Psalms 73:10

8 ^aThey scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression;
They ^bspeak loftily.

9 They set their mouth ^aagainst the heavens,
And their tongue walks through the earth.

10 Therefore his people return here,
^aAnd waters of a full cup are drained by them.

11 And they say, ^a“How does God know?
And is there knowledge in the Most High?”

12 Behold, these are the ungodly,
Who are always at ease;
They increase in riches.

13 Surely I have¹ cleansed my heart in ^avain,
And washed my hands in innocence.

14 For all day long I have been plagued,
And chastened every morning.

15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
Behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of Your children.

16 When I thought how to understand this,
It was¹ too painful for me—

17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God;
Then I understood their ^aend.

18 Surely ^aYou set them in slippery places;
You cast them down to destruction.

19 Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment!
They are utterly consumed with terrors.

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
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What Does Psalms 73:10 Mean?

Psalm 73:1-17

Psalm 73:1-17 shows that the righteous man severely misjudged the reality of his situation for a time until God revealed the truth. This trap can catch any of us. The wicked appear to prosper only if we consider merely what appears on the surface.

What God reveals to the psalmist is that the people he envies may appear to gain the whole world, but in reality, they are lacking something of immeasurably greater value. Through prayer and meditation, the psalmist is able to grasp this, and through God's revelation, he returns to a better emotional and spiritual state.

However, while in that anguished state, he sincerely assumed God was plaguing and punishing him every morning (verse 14). There are times when that may indeed be the case, and we might need a firm spanking because we may have repeatedly committed a sin and need to be brought up short. But we must not allow this to be our only conclusion, as the Bible frequently shows that, in the case of God's children, most trials are not given as punishment.

As a trial continues, a Christian tends to reason that, if he were not sinning, he would not be going through this experience. He therefore has a strong tendency to recall scriptures that say something similar to, “Therefore you shall be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). Verses of this sort become our guide to correct the stressful condition. It is at this point that, all too often, we make a significant mistake, assuming that we are being punished.

John W. Ritenbaugh
Ecclesiastes and Christian Living (Part Eleven): Paradox, Continued

Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Psalms 73:10:

Psalm 73:1-17
Ecclesiastes 7:15-22
Jeremiah 12:1-4
2 Timothy 3:16

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What Does Psalms 73:10 Mean?

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