Psalms 104

Psalms 104:1

Introduction

With Psalms 72, the second book of Psalms ends. Just as the second book of the Torah, Exodus, ends with the coming of the glory of the LORD in the tabernacle, so the second book of Psalms ends with the coming of the king-priest in justice and righteousness.

There is no mention in this psalm of suffering or persecution or battle, but of peace and blessing. The psalm presents the great Son of David as the Source and Guarantor of the blessings of the millennial realm of peace. It is the fulfillment of the prayer: “Your kingdom come” (Matthew 6:9-10).

The psalm is the answer to the prayer in Psalms 71, in which the remnant puts its trust in God. This answer is the revelation of the glory of the coming King. This can happen because the remnant has been redeemed (Psalms 71:19-24). The realm of peace can now begin.

Righteousness and Peace

The psalm is “of Solomon” (Psalms 72:1a). Solomon is a picture of the Lord Jesus as King in the realm of peace, as the Prince of peace. Solomon means ‘peace’, ‘peaceable’, ‘peacemaker’. The psalm begins with a prayer to God for “the king”, that is Solomon, that God give him His “judgments” and His “righteousness” (Psalms 72:1b). As a result, he will be able to speak God’s justice, that is, to reign in righteousness over “Your people” and especially over “Your afflicted” (Psalms 72:2). Judgments and righteousness and the afflicted recur in the two following verses.

Such a prayer is appropriate for an enthronement (1 Kings 1:38-40). Asking that God will give him His judgments means that God will give him an understanding of God’s justice and the authority to carry it out. He represents God in His government on earth. Then everything must be judged according to the law of God.

In the prayer God is also asked to give “to the king’s son” – that is again Solomon, the son of David, a type of the great Son of David – His righteousness. Here the demand is that Solomon will act in a righteous manner according to the law, without regard to any person. This means that evil must be punished and good rewarded.

We also see the importance of righteousness with respect to the realm of peace in this that ‘righteousness’ is mentioned in every verse in Psalms 72:1-3. It is the most important attribute of Christ’s government, an attribute that is not present in any human government. Justice and righteousness are the foundation of the Messiah’s throne (Psalms 89:14). A government in righteousness results in peace in the kingdom.

The psalm is in fact about the Lord Jesus, as we hear in the announcement of the birth of the Lord Jesus (Luke 1:32-33). It speaks of a worldwide and eternal government and it will be exercised by Christ alone. On top of that, the Lord Jesus is the true Son of David and therefore “more than Solomon” (Matthew 12:42).

The psalm is set in the future tense from Psalms 72:2 onward, as the recurring word “may” indicates. This can also be read as a wish. Not Solomon, but the Lord Jesus will perfectly fulfill all that is spoken about in this prayer. What now follows in this prayer flows from Psalms 72:1.

The Lord Jesus will “judge” God’s “people with righteousness” (Psalms 72:2). Before nations have to deal with the justice of God, there is first justice for the people of God. All the wicked will be judged according to a perfectly righteous justice.

As already noted, the “afflicted” in particular will be judged “with justice”. They have persevered under severe oppression and slanderous accusations in their trust in God and have not denied His Name. Now they are being done – not ‘beneficence’ but – justice. That they are called “Your afflicted” means that they, that is, the believing remnant, have a special position in the heart of God. They are the ”apple of His eye” (Psalms 17:8; Deuteronomy 32:10; Zechariah 2:8).

By “the mountains” are possibly meant princes of God’s people (Psalms 72:3). They will no longer oppress and exploit their subjects, but “bring peace to the people”. They will work to maintain peace for their people. Because it is about the realm of peace we can think by “the mountains” as kingdoms or high powers, and by “the hills” as lower authorities or the judiciary. They will no longer abuse their responsible position to enrich themselves at the expense of others.

Peace (Psalms 72:3) comes after righteousness (Psalms 72:2). The coming King is the true Melchizedek. In Hebrews 7 the meaning of that name is explained: He is “first of all, by the translation [of his name], king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace” (Hebrews 7:2). By speaking of “first of all … and then also” the order – first righteousness and then peace – is emphasized. The reason is found in Isaiah 32, where we read: “And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever” (Isaiah 32:17; cf. James 3:18).

Once more it is said that the Messiah will “vindicate the afflicted of the people” (Psalms 72:4; Psalms 72:2; cf. Isaiah 11:4). This does prove how much the interest of the afflicted is on Messiah’s mind. He will reward them for the trials they have endured and do justice by giving them the promised blessing. This will not only compensate for the injustice they have suffered, but make them forget it completely.

He also thinks of “the children of the needy”. Children, unwillingly, are the greatest victims of a situation of affliction into which parents, guilty or innocent, have fallen. They are taken by the creditors as ‘payment’ for the debts of the parents (cf. 2 Kings 4:1). The Messiah takes their fate to heart and will save them. He not only removes them from the power of the oppressor, but He crushes the oppressor so that they will never have to fear him again.

The Messiah’s performance of justice and righteousness will create fear among the inhabitants of the land (Psalms 72:5). One shall beware of doing anything evil. This respect or awe will be there “while the sun [endures], and as long as the moon”, that is, for the thousand years of the realm of peace. “Throughout all generations” this fear will be present. In the people of Israel, the generations do not follow one another in the sense of one generation going and another coming (Ecclesiastes 1:4a), but new generations are continually added to already existing generations (cf. Isaiah 59:21). The oldest generation will have to be characterized most by the fear of God. After all, they have enjoyed the blessing of the realm of peace for the longest period of time.

The coming of the Messiah is compared to the “coming down like rain on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth” (Psalms 72:6). That the rain falls on the mown field means that it falls on a field from which the harvest has been brought in. When the rain falls on this ground, it is on a field that is ready for the new crop that must now grow. This evokes the picture of abundant refreshment that is present in the Messiah and comes upon the people who are ready to receive Him.

The field has been mowed, that is, all the apostates have been judged. Mowing is a picture of judgment, the cutting off of life (Revelation 14:14-16; cf. Isaiah 26:9b). It also means that the remnant has condemned themselves in acknowledgment of their guilt in the death of the Messiah (Zechariah 12:10-14). What a relief it is for them to discover that through that same death the Messiah has made reconciliation for them with God, from their sins. As a result, they also know that they are righteous before God.

A mowed field may look sad, dry and yellow after a dry spell. But when the rain comes, the dry field will look fresh and green again, full of new life (Isaiah 35:1; Ezekiel 34:26; Acts 3:19). Thus, the coming of Christ will change the earth. He will come first to reap, to bring judgment on the apostates. Then the realm of peace will dawn, which is also called “the regeneration” of the earth (Matthew 19:28). In other words, He “renews the face of the ground” (Psalms 104:30b).

His coming with His refreshing has the effect that “in his days … the righteous flourish” (Psalms 72:7). “His days” are the days of His government. They are days marked by His presence on earth in power and blessing. His days are all the days of the realm of peace, days of an “abundance of peace till the moon is no more”. The peace is abundant because it is everywhere on earth. The peace is also abundant because there will be no end to it (Isaiah 9:6).

On the new earth there will be no more sea (Revelation 21:1). This verse seems to indicate that after the realm of peace, on the new earth that is then created, there will also be no more moon – “till the moon is no more”. After all, we also read that there will then be no more night (Revelation 22:5).

Psalms 104:2

Introduction

With Psalms 72, the second book of Psalms ends. Just as the second book of the Torah, Exodus, ends with the coming of the glory of the LORD in the tabernacle, so the second book of Psalms ends with the coming of the king-priest in justice and righteousness.

There is no mention in this psalm of suffering or persecution or battle, but of peace and blessing. The psalm presents the great Son of David as the Source and Guarantor of the blessings of the millennial realm of peace. It is the fulfillment of the prayer: “Your kingdom come” (Matthew 6:9-10).

The psalm is the answer to the prayer in Psalms 71, in which the remnant puts its trust in God. This answer is the revelation of the glory of the coming King. This can happen because the remnant has been redeemed (Psalms 71:19-24). The realm of peace can now begin.

Righteousness and Peace

The psalm is “of Solomon” (Psalms 72:1a). Solomon is a picture of the Lord Jesus as King in the realm of peace, as the Prince of peace. Solomon means ‘peace’, ‘peaceable’, ‘peacemaker’. The psalm begins with a prayer to God for “the king”, that is Solomon, that God give him His “judgments” and His “righteousness” (Psalms 72:1b). As a result, he will be able to speak God’s justice, that is, to reign in righteousness over “Your people” and especially over “Your afflicted” (Psalms 72:2). Judgments and righteousness and the afflicted recur in the two following verses.

Such a prayer is appropriate for an enthronement (1 Kings 1:38-40). Asking that God will give him His judgments means that God will give him an understanding of God’s justice and the authority to carry it out. He represents God in His government on earth. Then everything must be judged according to the law of God.

In the prayer God is also asked to give “to the king’s son” – that is again Solomon, the son of David, a type of the great Son of David – His righteousness. Here the demand is that Solomon will act in a righteous manner according to the law, without regard to any person. This means that evil must be punished and good rewarded.

We also see the importance of righteousness with respect to the realm of peace in this that ‘righteousness’ is mentioned in every verse in Psalms 72:1-3. It is the most important attribute of Christ’s government, an attribute that is not present in any human government. Justice and righteousness are the foundation of the Messiah’s throne (Psalms 89:14). A government in righteousness results in peace in the kingdom.

The psalm is in fact about the Lord Jesus, as we hear in the announcement of the birth of the Lord Jesus (Luke 1:32-33). It speaks of a worldwide and eternal government and it will be exercised by Christ alone. On top of that, the Lord Jesus is the true Son of David and therefore “more than Solomon” (Matthew 12:42).

The psalm is set in the future tense from Psalms 72:2 onward, as the recurring word “may” indicates. This can also be read as a wish. Not Solomon, but the Lord Jesus will perfectly fulfill all that is spoken about in this prayer. What now follows in this prayer flows from Psalms 72:1.

The Lord Jesus will “judge” God’s “people with righteousness” (Psalms 72:2). Before nations have to deal with the justice of God, there is first justice for the people of God. All the wicked will be judged according to a perfectly righteous justice.

As already noted, the “afflicted” in particular will be judged “with justice”. They have persevered under severe oppression and slanderous accusations in their trust in God and have not denied His Name. Now they are being done – not ‘beneficence’ but – justice. That they are called “Your afflicted” means that they, that is, the believing remnant, have a special position in the heart of God. They are the ”apple of His eye” (Psalms 17:8; Deuteronomy 32:10; Zechariah 2:8).

By “the mountains” are possibly meant princes of God’s people (Psalms 72:3). They will no longer oppress and exploit their subjects, but “bring peace to the people”. They will work to maintain peace for their people. Because it is about the realm of peace we can think by “the mountains” as kingdoms or high powers, and by “the hills” as lower authorities or the judiciary. They will no longer abuse their responsible position to enrich themselves at the expense of others.

Peace (Psalms 72:3) comes after righteousness (Psalms 72:2). The coming King is the true Melchizedek. In Hebrews 7 the meaning of that name is explained: He is “first of all, by the translation [of his name], king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace” (Hebrews 7:2). By speaking of “first of all … and then also” the order – first righteousness and then peace – is emphasized. The reason is found in Isaiah 32, where we read: “And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever” (Isaiah 32:17; cf. James 3:18).

Once more it is said that the Messiah will “vindicate the afflicted of the people” (Psalms 72:4; Psalms 72:2; cf. Isaiah 11:4). This does prove how much the interest of the afflicted is on Messiah’s mind. He will reward them for the trials they have endured and do justice by giving them the promised blessing. This will not only compensate for the injustice they have suffered, but make them forget it completely.

He also thinks of “the children of the needy”. Children, unwillingly, are the greatest victims of a situation of affliction into which parents, guilty or innocent, have fallen. They are taken by the creditors as ‘payment’ for the debts of the parents (cf. 2 Kings 4:1). The Messiah takes their fate to heart and will save them. He not only removes them from the power of the oppressor, but He crushes the oppressor so that they will never have to fear him again.

The Messiah’s performance of justice and righteousness will create fear among the inhabitants of the land (Psalms 72:5). One shall beware of doing anything evil. This respect or awe will be there “while the sun [endures], and as long as the moon”, that is, for the thousand years of the realm of peace. “Throughout all generations” this fear will be present. In the people of Israel, the generations do not follow one another in the sense of one generation going and another coming (Ecclesiastes 1:4a), but new generations are continually added to already existing generations (cf. Isaiah 59:21). The oldest generation will have to be characterized most by the fear of God. After all, they have enjoyed the blessing of the realm of peace for the longest period of time.

The coming of the Messiah is compared to the “coming down like rain on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth” (Psalms 72:6). That the rain falls on the mown field means that it falls on a field from which the harvest has been brought in. When the rain falls on this ground, it is on a field that is ready for the new crop that must now grow. This evokes the picture of abundant refreshment that is present in the Messiah and comes upon the people who are ready to receive Him.

The field has been mowed, that is, all the apostates have been judged. Mowing is a picture of judgment, the cutting off of life (Revelation 14:14-16; cf. Isaiah 26:9b). It also means that the remnant has condemned themselves in acknowledgment of their guilt in the death of the Messiah (Zechariah 12:10-14). What a relief it is for them to discover that through that same death the Messiah has made reconciliation for them with God, from their sins. As a result, they also know that they are righteous before God.

A mowed field may look sad, dry and yellow after a dry spell. But when the rain comes, the dry field will look fresh and green again, full of new life (Isaiah 35:1; Ezekiel 34:26; Acts 3:19). Thus, the coming of Christ will change the earth. He will come first to reap, to bring judgment on the apostates. Then the realm of peace will dawn, which is also called “the regeneration” of the earth (Matthew 19:28). In other words, He “renews the face of the ground” (Psalms 104:30b).

His coming with His refreshing has the effect that “in his days … the righteous flourish” (Psalms 72:7). “His days” are the days of His government. They are days marked by His presence on earth in power and blessing. His days are all the days of the realm of peace, days of an “abundance of peace till the moon is no more”. The peace is abundant because it is everywhere on earth. The peace is also abundant because there will be no end to it (Isaiah 9:6).

On the new earth there will be no more sea (Revelation 21:1). This verse seems to indicate that after the realm of peace, on the new earth that is then created, there will also be no more moon – “till the moon is no more”. After all, we also read that there will then be no more night (Revelation 22:5).

Psalms 104:3

Introduction

With Psalms 72, the second book of Psalms ends. Just as the second book of the Torah, Exodus, ends with the coming of the glory of the LORD in the tabernacle, so the second book of Psalms ends with the coming of the king-priest in justice and righteousness.

There is no mention in this psalm of suffering or persecution or battle, but of peace and blessing. The psalm presents the great Son of David as the Source and Guarantor of the blessings of the millennial realm of peace. It is the fulfillment of the prayer: “Your kingdom come” (Matthew 6:9-10).

The psalm is the answer to the prayer in Psalms 71, in which the remnant puts its trust in God. This answer is the revelation of the glory of the coming King. This can happen because the remnant has been redeemed (Psalms 71:19-24). The realm of peace can now begin.

Righteousness and Peace

The psalm is “of Solomon” (Psalms 72:1a). Solomon is a picture of the Lord Jesus as King in the realm of peace, as the Prince of peace. Solomon means ‘peace’, ‘peaceable’, ‘peacemaker’. The psalm begins with a prayer to God for “the king”, that is Solomon, that God give him His “judgments” and His “righteousness” (Psalms 72:1b). As a result, he will be able to speak God’s justice, that is, to reign in righteousness over “Your people” and especially over “Your afflicted” (Psalms 72:2). Judgments and righteousness and the afflicted recur in the two following verses.

Such a prayer is appropriate for an enthronement (1 Kings 1:38-40). Asking that God will give him His judgments means that God will give him an understanding of God’s justice and the authority to carry it out. He represents God in His government on earth. Then everything must be judged according to the law of God.

In the prayer God is also asked to give “to the king’s son” – that is again Solomon, the son of David, a type of the great Son of David – His righteousness. Here the demand is that Solomon will act in a righteous manner according to the law, without regard to any person. This means that evil must be punished and good rewarded.

We also see the importance of righteousness with respect to the realm of peace in this that ‘righteousness’ is mentioned in every verse in Psalms 72:1-3. It is the most important attribute of Christ’s government, an attribute that is not present in any human government. Justice and righteousness are the foundation of the Messiah’s throne (Psalms 89:14). A government in righteousness results in peace in the kingdom.

The psalm is in fact about the Lord Jesus, as we hear in the announcement of the birth of the Lord Jesus (Luke 1:32-33). It speaks of a worldwide and eternal government and it will be exercised by Christ alone. On top of that, the Lord Jesus is the true Son of David and therefore “more than Solomon” (Matthew 12:42).

The psalm is set in the future tense from Psalms 72:2 onward, as the recurring word “may” indicates. This can also be read as a wish. Not Solomon, but the Lord Jesus will perfectly fulfill all that is spoken about in this prayer. What now follows in this prayer flows from Psalms 72:1.

The Lord Jesus will “judge” God’s “people with righteousness” (Psalms 72:2). Before nations have to deal with the justice of God, there is first justice for the people of God. All the wicked will be judged according to a perfectly righteous justice.

As already noted, the “afflicted” in particular will be judged “with justice”. They have persevered under severe oppression and slanderous accusations in their trust in God and have not denied His Name. Now they are being done – not ‘beneficence’ but – justice. That they are called “Your afflicted” means that they, that is, the believing remnant, have a special position in the heart of God. They are the ”apple of His eye” (Psalms 17:8; Deuteronomy 32:10; Zechariah 2:8).

By “the mountains” are possibly meant princes of God’s people (Psalms 72:3). They will no longer oppress and exploit their subjects, but “bring peace to the people”. They will work to maintain peace for their people. Because it is about the realm of peace we can think by “the mountains” as kingdoms or high powers, and by “the hills” as lower authorities or the judiciary. They will no longer abuse their responsible position to enrich themselves at the expense of others.

Peace (Psalms 72:3) comes after righteousness (Psalms 72:2). The coming King is the true Melchizedek. In Hebrews 7 the meaning of that name is explained: He is “first of all, by the translation [of his name], king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace” (Hebrews 7:2). By speaking of “first of all … and then also” the order – first righteousness and then peace – is emphasized. The reason is found in Isaiah 32, where we read: “And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever” (Isaiah 32:17; cf. James 3:18).

Once more it is said that the Messiah will “vindicate the afflicted of the people” (Psalms 72:4; Psalms 72:2; cf. Isaiah 11:4). This does prove how much the interest of the afflicted is on Messiah’s mind. He will reward them for the trials they have endured and do justice by giving them the promised blessing. This will not only compensate for the injustice they have suffered, but make them forget it completely.

He also thinks of “the children of the needy”. Children, unwillingly, are the greatest victims of a situation of affliction into which parents, guilty or innocent, have fallen. They are taken by the creditors as ‘payment’ for the debts of the parents (cf. 2 Kings 4:1). The Messiah takes their fate to heart and will save them. He not only removes them from the power of the oppressor, but He crushes the oppressor so that they will never have to fear him again.

The Messiah’s performance of justice and righteousness will create fear among the inhabitants of the land (Psalms 72:5). One shall beware of doing anything evil. This respect or awe will be there “while the sun [endures], and as long as the moon”, that is, for the thousand years of the realm of peace. “Throughout all generations” this fear will be present. In the people of Israel, the generations do not follow one another in the sense of one generation going and another coming (Ecclesiastes 1:4a), but new generations are continually added to already existing generations (cf. Isaiah 59:21). The oldest generation will have to be characterized most by the fear of God. After all, they have enjoyed the blessing of the realm of peace for the longest period of time.

The coming of the Messiah is compared to the “coming down like rain on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth” (Psalms 72:6). That the rain falls on the mown field means that it falls on a field from which the harvest has been brought in. When the rain falls on this ground, it is on a field that is ready for the new crop that must now grow. This evokes the picture of abundant refreshment that is present in the Messiah and comes upon the people who are ready to receive Him.

