EXPOSITION:

Psalm 73 is a song of Asaph, a Levite son of Beneehiah, one of the leaders of David’s choir who later became a prophet. Here in this psalm, Asaph registers his worry about how the unrighteous flourish and prosper quickly whilst the righteous suffer. To him, the unrighteous have no struggles, they have showy and healthy bodies, they are free from burden common to man, and they are not plagued by human ills.

Owing to the above, he said he had realized that the life of the ungodly is characterized by pride, violence, iniquity, carelessness, evil machinations, and malice. Subsequently, people obey them and massively follow them.  “I have kept my pure for the Lord in vain and in vain I have washed my hands in innocence”, he said. He also noticed that it looked like the righteous rather went through the plagues and troubles that the unrighteous had escaped. This burden oppressed him inside and made him bitter and aggrieved. As a result, it almost made him lose his standing in the Lord.  The NLT reads “but as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping and I was almost gone.”

Asaph continued to be bitter until he drew closer to God in His sanctuary, the inner chamber of waiting and seeking God’s face (see verse. 17). Then he finally understood the final destiny of the wicked that their God-ordained path is slippery to their destruction, that in an instant they are destroyed and swept away by terrors (see also Prov. 10:25) and that God will laugh at their silly ideas curse them. Before Asaph came to this reality however, his heart had been galled and his spirit embittered by what he saw. Bitterness is when a believer’s spirit is poisoned because they have been offended. Bitterness galls us, affects our sweetness and makes us distasteful both to God and others. One could feel offended (which is in all cases because we don’t understand Him) or by other humans (Malachi 3:13-17).

Bitterness may make us senseless and do silly things if not checked. In verse 21 of Psalm 73 Asaph says “I was senseless and ignorant like a senseless animal before God…” Today take time to examine your heart. Are you bitter against God because of some things you do not understand? Drop your anger and get closer to Him in prayer then He will make you understand. Never allow bitterness to ruin your life!