EasyEnglish words. These are in a word list at the end of this book. Some words are very important, like *LORD and *righteous. You will find a whole page about these words after some of the psalms. *Righteous is after Psalms 5, the *Covenant is after Psalms 25 and the names of God (*LORD, *Lord and God) are also after Psalms 25. These psalms are in Book 1 of the Psalms of David.

6. After each psalm is the story of the psalm. Some of the psalms we know a lot about, as Psalms 18. Other psalms we do not know anything about, as Psalms 1. When this happens we say "perhaps" or "maybe".

7. After the stories comes "what the psalm means". Sometimes Bible students are not sure what the writer meant. When that happens the notes tell you.

8. At the end of each psalm, there is "something to do". This will give you help to learn more about the psalm.

Book 3 of the Psalms

The word psalms comes from a *Hebrew word meaning "*praises". You *praise someone when you say that they are great and good. The words you say are "*praises". Many of the psalms in Books 1 (1-41) and 2 (42-72) of the Psalms are "Psalms of David". This means that he wrote them, or someone else wrote them for him and put them in David’s book of psalms. But only Psalms 86 in Book 3 of the Psalms is "a psalm (or *prayer) of David". The other 16 are by 4 other people:

• 73 - 83 are "psalms or *maskils of Asaph".

• 84, 85 and 87 are "psalms of the sons of Korah".

• 88 is a "psalm of the sons of Korah" and a "*maskil of Heman".

• 89 is a "*maskil of Ethan".

Who were Asaph, Korah, Heman and Ethan? Why are their names on the psalms?

Bible students are not sure what the "of" means in the *Hebrew "psalm of Asaph... or Korah... or Heman... or Ethan". It may mean that he wrote the psalm. It may mean that someone wrote the psalm for him. Asaph’s name is also on Psalms 50. Korah’s name is on Psalms 42(43), and 44-49. Psalms 42:50 are in Book 2 of "The Psalms of David". 88 and 89 are the only psalms with Heman and Ethan on them. Bible students think that "*maskil" is a special psalm. It is a psalm that teaches us something.

Who was Asaph?

We can read about Asaph in two books of the *Old Testament, Chronicles and Nehemiah. From them we learn 4 things about Asaph:

• his father was Berechiah (1 Chronicles 6:39)

• he was a music leader (1 Chronicles 15:17... this verse also calls Heman and Ethan music leaders)

• he was a *seer (2 Chronicles 29:30) … a *seer can "see what will happen", it is another word for "*prophet"

• he lived at the same time as King David (Nehemiah 12:46)

In 1 Chronicles 25:1-2 we read this:

v​1 David and the leaders of the army made these people separate. They were the sons of Asaph, the sons of Heman and the sons of Jeduthun. Their job was to *prophesy. They had to make music with *harps, *lyres and *cymbals.

v​2 Here is a list of the men that did this work. From the sons of Asaph (there are) Jaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah and Asarelah. Asaph told the sons of Asaph what to do. Asaph *prophesied with help from the king.

"To *prophesy" means "to tell people what God thinks and what he is going to do". They did this with music. Maybe this means that they sang what they *prophesied.

Asaph was the leader of "the sons of Asaph". They were his family. When he died the family continued to do this work. For many centuries they were "the sons of Asaph". It became the name of a music group. Ezra 3:10 tells us that they sang when they built the *temple in Jerusalem again. This was 500 years after Asaph died! Maybe the family wrote a book of psalms called "Psalms of the Sons of Asaph". We do not know. But, when the *Israelites made our Book of Psalms, they put into it some of the Psalms of Asaph. Bible students think that Asaph made a book of psalms, and some (or all?) of them are in our Book of Psalms. They are Psalms 50 (in Book 2 of "The Psalms of David") and Psalms 73:83 (here in Book 3).

The psalms from Asaph’s book do this:

• they describe the world round us in a clear way

• they tells us that God cares for people

• they make what has happened teach us things

• they tell us that God is very great

• they are good *poetry (*poetry is using words in a beautiful way)

Who was Korah?

Levi was one of the 12 sons of Jacob. Levi’s sons, and their sons, for many hundreds of years, worked in the *temple. At first, this was a *tent (or house made from animal skins); but later it was a stone building in Jerusalem. Some of them were *priests. They killed animals and burned them, to make God happy. The rules for this are in Leviticus. Other men gave them help. Some of them made music. These included the sons of Asaph and the sons of Korah. Here, "sons" means grandchildren, great grandchildren, and so on. The "sons of Asaph" made music for hundreds of years. Ezra 2:41 and Nehemiah 7:44 tell us that they did it after the *exile. The *exile was when King Nebuchadnezzar took the *Israelites to Babylon in 587 BC. "*Exile" means "away from your own country".