The field has been mowed, that is, all the apostates have been judged. Mowing is a picture of judgment, the cutting off of life (Revelation 14:14-16; cf. Isaiah 26:9b). It also means that the remnant has condemned themselves in acknowledgment of their guilt in the death of the Messiah (Zechariah 12:10-14). What a relief it is for them to discover that through that same death the Messiah has made reconciliation for them with God, from their sins. As a result, they also know that they are righteous before God.

A mowed field may look sad, dry and yellow after a dry spell. But when the rain comes, the dry field will look fresh and green again, full of new life (Isaiah 35:1; Ezekiel 34:26; Acts 3:19). Thus, the coming of Christ will change the earth. He will come first to reap, to bring judgment on the apostates. Then the realm of peace will dawn, which is also called “the regeneration” of the earth (Matthew 19:28). In other words, He “renews the face of the ground” (Psalms 104:30b).

His coming with His refreshing has the effect that “in his days … the righteous flourish” (Psalms 72:7). “His days” are the days of His government. They are days marked by His presence on earth in power and blessing. His days are all the days of the realm of peace, days of an “abundance of peace till the moon is no more”. The peace is abundant because it is everywhere on earth. The peace is also abundant because there will be no end to it (Isaiah 9:6).

On the new earth there will be no more sea (Revelation 21:1). This verse seems to indicate that after the realm of peace, on the new earth that is then created, there will also be no more moon – “till the moon is no more”. After all, we also read that there will then be no more night (Revelation 22:5).

Psalms 104:4

Introduction

With Psalms 72, the second book of Psalms ends. Just as the second book of the Torah, Exodus, ends with the coming of the glory of the LORD in the tabernacle, so the second book of Psalms ends with the coming of the king-priest in justice and righteousness.

There is no mention in this psalm of suffering or persecution or battle, but of peace and blessing. The psalm presents the great Son of David as the Source and Guarantor of the blessings of the millennial realm of peace. It is the fulfillment of the prayer: “Your kingdom come” (Matthew 6:9-10).

The psalm is the answer to the prayer in Psalms 71, in which the remnant puts its trust in God. This answer is the revelation of the glory of the coming King. This can happen because the remnant has been redeemed (Psalms 71:19-24). The realm of peace can now begin.

Righteousness and Peace

The psalm is “of Solomon” (Psalms 72:1a). Solomon is a picture of the Lord Jesus as King in the realm of peace, as the Prince of peace. Solomon means ‘peace’, ‘peaceable’, ‘peacemaker’. The psalm begins with a prayer to God for “the king”, that is Solomon, that God give him His “judgments” and His “righteousness” (Psalms 72:1b). As a result, he will be able to speak God’s justice, that is, to reign in righteousness over “Your people” and especially over “Your afflicted” (Psalms 72:2). Judgments and righteousness and the afflicted recur in the two following verses.

Such a prayer is appropriate for an enthronement (1 Kings 1:38-40). Asking that God will give him His judgments means that God will give him an understanding of God’s justice and the authority to carry it out. He represents God in His government on earth. Then everything must be judged according to the law of God.

In the prayer God is also asked to give “to the king’s son” – that is again Solomon, the son of David, a type of the great Son of David – His righteousness. Here the demand is that Solomon will act in a righteous manner according to the law, without regard to any person. This means that evil must be punished and good rewarded.

We also see the importance of righteousness with respect to the realm of peace in this that ‘righteousness’ is mentioned in every verse in Psalms 72:1-3. It is the most important attribute of Christ’s government, an attribute that is not present in any human government. Justice and righteousness are the foundation of the Messiah’s throne (Psalms 89:14). A government in righteousness results in peace in the kingdom.

The psalm is in fact about the Lord Jesus, as we hear in the announcement of the birth of the Lord Jesus (Luke 1:32-33). It speaks of a worldwide and eternal government and it will be exercised by Christ alone. On top of that, the Lord Jesus is the true Son of David and therefore “more than Solomon” (Matthew 12:42).

The psalm is set in the future tense from Psalms 72:2 onward, as the recurring word “may” indicates. This can also be read as a wish. Not Solomon, but the Lord Jesus will perfectly fulfill all that is spoken about in this prayer. What now follows in this prayer flows from Psalms 72:1.

The Lord Jesus will “judge” God’s “people with righteousness” (Psalms 72:2). Before nations have to deal with the justice of God, there is first justice for the people of God. All the wicked will be judged according to a perfectly righteous justice.

As already noted, the “afflicted” in particular will be judged “with justice”. They have persevered under severe oppression and slanderous accusations in their trust in God and have not denied His Name. Now they are being done – not ‘beneficence’ but – justice. That they are called “Your afflicted” means that they, that is, the believing remnant, have a special position in the heart of God. They are the ”apple of His eye” (Psalms 17:8; Deuteronomy 32:10; Zechariah 2:8).

By “the mountains” are possibly meant princes of God’s people (Psalms 72:3). They will no longer oppress and exploit their subjects, but “bring peace to the people”. They will work to maintain peace for their people. Because it is about the realm of peace we can think by “the mountains” as kingdoms or high powers, and by “the hills” as lower authorities or the judiciary. They will no longer abuse their responsible position to enrich themselves at the expense of others.

Peace (Psalms 72:3) comes after righteousness (Psalms 72:2). The coming King is the true Melchizedek. In Hebrews 7 the meaning of that name is explained: He is “first of all, by the translation [of his name], king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace” (Hebrews 7:2). By speaking of “first of all … and then also” the order – first righteousness and then peace – is emphasized. The reason is found in Isaiah 32, where we read: “And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever” (Isaiah 32:17; cf. James 3:18).

Once more it is said that the Messiah will “vindicate the afflicted of the people” (Psalms 72:4; Psalms 72:2; cf. Isaiah 11:4). This does prove how much the interest of the afflicted is on Messiah’s mind. He will reward them for the trials they have endured and do justice by giving them the promised blessing. This will not only compensate for the injustice they have suffered, but make them forget it completely.

He also thinks of “the children of the needy”. Children, unwillingly, are the greatest victims of a situation of affliction into which parents, guilty or innocent, have fallen. They are taken by the creditors as ‘payment’ for the debts of the parents (cf. 2 Kings 4:1). The Messiah takes their fate to heart and will save them. He not only removes them from the power of the oppressor, but He crushes the oppressor so that they will never have to fear him again.

The Messiah’s performance of justice and righteousness will create fear among the inhabitants of the land (Psalms 72:5). One shall beware of doing anything evil. This respect or awe will be there “while the sun [endures], and as long as the moon”, that is, for the thousand years of the realm of peace. “Throughout all generations” this fear will be present. In the people of Israel, the generations do not follow one another in the sense of one generation going and another coming (Ecclesiastes 1:4a), but new generations are continually added to already existing generations (cf. Isaiah 59:21). The oldest generation will have to be characterized most by the fear of God. After all, they have enjoyed the blessing of the realm of peace for the longest period of time.

The coming of the Messiah is compared to the “coming down like rain on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth” (Psalms 72:6). That the rain falls on the mown field means that it falls on a field from which the harvest has been brought in. When the rain falls on this ground, it is on a field that is ready for the new crop that must now grow. This evokes the picture of abundant refreshment that is present in the Messiah and comes upon the people who are ready to receive Him.

The field has been mowed, that is, all the apostates have been judged. Mowing is a picture of judgment, the cutting off of life (Revelation 14:14-16; cf. Isaiah 26:9b). It also means that the remnant has condemned themselves in acknowledgment of their guilt in the death of the Messiah (Zechariah 12:10-14). What a relief it is for them to discover that through that same death the Messiah has made reconciliation for them with God, from their sins. As a result, they also know that they are righteous before God.

A mowed field may look sad, dry and yellow after a dry spell. But when the rain comes, the dry field will look fresh and green again, full of new life (Isaiah 35:1; Ezekiel 34:26; Acts 3:19). Thus, the coming of Christ will change the earth. He will come first to reap, to bring judgment on the apostates. Then the realm of peace will dawn, which is also called “the regeneration” of the earth (Matthew 19:28). In other words, He “renews the face of the ground” (Psalms 104:30b).

His coming with His refreshing has the effect that “in his days … the righteous flourish” (Psalms 72:7). “His days” are the days of His government. They are days marked by His presence on earth in power and blessing. His days are all the days of the realm of peace, days of an “abundance of peace till the moon is no more”. The peace is abundant because it is everywhere on earth. The peace is also abundant because there will be no end to it (Isaiah 9:6).

On the new earth there will be no more sea (Revelation 21:1). This verse seems to indicate that after the realm of peace, on the new earth that is then created, there will also be no more moon – “till the moon is no more”. After all, we also read that there will then be no more night (Revelation 22:5).

Psalms 104:5

Introduction

With Psalms 72, the second book of Psalms ends. Just as the second book of the Torah, Exodus, ends with the coming of the glory of the LORD in the tabernacle, so the second book of Psalms ends with the coming of the king-priest in justice and righteousness.

There is no mention in this psalm of suffering or persecution or battle, but of peace and blessing. The psalm presents the great Son of David as the Source and Guarantor of the blessings of the millennial realm of peace. It is the fulfillment of the prayer: “Your kingdom come” (Matthew 6:9-10).

The psalm is the answer to the prayer in Psalms 71, in which the remnant puts its trust in God. This answer is the revelation of the glory of the coming King. This can happen because the remnant has been redeemed (Psalms 71:19-24). The realm of peace can now begin.

Righteousness and Peace

The psalm is “of Solomon” (Psalms 72:1a). Solomon is a picture of the Lord Jesus as King in the realm of peace, as the Prince of peace. Solomon means ‘peace’, ‘peaceable’, ‘peacemaker’. The psalm begins with a prayer to God for “the king”, that is Solomon, that God give him His “judgments” and His “righteousness” (Psalms 72:1b). As a result, he will be able to speak God’s justice, that is, to reign in righteousness over “Your people” and especially over “Your afflicted” (Psalms 72:2). Judgments and righteousness and the afflicted recur in the two following verses.

Such a prayer is appropriate for an enthronement (1 Kings 1:38-40). Asking that God will give him His judgments means that God will give him an understanding of God’s justice and the authority to carry it out. He represents God in His government on earth. Then everything must be judged according to the law of God.

In the prayer God is also asked to give “to the king’s son” – that is again Solomon, the son of David, a type of the great Son of David – His righteousness. Here the demand is that Solomon will act in a righteous manner according to the law, without regard to any person. This means that evil must be punished and good rewarded.

We also see the importance of righteousness with respect to the realm of peace in this that ‘righteousness’ is mentioned in every verse in Psalms 72:1-3. It is the most important attribute of Christ’s government, an attribute that is not present in any human government. Justice and righteousness are the foundation of the Messiah’s throne (Psalms 89:14). A government in righteousness results in peace in the kingdom.

The psalm is in fact about the Lord Jesus, as we hear in the announcement of the birth of the Lord Jesus (Luke 1:32-33). It speaks of a worldwide and eternal government and it will be exercised by Christ alone. On top of that, the Lord Jesus is the true Son of David and therefore “more than Solomon” (Matthew 12:42).

The psalm is set in the future tense from Psalms 72:2 onward, as the recurring word “may” indicates. This can also be read as a wish. Not Solomon, but the Lord Jesus will perfectly fulfill all that is spoken about in this prayer. What now follows in this prayer flows from Psalms 72:1.

The Lord Jesus will “judge” God’s “people with righteousness” (Psalms 72:2). Before nations have to deal with the justice of God, there is first justice for the people of God. All the wicked will be judged according to a perfectly righteous justice.

As already noted, the “afflicted” in particular will be judged “with justice”. They have persevered under severe oppression and slanderous accusations in their trust in God and have not denied His Name. Now they are being done – not ‘beneficence’ but – justice. That they are called “Your afflicted” means that they, that is, the believing remnant, have a special position in the heart of God. They are the ”apple of His eye” (Psalms 17:8; Deuteronomy 32:10; Zechariah 2:8).

By “the mountains” are possibly meant princes of God’s people (Psalms 72:3). They will no longer oppress and exploit their subjects, but “bring peace to the people”. They will work to maintain peace for their people. Because it is about the realm of peace we can think by “the mountains” as kingdoms or high powers, and by “the hills” as lower authorities or the judiciary. They will no longer abuse their responsible position to enrich themselves at the expense of others.

Peace (Psalms 72:3) comes after righteousness (Psalms 72:2). The coming King is the true Melchizedek. In Hebrews 7 the meaning of that name is explained: He is “first of all, by the translation [of his name], king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace” (Hebrews 7:2). By speaking of “first of all … and then also” the order – first righteousness and then peace – is emphasized. The reason is found in Isaiah 32, where we read: “And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever” (Isaiah 32:17; cf. James 3:18).

Once more it is said that the Messiah will “vindicate the afflicted of the people” (Psalms 72:4; Psalms 72:2; cf. Isaiah 11:4). This does prove how much the interest of the afflicted is on Messiah’s mind. He will reward them for the trials they have endured and do justice by giving them the promised blessing. This will not only compensate for the injustice they have suffered, but make them forget it completely.

He also thinks of “the children of the needy”. Children, unwillingly, are the greatest victims of a situation of affliction into which parents, guilty or innocent, have fallen. They are taken by the creditors as ‘payment’ for the debts of the parents (cf. 2 Kings 4:1). The Messiah takes their fate to heart and will save them. He not only removes them from the power of the oppressor, but He crushes the oppressor so that they will never have to fear him again.

The Messiah’s performance of justice and righteousness will create fear among the inhabitants of the land (Psalms 72:5). One shall beware of doing anything evil. This respect or awe will be there “while the sun [endures], and as long as the moon”, that is, for the thousand years of the realm of peace. “Throughout all generations” this fear will be present. In the people of Israel, the generations do not follow one another in the sense of one generation going and another coming (Ecclesiastes 1:4a), but new generations are continually added to already existing generations (cf. Isaiah 59:21). The oldest generation will have to be characterized most by the fear of God. After all, they have enjoyed the blessing of the realm of peace for the longest period of time.

The coming of the Messiah is compared to the “coming down like rain on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth” (Psalms 72:6). That the rain falls on the mown field means that it falls on a field from which the harvest has been brought in. When the rain falls on this ground, it is on a field that is ready for the new crop that must now grow. This evokes the picture of abundant refreshment that is present in the Messiah and comes upon the people who are ready to receive Him.

The field has been mowed, that is, all the apostates have been judged. Mowing is a picture of judgment, the cutting off of life (Revelation 14:14-16; cf. Isaiah 26:9b). It also means that the remnant has condemned themselves in acknowledgment of their guilt in the death of the Messiah (Zechariah 12:10-14). What a relief it is for them to discover that through that same death the Messiah has made reconciliation for them with God, from their sins. As a result, they also know that they are righteous before God.

A mowed field may look sad, dry and yellow after a dry spell. But when the rain comes, the dry field will look fresh and green again, full of new life (Isaiah 35:1; Ezekiel 34:26; Acts 3:19). Thus, the coming of Christ will change the earth. He will come first to reap, to bring judgment on the apostates. Then the realm of peace will dawn, which is also called “the regeneration” of the earth (Matthew 19:28). In other words, He “renews the face of the ground” (Psalms 104:30b).

His coming with His refreshing has the effect that “in his days … the righteous flourish” (Psalms 72:7). “His days” are the days of His government. They are days marked by His presence on earth in power and blessing. His days are all the days of the realm of peace, days of an “abundance of peace till the moon is no more”. The peace is abundant because it is everywhere on earth. The peace is also abundant because there will be no end to it (Isaiah 9:6).

On the new earth there will be no more sea (Revelation 21:1). This verse seems to indicate that after the realm of peace, on the new earth that is then created, there will also be no more moon – “till the moon is no more”. After all, we also read that there will then be no more night (Revelation 22:5).

Psalms 104:6

Introduction

With Psalms 72, the second book of Psalms ends. Just as the second book of the Torah, Exodus, ends with the coming of the glory of the LORD in the tabernacle, so the second book of Psalms ends with the coming of the king-priest in justice and righteousness.

There is no mention in this psalm of suffering or persecution or battle, but of peace and blessing. The psalm presents the great Son of David as the Source and Guarantor of the blessings of the millennial realm of peace. It is the fulfillment of the prayer: “Your kingdom come” (Matthew 6:9-10).

The psalm is the answer to the prayer in Psalms 71, in which the remnant puts its trust in God. This answer is the revelation of the glory of the coming King. This can happen because the remnant has been redeemed (Psalms 71:19-24). The realm of peace can now begin.

Righteousness and Peace

The psalm is “of Solomon” (Psalms 72:1a). Solomon is a picture of the Lord Jesus as King in the realm of peace, as the Prince of peace. Solomon means ‘peace’, ‘peaceable’, ‘peacemaker’. The psalm begins with a prayer to God for “the king”, that is Solomon, that God give him His “judgments” and His “righteousness” (Psalms 72:1b). As a result, he will be able to speak God’s justice, that is, to reign in righteousness over “Your people” and especially over “Your afflicted” (Psalms 72:2). Judgments and righteousness and the afflicted recur in the two following verses.

Such a prayer is appropriate for an enthronement (1 Kings 1:38-40). Asking that God will give him His judgments means that God will give him an understanding of God’s justice and the authority to carry it out. He represents God in His government on earth. Then everything must be judged according to the law of God.

In the prayer God is also asked to give “to the king’s son” – that is again Solomon, the son of David, a type of the great Son of David – His righteousness. Here the demand is that Solomon will act in a righteous manner according to the law, without regard to any person. This means that evil must be punished and good rewarded.

We also see the importance of righteousness with respect to the realm of peace in this that ‘righteousness’ is mentioned in every verse in Psalms 72:1-3. It is the most important attribute of Christ’s government, an attribute that is not present in any human government. Justice and righteousness are the foundation of the Messiah’s throne (Psalms 89:14). A government in righteousness results in peace in the kingdom.

The psalm is in fact about the Lord Jesus, as we hear in the announcement of the birth of the Lord Jesus (Luke 1:32-33). It speaks of a worldwide and eternal government and it will be exercised by Christ alone. On top of that, the Lord Jesus is the true Son of David and therefore “more than Solomon” (Matthew 12:42).

The psalm is set in the future tense from Psalms 72:2 onward, as the recurring word “may” indicates. This can also be read as a wish. Not Solomon, but the Lord Jesus will perfectly fulfill all that is spoken about in this prayer. What now follows in this prayer flows from Psalms 72:1.

The Lord Jesus will “judge” God’s “people with righteousness” (Psalms 72:2). Before nations have to deal with the justice of God, there is first justice for the people of God. All the wicked will be judged according to a perfectly righteous justice.

As already noted, the “afflicted” in particular will be judged “with justice”. They have persevered under severe oppression and slanderous accusations in their trust in God and have not denied His Name. Now they are being done – not ‘beneficence’ but – justice. That they are called “Your afflicted” means that they, that is, the believing remnant, have a special position in the heart of God. They are the ”apple of His eye” (Psalms 17:8; Deuteronomy 32:10; Zechariah 2:8).

By “the mountains” are possibly meant princes of God’s people (Psalms 72:3). They will no longer oppress and exploit their subjects, but “bring peace to the people”. They will work to maintain peace for their people. Because it is about the realm of peace we can think by “the mountains” as kingdoms or high powers, and by “the hills” as lower authorities or the judiciary. They will no longer abuse their responsible position to enrich themselves at the expense of others.

Peace (Psalms 72:3) comes after righteousness (Psalms 72:2). The coming King is the true Melchizedek. In Hebrews 7 the meaning of that name is explained: He is “first of all, by the translation [of his name], king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace” (Hebrews 7:2). By speaking of “first of all … and then also” the order – first righteousness and then peace – is emphasized. The reason is found in Isaiah 32, where we read: “And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever” (Isaiah 32:17; cf. James 3:18).

