Year 8, Day 212: Psalms 73-74

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Psalm 73 is a comparative truth psalm.  It begins with lifting up one concept for understanding.  By the end of the psalm, the psalmist will have arrived at the other end of the spectrum.

In the beginning of the psalm, the psalmist lifts up the people in life who seem to have no strife.  The have wealth, prosperity, and ease.  The people around them don’t find any fault with them.  After all, much of the world operates under a type of false sight.  If it looks perfect on the outside, then we assume everything is just fine.  Much of the world only sees skin deep.  We see people with wealth, power, and an easy life and we assume that they are better examples of humanity than the rest of us.  This is because we see through eyes of human desire, not eyes of truth.  At some level, we want part – if not all – of what they have.  If nothing else, we want the life that knows no pain until the end.

At the end of the psalm we arrive at the opposite end of the spectrum.  The psalmist knows that such people are not perfect.  He knows that their pain is still present, it is just buried underneath the perfect exterior.  Flesh and heart fail; God is our strength.  God brings us to His glory.  He guides us with His counsel.

To go a bit beyond the scope of the psalm, I’ve found a bit of truth to be true in life.  We can try to live a life that seems perfect on the exterior, but if we do that we will know turmoil on the inside.  In order to find peace on the inside, we need God.  Most often I’ve found that we find God when we accept the turbulent outside.  When we honestly look at the sin within and the sin in the world, we are best prepared to know and value God and His ways.  Then we know true peace.

When it comes to Psalm 74, we have a pretty typical rescue psalm.  The psalmist feels the enemies of Israel coming around them and making threats.  At times, the situation looks bleak.  The psalmist reminds God of the covenant.  The psalmist also reminds God of the power that He has.  The psalmist urges the Lord to do battle for His people.

On one hand, I’ve always thought this tactic a bit arrogant.  After all, who are we to remind God of His promise?  Who are we to make demands upon God?

On the other hand, though, something happens deep within us when we do remind God about the covenant.  When we remind God, we remind ourselves.  When we remind ourselves, we force ourselves to make a decision.  Either we truly believe or we simply speak platitudes.  The second is not an option.  When we remind God about His promises, we actually reinforce our faith in Him.  That’s the point of the psalm.

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