PSALM 73: THE ‘AHA’ PSALM.
Tradition has it that Isaac Newton was plunked on the head while sitting under an apple tree and immediately understood the principle of gravity. Less certain is the story of Greek mathematician, Archimedes, who finally understood a principle of displacement with various metals and leaped out his bath crying, “Eureka, eureka!” We call these definitive times when the light goes on as ‘aha’ moments. Most of us have experienced such moments in our lives.
Such happened to the musician, Asaph, and it is recorded in this his most familiar song, Psalm 73. Let us find out what exactly brought him to this place.
The psalm of 28 verses is quite easy to outline:
A. The Opening Statement About God (1)
B. The First Observation (2-12)
C. The First Application (13-15)
D. THE ‘AHA’ MOMENT (16-17)
B. The Second Observation (18-20)
C. The Second Application (21-26)
A. The Closing Statement About God (27-28)
The reader will note that as with much of Jewish poetry, the climax of the piece comes in the middle not at the end which is common in western literature. Thus, verses 16 & 17 are the fulcrum upon which the entire song is balanced. You might also note that these verses seem a bit different from the others as they are not in the mode of Hebrew Parallelism (two similar statements that balance out), but read more like prose. This too suggests that these verses are in the center of the Psalmist’s mind.
Asaph begins with making a statement about God in verse 1. God is good, he says, — always good. This seems rather superfluous except when we realize that the verses which follow might suggest that the author may believe otherwise.
Why does the author seem to think that perhaps God is not good? This is the author’s first observation in verses 2-12. Like many of us the godly Jew had looked around and seen something very incongruous. The ungodly people seemed to enjoy relative ease while the godly were always struggling. How could a good God allow this to happen? In verse 3 he claims this caused him to envy the wicked. This response has plagued godly people since the beginning of time. After all, watching God haters get away with everything while we who try to obey Him get the shaft can cause all kinds of mental agitation. So struggled that godly man, Job. “Why do the wicked live and become old? Yes, become mighty in power? Their descendants are established with them in their sight, and their offspring before their eyes. Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them. Their bull breeds without failure; their cow calves without miscarriage. They send forth their little ones like a flock. And their children dance” (Job 21:7-11). Asap thinks the same way. “What a easy, prosperous life these wicked people live while I struggle every day! Where is the goodness of God in that?” Asaph continues with these unnerving observations. The wicked are not in trouble, and they are not plagued like the rest of men. Their eyes swell with greed and their hearts are full of empty pleasures. They talk maliciously, and they bully others around and get away with it. They talk against God and they cut up their neighbors with their sharp tongues. In verse 10 the author highlights another problem. The example of these wicked people often cause the godly to follow their wicked ways. This reminds us that there is no greater temptation to the righteous than that they might be influenced by the example of the ungodly. Those who follow God must ever be aware that they can easily get sucked into to this way of thinking (vss. 10-12).
This observation naturally leads to the author’s application to his own life. We find this in verses 13-15. Seeing the prosperity of the wicked causes him to doubt that living a life for God is even worth it. His faith is shaken at its very roots as he cries out, “Why have I tried to live a godly life? It does me no good!” Asaph has tried to please God but all he gets in return is chastening. He refuses to cut corners on his taxes and he can’t pay his bills. He helps out a neighbor and is slandered. He goes to offer a sacrifice at the temple and is mugged. What’s the use of it all? The godly author is thinking all this in his mind and he is deeply discouraged. But in verse 15 we find that despite all this he keeps his composure. He refuses to complain publicly. “If I talked about this out loud I would have betrayed the generation coming up behind me. So I will keep my mouth shut.”
The healing of this godly man is beginning to happen.