Once more it is said that the Messiah will “vindicate the afflicted of the people” (Psalms 72:4; Psalms 72:2; cf. Isaiah 11:4). This does prove how much the interest of the afflicted is on Messiah’s mind. He will reward them for the trials they have endured and do justice by giving them the promised blessing. This will not only compensate for the injustice they have suffered, but make them forget it completely.

He also thinks of “the children of the needy”. Children, unwillingly, are the greatest victims of a situation of affliction into which parents, guilty or innocent, have fallen. They are taken by the creditors as ‘payment’ for the debts of the parents (cf. 2 Kings 4:1). The Messiah takes their fate to heart and will save them. He not only removes them from the power of the oppressor, but He crushes the oppressor so that they will never have to fear him again.

The Messiah’s performance of justice and righteousness will create fear among the inhabitants of the land (Psalms 72:5). One shall beware of doing anything evil. This respect or awe will be there “while the sun [endures], and as long as the moon”, that is, for the thousand years of the realm of peace. “Throughout all generations” this fear will be present. In the people of Israel, the generations do not follow one another in the sense of one generation going and another coming (Ecclesiastes 1:4a), but new generations are continually added to already existing generations (cf. Isaiah 59:21). The oldest generation will have to be characterized most by the fear of God. After all, they have enjoyed the blessing of the realm of peace for the longest period of time.

The coming of the Messiah is compared to the “coming down like rain on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth” (Psalms 72:6). That the rain falls on the mown field means that it falls on a field from which the harvest has been brought in. When the rain falls on this ground, it is on a field that is ready for the new crop that must now grow. This evokes the picture of abundant refreshment that is present in the Messiah and comes upon the people who are ready to receive Him.

The field has been mowed, that is, all the apostates have been judged. Mowing is a picture of judgment, the cutting off of life (Revelation 14:14-16; cf. Isaiah 26:9b). It also means that the remnant has condemned themselves in acknowledgment of their guilt in the death of the Messiah (Zechariah 12:10-14). What a relief it is for them to discover that through that same death the Messiah has made reconciliation for them with God, from their sins. As a result, they also know that they are righteous before God.

A mowed field may look sad, dry and yellow after a dry spell. But when the rain comes, the dry field will look fresh and green again, full of new life (Isaiah 35:1; Ezekiel 34:26; Acts 3:19). Thus, the coming of Christ will change the earth. He will come first to reap, to bring judgment on the apostates. Then the realm of peace will dawn, which is also called “the regeneration” of the earth (Matthew 19:28). In other words, He “renews the face of the ground” (Psalms 104:30b).

His coming with His refreshing has the effect that “in his days … the righteous flourish” (Psalms 72:7). “His days” are the days of His government. They are days marked by His presence on earth in power and blessing. His days are all the days of the realm of peace, days of an “abundance of peace till the moon is no more”. The peace is abundant because it is everywhere on earth. The peace is also abundant because there will be no end to it (Isaiah 9:6).

On the new earth there will be no more sea (Revelation 21:1). This verse seems to indicate that after the realm of peace, on the new earth that is then created, there will also be no more moon – “till the moon is no more”. After all, we also read that there will then be no more night (Revelation 22:5).

Psalms 104:7

Introduction

With Psalms 72, the second book of Psalms ends. Just as the second book of the Torah, Exodus, ends with the coming of the glory of the LORD in the tabernacle, so the second book of Psalms ends with the coming of the king-priest in justice and righteousness.

There is no mention in this psalm of suffering or persecution or battle, but of peace and blessing. The psalm presents the great Son of David as the Source and Guarantor of the blessings of the millennial realm of peace. It is the fulfillment of the prayer: “Your kingdom come” (Matthew 6:9-10).

The psalm is the answer to the prayer in Psalms 71, in which the remnant puts its trust in God. This answer is the revelation of the glory of the coming King. This can happen because the remnant has been redeemed (Psalms 71:19-24). The realm of peace can now begin.

Righteousness and Peace

The psalm is “of Solomon” (Psalms 72:1a). Solomon is a picture of the Lord Jesus as King in the realm of peace, as the Prince of peace. Solomon means ‘peace’, ‘peaceable’, ‘peacemaker’. The psalm begins with a prayer to God for “the king”, that is Solomon, that God give him His “judgments” and His “righteousness” (Psalms 72:1b). As a result, he will be able to speak God’s justice, that is, to reign in righteousness over “Your people” and especially over “Your afflicted” (Psalms 72:2). Judgments and righteousness and the afflicted recur in the two following verses.

Such a prayer is appropriate for an enthronement (1 Kings 1:38-40). Asking that God will give him His judgments means that God will give him an understanding of God’s justice and the authority to carry it out. He represents God in His government on earth. Then everything must be judged according to the law of God.

In the prayer God is also asked to give “to the king’s son” – that is again Solomon, the son of David, a type of the great Son of David – His righteousness. Here the demand is that Solomon will act in a righteous manner according to the law, without regard to any person. This means that evil must be punished and good rewarded.

We also see the importance of righteousness with respect to the realm of peace in this that ‘righteousness’ is mentioned in every verse in Psalms 72:1-3. It is the most important attribute of Christ’s government, an attribute that is not present in any human government. Justice and righteousness are the foundation of the Messiah’s throne (Psalms 89:14). A government in righteousness results in peace in the kingdom.

The psalm is in fact about the Lord Jesus, as we hear in the announcement of the birth of the Lord Jesus (Luke 1:32-33). It speaks of a worldwide and eternal government and it will be exercised by Christ alone. On top of that, the Lord Jesus is the true Son of David and therefore “more than Solomon” (Matthew 12:42).

The psalm is set in the future tense from Psalms 72:2 onward, as the recurring word “may” indicates. This can also be read as a wish. Not Solomon, but the Lord Jesus will perfectly fulfill all that is spoken about in this prayer. What now follows in this prayer flows from Psalms 72:1.

The Lord Jesus will “judge” God’s “people with righteousness” (Psalms 72:2). Before nations have to deal with the justice of God, there is first justice for the people of God. All the wicked will be judged according to a perfectly righteous justice.

As already noted, the “afflicted” in particular will be judged “with justice”. They have persevered under severe oppression and slanderous accusations in their trust in God and have not denied His Name. Now they are being done – not ‘beneficence’ but – justice. That they are called “Your afflicted” means that they, that is, the believing remnant, have a special position in the heart of God. They are the ”apple of His eye” (Psalms 17:8; Deuteronomy 32:10; Zechariah 2:8).

By “the mountains” are possibly meant princes of God’s people (Psalms 72:3). They will no longer oppress and exploit their subjects, but “bring peace to the people”. They will work to maintain peace for their people. Because it is about the realm of peace we can think by “the mountains” as kingdoms or high powers, and by “the hills” as lower authorities or the judiciary. They will no longer abuse their responsible position to enrich themselves at the expense of others.

Peace (Psalms 72:3) comes after righteousness (Psalms 72:2). The coming King is the true Melchizedek. In Hebrews 7 the meaning of that name is explained: He is “first of all, by the translation [of his name], king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace” (Hebrews 7:2). By speaking of “first of all … and then also” the order – first righteousness and then peace – is emphasized. The reason is found in Isaiah 32, where we read: “And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever” (Isaiah 32:17; cf. James 3:18).

Once more it is said that the Messiah will “vindicate the afflicted of the people” (Psalms 72:4; Psalms 72:2; cf. Isaiah 11:4). This does prove how much the interest of the afflicted is on Messiah’s mind. He will reward them for the trials they have endured and do justice by giving them the promised blessing. This will not only compensate for the injustice they have suffered, but make them forget it completely.

He also thinks of “the children of the needy”. Children, unwillingly, are the greatest victims of a situation of affliction into which parents, guilty or innocent, have fallen. They are taken by the creditors as ‘payment’ for the debts of the parents (cf. 2 Kings 4:1). The Messiah takes their fate to heart and will save them. He not only removes them from the power of the oppressor, but He crushes the oppressor so that they will never have to fear him again.

The Messiah’s performance of justice and righteousness will create fear among the inhabitants of the land (Psalms 72:5). One shall beware of doing anything evil. This respect or awe will be there “while the sun [endures], and as long as the moon”, that is, for the thousand years of the realm of peace. “Throughout all generations” this fear will be present. In the people of Israel, the generations do not follow one another in the sense of one generation going and another coming (Ecclesiastes 1:4a), but new generations are continually added to already existing generations (cf. Isaiah 59:21). The oldest generation will have to be characterized most by the fear of God. After all, they have enjoyed the blessing of the realm of peace for the longest period of time.

The coming of the Messiah is compared to the “coming down like rain on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth” (Psalms 72:6). That the rain falls on the mown field means that it falls on a field from which the harvest has been brought in. When the rain falls on this ground, it is on a field that is ready for the new crop that must now grow. This evokes the picture of abundant refreshment that is present in the Messiah and comes upon the people who are ready to receive Him.

The field has been mowed, that is, all the apostates have been judged. Mowing is a picture of judgment, the cutting off of life (Revelation 14:14-16; cf. Isaiah 26:9b). It also means that the remnant has condemned themselves in acknowledgment of their guilt in the death of the Messiah (Zechariah 12:10-14). What a relief it is for them to discover that through that same death the Messiah has made reconciliation for them with God, from their sins. As a result, they also know that they are righteous before God.

A mowed field may look sad, dry and yellow after a dry spell. But when the rain comes, the dry field will look fresh and green again, full of new life (Isaiah 35:1; Ezekiel 34:26; Acts 3:19). Thus, the coming of Christ will change the earth. He will come first to reap, to bring judgment on the apostates. Then the realm of peace will dawn, which is also called “the regeneration” of the earth (Matthew 19:28). In other words, He “renews the face of the ground” (Psalms 104:30b).

His coming with His refreshing has the effect that “in his days … the righteous flourish” (Psalms 72:7). “His days” are the days of His government. They are days marked by His presence on earth in power and blessing. His days are all the days of the realm of peace, days of an “abundance of peace till the moon is no more”. The peace is abundant because it is everywhere on earth. The peace is also abundant because there will be no end to it (Isaiah 9:6).

On the new earth there will be no more sea (Revelation 21:1). This verse seems to indicate that after the realm of peace, on the new earth that is then created, there will also be no more moon – “till the moon is no more”. After all, we also read that there will then be no more night (Revelation 22:5).

Psalms 104:8

World Domination

The government of the Messiah is universal (Psalms 72:8; cf. Isaiah 42:4). There is no area that is not under His rule or can hide from it. His rule pervades everything and everyone. Obviously, this does not refer to the reign of Solomon. This applies only to the Messiah. It is the fulfillment of God’s covenant with Abraham (Genesis 15:8; cf. Zechariah 9:9-10; Psalms 2:8).

The inhabitants of the most desolate regions, the free-spirited “nomads of the desert”, who acknowledge no rule, will “bow before him” (Psalms 72:9). These are the nomads, the vagrants with no fixed abode, which also means with no fixed authority to which they must be obedient. They will acknowledge His authority. His adversaries, “His enemies”, will be humbled to the dust, which they will “lick” (cf. Isaiah 49:23).

The mighty of the earth, “the kings”, those who occupy a place of authority on earth, will also submit to Him (Psalms 72:10). There is mention here of the kings “of Tarshish and of the islands”. Tarshish is in southern Spain, a trading city with which Solomon traded (1 Kings 10:22). The islands are the coastal lands on the Mediterranean Sea. Both areas lie to the west of Israel. They will show their submission by bringing presents to the Messiah in Jerusalem. Also “the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts”. Sheba is in present-day Yemen and Seba in Upper Egypt. They are both rich countries that lie far to the south of Israel.

There is no ruler who will not bow before Him. “All kings” – this leaves no exception – will “bow down before him” (Psalms 72:11). There is no nation that will not serve Him. “All nations” – this leaves no exception – will “serve Him”. The Messiah is God. Kings bow down before Him and worship Him. The Messiah is Lord, the “Lord of lords and King of kings” (Revelation 17:14). Every knee bows “of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11). The nations will serve Him in obedience.

The nomads (Psalms 72:9) on the one hand and the kings of Tarshish (Psalms 72:10) on the other represent nations near and nations far. All of them (Psalms 72:11) are to bow down before Him.

Psalms 104:9

World Domination

The government of the Messiah is universal (Psalms 72:8; cf. Isaiah 42:4). There is no area that is not under His rule or can hide from it. His rule pervades everything and everyone. Obviously, this does not refer to the reign of Solomon. This applies only to the Messiah. It is the fulfillment of God’s covenant with Abraham (Genesis 15:8; cf. Zechariah 9:9-10; Psalms 2:8).

The inhabitants of the most desolate regions, the free-spirited “nomads of the desert”, who acknowledge no rule, will “bow before him” (Psalms 72:9). These are the nomads, the vagrants with no fixed abode, which also means with no fixed authority to which they must be obedient. They will acknowledge His authority. His adversaries, “His enemies”, will be humbled to the dust, which they will “lick” (cf. Isaiah 49:23).

The mighty of the earth, “the kings”, those who occupy a place of authority on earth, will also submit to Him (Psalms 72:10). There is mention here of the kings “of Tarshish and of the islands”. Tarshish is in southern Spain, a trading city with which Solomon traded (1 Kings 10:22). The islands are the coastal lands on the Mediterranean Sea. Both areas lie to the west of Israel. They will show their submission by bringing presents to the Messiah in Jerusalem. Also “the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts”. Sheba is in present-day Yemen and Seba in Upper Egypt. They are both rich countries that lie far to the south of Israel.

There is no ruler who will not bow before Him. “All kings” – this leaves no exception – will “bow down before him” (Psalms 72:11). There is no nation that will not serve Him. “All nations” – this leaves no exception – will “serve Him”. The Messiah is God. Kings bow down before Him and worship Him. The Messiah is Lord, the “Lord of lords and King of kings” (Revelation 17:14). Every knee bows “of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11). The nations will serve Him in obedience.

The nomads (Psalms 72:9) on the one hand and the kings of Tarshish (Psalms 72:10) on the other represent nations near and nations far. All of them (Psalms 72:11) are to bow down before Him.

Psalms 104:10

World Domination

The government of the Messiah is universal (Psalms 72:8; cf. Isaiah 42:4). There is no area that is not under His rule or can hide from it. His rule pervades everything and everyone. Obviously, this does not refer to the reign of Solomon. This applies only to the Messiah. It is the fulfillment of God’s covenant with Abraham (Genesis 15:8; cf. Zechariah 9:9-10; Psalms 2:8).

The inhabitants of the most desolate regions, the free-spirited “nomads of the desert”, who acknowledge no rule, will “bow before him” (Psalms 72:9). These are the nomads, the vagrants with no fixed abode, which also means with no fixed authority to which they must be obedient. They will acknowledge His authority. His adversaries, “His enemies”, will be humbled to the dust, which they will “lick” (cf. Isaiah 49:23).

The mighty of the earth, “the kings”, those who occupy a place of authority on earth, will also submit to Him (Psalms 72:10). There is mention here of the kings “of Tarshish and of the islands”. Tarshish is in southern Spain, a trading city with which Solomon traded (1 Kings 10:22). The islands are the coastal lands on the Mediterranean Sea. Both areas lie to the west of Israel. They will show their submission by bringing presents to the Messiah in Jerusalem. Also “the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts”. Sheba is in present-day Yemen and Seba in Upper Egypt. They are both rich countries that lie far to the south of Israel.

There is no ruler who will not bow before Him. “All kings” – this leaves no exception – will “bow down before him” (Psalms 72:11). There is no nation that will not serve Him. “All nations” – this leaves no exception – will “serve Him”. The Messiah is God. Kings bow down before Him and worship Him. The Messiah is Lord, the “Lord of lords and King of kings” (Revelation 17:14). Every knee bows “of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11). The nations will serve Him in obedience.

The nomads (Psalms 72:9) on the one hand and the kings of Tarshish (Psalms 72:10) on the other represent nations near and nations far. All of them (Psalms 72:11) are to bow down before Him.

Psalms 104:11

World Domination

The government of the Messiah is universal (Psalms 72:8; cf. Isaiah 42:4). There is no area that is not under His rule or can hide from it. His rule pervades everything and everyone. Obviously, this does not refer to the reign of Solomon. This applies only to the Messiah. It is the fulfillment of God’s covenant with Abraham (Genesis 15:8; cf. Zechariah 9:9-10; Psalms 2:8).

The inhabitants of the most desolate regions, the free-spirited “nomads of the desert”, who acknowledge no rule, will “bow before him” (Psalms 72:9). These are the nomads, the vagrants with no fixed abode, which also means with no fixed authority to which they must be obedient. They will acknowledge His authority. His adversaries, “His enemies”, will be humbled to the dust, which they will “lick” (cf. Isaiah 49:23).

The mighty of the earth, “the kings”, those who occupy a place of authority on earth, will also submit to Him (Psalms 72:10). There is mention here of the kings “of Tarshish and of the islands”. Tarshish is in southern Spain, a trading city with which Solomon traded (1 Kings 10:22). The islands are the coastal lands on the Mediterranean Sea. Both areas lie to the west of Israel. They will show their submission by bringing presents to the Messiah in Jerusalem. Also “the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts”. Sheba is in present-day Yemen and Seba in Upper Egypt. They are both rich countries that lie far to the south of Israel.

There is no ruler who will not bow before Him. “All kings” – this leaves no exception – will “bow down before him” (Psalms 72:11). There is no nation that will not serve Him. “All nations” – this leaves no exception – will “serve Him”. The Messiah is God. Kings bow down before Him and worship Him. The Messiah is Lord, the “Lord of lords and King of kings” (Revelation 17:14). Every knee bows “of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11). The nations will serve Him in obedience.

The nomads (Psalms 72:9) on the one hand and the kings of Tarshish (Psalms 72:10) on the other represent nations near and nations far. All of them (Psalms 72:11) are to bow down before Him.

Psalms 104:12

Nature of the Reign of Messiah

The word “for” (Psalms 72:12) indicates that the reason for what has been said above now follows. His reign, for which everyone from high to low and from friend to foe will be in awe (Psalms 72:9-11), turns out to be a reign of compassionate love. It is not about “Your afflicted” (Psalms 72:2), the afflicted of God’s people, but about the afflicted from among the nations, everyone who needs Him.

By His power He has put an end to all opposition and enmity. In His love He delivers “the needy when he cries for help”. He also delivers “the afflicted, and him who has no helper”. To those who have no helper, He is a Helper. Elihu testifies of Him to Job: “Behold, God is mighty but does not despise [any]” (Job 36:5a). However, as long as we still have our own tools and use them, He cannot help us. He can only help us when we are at our wits’ end and we cry out to Him in our distress. Only then can and will He help us (Psalms 107:23-32).

Even “the poor and needy” will experience the benefits of His reign (Psalms 72:13). The considerable and rich have exploited and not spared them. The poor have been unable to repay their debts and therefore have had to sell their possessions, their children and themselves. This is how they ended up in slavery. But He will “save” them, spare them and not impose burdens (Malachi 3:17).

This will mean healing for them of the many wounds with which they have been beaten by their exploiters and oppressors. Thus He will save “the lives of the needy” from all their sufferings. “Save” has the meaning of release from the power of another, in this case from the exploiters and oppressors. This word is also used for “redeem”, as Boaz does in the case of Ruth.

They have so often been victims “of oppression and violence” (Psalms 72:14), but He will rescue their souls, that is, their very persons, from them. “Their blood” and their tears and their suffering will be “precious in his sight” (cf. Psalms 116:15). They were ransomed by the Messiah-King and thus delivered from their oppressed condition.

Their blood is so precious to Him that He will not allow it to be shed unjustly. He can do that by saving them when their lives are in danger. And if it is shed, He regards their blood as so precious that He will not leave it unrevenged. It means that to the King their life is as precious as His own. He will never be indifferent to their safety or their reputation.

