Psalm
73 Prayed
Struggling with envy
Surely
you are good to the your people, O God,
to
those who you have made pure in heart.
But as for me, my feet had
almost slipped;
I
had nearly lost my foothold on Christ.
For as I watched TV I envied
the arrogant
when
I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
“They have no struggles.”
I
started to think to myself,
“Their bodies are healthy and
strong.
They
are free from the burdens common to
most
us;
they
are not plagued by human ills.
Therefore pride is their
necklace;
they
clothe themselves with violence.
From their callous hearts comes
iniquity;
the
evil conceits of their minds know no
limits.
They scoff, and speak with
malice;
in
their arrogance they threaten
oppression.
Their mouths lay claim to
heaven,
and
their tongues take possession of the
earth.
Therefore their people turn to
them
and
drink up waters in abundance.
They say, “How can God know?
Does
the Most High have knowledge?”
This is what the wicked are
like—
always
carefree, they increase in wealth.
Surely in vain have I kept my
heart pure;
in
vain have I washed my hands in innocence,
and had my heart sprinkled to cleanse me
from
a guilty conscience,
and
had my body washed with pure water.
Surely in vain have I put my faith
in Christ Jesus,
that
I may be justified by faith in Christ,
and
not by observing the law.”
All day long I have been
plagued with envy;
I
have been punished every morning
in
the grip of jealousy.
If I had said, “I will speak
thus to others,”
I
would have betrayed your children.
When I tried to understand all
this,
it
was oppressive to me
till I entered the sanctuary of
God;
then
I understood their final destiny,
and that, were it not for your
mercy,
I
would be no different to them.
Surely you place them on
slippery ground;
you
cast them down to ruin.
How suddenly are they
destroyed,
completely
swept away by terrors!
As a dream when one awakes,
so
when you arise, O Lord,
you
will despise them as fantasies.
May listen to your Word, O
Lord,
and
weep and wail in repentance,
because of the misery that will
come upon them,
when
their wealth has rotted,
and
moths have eaten their clothes.
When their gold and silver has
corroded,
and
that corrosion has testified against them.
May they repent and turn to
you, O God,
so
that their sins may be wiped out,
and
that times of refreshing may come from
you,
O Lord.
For you raised up your servant
Jesus,
you
sent him to bless all of us,
so
turn them from their wicked ways.
When my heart was grieved
and
my spirit embittered,
I was senseless and ignorant;
I
was a brute beast before you.
For at one time I too was
foolish, disobedient,
deceived
and
enslaved by all kinds of passions and
pleasures.
I lived in malice and envy,
being
hated and hating others.
But when your kindness and love
appeared,
O
my Saviour, you saved me,
not
because of righteous things I had done,
but
because of your mercy.
You saved me through the
washing of rebirth
and
renewal by the Holy Spirit,
whom you poured out on me
generously
through
Jesus Christ my Saviour,
so that, having been justified
by your grace,
I
might become an heir
having
the hope of eternal life.
Therefore I am always with you;
you
hold me by my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel in the Bible,
and
afterward you will take me into glory,
into an inheritance that can
never perish, spoil
or
fade—
kept
in heaven for me.
Through faith I am shielded by
your power
until
the coming of the salvation
that
is ready to be revealed in the last time.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And
earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but
you, O God, are the strength of my heart
and
my portion forever.
Those who are far from you will
perish;
you
destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
So have mercy on them,
even
as you had mercy on me.
But as for me, it is good to be
near God.
I
have made you my refuge, Sovereign Lord.
I
will tell of all your deeds.
I will tell of all your deeds.
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Psalm 73 Prayed
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