But the "sons of Korah" did not make music after the *exile. Korah was a bad man. He died when the *Israelites came from Egypt to Israel. His children, and their children, and so on, are the "sons of Korah". They were a group of singers in the *temple in Jerusalem. They did not only sing, they were doorkeepers also, 1 Chronicles 26:19. This means that they only let the right people into the *temple. But after the *exile we hear no more about them. Maybe they stayed in Babylon. But they still used their psalms in the *temple in Jerusalem.

The "sons of Korah" maybe had a book of psalms as well as the "sons of Asaph". Some of these are in our Book of Psalms. Maybe they wrote them; maybe other people wrote them and gave them to the "sons of Korah".

The psalms from the sons of Korah do this:

• they tell us that they like to *praise God in special places

• they believe that *Yahweh (the *LORD) is king in Jerusalem

• they are good *poetry

Who were Heman and Ethan?

We do not know much about these two men. They were Levites (which means that they are in Levi’s family. They were not his sons, but great.... grandchildren. Ethan was another doorkeeper in the *temple. Both men gave help with the *temple music.

Psalms 73

(This is) a psalm of *Asaph.

v1 I am sure that God is good to (the people of) Israel,
to the people whose hearts are clean.

v2 But (this is what happened) to me.
My feet nearly *slipped and I almost fell over.

v3 Some people had made themselves important.
Because I was angry, I wanted the things they had.
I saw that *godless people had plenty!

v4 And so their bodies are fat (and *healthy).
Even when they die, they feel no pain.

v5 They do not have trouble *like other people
or the difficulties that hit everyone else.

v6 So they, (the *godless), wear their *pride *like a *necklace.
The bad things that they do, they wear them *like clothes.

v7 Their eyes look out from fat faces.
Their hearts are full of *pride.

v8 They laugh (at people) and say bad things (about them).
In their *pride they talk about *oppressing people.

v9 The mouths (of the *godless) say that the skies belong to them.
And their *tongues demand the earth.

v10 So his (God’s) people turn to them.
They drink everything from them (the *godless).

v11 And they (God’s people) ask, "How can God know?"
And (they ask) "Does the *Most High see everything?"

v12 This, then, is what *godless people (say and do).
They have no trouble and plenty of money!

v13 I was sure that I had made my heart clean
for no good purpose!
Also, I had washed my hands
to show that I had done nothing wrong (for no reason)!

v14 I had trouble all day
and it started to hurt me every morning!

v15 If I had said, "I will agree (with what the *godless say)";
then I would have let down all your children.

v16 When I thought about this,
it was so hard for me (to understand).

v17 Then I went into the house of God.
That was when I understood what would happen to them (the *godless).

v18 (Then) I was sure that you would put them
in a place where they would *slip!
You would throw them down and destroy them.

v19 It will take just a moment to destroy them!
Great *fear will sweep them away completely.

v20 It will be *like when you wake up from a dream.
*Lord, when you get up, you will forget that they were there!

v21 When my heart hurt me and my stomach was painful...

v22...I was *stupid and I knew nothing.
I was as an angry animal with you!

v23 But really I was always with you.
(Now) you hold me by my right hand.

v24 What you say to me will be my guide.
And then you will take me to *glory.

v25 I know nobody in *heaven except you.
And, with you, there is nothing (else) on earth that I want.

v26 My heart and my body may fail,
but God will always make me strong.
He is all that I will ever need.

v27 I am sure that people far from you will die.
You will destroy everybody that does not obey you.

v28 But it is good for me to be near to God.
I have made the master and *LORD my safe place.
I will tell (people) about the good things that you do.

The Story of Psalms 73

This is a psalm by *Asaph, or one that somebody wrote for him or his music group. You can read about *Asaph at the end of this psalm.

The *psalmist had a problem. Bad people had plenty of money and things. Good people did not. Why? Would it be better for him to be bad? Then he went into God’s house. There he understood that bad people would die, but good people would always live with God!

In this psalm, we have translated "bad people" as "*godless". This meant:

• before 500 BC, people who were not *Israelites

• after 500 BC, people who did not obey God and fought against him; it did not matter who they were

BC means years Before Christ came to live on the earth. About 500 BC was when many *Israelites returned home from the *exile. They came from Babylon.

So the *psalmist starts with what he had learned: God is good to the people whose hearts are clean.

What Psalms 73 means

The psalm is in three parts. They all start with the same word in *Hebrew: ak. It means "surely". We have translated it "I am sure" in verse 1 and "I was sure" in verses 13 and 18.