They will realize that He has not forgotten them nor what was done to them. What they have suffered has called to Him and come to His ears (cf. Genesis 4:10; James 5:4). Now the time has come to answer all those prayers unanswered at the time.

Psalms 104:13

Nature of the Reign of Messiah

The word “for” (Psalms 72:12) indicates that the reason for what has been said above now follows. His reign, for which everyone from high to low and from friend to foe will be in awe (Psalms 72:9-11), turns out to be a reign of compassionate love. It is not about “Your afflicted” (Psalms 72:2), the afflicted of God’s people, but about the afflicted from among the nations, everyone who needs Him.

By His power He has put an end to all opposition and enmity. In His love He delivers “the needy when he cries for help”. He also delivers “the afflicted, and him who has no helper”. To those who have no helper, He is a Helper. Elihu testifies of Him to Job: “Behold, God is mighty but does not despise [any]” (Job 36:5a). However, as long as we still have our own tools and use them, He cannot help us. He can only help us when we are at our wits’ end and we cry out to Him in our distress. Only then can and will He help us (Psalms 107:23-32).

Even “the poor and needy” will experience the benefits of His reign (Psalms 72:13). The considerable and rich have exploited and not spared them. The poor have been unable to repay their debts and therefore have had to sell their possessions, their children and themselves. This is how they ended up in slavery. But He will “save” them, spare them and not impose burdens (Malachi 3:17).

This will mean healing for them of the many wounds with which they have been beaten by their exploiters and oppressors. Thus He will save “the lives of the needy” from all their sufferings. “Save” has the meaning of release from the power of another, in this case from the exploiters and oppressors. This word is also used for “redeem”, as Boaz does in the case of Ruth.

They have so often been victims “of oppression and violence” (Psalms 72:14), but He will rescue their souls, that is, their very persons, from them. “Their blood” and their tears and their suffering will be “precious in his sight” (cf. Psalms 116:15). They were ransomed by the Messiah-King and thus delivered from their oppressed condition.

Their blood is so precious to Him that He will not allow it to be shed unjustly. He can do that by saving them when their lives are in danger. And if it is shed, He regards their blood as so precious that He will not leave it unrevenged. It means that to the King their life is as precious as His own. He will never be indifferent to their safety or their reputation.

They will realize that He has not forgotten them nor what was done to them. What they have suffered has called to Him and come to His ears (cf. Genesis 4:10; James 5:4). Now the time has come to answer all those prayers unanswered at the time.

Psalms 104:14

Nature of the Reign of Messiah

The word “for” (Psalms 72:12) indicates that the reason for what has been said above now follows. His reign, for which everyone from high to low and from friend to foe will be in awe (Psalms 72:9-11), turns out to be a reign of compassionate love. It is not about “Your afflicted” (Psalms 72:2), the afflicted of God’s people, but about the afflicted from among the nations, everyone who needs Him.

By His power He has put an end to all opposition and enmity. In His love He delivers “the needy when he cries for help”. He also delivers “the afflicted, and him who has no helper”. To those who have no helper, He is a Helper. Elihu testifies of Him to Job: “Behold, God is mighty but does not despise [any]” (Job 36:5a). However, as long as we still have our own tools and use them, He cannot help us. He can only help us when we are at our wits’ end and we cry out to Him in our distress. Only then can and will He help us (Psalms 107:23-32).

Even “the poor and needy” will experience the benefits of His reign (Psalms 72:13). The considerable and rich have exploited and not spared them. The poor have been unable to repay their debts and therefore have had to sell their possessions, their children and themselves. This is how they ended up in slavery. But He will “save” them, spare them and not impose burdens (Malachi 3:17).

This will mean healing for them of the many wounds with which they have been beaten by their exploiters and oppressors. Thus He will save “the lives of the needy” from all their sufferings. “Save” has the meaning of release from the power of another, in this case from the exploiters and oppressors. This word is also used for “redeem”, as Boaz does in the case of Ruth.

They have so often been victims “of oppression and violence” (Psalms 72:14), but He will rescue their souls, that is, their very persons, from them. “Their blood” and their tears and their suffering will be “precious in his sight” (cf. Psalms 116:15). They were ransomed by the Messiah-King and thus delivered from their oppressed condition.

Their blood is so precious to Him that He will not allow it to be shed unjustly. He can do that by saving them when their lives are in danger. And if it is shed, He regards their blood as so precious that He will not leave it unrevenged. It means that to the King their life is as precious as His own. He will never be indifferent to their safety or their reputation.

They will realize that He has not forgotten them nor what was done to them. What they have suffered has called to Him and come to His ears (cf. Genesis 4:10; James 5:4). Now the time has come to answer all those prayers unanswered at the time.

Psalms 104:15

Blessing of the Reign

The exclamation “so may He live” is a wish (Psalms 72:15). Life is the great characteristic of the Messiah. That He will live means that His life will have no end (Psalms 21:4). He lives “according to the power of an indestructible life” (Hebrews 7:15-17). His kingdom is therefore an eternal kingdom. The blessing of the realm of peace is inseparable from His life. Where He reigns in blessing, life is enjoyed in all its fullness. Life is only really life and is only really lived when it is lived in fellowship with Him.

The appreciation of that life, which is visible everywhere in the realm of peace, is expressed by people in various ways: 1. “May the gold of Sheba be given to Him.” The gold that is given to Him is His (Haggai 2:8). That they give it to Him means that they acknowledge His right to the most precious thing in creation. In doing so, they are acknowledging His right to all of creation. 2. “Let them pray for him continually.” In the preceding verses, the King has brought blessings to the needy, to His people, and to the world. In response, they will pray for Him and wish Him God’s blessing. There will be prayed for Him “continually” that He will continue His blessed reign throughout the realm of peace. These prayers reflect the desire for an endless continuation of His reign. 3. “Let them bless Him all day long.” To bless Him “all day long” means to wish Him well throughout ‘all day’ of the realm of peace, to speak good things of Him. Literally it says ‘always all the day’ and has the meaning of ‘every day’.

Under the blessed reign of the Messiah, there “may be abundance [or: handfuls] of grain in the earth, on the top of the mountains” (Psalms 72:16). Not only does the realm of peace have no lack, but it is characterized by abundance. Faith is already experiencing that a handful of grain can become a great quantity if we go to the Man of God with that little bit (1 Kings 17:12-15). In the realm of peace, there is an abundance of grain in the valleys and on the mountains. On the mountains, grain normally does not grow, but then it will. The full ears of corn will “wave like [the cedars] of Lebanon”.

Abundant harvests will keep pace with the growth and flourishing of the population in the cities (cf. 1 Kings 4:20; Genesis 15:5; Isaiah 9:3a). There is no fear of over-population, no fear of shortage of food, no fear of mismanagement of supplies. Everything is perfectly managed and distributed by the Ruler in righteousness, Who also acts absolutely righteously in this.

Everything depends on Him, Whose Name will endure forever (Psalms 72:17). With His Name He guarantees the immediate enjoyment of all benefits and abundance of blessing. He also guarantees that this will not end. The eye is turned away from the blessing to Him Who blesses, to His Name. The blessing can only be enjoyed by the coming generations in connection with His Name. It is not the blessing that will increase or sprout forth, but His Name, and with it the blessing.

This will happen “as long as the sun [shines]”. He Himself is “the sun of righteousness” (Malachi 4:2). In the light of the Sun, the coming generations will be “blessed”. The blessing of the realm of peace will continue uninterrupted because He is and remains the Source of blessing. This He is not only for His people Israel, but for “all nations”. They, too, do not bless themselves because of the blessing, but bless Him through Whom they receive the blessing.

Psalms 104:16

Blessing of the Reign

The exclamation “so may He live” is a wish (Psalms 72:15). Life is the great characteristic of the Messiah. That He will live means that His life will have no end (Psalms 21:4). He lives “according to the power of an indestructible life” (Hebrews 7:15-17). His kingdom is therefore an eternal kingdom. The blessing of the realm of peace is inseparable from His life. Where He reigns in blessing, life is enjoyed in all its fullness. Life is only really life and is only really lived when it is lived in fellowship with Him.

The appreciation of that life, which is visible everywhere in the realm of peace, is expressed by people in various ways: 1. “May the gold of Sheba be given to Him.” The gold that is given to Him is His (Haggai 2:8). That they give it to Him means that they acknowledge His right to the most precious thing in creation. In doing so, they are acknowledging His right to all of creation. 2. “Let them pray for him continually.” In the preceding verses, the King has brought blessings to the needy, to His people, and to the world. In response, they will pray for Him and wish Him God’s blessing. There will be prayed for Him “continually” that He will continue His blessed reign throughout the realm of peace. These prayers reflect the desire for an endless continuation of His reign. 3. “Let them bless Him all day long.” To bless Him “all day long” means to wish Him well throughout ‘all day’ of the realm of peace, to speak good things of Him. Literally it says ‘always all the day’ and has the meaning of ‘every day’.

Under the blessed reign of the Messiah, there “may be abundance [or: handfuls] of grain in the earth, on the top of the mountains” (Psalms 72:16). Not only does the realm of peace have no lack, but it is characterized by abundance. Faith is already experiencing that a handful of grain can become a great quantity if we go to the Man of God with that little bit (1 Kings 17:12-15). In the realm of peace, there is an abundance of grain in the valleys and on the mountains. On the mountains, grain normally does not grow, but then it will. The full ears of corn will “wave like [the cedars] of Lebanon”.

Abundant harvests will keep pace with the growth and flourishing of the population in the cities (cf. 1 Kings 4:20; Genesis 15:5; Isaiah 9:3a). There is no fear of over-population, no fear of shortage of food, no fear of mismanagement of supplies. Everything is perfectly managed and distributed by the Ruler in righteousness, Who also acts absolutely righteously in this.

Everything depends on Him, Whose Name will endure forever (Psalms 72:17). With His Name He guarantees the immediate enjoyment of all benefits and abundance of blessing. He also guarantees that this will not end. The eye is turned away from the blessing to Him Who blesses, to His Name. The blessing can only be enjoyed by the coming generations in connection with His Name. It is not the blessing that will increase or sprout forth, but His Name, and with it the blessing.

This will happen “as long as the sun [shines]”. He Himself is “the sun of righteousness” (Malachi 4:2). In the light of the Sun, the coming generations will be “blessed”. The blessing of the realm of peace will continue uninterrupted because He is and remains the Source of blessing. This He is not only for His people Israel, but for “all nations”. They, too, do not bless themselves because of the blessing, but bless Him through Whom they receive the blessing.

Psalms 104:17

Blessing of the Reign

The exclamation “so may He live” is a wish (Psalms 72:15). Life is the great characteristic of the Messiah. That He will live means that His life will have no end (Psalms 21:4). He lives “according to the power of an indestructible life” (Hebrews 7:15-17). His kingdom is therefore an eternal kingdom. The blessing of the realm of peace is inseparable from His life. Where He reigns in blessing, life is enjoyed in all its fullness. Life is only really life and is only really lived when it is lived in fellowship with Him.

The appreciation of that life, which is visible everywhere in the realm of peace, is expressed by people in various ways: 1. “May the gold of Sheba be given to Him.” The gold that is given to Him is His (Haggai 2:8). That they give it to Him means that they acknowledge His right to the most precious thing in creation. In doing so, they are acknowledging His right to all of creation. 2. “Let them pray for him continually.” In the preceding verses, the King has brought blessings to the needy, to His people, and to the world. In response, they will pray for Him and wish Him God’s blessing. There will be prayed for Him “continually” that He will continue His blessed reign throughout the realm of peace. These prayers reflect the desire for an endless continuation of His reign. 3. “Let them bless Him all day long.” To bless Him “all day long” means to wish Him well throughout ‘all day’ of the realm of peace, to speak good things of Him. Literally it says ‘always all the day’ and has the meaning of ‘every day’.

Under the blessed reign of the Messiah, there “may be abundance [or: handfuls] of grain in the earth, on the top of the mountains” (Psalms 72:16). Not only does the realm of peace have no lack, but it is characterized by abundance. Faith is already experiencing that a handful of grain can become a great quantity if we go to the Man of God with that little bit (1 Kings 17:12-15). In the realm of peace, there is an abundance of grain in the valleys and on the mountains. On the mountains, grain normally does not grow, but then it will. The full ears of corn will “wave like [the cedars] of Lebanon”.

Abundant harvests will keep pace with the growth and flourishing of the population in the cities (cf. 1 Kings 4:20; Genesis 15:5; Isaiah 9:3a). There is no fear of over-population, no fear of shortage of food, no fear of mismanagement of supplies. Everything is perfectly managed and distributed by the Ruler in righteousness, Who also acts absolutely righteously in this.

Everything depends on Him, Whose Name will endure forever (Psalms 72:17). With His Name He guarantees the immediate enjoyment of all benefits and abundance of blessing. He also guarantees that this will not end. The eye is turned away from the blessing to Him Who blesses, to His Name. The blessing can only be enjoyed by the coming generations in connection with His Name. It is not the blessing that will increase or sprout forth, but His Name, and with it the blessing.

This will happen “as long as the sun [shines]”. He Himself is “the sun of righteousness” (Malachi 4:2). In the light of the Sun, the coming generations will be “blessed”. The blessing of the realm of peace will continue uninterrupted because He is and remains the Source of blessing. This He is not only for His people Israel, but for “all nations”. They, too, do not bless themselves because of the blessing, but bless Him through Whom they receive the blessing.

Psalms 104:18

Blessed

With this wish of blessing or this giving of thanks, the second book of Psalms closes. It is an elaborated version of the blessing or thanksgiving with which the first book concludes (Psalms 41:13). After describing the Messiah’s overall rule and the blessing this means for all creation, reference is made to Him Who is its source. This makes it obvious that fundamentally the LORD and He Who is King are the same Person. He is both at the beginning and at the end of all blessing.

He is “the LORD God, the God of Israel” (Psalms 72:18). God stands with this people in a special relationship. The blessing of the realm of peace is the blessing that flows from God’s relationship with this people to the ends of the earth. “LORD” is the name of God by which God has made Himself known to His people as the God of the covenant. On that basis He fulfills all the promises He has made to His people. The fulfillment of these promises is the realm of peace.

All the blessings He gives to His people in the realm of peace are wonders from Him. On the people’s part, there is no right. They have not kept the covenant. But God can fulfill all the promises because the Messiah has taken upon Himself all the obligations of the people, as well as the punishment for their failure. God’s righteous demands have been met by Him. That is the great wonder that He alone has done.

The response cannot be other than an exuberant and eternal praise of “His glorious Name” (Psalms 72:19). His glory will fill all the earth (Isaiah 6:3). All creation will radiate His perfections, both in the macrocosm, the vast universe, and in the microcosm, the smallest details. Above all, His glory will be seen in all who are full of the knowledge of Him. They are the special wonders of His grace through redemption that is their portion because of Christ’s work. They will proclaim His glory forever.

The praise, which goes on forever, is followed by an appropriate “Amen, and Amen”. It is both a conclusion, and an assent: so it is, surely, so it is.

Psalms 104:19

Blessed

With this wish of blessing or this giving of thanks, the second book of Psalms closes. It is an elaborated version of the blessing or thanksgiving with which the first book concludes (Psalms 41:13). After describing the Messiah’s overall rule and the blessing this means for all creation, reference is made to Him Who is its source. This makes it obvious that fundamentally the LORD and He Who is King are the same Person. He is both at the beginning and at the end of all blessing.

He is “the LORD God, the God of Israel” (Psalms 72:18). God stands with this people in a special relationship. The blessing of the realm of peace is the blessing that flows from God’s relationship with this people to the ends of the earth. “LORD” is the name of God by which God has made Himself known to His people as the God of the covenant. On that basis He fulfills all the promises He has made to His people. The fulfillment of these promises is the realm of peace.

All the blessings He gives to His people in the realm of peace are wonders from Him. On the people’s part, there is no right. They have not kept the covenant. But God can fulfill all the promises because the Messiah has taken upon Himself all the obligations of the people, as well as the punishment for their failure. God’s righteous demands have been met by Him. That is the great wonder that He alone has done.

The response cannot be other than an exuberant and eternal praise of “His glorious Name” (Psalms 72:19). His glory will fill all the earth (Isaiah 6:3). All creation will radiate His perfections, both in the macrocosm, the vast universe, and in the microcosm, the smallest details. Above all, His glory will be seen in all who are full of the knowledge of Him. They are the special wonders of His grace through redemption that is their portion because of Christ’s work. They will proclaim His glory forever.

The praise, which goes on forever, is followed by an appropriate “Amen, and Amen”. It is both a conclusion, and an assent: so it is, surely, so it is.

Psalms 104:20

The Prayers of David Are Ended

That David’s prayers end here does not mean that no more prayers of David follow. We will still regularly hear prayers of David in the following psalms, such as Psalms 86 and 138-145. The point here is that with the coming of the realm of peace, all of David’s prayers will be fulfilled.

David here calls himself “the son of Jesse” and not ‘the king of Israel’. By this he refers to his natural and humble origins. He takes a step back, as it were. It is not about him, but about the Messiah, the Son of David. The Lord Jesus is the Shoot that will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch from His roots that will bear fruit (Isaiah 11:1-2).

Something similar to what is said here of David’s prayers is seen in “the last words of David” (2 Samuel 23:1a). Neither are these his last words in a literal sense, for we hear more words from him afterward. His ‘last words’ are about the reign of the Messiah.

In those last words, as here in this psalm, he calls himself “the son of Jesse” (2 Samuel 23:1b). The issue for him, in fact, is “He who rules over men righteously, Who rules in the fear of God” (2 Samuel 23:3-4). With this Ruler he sinks into nothingness (2 Samuel 23:5a), a place he is happy to take. Thus he makes way for the Messiah, the anointed King of God.

Psalms 104:22

Introduction

With Psalms 73, a new book of Psalms, Book 3, with Psalms 73-89 as its contents, begins. In the second book of Psalms (Psalms 42-72) we see that the faithful remnant of Israel has been rejected by their brethren after the flesh under the leadership of the antichrist. The remnant has fled abroad (Matthew 24:14-20), where they are also persecuted by the nations. In this great distress, they wrestle with the question of how the ungodly Israelites can experience prosperity. That wrestling drives them out to God and His sanctuary (Psalms 73:17). There they come to repentance (Joel 2:12-17).

The second book of Psalms is about the need of the believing remnant during the great tribulation, because of the persecution by the antichrist and his followers. This persecution takes place from within. This causes great distress to the remnant. In response to their cry for help, the LORD sends His discipling rod Assyria (Isaiah 10:5) or the king of the North (Daniel 11:40).

In this third book of Psalms we find the effects of this (Psalms 73:18-19; Psalms 74:1-8; Psalms 78:62-64; Psalms 80:12-13; Psalms 83:2-4; Psalms 89:40-46). Because of the distress, now caused by Assyria from without, we find in this third book the prayers and spiritual exercise of the remnant.

The third book of Psalms corresponds to the third book of the Torah (the five books of Moses), which is the book of Leviticus. In this ‘Leviticus book’ of Psalms we find the remnant seeking refuge in the sanctuary, for Leviticus is pre-eminently the book of the sanctuary. The main subject of the book of Leviticus is fellowship with the LORD, and therefore being holy before the LORD (1 Peter 1:16). We find several references to the LORD’s holiness in this third book of Psalms.

Asaph is the author of Psalms 50 and 73-83. Psalms 50 is about the condition for revealing God’s glory to His people. Psalms 73-83 are about the revelation of God’s glory. We find in them the meaning of the sanctuary for us. Psalms 84-89, which are partly of the Korahites, are about what God’s glory works out of in the hearts of those who form the faithful remnant. We find therein the meaning of the sanctuary for God. Several psalms of this third book of Psalms contain a reference to the sanctuary.

Psalms 73, as the first psalm of the third book, shows the general characteristics of this third book of Psalms. The characteristic of this third book is the entering into the sanctuary (Psalms 73:17). There the psalmist finds the solution to the problem he has in Psalms 73, namely, the prosperity of the wicked and the adversity of the righteous.

