The Pure in Heart (1)

[Psalm 73]

Last October, I bought a new car and told my children not to eat in the back seat so I could keep it clean. For about a year, I was able to maintain the car clean without much trouble. But about three weeks ago, my eldest son Dillon suddenly vomited a lot in the back seat of my car. He hadn’t been feeling well since the night before and couldn’t sleep, and eventually he threw up inside the car. At that time, my eldest daughter Yeri covered her nose with her hand because the smell was terrible, and even my youngest daughter Yeeun expressed her discomfort about the smell. Haha. Fortunately, there was a gas station nearby, so we went there and cleaned all the smelly food from Dillon’s stomach and wiped the seat with wet towels.

After that incident, I wanted to teach my children a saying of Jesus that came to mind. I explained that the food that goes into our bodies is not dirty by itself, but what comes out from inside can be smelly and dirty. So, I tried to teach them that we must guard our hearts well from bad thoughts, lies, jealousy, envy, and sinful things.

We must carefully guard our hearts, which are the source of life. We must protect our hearts from the sinful things of this world. There are so many sinful things around us that want to pollute our hearts. Things we see, hear, feel, smell — there are countless sinful things that try to deceive and dirty our hearts. Living in this sinful world, we must strive to keep the purity of our hearts. Jesus said in Matthew 5:8: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” We must be blessed ones, pure in heart, who can see God.

In today’s Scripture, Psalm 73, the psalmist Asaph says that God truly does good to the pure in heart among Israel (verse 1). But Asaph confesses that he almost stumbled (verse 2). Why did he almost stumble? In other words, among the trials that come to those of us trying to keep our hearts pure, what are the things that cause us to stumble? We can consider three things.

First, Asaph almost stumbled because he saw the prosperity of the wicked.

Look at Psalm 73:3: “For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.” The psalmist Asaph almost stumbled by envying the prosperity of the wicked. This kind of “envy” (jealousy) from Asaph is quite understandable. Once, someone asked me this question: “Why do people who believe in Jesus have to live in poverty and hardship, while those who don’t believe in Jesus have lots of money and live comfortably without much trouble?” Probably this older believer had been struggling with this concern for a long time. But this kind of thought is not unique to this believer — many of us Christians have had similar thoughts at times. When this happens, Satan stirs up envy or jealousy deep in our hearts.

So, what does “the prosperity of the wicked” mean here? It means that unlike the righteous, the wicked do not suffer pain or hardship (verse 5). Also, the wicked have good health (verses 4–5). Moreover, the wicked are always at ease and increase their wealth (verse 12). How could we not envy the wicked? We can easily ask ourselves, “That person who doesn’t believe in Jesus lives without pain or suffering, is healthy, and is doing well — so why do I always go through hardship and suffering, and my body is wasting away?”

Secondly, Asaph almost stumbled because of the arrogance of the wicked.

Look at the first part of Psalm 73:6: “Therefore pride is their necklace…” Asaph not only saw the prosperity of the wicked but also witnessed their arrogance. Their arrogance can be considered in three ways:

(1) Arrogance in behavior.

This refers to the violence of the wicked. In verse 6 Asaph says, “Violence covers them as a garment.” This means that all their actions and expressions are nothing but oppression and exploitation (Park Yoon Sun).

(2) Arrogance in the heart.

This points to the haughtiness of their eyes. Look at verse 7: “Their eyes swell with fatness; they do more than their heart desires.” What happens when one is full? Their eyes inevitably become lofty. In other words, their imagination knows no limits, and they keep piling up riches in greed. Because they take others’ wealth, their income even exceeds their budget (Park Yoon Sun).

(3) Arrogance in the mouth.

This refers to sins committed with the mouth. Look at verses 8–9: “They mock, and wickedly threaten with their mouths; their words arrogantly soar, and their tongues roam the earth.” What does this mean? “Their mouths are set against the heavens” means they arrogantly boast as if they are as high as heaven. And “their tongues roam the earth” means wherever they go, their speech is mainly filled with slander.

Thirdly, Asaph nearly stumbled because of the people who followed the wicked.

Look at Psalm 73:10-11: "Therefore the people turn and praise them, and say, ‘God will never notice; he covers their tracks.’” Asaph almost stumbled when he saw that factions had formed that accepted and imitated the evil thoughts and arrogant mindset of the wicked, and that many were following the wicked. Those who imitate the wicked become apostate, doubting the providential governance of God they once believed in, and thinking that God is indifferent to this world. How difficult a challenge this was for Asaph! When he saw God’s people turning away and following the wicked, surely his heart was shaken to some degree. At this point, Asaph’s conclusion about the wicked was this: “Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in wealth” (verse 12).

When you see the prosperity of the wicked—that they are always at ease and increase in wealth—what is your reaction? Do you become discouraged? Angry? Do you criticize them? How did Asaph respond to the prosperity of the wicked?

(1) He thought that keeping his heart pure had been in vain.

Look at Psalm 73:13: “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”

(Note: This appears to be a translation inconsistency; the original Korean says: “I thought my heart was pure and my hands were clean, but truly it was in vain.”)

(2) He lamented his life of hardship.

Look at Psalm 73:14: “All day long I have been afflicted, and every morning brings new punishments.”

Ultimately, what caused the complaints in the heart of the righteous was that the wicked prospered while the righteous themselves were in distress (Park Yoon Sun). What did Asaph do when he saw these thoughts—the prosperity of the wicked and the hardship of the righteous? First, he tried to understand it. In other words, he tried to resolve the “complexity of God’s providence” with his limited knowledge (Park Yoon Sun). However, this effort only made Asaph’s heart greatly troubled (verse 16).