Familiar piece of scripture, right? However, if we neglect to read the entirety of Psalm 73, I think were at risk for under-appreciating the full context of this declaration of praise from David. The stature in which he wrote those last verses come from a newly changed and convicted heart - not for the first time, and definitely not for the last time. David knows himself better than most of us could ever hope for ourselves. He knows how quickly he forgets where his identity lies and where it most certainly does not. If we read the beginning portion of the chapter, David exposes his inner struggle with desire for material worth. He not only envies the wealth, beauty and prosperity of others - but he also seems to envy the ease at which those things come to them...to the point in which he almost questions his own pursuit of a pure life. It is in the middle of this inner turmoil that he solemnly writes: When I pondered to understand this, it was troublesome in my sight- Until I came into the sanctuary of God; THEN I perceived their end (vs16-17). It was the doubting, the envying, and the despairing that drove David to fall on his knees in the presence of his God - and THAT is when he again recognized the depravity of his thinking and what ultimately compelled him to write the last verses of the chapter: WHOM have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire NOTHING on earth. (vs25) Oh, and can we not feel the sincerity and humility now in Davids praising when we read verse 26? My flesh and my heart may fail, but GOD is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. May God grant us the grace to recognize our insufficiencies, our tendencies, our insecurities when we become prey to them so often in our day to day lives... so that we may PRAISE Him all the more.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 04:02:56 +0000
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