The prosperity here is the prosperity of the unbelieving part of the people led by the antichrist (Psalms 73:1-12). In the sanctuary, the believing remnant sees the end of the wicked. By the Assyrian – and this is especially the distress in the third book of Psalms – Israel is discipled and the unbelieving part of the people will be destroyed in an instant (Psalms 73:18-20).

This third book deals primarily with the history of Israel as a people, and includes teaching for the believing remnant. We too can learn from this teaching (1 Corinthians 10:6; 11). We find only one psalm of David in it (Psalms 86). Psalms 73-83 are of Asaph, Psalms 84-85 and 87-88 are of the sons of Korah, and Psalms 89 is of Ethan.

In the time of David we read of 38,000 Levites assisting the priests in the service in the temple (1 Chronicles 23:3; 28), 4,000 of whom provide the music (1 Chronicles 23:5). Of these 4,000, 288 men are set apart to be singers (1 Chronicles 25:7), divided into twenty-four groups. These are placed under the direction of some conductors. One of them is Asaph, who makes himself heard with cymbals (1 Chronicles 16:5).

Asaph is also a prophet (1 Chronicles 25:1-2), who wrote songs together with David (2 Chronicles 29:30). The prophetic characteristics of these psalms we will see at their explanation. Even after the exile, Asaph’s descendants continued to be singers who also praised the LORD with cymbals in the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem (Ezra 3:10; Nehemiah 11:22).

God Is Good to Israel

This is “a psalm of Asaph” (Psalms 73:1a). It is the first psalm in a row of eleven psalms he wrote (Psalms 73-83). See further for “of Asaph” at Psalms 50:1, where his name is mentioned for the first time in the heading of a psalm.

The second part of Psa 73:1 is the theme of the psalm. The rest of the psalm is the elaboration of it. In this psalm Asaph describes his wrestling with the question of how God can allow the wicked to live in prosperity, while the God-fearing have to contend with adversity. In this first verse he immediately relates the conclusion to which he has come after his wrestling. With a powerful “surely”, or “verily”, or “yes”, he expresses the certainty that God is “good to Israel”.

To this he does add that this applies “to those” in Israel “who are pure in heart”. The Hebrew word “pure” means “empty”, “clean”, “absence of defilement” (cf. Psalms 19:9; Proverbs 14:4). This is the true Israel living separated from evil. Pure or clean of heart is one in whom the inner is in harmony with the outer. Firstly, the heart is pure or clean because God has created a new and clean heart. Secondly, it is the presence of the purity or cleanliness of a steadfast spirit in the believer not to defile himself – that is his responsibility (Psalms 51:10).

Nowadays we speak of a ‘true’, ‘not hypocritical’ faith when the faith is not an outward ‘religion’, but an inward ‘relationship’ with the living God. The life of faith then comes from the dedication of the heart, from (the first) love. What is done comes from love to the LORD. They are Israelites like Nathanael, of whom the Lord Jesus with His perfect knowledge of the human heart says: “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” (John 1:47). This is not to say that Nathanael is sinless, but that he is sincere.

God’s goodness to Israel is manifested in His mercy, His willingness to gladly forgive a repentant sinner (Psalms 86:5). His goodness is also evident in the blessings He gives to them by virtue of the covenant. He gives everything they need in food and drink, in fruitful fields, in peace in their homes, and in protection from their enemies. They may serve Him and He blesses them. He dwells in their midst. He does not abandon them if they are unfaithful to Him, but rebukes them in order to bring them back to Himself (cf. 2 Timothy 2:13).

Psalms 104:23

Envious of the Arrogant

In the Hebrew, “but as for me” (Psalms 73:2) or “but I” (with emphasis), occurs three times (Psalms 73:2; 23; 28). In Psalms 73:2 it is in connection with the tribulation the psalmist is going through. In Psalms 73:23 and Psalms 73:28 it is connected with emerging purified after the trial. He is then able to withstand it (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Asaph is going to tell about a time in his life when he wrestled with the question of how the goodness of God to the pure in heart could be reconciled with what he saw around him. In that regard, Psalms 73 is a good complement to Psalms 1. Psalms 1 speaks of the prosperity of the God-fearing and the adversity of the wicked. Psalms 73 begins with the practice in which the believer does not always see what God says in His Word. This is a test for faith.

The psalmist knows God and His government, but when he looks around, it seems as if He is not there. He does not see God’s goodness for the pure in heart of Israel, of which he is one. On the contrary, he sees goodness for the wicked (cf. Jeremiah 12:1b), while for him, a pure in heart, there is only adversity.

That perception has caused, he honestly admits, that his “steps had almost slipped” in the path of faith (Psalms 73:2). He almost crashed in his faith. His “steps had almost slipped” because he had no solid ground under his feet any longer. He had no basis for his faith any longer. Everything he had firmly believed in was not only tottering, but was on the verge of disappearing.

In Psalms 73:3-12 he tells at length the cause of his ‘near-fall’. He confesses that at the time he “was envious of the arrogant” (Psalms 73:3). The Hebrew word for arrogant means, firstly, to be haughty and, secondly, to behave foolishly (cf. 1 Samuel 21:14). It refers to people who are foolish because they arrogantly set God aside. The latter is also evident from the parallel with Psalms 73:3b “the wicked”. He looked at them and saw “the prosperity of the wicked”.

It is obvious that when he writes this in Psalms 73, he has already come to repentance, for he calls the people he describes “arrogant” and “wicked”. He writes this as a retrospective, to pass on the lessons of his past to believers in the future. He has been blind to their true character in his envy of them. The wicked, he has thought, are only well off after all. They have plenty of money, lots of fun, and they live in peace. What an attractive life that is. They have power and prestige, wealth and health, while God’s true people are oppressed, persecuted and killed by them with impunity. The psalmist thought: ”Why should I stay on the side of the losers?”

The wicked – that is, in the future, the followers of the antichrist – go about their business unhindered until they die (Psalms 73:4; cf. Malachi 3:15). There are “no pains in their death”, there is no fear of death at all. They dare to set up a big mouth against God (Psalms 2:2-3). Nothing shows the displeasure of God with their lives, nor when they leave the world. They live in prosperity and die in peace. Nothing and nobody hinders them.

Physically, they have no problems. They are in perfect health. “Their body is fat” or “their strength is fresh”, for they wake up refreshed every morning. They are not plagued by bad dreams or insomnia (cf. Job 7:13-14). All this also makes them powerful and enables them to suppress the remnant.

Many people are in trouble, for example because of financial worries, but that does not apply to them (Psalms 73:5). Those troubles seem to pass them by. They live a very comfortable life. If suddenly something unpleasant happens in their lives, they are well insured or they buy it off. After all, money provides protection from calamity (Ecclesiastes 7:12a).

Nor are they tormented by their conscience. With other people, the conscience speaks when they have done something evil. If they do not confess it, their conscience torments them. This does not affect the wicked, because they have seared their conscience, and it no longer speaks.

It is no wonder, “therefore”, that “pride is their necklace” (Psalms 73:6). They see their way of life as an ornament. Everything is all arrogance. Those who are haughty are hard, ruthless. The “violence” they use is part of them; it “covers them” like a “garment”. Their boastful behavior and their violent acting show how pleased they are with themselves. Any compassion for anyone else is absent.

Their eyes are almost shut because of their puffy face, swollen by fat (Psalms 73:7). Through the small slits you can still see something of their eyes. Therein you can read their gluttony. You can see it in their fat bodies. “The imaginations of [their] heart run riot”, they have imagined a great deal about their lazy, miserable life, but what they experience is beyond their wildest expectations (cf. Jeremiah 5:28). Here we see the contrast between the prideful, depraved heart of the wicked and the pure heart of the believer (Psalms 73:1).

They don’t have a good word to say to their neighbors (Psalms 73:8). They mock all those poor people who in an honest way try to make something of their lives. About such people they “wickedly speak of oppression”. They can easily exploit them to live an even more luxurious life and become even fatter. Puffed up, conceited, they look down on them from on high.

The wicked “speak from on high”, which indicates that they imagine themselves to be God. Therefore, of course, heaven is also the target (Psalms 73:9). That’s where God dwells. They do not tolerate Him above them or beside them. They set their mouths against Him (cf. Revelation 13:6).

Wherever they are on earth, their tongue parades. They see the earth as their unlimited possession. They make this clear by using abusive language for their neighbors and with slanderous language toward God. They claim total freedom of speech, in which everyone and everything is targeted (Psalms 12:5).

Their lives without any involvement of God put the people of God on the wrong track (Psalms 73:10). The people drink in the evil lifestyle to the full. Their refreshment is not the water of God’s Word, but what the wicked do and teach. They want such a life. Then you take out of life what is in it, however disgusting it may be. You squeeze out of life what is in it for you.

It leads them to say: “How does God know?” (Psalms 73:11). God doesn’t respond to anything. Then He must simply not know what is happening on earth. He may be called “the Most High”, but it is highly doubtful that He has any knowledge of what the wicked are up to.

Just look at those wicked people (Psalms 73:12). They live life totally according to their own will, without regard to God. Yet they are “always at ease, they have increased [in] wealth”. Asaph here comes to a kind of conclusion of the life of the wicked. This is what it looks like: rest in the world and increasing their wealth. What more could you want?

Psalms 104:24

Envious of the Arrogant

In the Hebrew, “but as for me” (Psalms 73:2) or “but I” (with emphasis), occurs three times (Psalms 73:2; 23; 28). In Psalms 73:2 it is in connection with the tribulation the psalmist is going through. In Psalms 73:23 and Psalms 73:28 it is connected with emerging purified after the trial. He is then able to withstand it (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Asaph is going to tell about a time in his life when he wrestled with the question of how the goodness of God to the pure in heart could be reconciled with what he saw around him. In that regard, Psalms 73 is a good complement to Psalms 1. Psalms 1 speaks of the prosperity of the God-fearing and the adversity of the wicked. Psalms 73 begins with the practice in which the believer does not always see what God says in His Word. This is a test for faith.

The psalmist knows God and His government, but when he looks around, it seems as if He is not there. He does not see God’s goodness for the pure in heart of Israel, of which he is one. On the contrary, he sees goodness for the wicked (cf. Jeremiah 12:1b), while for him, a pure in heart, there is only adversity.

That perception has caused, he honestly admits, that his “steps had almost slipped” in the path of faith (Psalms 73:2). He almost crashed in his faith. His “steps had almost slipped” because he had no solid ground under his feet any longer. He had no basis for his faith any longer. Everything he had firmly believed in was not only tottering, but was on the verge of disappearing.

In Psalms 73:3-12 he tells at length the cause of his ‘near-fall’. He confesses that at the time he “was envious of the arrogant” (Psalms 73:3). The Hebrew word for arrogant means, firstly, to be haughty and, secondly, to behave foolishly (cf. 1 Samuel 21:14). It refers to people who are foolish because they arrogantly set God aside. The latter is also evident from the parallel with Psalms 73:3b “the wicked”. He looked at them and saw “the prosperity of the wicked”.

It is obvious that when he writes this in Psalms 73, he has already come to repentance, for he calls the people he describes “arrogant” and “wicked”. He writes this as a retrospective, to pass on the lessons of his past to believers in the future. He has been blind to their true character in his envy of them. The wicked, he has thought, are only well off after all. They have plenty of money, lots of fun, and they live in peace. What an attractive life that is. They have power and prestige, wealth and health, while God’s true people are oppressed, persecuted and killed by them with impunity. The psalmist thought: ”Why should I stay on the side of the losers?”

The wicked – that is, in the future, the followers of the antichrist – go about their business unhindered until they die (Psalms 73:4; cf. Malachi 3:15). There are “no pains in their death”, there is no fear of death at all. They dare to set up a big mouth against God (Psalms 2:2-3). Nothing shows the displeasure of God with their lives, nor when they leave the world. They live in prosperity and die in peace. Nothing and nobody hinders them.

Physically, they have no problems. They are in perfect health. “Their body is fat” or “their strength is fresh”, for they wake up refreshed every morning. They are not plagued by bad dreams or insomnia (cf. Job 7:13-14). All this also makes them powerful and enables them to suppress the remnant.

Many people are in trouble, for example because of financial worries, but that does not apply to them (Psalms 73:5). Those troubles seem to pass them by. They live a very comfortable life. If suddenly something unpleasant happens in their lives, they are well insured or they buy it off. After all, money provides protection from calamity (Ecclesiastes 7:12a).

Nor are they tormented by their conscience. With other people, the conscience speaks when they have done something evil. If they do not confess it, their conscience torments them. This does not affect the wicked, because they have seared their conscience, and it no longer speaks.

It is no wonder, “therefore”, that “pride is their necklace” (Psalms 73:6). They see their way of life as an ornament. Everything is all arrogance. Those who are haughty are hard, ruthless. The “violence” they use is part of them; it “covers them” like a “garment”. Their boastful behavior and their violent acting show how pleased they are with themselves. Any compassion for anyone else is absent.

Their eyes are almost shut because of their puffy face, swollen by fat (Psalms 73:7). Through the small slits you can still see something of their eyes. Therein you can read their gluttony. You can see it in their fat bodies. “The imaginations of [their] heart run riot”, they have imagined a great deal about their lazy, miserable life, but what they experience is beyond their wildest expectations (cf. Jeremiah 5:28). Here we see the contrast between the prideful, depraved heart of the wicked and the pure heart of the believer (Psalms 73:1).

They don’t have a good word to say to their neighbors (Psalms 73:8). They mock all those poor people who in an honest way try to make something of their lives. About such people they “wickedly speak of oppression”. They can easily exploit them to live an even more luxurious life and become even fatter. Puffed up, conceited, they look down on them from on high.

The wicked “speak from on high”, which indicates that they imagine themselves to be God. Therefore, of course, heaven is also the target (Psalms 73:9). That’s where God dwells. They do not tolerate Him above them or beside them. They set their mouths against Him (cf. Revelation 13:6).

Wherever they are on earth, their tongue parades. They see the earth as their unlimited possession. They make this clear by using abusive language for their neighbors and with slanderous language toward God. They claim total freedom of speech, in which everyone and everything is targeted (Psalms 12:5).

Their lives without any involvement of God put the people of God on the wrong track (Psalms 73:10). The people drink in the evil lifestyle to the full. Their refreshment is not the water of God’s Word, but what the wicked do and teach. They want such a life. Then you take out of life what is in it, however disgusting it may be. You squeeze out of life what is in it for you.

It leads them to say: “How does God know?” (Psalms 73:11). God doesn’t respond to anything. Then He must simply not know what is happening on earth. He may be called “the Most High”, but it is highly doubtful that He has any knowledge of what the wicked are up to.

Just look at those wicked people (Psalms 73:12). They live life totally according to their own will, without regard to God. Yet they are “always at ease, they have increased [in] wealth”. Asaph here comes to a kind of conclusion of the life of the wicked. This is what it looks like: rest in the world and increasing their wealth. What more could you want?

Psalms 104:25

Envious of the Arrogant

In the Hebrew, “but as for me” (Psalms 73:2) or “but I” (with emphasis), occurs three times (Psalms 73:2; 23; 28). In Psalms 73:2 it is in connection with the tribulation the psalmist is going through. In Psalms 73:23 and Psalms 73:28 it is connected with emerging purified after the trial. He is then able to withstand it (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Asaph is going to tell about a time in his life when he wrestled with the question of how the goodness of God to the pure in heart could be reconciled with what he saw around him. In that regard, Psalms 73 is a good complement to Psalms 1. Psalms 1 speaks of the prosperity of the God-fearing and the adversity of the wicked. Psalms 73 begins with the practice in which the believer does not always see what God says in His Word. This is a test for faith.

The psalmist knows God and His government, but when he looks around, it seems as if He is not there. He does not see God’s goodness for the pure in heart of Israel, of which he is one. On the contrary, he sees goodness for the wicked (cf. Jeremiah 12:1b), while for him, a pure in heart, there is only adversity.

That perception has caused, he honestly admits, that his “steps had almost slipped” in the path of faith (Psalms 73:2). He almost crashed in his faith. His “steps had almost slipped” because he had no solid ground under his feet any longer. He had no basis for his faith any longer. Everything he had firmly believed in was not only tottering, but was on the verge of disappearing.

In Psalms 73:3-12 he tells at length the cause of his ‘near-fall’. He confesses that at the time he “was envious of the arrogant” (Psalms 73:3). The Hebrew word for arrogant means, firstly, to be haughty and, secondly, to behave foolishly (cf. 1 Samuel 21:14). It refers to people who are foolish because they arrogantly set God aside. The latter is also evident from the parallel with Psalms 73:3b “the wicked”. He looked at them and saw “the prosperity of the wicked”.

It is obvious that when he writes this in Psalms 73, he has already come to repentance, for he calls the people he describes “arrogant” and “wicked”. He writes this as a retrospective, to pass on the lessons of his past to believers in the future. He has been blind to their true character in his envy of them. The wicked, he has thought, are only well off after all. They have plenty of money, lots of fun, and they live in peace. What an attractive life that is. They have power and prestige, wealth and health, while God’s true people are oppressed, persecuted and killed by them with impunity. The psalmist thought: ”Why should I stay on the side of the losers?”

The wicked – that is, in the future, the followers of the antichrist – go about their business unhindered until they die (Psalms 73:4; cf. Malachi 3:15). There are “no pains in their death”, there is no fear of death at all. They dare to set up a big mouth against God (Psalms 2:2-3). Nothing shows the displeasure of God with their lives, nor when they leave the world. They live in prosperity and die in peace. Nothing and nobody hinders them.

Physically, they have no problems. They are in perfect health. “Their body is fat” or “their strength is fresh”, for they wake up refreshed every morning. They are not plagued by bad dreams or insomnia (cf. Job 7:13-14). All this also makes them powerful and enables them to suppress the remnant.

Many people are in trouble, for example because of financial worries, but that does not apply to them (Psalms 73:5). Those troubles seem to pass them by. They live a very comfortable life. If suddenly something unpleasant happens in their lives, they are well insured or they buy it off. After all, money provides protection from calamity (Ecclesiastes 7:12a).

Nor are they tormented by their conscience. With other people, the conscience speaks when they have done something evil. If they do not confess it, their conscience torments them. This does not affect the wicked, because they have seared their conscience, and it no longer speaks.

It is no wonder, “therefore”, that “pride is their necklace” (Psalms 73:6). They see their way of life as an ornament. Everything is all arrogance. Those who are haughty are hard, ruthless. The “violence” they use is part of them; it “covers them” like a “garment”. Their boastful behavior and their violent acting show how pleased they are with themselves. Any compassion for anyone else is absent.

Their eyes are almost shut because of their puffy face, swollen by fat (Psalms 73:7). Through the small slits you can still see something of their eyes. Therein you can read their gluttony. You can see it in their fat bodies. “The imaginations of [their] heart run riot”, they have imagined a great deal about their lazy, miserable life, but what they experience is beyond their wildest expectations (cf. Jeremiah 5:28). Here we see the contrast between the prideful, depraved heart of the wicked and the pure heart of the believer (Psalms 73:1).

They don’t have a good word to say to their neighbors (Psalms 73:8). They mock all those poor people who in an honest way try to make something of their lives. About such people they “wickedly speak of oppression”. They can easily exploit them to live an even more luxurious life and become even fatter. Puffed up, conceited, they look down on them from on high.

The wicked “speak from on high”, which indicates that they imagine themselves to be God. Therefore, of course, heaven is also the target (Psalms 73:9). That’s where God dwells. They do not tolerate Him above them or beside them. They set their mouths against Him (cf. Revelation 13:6).

Wherever they are on earth, their tongue parades. They see the earth as their unlimited possession. They make this clear by using abusive language for their neighbors and with slanderous language toward God. They claim total freedom of speech, in which everyone and everything is targeted (Psalms 12:5).

