The writer of this Psalm puts to words some feelings in the Christian walk that I think we may be hesitant to admit. "For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked...They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind." (v. 3-5) "They set their mouths against the heavens and their tongue struts through the earth... they say 'How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?'" (v. 10-11) The thing that is striking to me about these verses is how the writer says that he was envious of these wicked people. The writer states that the wicked are always at ease, they increase in riches, they are prideful, and above reproach and suspicion for the evil that they do. All of this while not having a care about the existence of God or striving to obey. Meanwhile the writer feels "stricken and rebuked every morning" and even feels that it was "in vain" that he strived for righteousness and holiness and followed the ways of God.
If we are honest, we see people around us who have no fear of God, no striving for righteous or holy living, and they seem to carry on without a care and even increase and prosper where we may decrease and be left wanting. We are even tempted to be envious of this life even to the point of forsaking God's commands with how we should live our life because we think it is all in vain. All of this striving after what the world has that we are jealous of does not lead us to desire God. The psalmist has strong words to describe this saying, "My soul was embittered...I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you." (v. 21-22) This jealousy and discontentment does not sit idly in us. They are not neutral feelings. These sinful longings actually harden us and we become bitter towards the Lord because we want something that He has not given us.
The psalm continues that the writer takes these concerns to God when in his sanctuary. There the writer discerns the end of those who live in such a way. Their life is a slippery place, they fall to ruin, they are destroyed in a moment. All that they worked for, all their prosperity, all they had gained is gone in an instant.
So what is gained in the life lived with God? It might not be material possessions, it might not be a name that is elevated above others, it might even be a hard life. But the writer tells us what is gained saying, "I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory...My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
To say God is my portion is to say that God is our inheritance. What we receive from a life with God is that in the end we get God. The psalmist discerns that a life apart from God may have wealth, possessions, and easy living in this life but all that is inherited for that life is death and destruction. If we trust in God-- in His sovereignty, in His faithfulness-- then what we will receive is God himself, and He will receive us to glory. If we have become embittered toward God because of our sinful desires, we need to follow the psalmist's example and repent of this sin and remember anew that God is faithful and eternally satisfying. Nothing in this world could be that everlasting portion, only God and He alone.
Austin Hilmer
About the Author:
Austin serves on staff at Westchester as Associate Pastor of Corporate Worship
About the Author:
Austin serves on staff at Westchester as Associate Pastor of Corporate Worship
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