Verses 1 – 12: The *psalmist (maybe *Asaph) starts with what he thinks is true. "God is good to Israel", verse 1. He then says whom he means by Israel. It is not everyone that lives in that land. It is only those "whose hearts are clean". This means the people that love and obey God. There are other people in Israel that do not love and obey God. He calls these "the *godless", verse 3. The *godless had plenty of money and things. God did not seem to *punish them. This made *Asaph angry! He also wanted plenty of things. He almost stopped loving and obeying God. That is what "my feet nearly *slipped and I almost fell over" means, verse 2. The important words are "nearly" and "almost". God did not let the *psalmist fall. God was with the *psalmist, even if the *psalmist did not believe it.

Then *Asaph tells us more about the *godless:

• they have plenty to eat and drink so they are fat (or *healthy), verse 4

• when they die they do not have a lot of pain like some people, verse 4

• they do not have trouble *like most people, verse 5

• they make everyone see that they think that they are important, verse 6 (*necklace and clothes are what people see)

• they are *proud (which means they think that they are important), verse 7 and they *oppress people (or are not kind to them), verse 8

• they say that everything in *heaven and earth belongs to them, verse 9

All this makes "his people turn to them", verse 10. The *Hebrew Bible does not say who "his people" are, or "them". Many Bible students think that it means this: God’s people (whose hearts are clean) want to be *like the *godless. They want this so that they too can have plenty of money and things. They "drink everything", verse 10, or "do everything the *godless do". Then they ask each other if God knows what they have done, verse 11. The answer is God does know because he is with his people.

Some Bible students think that it is the *godless that ask the questions in verse 11. The *Hebrew Bible only reads "they". But the answer is the same: God knows about them also! This part of the psalm finishes with "the *godless have no trouble and plenty of money", verse 12.

Verses 13 – 17: Now *Asaph tells us his thoughts. He "almost fell over", verse 2, but he did not really fall over. As he says in verse 23, "I was always with you (God)". But he did want what the *godless had. We say that they "*tempted" him. He even wrote in verse 13 that "his heart was clean for no good purpose". This means that it was a waste of time being a good *Israelite! But he did not *slip and fall over, verse 2, for several reasons:

• God was always with him, verse 23

• when the *godless *tempted him, he felt bad, verse 14

• he would have hurt the good *Israelites (or "let them down"), verse 15

• he wanted to understand why it happened, verse 16

So he went to the house of God. Maybe this was the *temple in Jerusalem. We know *Asaph went there, 2 Chronicles 5:12. Maybe it was another house of God. It does not matter where it was, or when. The *psalmist saw what would happen to the *godless. He tells us in the last part of the psalm.

Verses 18 – 28: God would surprise the *godless, verses 18-20 and 27. In a moment, God would destroy them. One minute they would be there, the next minute they would not! It would be *like a dream. When you wake up, it has gone, verse 20. The verse says that it is God that wakes up to find them gone. It is true for God’s people also.

The *psalmist was sorry, verses 21-22. He knew nothing! He was *stupid! He was *like a wild animal! His heart (thoughts) and his stomach (body) had hurt him, but it was all his fault! (Fault means "doing wrong".) God was with him all the time and that was the most important thing in life, verses 23-26. Look at what he wrote about it:

• God would hold his hand and be his guide, verses 23-24

• God would take him to *glory, verse 24

• God would give him everything on earth he needed, verses 25-26

• God would make him strong, verse 26

Christians believe that "take me to *glory" in verse 24 means "take me to *heaven". This is because only God has *real *glory and God’s home is *heaven. The word "*glory" means "something that shines very much".

So the *psalmist made God his "safe place", verse 28. Another word for "safe place" is "*refuge". It is a place where you can find shelter. In a storm, a shelter will keep the wind and rain off you. In the storms of life (the bad things that happen) God will keep you safe. This is what the *psalmist believed. It is better to be "near to God" than to have plenty of money and things. In a moment they will all be gone, but God will always be with us!

Something to do

1. Read Psalms 37. Does it teach the same things as Psalms 73? Psalms 37 is in Book 2 of "The Psalms of David".

2. When you see bad people have a lot of money and things, do not get angry. Go to a quiet place and talk to God about it. Listen for his answer. It may come:

• through a Bible verse

• from a Christian friend

• from something you see

Then tell other people that God is good!