This leads to the ‘aha’ moment in verses 16-17. Up to this point the author has been thinking as the world thinks. He has been looking horizontally and this has caused him to stumble. But then one day he is in church and everything changes. What happens? As he is standing in his pew hearing Scriptures, he suddenly realizes that he has been looking at everything wrongly. At once his earthly perspective morphs into a heavenly one. As he stands in the pew hearing the word preached he realizes that there is another reality besides the one he sees with his eyes and hears with his ears. It is the reality of eternity. At once he slumps to his seat with joy. The ungodly might have everything now but they really have nothing. Everything they own will turn to dust; all their earthly joys and dreams have a short shelf life. The author sees that an eternity of darkness awaits those who reject God. And as for him? He may have nothing now but he has everything because He has God, a good God. His heart is flooded with joy. The ‘aha’ moment has struck and Asaph will never be the same. He exits that tabernacle wearing a new pair of glasses.
From this point on the entire psalm changes its tone. The Christian who was thinking like the world now understands things from God’s perspective. This reminds us that the Christian life is one of progression. We learn as we go but we never quite arrive. We grow but we never reach full maturity. We run but we never get to the finish line. Then one day we wake up and realize that the race has already been run and we have already won. Our lives are in heaven already. And only now can we operate with grace in the earth. And this is true of every believer. They have not yet arrived, but they have already won. Let us understand this principle and be patient with those who are growing in grace alongside us.
In verse 18-20 we have the second observation. Notice how different it is from the first observation. Now the godly man sees the perilous condition of the ungodly. They are the one's walking in slippery places not he. They are on the verge of ruin; he is secure. They are full of terrors and might be swept away to judgment at any moment; he is calm, collected and happy. Yes, God allows them to continue in their fantasy life while He is dreaming, but when He awakes He will call them to account (vs 20). The man who once envied the fat and secure infidels now sees them for what they are and he fears for them.
This leads to his second application. How does this new perspective change his life? This is where the big surprise comes in. The author does not say that he was glad he was a believer and he now sees all the benefits of piety. That would be expected. Rather he looks deep into his own soul and explores conflict within that has caused all this trouble. In other words he is trying to understand why he might have doubted God in the first place. And so the mystery of his own nature is unveiled. Though he was a godly man he could also act like an ignorant brute, even like a beast (vss. 21-22). That is why he was full of envy. What a revelation this is to any believer. You know God and yet there is a part of you that forgets about God. You live godly and the next day you act like a jerk. You are angry, or lustful, or envious, or dull, while you are at worship. And you ask, “How can this be?” And so you come to realize what Martin Luther realized so many years ago. As a believer you are both an angel and a beast, or as the Reformer explained it, the Christian is simul justus et peccator (simultaneously just and sinner). What a lesson that all believers should learn!
Not only does the believer see his sin nature which is a horror to him, but he acknowledges that he also knows God. Verse 24 there is a shift of application. He knows that God is with him and is guiding him. In addition he realizes that he will soon be received into glory. His association with heaven and earth is different from that of the ungodly. If you recall in verse 9 they lifted up their fists to heaven in rebellion and that attitude rained down on earth in the form of slander against others. They had no peace in heaven and no peace on earth. But the godly Asaph has an entirely different relationship. He has God in heaven and that gives Him a continual peace with God as he lives upon the earth. C.S. Lewis once said in Mere Christianity, “Aim at Heaven and you will get earth thrown in; aim at earth and you will get neither.” This is what the author came to find out. When he saw reality through the eyes of heaven, when he set his mind on things above (Col 3:1), he discovered a life full of joy and hope on the earth. This reminds us that the godly have everything; the ungodly have nothing. Paul once told the Corinthians, “All things are yours.” He was simply paraphrasing this principle.
So the psalm ends with a second word about God in verses 27-28. The psalm began with the author announcing that God was good (tov). Now he fills out that statement by saying that it is good (tov) to be near God. That is, after all the trials, all the doubts, all the anxieties, the author now realizes that being close to God is the greatest gift any man could have. To be with God is to enjoy God and to enjoy Him is to live life to the fullest, in this life and in the life to come.
Have you learned the lesson of Asaph? It may take time. But know that when you begin to see reality from heaven’s standpoint you begin to truly live.