Psalms 73:27

Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. -His joy in God as his portion, in contrast to the final destruction of all who go from God. Verse 25. WHOM HAVE I IN HEAVEN (BUT THEE)? AND (THERE IS) NONE UPON EARTH THAT I DESIRE BESIDES THEE - in juxtaposition with thee. "But thee," or "besides thee," has to be supplied in the first from the second clause. Thou art my supreme good (). The context implies, 'Whom have I that I desire in juxtaposition with thee' as a Saviour? Verse 26. MY FLESH AND MY HEART FALLETH: BUT GOD IS THE STRENGTH OF MY HEART - Hebrew, 'the rock of my heart;' i:e. hypothetically, 'whensoever my heart (regarded as the seat of life) and my flesh fail, God is the rock of my heart' ...

27._For, lo! they who depart from thee shall perish. _Here he proves, by an argument taken from things contrary, that nothing was better for him than simply to repose himself upon God alone; for no sooner does any one depart from God than he inevitably falls into the most dreadful destruction. All depart from him who divide and scatter their hope among a variety of objects. The phrase _to go a whoring _(210) is of similar import; for it is the worst kind of adultery to divide our heart that it may not continue fixed exclusively upon God. This will be more easily understood by defining the spiritual chastity of our minds, which consists in faith, in calling upon God, in integrity of heart, and in obedience to the Word. Whoever then submits not himself to the Word of God, that feeling him to be the sole author of all good things, he may depend upon him, surrender himself to be governed by...

21-28 God would not suffer his people to be tempted, if his grace were not sufficient, not only to save them from harm, but to make them gainers by it. This temptation, the working of envy and discontent, is very painful. In reflecting upon it, the psalmist owns it was his folly and ignorance thus to vex himself. If good men, at any time, through the surprise and strength of temptation, think, or speak, or act amiss, they will reflect upon it with sorrow and shame. We must ascribe our safety in temptation, and our victory, not to our own wisdom, but to the gracious presence of God with us, and Christ's intercession for us. All who commit themselves to God, shall be guided with the counsel both of his word and of his Spirit, the best counsellors here, and shall be received to his glory in another world; the believing hopes and prospects of which will reconcile us to all dark providences....

Verse Psalms 73:27. _THEY THAT ARE FAR FROM THEE SHALL PERISH_] The term perish is generally used to signify a _coming to nothing_, being _annihilated_; and by some it is thus applied to the _finally_ _impenitent_, they shall all be _annihilated_. But where is this to be found in the Scriptures? In no part, properly understood. In the new heavens and the new earth none of the wicked shall be found; for therein dwells righteousness-nothing but God and righteous spirits; but at the same time the wicked shall be in their own place. And to suppose that they shall be _annihilated_, is as great a heresy, though scarcely so absurd, as to believe that the pains of damnation are _emendatory_, and that _hell-fire_ shall burn out. There is presumptive evidence from Scripture to lead us to the conclusion, that if there be not eternal punishment, glory will n...

FOR, LO, THEY THAT ARE FAR FROM THEE SHALL PERISH - All that are estranged from thee; all who are not thy friends. They will certainly be destroyed. For them there can be no hope. This is the fact which solved the difficulty of the psalmist in regard to the divine dealings with people, Psalms 73:3. The fact that there will be a righteous judgment, in which God will deal with people according to their deserts, made all plain. Compare Psalms 73:16. THOU HAST DESTROYED - That is, Thou wilt certainly destroy. The psalmist places himself in the future, and speaks of this as if it were already done. It will be so certainly done that he could speak of it as if it were already accomplished. All them t

EXPOSITION THIS is the first of the "Psalms of Asaph," whereof the present book contains eleven. They are characterized by a preponderating use of the name "Elohim" over that of" Jehovah," by a great calmness and solemnity of tone, and by a pervading melancholy. The present psalm has for its subject the well worn problem of the prosperity of the wicked (Job 21:7; Psalms 37:1; Jeremiah 12:1, etc.). The writer has been troubled with respect to it, and has well nigh fallen away from God in consequence (verse 2); but, after a severe struggle (verses 13-16), his eyes have been enlightened on the subject, and he has found an explanation which is satisfactory to him (verses 17-20). He contrasts his

FOR, LO, THEY THAT ARE FAR FROM THEE,.... Who are alienated from the life of God, far from the law of God, and subjection and obedience to it; and from righteousness either moral or evangelical, and from the love and fear of God, and worship of him: SHALL PERISH; not merely at death, as even righteous men do, but be lost eternally: THOU HAST DESTROYED ALL THEM THAT GO A WHORING FROM THEE; that follow after other gods, and worship them; which is spiritual adultery and fornication, the Scriptures often speak of, and intend by it idolatry; see Deuteronomy 31:16 or who set their hearts and affections upon the creature, and have them alienated from God; and love the creature more and besides the Creator: the past tense seems to be put for the future, and so some render it, "thou shalt destroy", or "cut off" i; destroy them soul and body, and punish

The psalmist here works out the problem of the prosperity of the wicked. He was troubled in his own mind about it; he knew that he feared God, but he also knew that he was greatly tried, whereas he saw many, who had no fear of God before their eyes, who seemed to be always prospering. Their flourishing condition was a puzzle to him; but he examined the problem, and unraveled the mystery. I think I have before told you, as a little exercise for your memory, that the seventy-third Psalm and the thirty-seventh Psalm are both on the same subject. You can easily remember this, as the same figures are used in each instance, only they are turned the two ways, 73 and 37 . Psalms 73:1. _Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart._ The psalmist knows that it must be so; he cannot doubt it, he lays it down as a proposition not to be disputed. Assuredl

III. THE LEVITICUS SECTION: BOOK THREE: PSALM 73-89 The third division of the book of Psalms corresponds in character to the third book of the Pentateuch, the book of Leviticus. That is the book of the Sanctuary, of Holiness. And this section, which is the shortest, also has the same character. Each Psalm brings the sanctuary of Israel in view, with the same prophetic-dispensational character as in the first two books. The Companion Bible gives the following division of the 17 Psalms: Psalm 73-89, The Sanctuary in Relation to Jehovah. PSALMS OF ASAPH CONCERNING THE SANCTUARY (73-77) Psalms 73 The Problem of the Suffering of the Righteous _ 1. The perplexity (Psalms 73:1)_ 2. Departure from God ...

BOOK III. PSS. LXXIII.- LXXXIX. LXXIII. The Hope of Immortality. Here the Psalter reaches its highest elevation. Job, in Job 19:25 f.*, believes that God will vindicate his innocence even after death, and is confident that he himself, in spite of death, will see God. Job, however, expresses no belief that he will live for ever. He is to see God for a moment; he does not expect that he will abide with God continually. This is just what the Psalmist does expect. This belief flows from the depths of his spiritual experience, and he utters it with intensity of conviction and in calm and measured language. He has seen the prosperity of the godless and has all but lost his faith in God. He will not, however, condemn the generation of God's children, or admit that their piety has been in vain. God teaches him how precarious the prosperity of the wicked is, and leads him to the conviction that...