Their lives without any involvement of God put the people of God on the wrong track (Psalms 73:10). The people drink in the evil lifestyle to the full. Their refreshment is not the water of God’s Word, but what the wicked do and teach. They want such a life. Then you take out of life what is in it, however disgusting it may be. You squeeze out of life what is in it for you.

It leads them to say: “How does God know?” (Psalms 73:11). God doesn’t respond to anything. Then He must simply not know what is happening on earth. He may be called “the Most High”, but it is highly doubtful that He has any knowledge of what the wicked are up to.

Just look at those wicked people (Psalms 73:12). They live life totally according to their own will, without regard to God. Yet they are “always at ease, they have increased [in] wealth”. Asaph here comes to a kind of conclusion of the life of the wicked. This is what it looks like: rest in the world and increasing their wealth. What more could you want?

Psalms 104:26

Envious of the Arrogant

In the Hebrew, “but as for me” (Psalms 73:2) or “but I” (with emphasis), occurs three times (Psalms 73:2; 23; 28). In Psalms 73:2 it is in connection with the tribulation the psalmist is going through. In Psalms 73:23 and Psalms 73:28 it is connected with emerging purified after the trial. He is then able to withstand it (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Asaph is going to tell about a time in his life when he wrestled with the question of how the goodness of God to the pure in heart could be reconciled with what he saw around him. In that regard, Psalms 73 is a good complement to Psalms 1. Psalms 1 speaks of the prosperity of the God-fearing and the adversity of the wicked. Psalms 73 begins with the practice in which the believer does not always see what God says in His Word. This is a test for faith.

The psalmist knows God and His government, but when he looks around, it seems as if He is not there. He does not see God’s goodness for the pure in heart of Israel, of which he is one. On the contrary, he sees goodness for the wicked (cf. Jeremiah 12:1b), while for him, a pure in heart, there is only adversity.

That perception has caused, he honestly admits, that his “steps had almost slipped” in the path of faith (Psalms 73:2). He almost crashed in his faith. His “steps had almost slipped” because he had no solid ground under his feet any longer. He had no basis for his faith any longer. Everything he had firmly believed in was not only tottering, but was on the verge of disappearing.

In Psalms 73:3-12 he tells at length the cause of his ‘near-fall’. He confesses that at the time he “was envious of the arrogant” (Psalms 73:3). The Hebrew word for arrogant means, firstly, to be haughty and, secondly, to behave foolishly (cf. 1 Samuel 21:14). It refers to people who are foolish because they arrogantly set God aside. The latter is also evident from the parallel with Psalms 73:3b “the wicked”. He looked at them and saw “the prosperity of the wicked”.

It is obvious that when he writes this in Psalms 73, he has already come to repentance, for he calls the people he describes “arrogant” and “wicked”. He writes this as a retrospective, to pass on the lessons of his past to believers in the future. He has been blind to their true character in his envy of them. The wicked, he has thought, are only well off after all. They have plenty of money, lots of fun, and they live in peace. What an attractive life that is. They have power and prestige, wealth and health, while God’s true people are oppressed, persecuted and killed by them with impunity. The psalmist thought: ”Why should I stay on the side of the losers?”

The wicked – that is, in the future, the followers of the antichrist – go about their business unhindered until they die (Psalms 73:4; cf. Malachi 3:15). There are “no pains in their death”, there is no fear of death at all. They dare to set up a big mouth against God (Psalms 2:2-3). Nothing shows the displeasure of God with their lives, nor when they leave the world. They live in prosperity and die in peace. Nothing and nobody hinders them.

Physically, they have no problems. They are in perfect health. “Their body is fat” or “their strength is fresh”, for they wake up refreshed every morning. They are not plagued by bad dreams or insomnia (cf. Job 7:13-14). All this also makes them powerful and enables them to suppress the remnant.

Many people are in trouble, for example because of financial worries, but that does not apply to them (Psalms 73:5). Those troubles seem to pass them by. They live a very comfortable life. If suddenly something unpleasant happens in their lives, they are well insured or they buy it off. After all, money provides protection from calamity (Ecclesiastes 7:12a).

Nor are they tormented by their conscience. With other people, the conscience speaks when they have done something evil. If they do not confess it, their conscience torments them. This does not affect the wicked, because they have seared their conscience, and it no longer speaks.

It is no wonder, “therefore”, that “pride is their necklace” (Psalms 73:6). They see their way of life as an ornament. Everything is all arrogance. Those who are haughty are hard, ruthless. The “violence” they use is part of them; it “covers them” like a “garment”. Their boastful behavior and their violent acting show how pleased they are with themselves. Any compassion for anyone else is absent.

Their eyes are almost shut because of their puffy face, swollen by fat (Psalms 73:7). Through the small slits you can still see something of their eyes. Therein you can read their gluttony. You can see it in their fat bodies. “The imaginations of [their] heart run riot”, they have imagined a great deal about their lazy, miserable life, but what they experience is beyond their wildest expectations (cf. Jeremiah 5:28). Here we see the contrast between the prideful, depraved heart of the wicked and the pure heart of the believer (Psalms 73:1).

They don’t have a good word to say to their neighbors (Psalms 73:8). They mock all those poor people who in an honest way try to make something of their lives. About such people they “wickedly speak of oppression”. They can easily exploit them to live an even more luxurious life and become even fatter. Puffed up, conceited, they look down on them from on high.

The wicked “speak from on high”, which indicates that they imagine themselves to be God. Therefore, of course, heaven is also the target (Psalms 73:9). That’s where God dwells. They do not tolerate Him above them or beside them. They set their mouths against Him (cf. Revelation 13:6).

Wherever they are on earth, their tongue parades. They see the earth as their unlimited possession. They make this clear by using abusive language for their neighbors and with slanderous language toward God. They claim total freedom of speech, in which everyone and everything is targeted (Psalms 12:5).

Their lives without any involvement of God put the people of God on the wrong track (Psalms 73:10). The people drink in the evil lifestyle to the full. Their refreshment is not the water of God’s Word, but what the wicked do and teach. They want such a life. Then you take out of life what is in it, however disgusting it may be. You squeeze out of life what is in it for you.

It leads them to say: “How does God know?” (Psalms 73:11). God doesn’t respond to anything. Then He must simply not know what is happening on earth. He may be called “the Most High”, but it is highly doubtful that He has any knowledge of what the wicked are up to.

Just look at those wicked people (Psalms 73:12). They live life totally according to their own will, without regard to God. Yet they are “always at ease, they have increased [in] wealth”. Asaph here comes to a kind of conclusion of the life of the wicked. This is what it looks like: rest in the world and increasing their wealth. What more could you want?

Psalms 104:27

Envious of the Arrogant

In the Hebrew, “but as for me” (Psalms 73:2) or “but I” (with emphasis), occurs three times (Psalms 73:2; 23; 28). In Psalms 73:2 it is in connection with the tribulation the psalmist is going through. In Psalms 73:23 and Psalms 73:28 it is connected with emerging purified after the trial. He is then able to withstand it (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Asaph is going to tell about a time in his life when he wrestled with the question of how the goodness of God to the pure in heart could be reconciled with what he saw around him. In that regard, Psalms 73 is a good complement to Psalms 1. Psalms 1 speaks of the prosperity of the God-fearing and the adversity of the wicked. Psalms 73 begins with the practice in which the believer does not always see what God says in His Word. This is a test for faith.

The psalmist knows God and His government, but when he looks around, it seems as if He is not there. He does not see God’s goodness for the pure in heart of Israel, of which he is one. On the contrary, he sees goodness for the wicked (cf. Jeremiah 12:1b), while for him, a pure in heart, there is only adversity.

That perception has caused, he honestly admits, that his “steps had almost slipped” in the path of faith (Psalms 73:2). He almost crashed in his faith. His “steps had almost slipped” because he had no solid ground under his feet any longer. He had no basis for his faith any longer. Everything he had firmly believed in was not only tottering, but was on the verge of disappearing.

In Psalms 73:3-12 he tells at length the cause of his ‘near-fall’. He confesses that at the time he “was envious of the arrogant” (Psalms 73:3). The Hebrew word for arrogant means, firstly, to be haughty and, secondly, to behave foolishly (cf. 1 Samuel 21:14). It refers to people who are foolish because they arrogantly set God aside. The latter is also evident from the parallel with Psalms 73:3b “the wicked”. He looked at them and saw “the prosperity of the wicked”.

It is obvious that when he writes this in Psalms 73, he has already come to repentance, for he calls the people he describes “arrogant” and “wicked”. He writes this as a retrospective, to pass on the lessons of his past to believers in the future. He has been blind to their true character in his envy of them. The wicked, he has thought, are only well off after all. They have plenty of money, lots of fun, and they live in peace. What an attractive life that is. They have power and prestige, wealth and health, while God’s true people are oppressed, persecuted and killed by them with impunity. The psalmist thought: ”Why should I stay on the side of the losers?”

The wicked – that is, in the future, the followers of the antichrist – go about their business unhindered until they die (Psalms 73:4; cf. Malachi 3:15). There are “no pains in their death”, there is no fear of death at all. They dare to set up a big mouth against God (Psalms 2:2-3). Nothing shows the displeasure of God with their lives, nor when they leave the world. They live in prosperity and die in peace. Nothing and nobody hinders them.

Physically, they have no problems. They are in perfect health. “Their body is fat” or “their strength is fresh”, for they wake up refreshed every morning. They are not plagued by bad dreams or insomnia (cf. Job 7:13-14). All this also makes them powerful and enables them to suppress the remnant.

Many people are in trouble, for example because of financial worries, but that does not apply to them (Psalms 73:5). Those troubles seem to pass them by. They live a very comfortable life. If suddenly something unpleasant happens in their lives, they are well insured or they buy it off. After all, money provides protection from calamity (Ecclesiastes 7:12a).

Nor are they tormented by their conscience. With other people, the conscience speaks when they have done something evil. If they do not confess it, their conscience torments them. This does not affect the wicked, because they have seared their conscience, and it no longer speaks.

It is no wonder, “therefore”, that “pride is their necklace” (Psalms 73:6). They see their way of life as an ornament. Everything is all arrogance. Those who are haughty are hard, ruthless. The “violence” they use is part of them; it “covers them” like a “garment”. Their boastful behavior and their violent acting show how pleased they are with themselves. Any compassion for anyone else is absent.

Their eyes are almost shut because of their puffy face, swollen by fat (Psalms 73:7). Through the small slits you can still see something of their eyes. Therein you can read their gluttony. You can see it in their fat bodies. “The imaginations of [their] heart run riot”, they have imagined a great deal about their lazy, miserable life, but what they experience is beyond their wildest expectations (cf. Jeremiah 5:28). Here we see the contrast between the prideful, depraved heart of the wicked and the pure heart of the believer (Psalms 73:1).

They don’t have a good word to say to their neighbors (Psalms 73:8). They mock all those poor people who in an honest way try to make something of their lives. About such people they “wickedly speak of oppression”. They can easily exploit them to live an even more luxurious life and become even fatter. Puffed up, conceited, they look down on them from on high.

The wicked “speak from on high”, which indicates that they imagine themselves to be God. Therefore, of course, heaven is also the target (Psalms 73:9). That’s where God dwells. They do not tolerate Him above them or beside them. They set their mouths against Him (cf. Revelation 13:6).

Wherever they are on earth, their tongue parades. They see the earth as their unlimited possession. They make this clear by using abusive language for their neighbors and with slanderous language toward God. They claim total freedom of speech, in which everyone and everything is targeted (Psalms 12:5).

Their lives without any involvement of God put the people of God on the wrong track (Psalms 73:10). The people drink in the evil lifestyle to the full. Their refreshment is not the water of God’s Word, but what the wicked do and teach. They want such a life. Then you take out of life what is in it, however disgusting it may be. You squeeze out of life what is in it for you.

It leads them to say: “How does God know?” (Psalms 73:11). God doesn’t respond to anything. Then He must simply not know what is happening on earth. He may be called “the Most High”, but it is highly doubtful that He has any knowledge of what the wicked are up to.

Just look at those wicked people (Psalms 73:12). They live life totally according to their own will, without regard to God. Yet they are “always at ease, they have increased [in] wealth”. Asaph here comes to a kind of conclusion of the life of the wicked. This is what it looks like: rest in the world and increasing their wealth. What more could you want?

Psalms 104:28

Envious of the Arrogant

In the Hebrew, “but as for me” (Psalms 73:2) or “but I” (with emphasis), occurs three times (Psalms 73:2; 23; 28). In Psalms 73:2 it is in connection with the tribulation the psalmist is going through. In Psalms 73:23 and Psalms 73:28 it is connected with emerging purified after the trial. He is then able to withstand it (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Asaph is going to tell about a time in his life when he wrestled with the question of how the goodness of God to the pure in heart could be reconciled with what he saw around him. In that regard, Psalms 73 is a good complement to Psalms 1. Psalms 1 speaks of the prosperity of the God-fearing and the adversity of the wicked. Psalms 73 begins with the practice in which the believer does not always see what God says in His Word. This is a test for faith.

The psalmist knows God and His government, but when he looks around, it seems as if He is not there. He does not see God’s goodness for the pure in heart of Israel, of which he is one. On the contrary, he sees goodness for the wicked (cf. Jeremiah 12:1b), while for him, a pure in heart, there is only adversity.

That perception has caused, he honestly admits, that his “steps had almost slipped” in the path of faith (Psalms 73:2). He almost crashed in his faith. His “steps had almost slipped” because he had no solid ground under his feet any longer. He had no basis for his faith any longer. Everything he had firmly believed in was not only tottering, but was on the verge of disappearing.

In Psalms 73:3-12 he tells at length the cause of his ‘near-fall’. He confesses that at the time he “was envious of the arrogant” (Psalms 73:3). The Hebrew word for arrogant means, firstly, to be haughty and, secondly, to behave foolishly (cf. 1 Samuel 21:14). It refers to people who are foolish because they arrogantly set God aside. The latter is also evident from the parallel with Psalms 73:3b “the wicked”. He looked at them and saw “the prosperity of the wicked”.

It is obvious that when he writes this in Psalms 73, he has already come to repentance, for he calls the people he describes “arrogant” and “wicked”. He writes this as a retrospective, to pass on the lessons of his past to believers in the future. He has been blind to their true character in his envy of them. The wicked, he has thought, are only well off after all. They have plenty of money, lots of fun, and they live in peace. What an attractive life that is. They have power and prestige, wealth and health, while God’s true people are oppressed, persecuted and killed by them with impunity. The psalmist thought: ”Why should I stay on the side of the losers?”

The wicked – that is, in the future, the followers of the antichrist – go about their business unhindered until they die (Psalms 73:4; cf. Malachi 3:15). There are “no pains in their death”, there is no fear of death at all. They dare to set up a big mouth against God (Psalms 2:2-3). Nothing shows the displeasure of God with their lives, nor when they leave the world. They live in prosperity and die in peace. Nothing and nobody hinders them.

Physically, they have no problems. They are in perfect health. “Their body is fat” or “their strength is fresh”, for they wake up refreshed every morning. They are not plagued by bad dreams or insomnia (cf. Job 7:13-14). All this also makes them powerful and enables them to suppress the remnant.

Many people are in trouble, for example because of financial worries, but that does not apply to them (Psalms 73:5). Those troubles seem to pass them by. They live a very comfortable life. If suddenly something unpleasant happens in their lives, they are well insured or they buy it off. After all, money provides protection from calamity (Ecclesiastes 7:12a).

Nor are they tormented by their conscience. With other people, the conscience speaks when they have done something evil. If they do not confess it, their conscience torments them. This does not affect the wicked, because they have seared their conscience, and it no longer speaks.

It is no wonder, “therefore”, that “pride is their necklace” (Psalms 73:6). They see their way of life as an ornament. Everything is all arrogance. Those who are haughty are hard, ruthless. The “violence” they use is part of them; it “covers them” like a “garment”. Their boastful behavior and their violent acting show how pleased they are with themselves. Any compassion for anyone else is absent.

Their eyes are almost shut because of their puffy face, swollen by fat (Psalms 73:7). Through the small slits you can still see something of their eyes. Therein you can read their gluttony. You can see it in their fat bodies. “The imaginations of [their] heart run riot”, they have imagined a great deal about their lazy, miserable life, but what they experience is beyond their wildest expectations (cf. Jeremiah 5:28). Here we see the contrast between the prideful, depraved heart of the wicked and the pure heart of the believer (Psalms 73:1).

They don’t have a good word to say to their neighbors (Psalms 73:8). They mock all those poor people who in an honest way try to make something of their lives. About such people they “wickedly speak of oppression”. They can easily exploit them to live an even more luxurious life and become even fatter. Puffed up, conceited, they look down on them from on high.

The wicked “speak from on high”, which indicates that they imagine themselves to be God. Therefore, of course, heaven is also the target (Psalms 73:9). That’s where God dwells. They do not tolerate Him above them or beside them. They set their mouths against Him (cf. Revelation 13:6).

Wherever they are on earth, their tongue parades. They see the earth as their unlimited possession. They make this clear by using abusive language for their neighbors and with slanderous language toward God. They claim total freedom of speech, in which everyone and everything is targeted (Psalms 12:5).

Their lives without any involvement of God put the people of God on the wrong track (Psalms 73:10). The people drink in the evil lifestyle to the full. Their refreshment is not the water of God’s Word, but what the wicked do and teach. They want such a life. Then you take out of life what is in it, however disgusting it may be. You squeeze out of life what is in it for you.

It leads them to say: “How does God know?” (Psalms 73:11). God doesn’t respond to anything. Then He must simply not know what is happening on earth. He may be called “the Most High”, but it is highly doubtful that He has any knowledge of what the wicked are up to.

Just look at those wicked people (Psalms 73:12). They live life totally according to their own will, without regard to God. Yet they are “always at ease, they have increased [in] wealth”. Asaph here comes to a kind of conclusion of the life of the wicked. This is what it looks like: rest in the world and increasing their wealth. What more could you want?

Psalms 104:29

Envious of the Arrogant

In the Hebrew, “but as for me” (Psalms 73:2) or “but I” (with emphasis), occurs three times (Psalms 73:2; 23; 28). In Psalms 73:2 it is in connection with the tribulation the psalmist is going through. In Psalms 73:23 and Psalms 73:28 it is connected with emerging purified after the trial. He is then able to withstand it (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Asaph is going to tell about a time in his life when he wrestled with the question of how the goodness of God to the pure in heart could be reconciled with what he saw around him. In that regard, Psalms 73 is a good complement to Psalms 1. Psalms 1 speaks of the prosperity of the God-fearing and the adversity of the wicked. Psalms 73 begins with the practice in which the believer does not always see what God says in His Word. This is a test for faith.

The psalmist knows God and His government, but when he looks around, it seems as if He is not there. He does not see God’s goodness for the pure in heart of Israel, of which he is one. On the contrary, he sees goodness for the wicked (cf. Jeremiah 12:1b), while for him, a pure in heart, there is only adversity.

That perception has caused, he honestly admits, that his “steps had almost slipped” in the path of faith (Psalms 73:2). He almost crashed in his faith. His “steps had almost slipped” because he had no solid ground under his feet any longer. He had no basis for his faith any longer. Everything he had firmly believed in was not only tottering, but was on the verge of disappearing.

In Psalms 73:3-12 he tells at length the cause of his ‘near-fall’. He confesses that at the time he “was envious of the arrogant” (Psalms 73:3). The Hebrew word for arrogant means, firstly, to be haughty and, secondly, to behave foolishly (cf. 1 Samuel 21:14). It refers to people who are foolish because they arrogantly set God aside. The latter is also evident from the parallel with Psalms 73:3b “the wicked”. He looked at them and saw “the prosperity of the wicked”.

It is obvious that when he writes this in Psalms 73, he has already come to repentance, for he calls the people he describes “arrogant” and “wicked”. He writes this as a retrospective, to pass on the lessons of his past to believers in the future. He has been blind to their true character in his envy of them. The wicked, he has thought, are only well off after all. They have plenty of money, lots of fun, and they live in peace. What an attractive life that is. They have power and prestige, wealth and health, while God’s true people are oppressed, persecuted and killed by them with impunity. The psalmist thought: ”Why should I stay on the side of the losers?”

