God is Good all the Time

                                                                Psalm 73:1, 22-28 

Psalm 73:1 “A Psalm of Asaph. Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart.”

What a wonderful start to a Psalm, right? He says, God is good to Israel and, in fact, He is good to all the righteous. One can almost believe the author is about to ask the reader for a response. Today there is a phrase that elicits this type of responsive participation. It begins with one person saying, “God is good” and those hearing this universal truth respond with, “All the time.” And it’s commonly repeated at least one more time. Unfortunately, our author was not in quite so happy a mood. If you take the time to read verses 2-21 it becomes clear that he was ranting against the wicked and especially the wealthy wicked. He was frustrated that it seemed as though they had it made in this world. They seemed to get away with all forms of ungodliness and then were also able to live in the lap of luxury without a care in this world.

Today, we say God is good. But do we really believe it? Or, are we in lockstep with the Psalmist allowing doubts to arise in our hearts? Wickedness prevails in this world today. It seems to be worse today than it has ever been in any other time in history. Do you ever find yourself asking, “Where is God?” Or even thinking about the ungodly wealthy as the psalmist did, “They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men.” That seems to be precisely what Asaph, the author of this psalm, has done.

At some point his heart catches up with his intellect. It is then that this passage takes a very radical turn. I am wondering how many of us need to have one more look around. How many need to re-evaluate what they believe they are seeing? Listen now as the Psalmist reconsiders his own statements.

Psa 73:22 “So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee. (v.23) Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand. (v.24) Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. (v.25) Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. (v.26) My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. (v.27) For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. (v.28) But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.”

Now he truly hears his own complaints and in verse 22 is honestly remorseful, (I paraphrase) “How could I have been so foolish and ignorant: I was acting no wiser than a common animal.” It is with this very revelation of his own foolishness that he unfolds before us some precious truths. In verse 23, he says that we are always with God. We have never been without the presence of God. We do not know the awfulness of His absence. And He is holding us in His kind and loving right hand. He guides us (v.24) with His holy and righteous counsel and when all else fails and this life finally ends, our end will be with God in His eternal glory. Verse 25 declares the all sufficiency of His Divine nature. Of all who are in Heaven now there is only one who will have the attention of this Psalmist. And on earth there is only one who now commands his undivided attention. In heaven or in earth the presence of God is his reality. In verse 26 his focus shifts to the temporal nature of these bodies. He is fully aware that this flesh is going to decay. But now, in God he recognizes that everything he is, and all he will ever need, is His Heavenly Father. And in verse 27 he briefly reflects again on the wealthy wicked. But this time reality permeates his thoughts. The truth of their condition is unsettling, the wicked will perish but it is even worse than that. All of those who were unsaved and putting others or other things in the place of God in their lives will be destroyed. They will face the final Judgment of a Holy and righteous God.

In our final verse, verse 28, he makes a marvelous discovery; he is divinely illuminated. After such a tirade against the ungodly of this world, and after considering God’s hand in his own life Asaph has a personal revelation. He finally understands that his focus should not have been on the evil of this world. Instead, he needed to stop and look at everything God has already done for him, and to begin seeing what God does for us every day that we are alive.

Once he was able to shift his view from the ‘successful sinners’ of this world and refocus on the daily goodness of God in our lives his entire outlook changed. And with this new outlook he was able to give to each of us this single rule for life: “But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.”

Draw near to God, trust Him and share Him with others. God is good…all the time.