Word Wednesday: Psalm 73

Psalm 73

The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous.

    ¹Surely God is good to Israel,
         To those who are pure in heart!
    ²But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling,
         My steps had almost slipped.
    ³For I was envious of the arrogant
         As I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
    ⁴For there are no pains in their death,
         And their body is fat.
    ⁵They are not in trouble as other men,
         Nor are they plagued like mankind.
    ⁶Therefore pride is their necklace;
         The garment of violence covers them.
    ⁷Their eye bulges from fatness;
         The imaginations of their heart run riot.
    ⁸They mock and wickedly speak of oppression;
         They speak from on high.
    ⁹They have set their mouth against the heavens,
         And their tongue parades through the earth.
    ¹⁰Therefore his people return to this place,
         And waters of abundance are drunk by them.
    ¹¹They say, “How does God know?
         And is there knowledge with the Most High?”
    ¹²Behold, these are the wicked;
         And always at ease, they have increased in wealth.
    ¹³Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure
         And washed my hands in innocence;
    ¹⁴For I have been stricken all day long
         And chastened every morning.
    ¹⁵If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
         Behold, I would have betrayed the generation of Your children.
    ¹⁶When I pondered to understand this,
         It was troublesome in my sight
    ¹⁷Until I came into the sanctuary of God;
         Then I perceived their end.
    ¹⁸Surely You set them in slippery places;
         You cast them down to destruction.
    ¹⁹How they are destroyed in a moment!
         They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors!
    ²⁰Like a dream when one awakes,
         O Lord, when aroused, You will despise their form.
    ²¹When my heart was embittered
         And I was pierced within,
    ²²Then I was senseless and ignorant;
         I was like a beast before You.
    ²³Nevertheless I am continually with You;
         You have taken hold of my right hand.
    ²⁴With Your counsel You will guide me,
         And afterward receive me to glory.
    ²⁵Whom have I in heaven but You?
         And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.
    ²⁶My flesh and my heart may fail,
         But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
    ²⁷For, behold, those who are far from You will perish;
         You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You.
    ²⁸But as for me, the nearness of God is my good;
         I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
         That I may tell of all Your works.