Surely God Is Good to Israel

The psalm opens with a true confession about God's goodness, but Asaph immediately admits how near he came to falling because he envied the arrogant when he saw the prosperity of the wicked. They appear strong, carefree, and untouched by common burdens, and from that ease come pride, violence, mocking speech, and brazen arrogance against heaven itself. Their influence spreads, and their practical creed is that God either does not know or does not care, while they continue increasing in wealth without interruption.

A¹ Psalm of Asaph. ²But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; ³For I envied the arrogant ⁴They have no struggle in their death; ⁵They are free of the burdens others carry; ⁶Therefore pride is their necklace; ⁷From their prosperity proceeds iniquity; ⁸They mock and speak with malice; ⁹They set their mouths against the heavens, ¹⁰So their people return to this place ¹¹The wicked say, “How can God know? ¹²Behold, these are the wicked —

Faced with that spectacle, Asaph wonders whether keeping his heart pure and washing his hands in innocence has been in vain, since he himself is plagued and disciplined daily. Yet he restrains his complaint for the sake of the covenant community, refusing to speak in a way that would betray God's children. His effort to understand remains painful until he enters the sanctuary of God, where the perspective of God's presence discloses the true end of the wicked.

¹³Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure; ¹⁴For I am afflicted all day long ¹⁵If I had said, “I will speak this way,” ¹⁶When I tried to understand all this, ¹⁷until I entered God’s sanctuary;

In the sanctuary Asaph sees that the wicked stand on slippery ground and are suddenly swept into ruin, like a dream that vanishes on waking. Their prosperity is not secure but fleeting and doomed. Looking back on his own envy, Asaph confesses that his heart had been embittered and his inner being pierced, making him senseless and brutish before God.

¹⁸Surely You set them on slick ground; ¹⁹How suddenly they are laid waste, ²⁰Like one waking from a dream, ²¹When my heart was grieved ²²I was senseless and ignorant;

Despite his foolishness, Asaph realizes that he has remained continually with God, held by God's right hand and guided by God's counsel toward a glorious end. In that restored perspective, heaven and earth hold nothing more desirable than God himself, and even when flesh and heart fail, God remains the strength of his heart and his portion forever. Those far from God will perish, but for Asaph the true good is to draw near to God, take refuge in the Lord GOD, and tell of all his works.

²³Yet I am always with You; ²⁴You guide me with Your counsel, ²⁵Whom have I in heaven but You? ²⁶My flesh and my heart may fail, ²⁷Those far from You will surely perish; ²⁸But as for me, it is good to draw near to God.