The wicked – that is, in the future, the followers of the antichrist – go about their business unhindered until they die (Psalms 73:4; cf. Malachi 3:15). There are “no pains in their death”, there is no fear of death at all. They dare to set up a big mouth against God (Psalms 2:2-3). Nothing shows the displeasure of God with their lives, nor when they leave the world. They live in prosperity and die in peace. Nothing and nobody hinders them.

Physically, they have no problems. They are in perfect health. “Their body is fat” or “their strength is fresh”, for they wake up refreshed every morning. They are not plagued by bad dreams or insomnia (cf. Job 7:13-14). All this also makes them powerful and enables them to suppress the remnant.

Many people are in trouble, for example because of financial worries, but that does not apply to them (Psalms 73:5). Those troubles seem to pass them by. They live a very comfortable life. If suddenly something unpleasant happens in their lives, they are well insured or they buy it off. After all, money provides protection from calamity (Ecclesiastes 7:12a).

Nor are they tormented by their conscience. With other people, the conscience speaks when they have done something evil. If they do not confess it, their conscience torments them. This does not affect the wicked, because they have seared their conscience, and it no longer speaks.

It is no wonder, “therefore”, that “pride is their necklace” (Psalms 73:6). They see their way of life as an ornament. Everything is all arrogance. Those who are haughty are hard, ruthless. The “violence” they use is part of them; it “covers them” like a “garment”. Their boastful behavior and their violent acting show how pleased they are with themselves. Any compassion for anyone else is absent.

Their eyes are almost shut because of their puffy face, swollen by fat (Psalms 73:7). Through the small slits you can still see something of their eyes. Therein you can read their gluttony. You can see it in their fat bodies. “The imaginations of [their] heart run riot”, they have imagined a great deal about their lazy, miserable life, but what they experience is beyond their wildest expectations (cf. Jeremiah 5:28). Here we see the contrast between the prideful, depraved heart of the wicked and the pure heart of the believer (Psalms 73:1).

They don’t have a good word to say to their neighbors (Psalms 73:8). They mock all those poor people who in an honest way try to make something of their lives. About such people they “wickedly speak of oppression”. They can easily exploit them to live an even more luxurious life and become even fatter. Puffed up, conceited, they look down on them from on high.

The wicked “speak from on high”, which indicates that they imagine themselves to be God. Therefore, of course, heaven is also the target (Psalms 73:9). That’s where God dwells. They do not tolerate Him above them or beside them. They set their mouths against Him (cf. Revelation 13:6).

Wherever they are on earth, their tongue parades. They see the earth as their unlimited possession. They make this clear by using abusive language for their neighbors and with slanderous language toward God. They claim total freedom of speech, in which everyone and everything is targeted (Psalms 12:5).

Their lives without any involvement of God put the people of God on the wrong track (Psalms 73:10). The people drink in the evil lifestyle to the full. Their refreshment is not the water of God’s Word, but what the wicked do and teach. They want such a life. Then you take out of life what is in it, however disgusting it may be. You squeeze out of life what is in it for you.

It leads them to say: “How does God know?” (Psalms 73:11). God doesn’t respond to anything. Then He must simply not know what is happening on earth. He may be called “the Most High”, but it is highly doubtful that He has any knowledge of what the wicked are up to.

Just look at those wicked people (Psalms 73:12). They live life totally according to their own will, without regard to God. Yet they are “always at ease, they have increased [in] wealth”. Asaph here comes to a kind of conclusion of the life of the wicked. This is what it looks like: rest in the world and increasing their wealth. What more could you want?

Psalms 104:30

Envious of the Arrogant

In the Hebrew, “but as for me” (Psalms 73:2) or “but I” (with emphasis), occurs three times (Psalms 73:2; 23; 28). In Psalms 73:2 it is in connection with the tribulation the psalmist is going through. In Psalms 73:23 and Psalms 73:28 it is connected with emerging purified after the trial. He is then able to withstand it (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Asaph is going to tell about a time in his life when he wrestled with the question of how the goodness of God to the pure in heart could be reconciled with what he saw around him. In that regard, Psalms 73 is a good complement to Psalms 1. Psalms 1 speaks of the prosperity of the God-fearing and the adversity of the wicked. Psalms 73 begins with the practice in which the believer does not always see what God says in His Word. This is a test for faith.

The psalmist knows God and His government, but when he looks around, it seems as if He is not there. He does not see God’s goodness for the pure in heart of Israel, of which he is one. On the contrary, he sees goodness for the wicked (cf. Jeremiah 12:1b), while for him, a pure in heart, there is only adversity.

That perception has caused, he honestly admits, that his “steps had almost slipped” in the path of faith (Psalms 73:2). He almost crashed in his faith. His “steps had almost slipped” because he had no solid ground under his feet any longer. He had no basis for his faith any longer. Everything he had firmly believed in was not only tottering, but was on the verge of disappearing.

In Psalms 73:3-12 he tells at length the cause of his ‘near-fall’. He confesses that at the time he “was envious of the arrogant” (Psalms 73:3). The Hebrew word for arrogant means, firstly, to be haughty and, secondly, to behave foolishly (cf. 1 Samuel 21:14). It refers to people who are foolish because they arrogantly set God aside. The latter is also evident from the parallel with Psalms 73:3b “the wicked”. He looked at them and saw “the prosperity of the wicked”.

It is obvious that when he writes this in Psalms 73, he has already come to repentance, for he calls the people he describes “arrogant” and “wicked”. He writes this as a retrospective, to pass on the lessons of his past to believers in the future. He has been blind to their true character in his envy of them. The wicked, he has thought, are only well off after all. They have plenty of money, lots of fun, and they live in peace. What an attractive life that is. They have power and prestige, wealth and health, while God’s true people are oppressed, persecuted and killed by them with impunity. The psalmist thought: ”Why should I stay on the side of the losers?”

The wicked – that is, in the future, the followers of the antichrist – go about their business unhindered until they die (Psalms 73:4; cf. Malachi 3:15). There are “no pains in their death”, there is no fear of death at all. They dare to set up a big mouth against God (Psalms 2:2-3). Nothing shows the displeasure of God with their lives, nor when they leave the world. They live in prosperity and die in peace. Nothing and nobody hinders them.

Physically, they have no problems. They are in perfect health. “Their body is fat” or “their strength is fresh”, for they wake up refreshed every morning. They are not plagued by bad dreams or insomnia (cf. Job 7:13-14). All this also makes them powerful and enables them to suppress the remnant.

Many people are in trouble, for example because of financial worries, but that does not apply to them (Psalms 73:5). Those troubles seem to pass them by. They live a very comfortable life. If suddenly something unpleasant happens in their lives, they are well insured or they buy it off. After all, money provides protection from calamity (Ecclesiastes 7:12a).

Nor are they tormented by their conscience. With other people, the conscience speaks when they have done something evil. If they do not confess it, their conscience torments them. This does not affect the wicked, because they have seared their conscience, and it no longer speaks.

It is no wonder, “therefore”, that “pride is their necklace” (Psalms 73:6). They see their way of life as an ornament. Everything is all arrogance. Those who are haughty are hard, ruthless. The “violence” they use is part of them; it “covers them” like a “garment”. Their boastful behavior and their violent acting show how pleased they are with themselves. Any compassion for anyone else is absent.

Their eyes are almost shut because of their puffy face, swollen by fat (Psalms 73:7). Through the small slits you can still see something of their eyes. Therein you can read their gluttony. You can see it in their fat bodies. “The imaginations of [their] heart run riot”, they have imagined a great deal about their lazy, miserable life, but what they experience is beyond their wildest expectations (cf. Jeremiah 5:28). Here we see the contrast between the prideful, depraved heart of the wicked and the pure heart of the believer (Psalms 73:1).

They don’t have a good word to say to their neighbors (Psalms 73:8). They mock all those poor people who in an honest way try to make something of their lives. About such people they “wickedly speak of oppression”. They can easily exploit them to live an even more luxurious life and become even fatter. Puffed up, conceited, they look down on them from on high.

The wicked “speak from on high”, which indicates that they imagine themselves to be God. Therefore, of course, heaven is also the target (Psalms 73:9). That’s where God dwells. They do not tolerate Him above them or beside them. They set their mouths against Him (cf. Revelation 13:6).

Wherever they are on earth, their tongue parades. They see the earth as their unlimited possession. They make this clear by using abusive language for their neighbors and with slanderous language toward God. They claim total freedom of speech, in which everyone and everything is targeted (Psalms 12:5).

Their lives without any involvement of God put the people of God on the wrong track (Psalms 73:10). The people drink in the evil lifestyle to the full. Their refreshment is not the water of God’s Word, but what the wicked do and teach. They want such a life. Then you take out of life what is in it, however disgusting it may be. You squeeze out of life what is in it for you.

It leads them to say: “How does God know?” (Psalms 73:11). God doesn’t respond to anything. Then He must simply not know what is happening on earth. He may be called “the Most High”, but it is highly doubtful that He has any knowledge of what the wicked are up to.

Just look at those wicked people (Psalms 73:12). They live life totally according to their own will, without regard to God. Yet they are “always at ease, they have increased [in] wealth”. Asaph here comes to a kind of conclusion of the life of the wicked. This is what it looks like: rest in the world and increasing their wealth. What more could you want?

Psalms 104:31

Envious of the Arrogant

In the Hebrew, “but as for me” (Psalms 73:2) or “but I” (with emphasis), occurs three times (Psalms 73:2; 23; 28). In Psalms 73:2 it is in connection with the tribulation the psalmist is going through. In Psalms 73:23 and Psalms 73:28 it is connected with emerging purified after the trial. He is then able to withstand it (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Asaph is going to tell about a time in his life when he wrestled with the question of how the goodness of God to the pure in heart could be reconciled with what he saw around him. In that regard, Psalms 73 is a good complement to Psalms 1. Psalms 1 speaks of the prosperity of the God-fearing and the adversity of the wicked. Psalms 73 begins with the practice in which the believer does not always see what God says in His Word. This is a test for faith.

The psalmist knows God and His government, but when he looks around, it seems as if He is not there. He does not see God’s goodness for the pure in heart of Israel, of which he is one. On the contrary, he sees goodness for the wicked (cf. Jeremiah 12:1b), while for him, a pure in heart, there is only adversity.

That perception has caused, he honestly admits, that his “steps had almost slipped” in the path of faith (Psalms 73:2). He almost crashed in his faith. His “steps had almost slipped” because he had no solid ground under his feet any longer. He had no basis for his faith any longer. Everything he had firmly believed in was not only tottering, but was on the verge of disappearing.

In Psalms 73:3-12 he tells at length the cause of his ‘near-fall’. He confesses that at the time he “was envious of the arrogant” (Psalms 73:3). The Hebrew word for arrogant means, firstly, to be haughty and, secondly, to behave foolishly (cf. 1 Samuel 21:14). It refers to people who are foolish because they arrogantly set God aside. The latter is also evident from the parallel with Psalms 73:3b “the wicked”. He looked at them and saw “the prosperity of the wicked”.

It is obvious that when he writes this in Psalms 73, he has already come to repentance, for he calls the people he describes “arrogant” and “wicked”. He writes this as a retrospective, to pass on the lessons of his past to believers in the future. He has been blind to their true character in his envy of them. The wicked, he has thought, are only well off after all. They have plenty of money, lots of fun, and they live in peace. What an attractive life that is. They have power and prestige, wealth and health, while God’s true people are oppressed, persecuted and killed by them with impunity. The psalmist thought: ”Why should I stay on the side of the losers?”

The wicked – that is, in the future, the followers of the antichrist – go about their business unhindered until they die (Psalms 73:4; cf. Malachi 3:15). There are “no pains in their death”, there is no fear of death at all. They dare to set up a big mouth against God (Psalms 2:2-3). Nothing shows the displeasure of God with their lives, nor when they leave the world. They live in prosperity and die in peace. Nothing and nobody hinders them.

Physically, they have no problems. They are in perfect health. “Their body is fat” or “their strength is fresh”, for they wake up refreshed every morning. They are not plagued by bad dreams or insomnia (cf. Job 7:13-14). All this also makes them powerful and enables them to suppress the remnant.

Many people are in trouble, for example because of financial worries, but that does not apply to them (Psalms 73:5). Those troubles seem to pass them by. They live a very comfortable life. If suddenly something unpleasant happens in their lives, they are well insured or they buy it off. After all, money provides protection from calamity (Ecclesiastes 7:12a).

Nor are they tormented by their conscience. With other people, the conscience speaks when they have done something evil. If they do not confess it, their conscience torments them. This does not affect the wicked, because they have seared their conscience, and it no longer speaks.

It is no wonder, “therefore”, that “pride is their necklace” (Psalms 73:6). They see their way of life as an ornament. Everything is all arrogance. Those who are haughty are hard, ruthless. The “violence” they use is part of them; it “covers them” like a “garment”. Their boastful behavior and their violent acting show how pleased they are with themselves. Any compassion for anyone else is absent.

Their eyes are almost shut because of their puffy face, swollen by fat (Psalms 73:7). Through the small slits you can still see something of their eyes. Therein you can read their gluttony. You can see it in their fat bodies. “The imaginations of [their] heart run riot”, they have imagined a great deal about their lazy, miserable life, but what they experience is beyond their wildest expectations (cf. Jeremiah 5:28). Here we see the contrast between the prideful, depraved heart of the wicked and the pure heart of the believer (Psalms 73:1).

They don’t have a good word to say to their neighbors (Psalms 73:8). They mock all those poor people who in an honest way try to make something of their lives. About such people they “wickedly speak of oppression”. They can easily exploit them to live an even more luxurious life and become even fatter. Puffed up, conceited, they look down on them from on high.

The wicked “speak from on high”, which indicates that they imagine themselves to be God. Therefore, of course, heaven is also the target (Psalms 73:9). That’s where God dwells. They do not tolerate Him above them or beside them. They set their mouths against Him (cf. Revelation 13:6).

Wherever they are on earth, their tongue parades. They see the earth as their unlimited possession. They make this clear by using abusive language for their neighbors and with slanderous language toward God. They claim total freedom of speech, in which everyone and everything is targeted (Psalms 12:5).

Their lives without any involvement of God put the people of God on the wrong track (Psalms 73:10). The people drink in the evil lifestyle to the full. Their refreshment is not the water of God’s Word, but what the wicked do and teach. They want such a life. Then you take out of life what is in it, however disgusting it may be. You squeeze out of life what is in it for you.

It leads them to say: “How does God know?” (Psalms 73:11). God doesn’t respond to anything. Then He must simply not know what is happening on earth. He may be called “the Most High”, but it is highly doubtful that He has any knowledge of what the wicked are up to.

Just look at those wicked people (Psalms 73:12). They live life totally according to their own will, without regard to God. Yet they are “always at ease, they have increased [in] wealth”. Asaph here comes to a kind of conclusion of the life of the wicked. This is what it looks like: rest in the world and increasing their wealth. What more could you want?

Psalms 104:32

Envious of the Arrogant

In the Hebrew, “but as for me” (Psalms 73:2) or “but I” (with emphasis), occurs three times (Psalms 73:2; 23; 28). In Psalms 73:2 it is in connection with the tribulation the psalmist is going through. In Psalms 73:23 and Psalms 73:28 it is connected with emerging purified after the trial. He is then able to withstand it (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Asaph is going to tell about a time in his life when he wrestled with the question of how the goodness of God to the pure in heart could be reconciled with what he saw around him. In that regard, Psalms 73 is a good complement to Psalms 1. Psalms 1 speaks of the prosperity of the God-fearing and the adversity of the wicked. Psalms 73 begins with the practice in which the believer does not always see what God says in His Word. This is a test for faith.

The psalmist knows God and His government, but when he looks around, it seems as if He is not there. He does not see God’s goodness for the pure in heart of Israel, of which he is one. On the contrary, he sees goodness for the wicked (cf. Jeremiah 12:1b), while for him, a pure in heart, there is only adversity.

That perception has caused, he honestly admits, that his “steps had almost slipped” in the path of faith (Psalms 73:2). He almost crashed in his faith. His “steps had almost slipped” because he had no solid ground under his feet any longer. He had no basis for his faith any longer. Everything he had firmly believed in was not only tottering, but was on the verge of disappearing.

In Psalms 73:3-12 he tells at length the cause of his ‘near-fall’. He confesses that at the time he “was envious of the arrogant” (Psalms 73:3). The Hebrew word for arrogant means, firstly, to be haughty and, secondly, to behave foolishly (cf. 1 Samuel 21:14). It refers to people who are foolish because they arrogantly set God aside. The latter is also evident from the parallel with Psalms 73:3b “the wicked”. He looked at them and saw “the prosperity of the wicked”.

It is obvious that when he writes this in Psalms 73, he has already come to repentance, for he calls the people he describes “arrogant” and “wicked”. He writes this as a retrospective, to pass on the lessons of his past to believers in the future. He has been blind to their true character in his envy of them. The wicked, he has thought, are only well off after all. They have plenty of money, lots of fun, and they live in peace. What an attractive life that is. They have power and prestige, wealth and health, while God’s true people are oppressed, persecuted and killed by them with impunity. The psalmist thought: ”Why should I stay on the side of the losers?”

The wicked – that is, in the future, the followers of the antichrist – go about their business unhindered until they die (Psalms 73:4; cf. Malachi 3:15). There are “no pains in their death”, there is no fear of death at all. They dare to set up a big mouth against God (Psalms 2:2-3). Nothing shows the displeasure of God with their lives, nor when they leave the world. They live in prosperity and die in peace. Nothing and nobody hinders them.

Physically, they have no problems. They are in perfect health. “Their body is fat” or “their strength is fresh”, for they wake up refreshed every morning. They are not plagued by bad dreams or insomnia (cf. Job 7:13-14). All this also makes them powerful and enables them to suppress the remnant.

Many people are in trouble, for example because of financial worries, but that does not apply to them (Psalms 73:5). Those troubles seem to pass them by. They live a very comfortable life. If suddenly something unpleasant happens in their lives, they are well insured or they buy it off. After all, money provides protection from calamity (Ecclesiastes 7:12a).

Nor are they tormented by their conscience. With other people, the conscience speaks when they have done something evil. If they do not confess it, their conscience torments them. This does not affect the wicked, because they have seared their conscience, and it no longer speaks.

It is no wonder, “therefore”, that “pride is their necklace” (Psalms 73:6). They see their way of life as an ornament. Everything is all arrogance. Those who are haughty are hard, ruthless. The “violence” they use is part of them; it “covers them” like a “garment”. Their boastful behavior and their violent acting show how pleased they are with themselves. Any compassion for anyone else is absent.

Their eyes are almost shut because of their puffy face, swollen by fat (Psalms 73:7). Through the small slits you can still see something of their eyes. Therein you can read their gluttony. You can see it in their fat bodies. “The imaginations of [their] heart run riot”, they have imagined a great deal about their lazy, miserable life, but what they experience is beyond their wildest expectations (cf. Jeremiah 5:28). Here we see the contrast between the prideful, depraved heart of the wicked and the pure heart of the believer (Psalms 73:1).

They don’t have a good word to say to their neighbors (Psalms 73:8). They mock all those poor people who in an honest way try to make something of their lives. About such people they “wickedly speak of oppression”. They can easily exploit them to live an even more luxurious life and become even fatter. Puffed up, conceited, they look down on them from on high.

The wicked “speak from on high”, which indicates that they imagine themselves to be God. Therefore, of course, heaven is also the target (Psalms 73:9). That’s where God dwells. They do not tolerate Him above them or beside them. They set their mouths against Him (cf. Revelation 13:6).

Wherever they are on earth, their tongue parades. They see the earth as their unlimited possession. They make this clear by using abusive language for their neighbors and with slanderous language toward God. They claim total freedom of speech, in which everyone and everything is targeted (Psalms 12:5).