heaven ~ the home of God.
heaven ~ the home of God.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke when they wrote the Psalms of David.
Jew ~ someone who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Gospel ~ one of the four books at the beginning of the New Testament [see New Testament].
Lord ~ a name for God; it means he has authority, or "master"; Adonai in Hebrew. Look also at LORD below.
LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. It is the covenant name of God. In Hebrew it is Yahweh or Jehovah. Look after Psalm 25 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the names of God.
Adonai ~ Lord or master; (or better, my Lord or my master) in Hebrew.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke when they wrote the Psalms of David.
covenant ~ two people have agreed what each should do (here, God and his people). Look after Psalm 25 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the covenant.
Yahweh ~ the covenant name for God. Most Bibles translate it LORD with 4 capital letters. It means something like "I am" or "always alive".
Jehovah ~ how some languages say Yahweh, one of the names of God in Hebrew.
Jew ~ someone who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
like ~ another word for "as".
righteous ~ very good (only God is really righteous). God says that the people that love and obey him are righteous. Sometimes we say that they are "the righteous", meaning "righteous people". Look after Psalm 5 in Book 1 of The Psalms of David for more about the word "righteous".
righteous ~ very good (only God is really righteous). God says that the people that love and obey him are righteous. Sometimes we say that they are "the righteous", meaning "righteous people". Look after Psalm 5 in Book 1 of The Psalms of David for more about the word "righteous".
covenant ~ two people have agreed what each should do (here, God and his people). Look after Psalm 25 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the covenant.
Lord ~ a name for God; it means he has authority, or "master"; Adonai in Hebrew. Look also at LORD below.
LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. It is the covenant name of God. In Hebrew it is Yahweh or Jehovah. Look after Psalm 25 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the names of God.
Adonai ~ Lord or master; (or better, my Lord or my master) in Hebrew.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke when they wrote the Psalms of David.
covenant ~ two people have agreed what each should do (here, God and his people). Look after Psalm 25 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the covenant.
Yahweh ~ the covenant name for God. Most Bibles translate it LORD with 4 capital letters. It means something like "I am" or "always alive".
Jehovah ~ how some languages say Yahweh, one of the names of God in Hebrew.
Jew ~ someone who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
like ~ another word for "as".
praise ~ say how great somebody is; or, words that say how great someone is.
prayer ~ words that you say when you pray.
maskil ~ a psalm that teaches you something.'Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible; the holy things that the writers wrote before Christ’s birth.
holy ~ very, very good; only God is really holy, the land where he lives with his people is also holy because he is there.
seer ~ another word for prophet.
prophet ~ someone that says what God thinks and will do.
prophet ~ someone that says what God thinks and will do.
prophesy ~ tell people what God thinks and will do.
harp ~ you can make music with it.
lyre ~ you can make music with it.
cymbals ~ you hit two of them together to make a loud noise.
temple ~ a place where people meet to worship God.
worship ~ tell someone that they are very great and that you love them.
Israelite ~ a Jewish person (see Jew).
Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything to do with a Jew.
Jew ~ someone who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
poetry ~ using words in a special (often very beautiful) way.
tent ~ a home or building made from animal skins.
priest ~ a servant of God in his temple.
temple ~ a place where people meet to worship God.
worship ~ tell someone that they are very great and that you love them.
exile ~ away from your own country.
exile ~ away from your own country.
Yahweh ~ the covenant name for God. Most Bibles translate it LORD with 4 capital letters. It means something like "I am" or "always alive".
covenant ~ two people have agreed what each should do (here, God and his people). Look after Psalm 25 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the covenant.
Lord ~ a name for God; it means he has authority, or "master"; Adonai in Hebrew. Look also at LORD below.
LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. It is the covenant name of God. In Hebrew it is Yahweh or Jehovah. Look after Psalm 25 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the names of God.
like ~ another word for "as".
Adonai ~ Lord or master; (or better, my Lord or my master) in Hebrew.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke when they wrote the Psalms of David.
Jehovah ~ how some languages say Yahweh, one of the names of God in Hebrew.
Jew ~ someone who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Asaph ~ look in the Introduction of Psalm 73.
godless ~ people that do not obey God, and that fight against him.
healthy ~ having good health.
like ~ another word for "as".
pride ~ what you feel when you think that you are important.
necklace ~ something pretty to wear round your neck.
oppress ~ when you are not kind to people, we say that you are oppressing them.
tongue ~ the part of our mouth that we talk with.'Most High ~ a name for God.
slip ~nearly fall over (as on oil or on ice).
fear ~ what you feel when you are afraid.
stupid ~ opposite of clever.
glory ~ something that shines very much, maybe heaven: God has glory because his righteousness shines from inside him.
heaven ~ the home of God.
righteousness ~ what you have when you are righteous.
righteous ~ very good (only God is really righteous). God says that the people that love and obey him are righteous. Sometimes we say that they are "the righteous", meaning "righteous people". Look after Psalm 5 in Book 1 of The Psalms of David for more about the word "righteous".
psalmist ~ the person that wrote a psalm (or psalms).
punish ~ hurt someone because they have not obeyed the rules.
tempted ~ someone asked you to do something wrong.
real ~ proper.
refuge ~ a place where you can hide and be safe.