Psalm 73 closing thoughts

This week we will finish up Psalm 73; I've been praying about a possible pause in our studies of the psalms. God has laid another subject on my heart and it may be that He wishes for us to take an alternative route for a few weeks. I will let you know! (Grin)

Here are our last two verses again:

Those who are far from you will perish;

you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.

28But as for me, it is good to be near God.

I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge;

I will tell of all your deeds. (Psalm 73:27-28, NIV)

Sometimes we can glean another layer of meaning when we consult a second (or third) translation of the Word of God. I like the helpfulness of the Amplified version here:

For behold, those who are far from You will perish;

You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful and have abandoned You.

28But as for me, it is good for me to draw near to God;

I have made the Lord God my refuge and placed my trust in Him,

That I may tell of all Your works. (vs 27-28, AMP)

Let's be honest here, ok? Let's get real, as they say. I know that there have been times in my life that I have been worried and doubtful, just as Asaph was. Perhaps I've slipped and fallen into sin. Perhaps I have neglected the "work" of the believer: prayer, Bible study, and witnessing to others of His mercy. 

For whatever reason, I have sinned and then the Spirit has made me aware of that sin. This verse nudges my heart - have I been, as Asaph said, "unfaithful"? Am I in danger of being judged and ending up "far from" Him? The Amplified version gives us a clue. Like many times before, we can look at the nuances of the Hebrew language: the word unfaithful that is used here carries with it the meaning of abandonment.  

Hey, Webster! Help us out, here!  "Relinquish, walk away, withdraw, to give up with the intention of never again claiming a right or interest in."

(Thanks, Webster!)

It's hard for me to believe that a soul who has accepted God's gift of salvation and has the Spirit dwelling inside, would ever give up the Lord so completely......never again claiming a right or interest in? I do believe that we humans are willful, prideful, and yes, stupid enough to push God away for a time. I believe we can refuse His guidance and His loving care. We can dig a hole so deep that it seems impossible to get out and get back to Him. 

But it's not impossible. He can still see us in that deep hole. And He can reach down to save us; He will rescue us from judgment. No one can pluck us from His hand, and He has promised to raise us up at the last day.

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day." (John 6:44)

Up there in verse 27, Asaph thinks back to his earlier envy of the wicked. But in light of the fact that they are going to perish and be destroyed, should anyone envy them? When the Bible talks about God destroying the wicked, by the way, it does not mean that He makes them cease to exist. Jesus told us in Matthew's gospel:

“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” (Matthew 25:46)

We were once far from Him. We were unfaithful to Him, and headed for eternal punishment. God in His mercy reached down to us with love and rescued us from judgment. We should treasure Him above all else!