Their lives without any involvement of God put the people of God on the wrong track (Psalms 73:10). The people drink in the evil lifestyle to the full. Their refreshment is not the water of God’s Word, but what the wicked do and teach. They want such a life. Then you take out of life what is in it, however disgusting it may be. You squeeze out of life what is in it for you.

It leads them to say: “How does God know?” (Psalms 73:11). God doesn’t respond to anything. Then He must simply not know what is happening on earth. He may be called “the Most High”, but it is highly doubtful that He has any knowledge of what the wicked are up to.

Just look at those wicked people (Psalms 73:12). They live life totally according to their own will, without regard to God. Yet they are “always at ease, they have increased [in] wealth”. Asaph here comes to a kind of conclusion of the life of the wicked. This is what it looks like: rest in the world and increasing their wealth. What more could you want?

Psalms 104:33

Envious of the Arrogant

In the Hebrew, “but as for me” (Psalms 73:2) or “but I” (with emphasis), occurs three times (Psalms 73:2; 23; 28). In Psalms 73:2 it is in connection with the tribulation the psalmist is going through. In Psalms 73:23 and Psalms 73:28 it is connected with emerging purified after the trial. He is then able to withstand it (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Asaph is going to tell about a time in his life when he wrestled with the question of how the goodness of God to the pure in heart could be reconciled with what he saw around him. In that regard, Psalms 73 is a good complement to Psalms 1. Psalms 1 speaks of the prosperity of the God-fearing and the adversity of the wicked. Psalms 73 begins with the practice in which the believer does not always see what God says in His Word. This is a test for faith.

The psalmist knows God and His government, but when he looks around, it seems as if He is not there. He does not see God’s goodness for the pure in heart of Israel, of which he is one. On the contrary, he sees goodness for the wicked (cf. Jeremiah 12:1b), while for him, a pure in heart, there is only adversity.

That perception has caused, he honestly admits, that his “steps had almost slipped” in the path of faith (Psalms 73:2). He almost crashed in his faith. His “steps had almost slipped” because he had no solid ground under his feet any longer. He had no basis for his faith any longer. Everything he had firmly believed in was not only tottering, but was on the verge of disappearing.

In Psalms 73:3-12 he tells at length the cause of his ‘near-fall’. He confesses that at the time he “was envious of the arrogant” (Psalms 73:3). The Hebrew word for arrogant means, firstly, to be haughty and, secondly, to behave foolishly (cf. 1 Samuel 21:14). It refers to people who are foolish because they arrogantly set God aside. The latter is also evident from the parallel with Psalms 73:3b “the wicked”. He looked at them and saw “the prosperity of the wicked”.

It is obvious that when he writes this in Psalms 73, he has already come to repentance, for he calls the people he describes “arrogant” and “wicked”. He writes this as a retrospective, to pass on the lessons of his past to believers in the future. He has been blind to their true character in his envy of them. The wicked, he has thought, are only well off after all. They have plenty of money, lots of fun, and they live in peace. What an attractive life that is. They have power and prestige, wealth and health, while God’s true people are oppressed, persecuted and killed by them with impunity. The psalmist thought: ”Why should I stay on the side of the losers?”

The wicked – that is, in the future, the followers of the antichrist – go about their business unhindered until they die (Psalms 73:4; cf. Malachi 3:15). There are “no pains in their death”, there is no fear of death at all. They dare to set up a big mouth against God (Psalms 2:2-3). Nothing shows the displeasure of God with their lives, nor when they leave the world. They live in prosperity and die in peace. Nothing and nobody hinders them.

Physically, they have no problems. They are in perfect health. “Their body is fat” or “their strength is fresh”, for they wake up refreshed every morning. They are not plagued by bad dreams or insomnia (cf. Job 7:13-14). All this also makes them powerful and enables them to suppress the remnant.

Many people are in trouble, for example because of financial worries, but that does not apply to them (Psalms 73:5). Those troubles seem to pass them by. They live a very comfortable life. If suddenly something unpleasant happens in their lives, they are well insured or they buy it off. After all, money provides protection from calamity (Ecclesiastes 7:12a).

Nor are they tormented by their conscience. With other people, the conscience speaks when they have done something evil. If they do not confess it, their conscience torments them. This does not affect the wicked, because they have seared their conscience, and it no longer speaks.

It is no wonder, “therefore”, that “pride is their necklace” (Psalms 73:6). They see their way of life as an ornament. Everything is all arrogance. Those who are haughty are hard, ruthless. The “violence” they use is part of them; it “covers them” like a “garment”. Their boastful behavior and their violent acting show how pleased they are with themselves. Any compassion for anyone else is absent.

Their eyes are almost shut because of their puffy face, swollen by fat (Psalms 73:7). Through the small slits you can still see something of their eyes. Therein you can read their gluttony. You can see it in their fat bodies. “The imaginations of [their] heart run riot”, they have imagined a great deal about their lazy, miserable life, but what they experience is beyond their wildest expectations (cf. Jeremiah 5:28). Here we see the contrast between the prideful, depraved heart of the wicked and the pure heart of the believer (Psalms 73:1).

They don’t have a good word to say to their neighbors (Psalms 73:8). They mock all those poor people who in an honest way try to make something of their lives. About such people they “wickedly speak of oppression”. They can easily exploit them to live an even more luxurious life and become even fatter. Puffed up, conceited, they look down on them from on high.

The wicked “speak from on high”, which indicates that they imagine themselves to be God. Therefore, of course, heaven is also the target (Psalms 73:9). That’s where God dwells. They do not tolerate Him above them or beside them. They set their mouths against Him (cf. Revelation 13:6).

Wherever they are on earth, their tongue parades. They see the earth as their unlimited possession. They make this clear by using abusive language for their neighbors and with slanderous language toward God. They claim total freedom of speech, in which everyone and everything is targeted (Psalms 12:5).

Their lives without any involvement of God put the people of God on the wrong track (Psalms 73:10). The people drink in the evil lifestyle to the full. Their refreshment is not the water of God’s Word, but what the wicked do and teach. They want such a life. Then you take out of life what is in it, however disgusting it may be. You squeeze out of life what is in it for you.

It leads them to say: “How does God know?” (Psalms 73:11). God doesn’t respond to anything. Then He must simply not know what is happening on earth. He may be called “the Most High”, but it is highly doubtful that He has any knowledge of what the wicked are up to.

Just look at those wicked people (Psalms 73:12). They live life totally according to their own will, without regard to God. Yet they are “always at ease, they have increased [in] wealth”. Asaph here comes to a kind of conclusion of the life of the wicked. This is what it looks like: rest in the world and increasing their wealth. What more could you want?

Psalms 104:34

In God’s Sanctuary

In light of the prosperity of the wicked, Asaph sees all his efforts to live pleasing to God as futile. God is good to those who are pure in heart, he said at the beginning (Psalms 73:1b). Well, he has kept his heart pure (Psalms 73:13), but he hasn’t noticed anything of that goodness.

In his despair, he expresses with a powerful “surely” that it made no sense at all to purify his heart because he wanted to live in fellowship with God. It seems much better to do what one’s heart dictates and enjoy life. Washing his hands in innocence doesn’t make any sense either (cf. Psalms 26:6). After all, there is no benefit with God in not participating in evil practices.

Just look at his life. It’s all doom and gloom all day long (Psalms 73:14). It starts in the morning when he wakes up. Every morning there is God’s chastening. He can’t see that as His loving care for him, to keep him close to Himself and to keep him from going astray. He really can’t rejoice that he “encounters various trials” (James 1:2). In Psalms 73:16 he tells of his difficulty in understanding the ways of God. He cannot reconcile his suffering and the prosperity of the wicked.

It has sometimes occurred to him to speak like the wicked and pretend God is not there (Psalms 73:15). You can then escape torment and enjoy life, he thought. But this thought was going too far for him. To him, doubt is a gateway to apostasy. That is why he turned directly to God to tell Him that he did not want to be unfaithful to His children. If he started speaking like the wicked, it would be apostasy from the covenant that God had made with His people, His children.

“Your children” here is an indication of God’s covenant people (cf. Deuteronomy 14:1-2). In a Western society, the identity of a person is primarily individual. In the Bible, as in an Eastern society, the person is seen in a communal context. There is a strong interaction between a person and the group to which he belongs. The influence of a person on the group is great, which is also true the other way around.

He has shied away from becoming a stumbling block to his fellow believers by defecting to the enemy camp. It proves his love for them. We see here a special characteristic of the new life the believer possesses. The new life loves God and it loves the children of God. He who says he loves God, when there is no love for the children of God, is a liar (1 John 4:20).

The problem was still there. He had “pondered to understand this” (Psalms 73:16). He racked his brain about it, but “it was troublesome” in his sight. He failed to figure it out because he looked at the problem in the light of his own intellect. Never has human thinking been able to solve this mystery of the prosperity of the wicked and the misfortunes of the righteous. It is like the under side of an embroidery: if you look at it, you will not see any pattern, because all threads of it run crisscross through each other.

Then comes an “until” (Psalms 73:17). Suddenly everything becomes clear to him. That happened when he “came into the sanctuary of God”. There he “perceived their end”. That completely changed his view of the wicked. To determine the value of something or someone’s life, we must pay attention to its end (Deuteronomy 32:20; 28-29; Hebrews 13:7).

To flee into the sanctuary is not to flee from reality, but into reality. There we see the upper side of the embroidery: we see that the threads are woven in such a way as to reveal a beautiful scene. The only place we learn to see life on earth in proper perspective is from above, in the sanctuary, literally ‘sanctuaries’ (plural) that is, in God’s holy presence.

This will be important in the future, when the sanctuary (singular) in Jerusalem is in the hands of the antichrist. The believing remnant can then still experience God’s presence in His sanctuaries, that is wherever they experience God’s presence, for God is not bound to a place. The remnant will meet God in spirit and truth (cf. John 4:23).

In the sanctuary, the remnant comes to know God’s strength and glory (Psalms 63:2-3) and is determined by the lovingkindness or covenant faithfulness of the LORD. In the light of the sanctuary we learn to know the will of God and we submit our will to His. There we learn about God’s patience with evil, while it becomes clear that He will judge evil, the wicked, at His time.

With certainty, “surely”, it can then be said that He sets the wicked “in slippery places” (Psalms 73:18). They come to their end, not by natural death, but by an act of God. The way they are walking on, and which Asaph has almost begun to walk with them, is slippery. Their feet will slip with the result that they are “cast … down to destruction”.

This happens “in a moment” (Psalms 73:19). Suddenly they are no more, “they are utterly swept away by sudden terrors!” Prophetically, this will happen when these wicked followers of the antichrist will be swept away by the disciplinary rod of God, Assyria (Isaiah 10:5-6), causing two-thirds of the people to die (Zechariah 13:8).

The speed with which they are swept away is similar to what happens to a dream when one awakes (Psalms 73:20). There is still a memory of the dream, but the dream itself is abruptly over after awaking. The prosperity of the life of the wicked is a dream. The reality of the end of life presents itself.

We see the same thing when Hezekiah takes refuge in the sanctuary with the threatening letter from the king of Assyria. He spreads this letter out before the LORD. The response is that the Angel of the LORD wipes out Sennacherib’s army in one night (2 Kings 19:14; 35). We will also see this when the Lord Jesus brings retribution with flaming fire on the wicked (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9).

The wicked of whom Asaph was envious are confronted with the “Lord”, Adonai. He, the sovereign Ruler, has awakened, that is, He considers the time has come to deal with them. Then, to their dismay, they will find that He does not esteem, but despises the image they have made of themselves, which people have been impressed with (cf. Daniel 12:2b). Their image has been a sham.

Asaph comes to himself and repentance because of what he has seen in the sanctuary of the end of the wicked. He acknowledges that his heart was bitter against God when he saw the prosperity of the wicked (Psalms 73:21). About this he humbled himself and came to the honest acknowledgment of how he was. This is only possible if someone has been in the sanctuary. With Isaiah he says, as it were, “woe is me” (Isaiah 6:1-5).

God was, in his eyes, unfair that the wicked could go about their business undisturbed, while he did his best to be pleasing to God and was chastened for it. He “was pierced within”, literally he “was pierced in his kidneys”. His kidneys were pierced in him because he found such a life meaningless. The kidneys are the innermost part of the human being (cf. Job 19:27). In this innermost being, where only God can reach him, he has become numb or insensitive. That is why he confesses this to God.

Now that he looks back, he sees how senseless he was then (Psalms 73:22). He says honestly: “I was senseless and ignorant.” And toward God he compares himself to “a beast”. A beast has no sense of God. Only a human being walks erect and can raise his gaze upward. When Nebuchadnezzar did not acknowledge God, he became like a beast (Daniel 4:28-33). Only when he acknowledged God the Most High did he become a full human being again (Daniel 4:34). So it will be prophetically with the antichrist, the man of sin, who displays himself as being God (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). He is called “the beast coming up out of the earth”, which is Israel (Revelation 13:11).

Asaph lost all self-esteem in the sanctuary, “before You”. He has experienced what Job experienced who has also wrestled with this question and has also accused God of injustice. When Job finally stands before God, he says, deeply convinced of his presumption to judge God in His ways: “Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You? I lay my hand on my mouth” (Job 40:3-4; cf. Proverbs 30:2-3).

Psalms 104:35

In God’s Sanctuary

In light of the prosperity of the wicked, Asaph sees all his efforts to live pleasing to God as futile. God is good to those who are pure in heart, he said at the beginning (Psalms 73:1b). Well, he has kept his heart pure (Psalms 73:13), but he hasn’t noticed anything of that goodness.

In his despair, he expresses with a powerful “surely” that it made no sense at all to purify his heart because he wanted to live in fellowship with God. It seems much better to do what one’s heart dictates and enjoy life. Washing his hands in innocence doesn’t make any sense either (cf. Psalms 26:6). After all, there is no benefit with God in not participating in evil practices.

Just look at his life. It’s all doom and gloom all day long (Psalms 73:14). It starts in the morning when he wakes up. Every morning there is God’s chastening. He can’t see that as His loving care for him, to keep him close to Himself and to keep him from going astray. He really can’t rejoice that he “encounters various trials” (James 1:2). In Psalms 73:16 he tells of his difficulty in understanding the ways of God. He cannot reconcile his suffering and the prosperity of the wicked.

It has sometimes occurred to him to speak like the wicked and pretend God is not there (Psalms 73:15). You can then escape torment and enjoy life, he thought. But this thought was going too far for him. To him, doubt is a gateway to apostasy. That is why he turned directly to God to tell Him that he did not want to be unfaithful to His children. If he started speaking like the wicked, it would be apostasy from the covenant that God had made with His people, His children.

“Your children” here is an indication of God’s covenant people (cf. Deuteronomy 14:1-2). In a Western society, the identity of a person is primarily individual. In the Bible, as in an Eastern society, the person is seen in a communal context. There is a strong interaction between a person and the group to which he belongs. The influence of a person on the group is great, which is also true the other way around.

He has shied away from becoming a stumbling block to his fellow believers by defecting to the enemy camp. It proves his love for them. We see here a special characteristic of the new life the believer possesses. The new life loves God and it loves the children of God. He who says he loves God, when there is no love for the children of God, is a liar (1 John 4:20).

The problem was still there. He had “pondered to understand this” (Psalms 73:16). He racked his brain about it, but “it was troublesome” in his sight. He failed to figure it out because he looked at the problem in the light of his own intellect. Never has human thinking been able to solve this mystery of the prosperity of the wicked and the misfortunes of the righteous. It is like the under side of an embroidery: if you look at it, you will not see any pattern, because all threads of it run crisscross through each other.

Then comes an “until” (Psalms 73:17). Suddenly everything becomes clear to him. That happened when he “came into the sanctuary of God”. There he “perceived their end”. That completely changed his view of the wicked. To determine the value of something or someone’s life, we must pay attention to its end (Deuteronomy 32:20; 28-29; Hebrews 13:7).

To flee into the sanctuary is not to flee from reality, but into reality. There we see the upper side of the embroidery: we see that the threads are woven in such a way as to reveal a beautiful scene. The only place we learn to see life on earth in proper perspective is from above, in the sanctuary, literally ‘sanctuaries’ (plural) that is, in God’s holy presence.

This will be important in the future, when the sanctuary (singular) in Jerusalem is in the hands of the antichrist. The believing remnant can then still experience God’s presence in His sanctuaries, that is wherever they experience God’s presence, for God is not bound to a place. The remnant will meet God in spirit and truth (cf. John 4:23).

In the sanctuary, the remnant comes to know God’s strength and glory (Psalms 63:2-3) and is determined by the lovingkindness or covenant faithfulness of the LORD. In the light of the sanctuary we learn to know the will of God and we submit our will to His. There we learn about God’s patience with evil, while it becomes clear that He will judge evil, the wicked, at His time.

With certainty, “surely”, it can then be said that He sets the wicked “in slippery places” (Psalms 73:18). They come to their end, not by natural death, but by an act of God. The way they are walking on, and which Asaph has almost begun to walk with them, is slippery. Their feet will slip with the result that they are “cast … down to destruction”.

This happens “in a moment” (Psalms 73:19). Suddenly they are no more, “they are utterly swept away by sudden terrors!” Prophetically, this will happen when these wicked followers of the antichrist will be swept away by the disciplinary rod of God, Assyria (Isaiah 10:5-6), causing two-thirds of the people to die (Zechariah 13:8).

The speed with which they are swept away is similar to what happens to a dream when one awakes (Psalms 73:20). There is still a memory of the dream, but the dream itself is abruptly over after awaking. The prosperity of the life of the wicked is a dream. The reality of the end of life presents itself.

We see the same thing when Hezekiah takes refuge in the sanctuary with the threatening letter from the king of Assyria. He spreads this letter out before the LORD. The response is that the Angel of the LORD wipes out Sennacherib’s army in one night (2 Kings 19:14; 35). We will also see this when the Lord Jesus brings retribution with flaming fire on the wicked (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9).

The wicked of whom Asaph was envious are confronted with the “Lord”, Adonai. He, the sovereign Ruler, has awakened, that is, He considers the time has come to deal with them. Then, to their dismay, they will find that He does not esteem, but despises the image they have made of themselves, which people have been impressed with (cf. Daniel 12:2b). Their image has been a sham.

Asaph comes to himself and repentance because of what he has seen in the sanctuary of the end of the wicked. He acknowledges that his heart was bitter against God when he saw the prosperity of the wicked (Psalms 73:21). About this he humbled himself and came to the honest acknowledgment of how he was. This is only possible if someone has been in the sanctuary. With Isaiah he says, as it were, “woe is me” (Isaiah 6:1-5).

God was, in his eyes, unfair that the wicked could go about their business undisturbed, while he did his best to be pleasing to God and was chastened for it. He “was pierced within”, literally he “was pierced in his kidneys”. His kidneys were pierced in him because he found such a life meaningless. The kidneys are the innermost part of the human being (cf. Job 19:27). In this innermost being, where only God can reach him, he has become numb or insensitive. That is why he confesses this to God.

Now that he looks back, he sees how senseless he was then (Psalms 73:22). He says honestly: “I was senseless and ignorant.” And toward God he compares himself to “a beast”. A beast has no sense of God. Only a human being walks erect and can raise his gaze upward. When Nebuchadnezzar did not acknowledge God, he became like a beast (Daniel 4:28-33). Only when he acknowledged God the Most High did he become a full human being again (Daniel 4:34). So it will be prophetically with the antichrist, the man of sin, who displays himself as being God (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). He is called “the beast coming up out of the earth”, which is Israel (Revelation 13:11).

Asaph lost all self-esteem in the sanctuary, “before You”. He has experienced what Job experienced who has also wrestled with this question and has also accused God of injustice. When Job finally stands before God, he says, deeply convinced of his presumption to judge God in His ways: “Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You? I lay my hand on my mouth” (Job 40:3-4; cf. Proverbs 30:2-3).