Psalm 73:3 WEB

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 73:1-14

This psalm begins somewhat abruptly: Yet God is good to Israel (so the margin reads it); he had been thinking of the prosperity of the wicked; while he was thus musing the fire burned, and at last he spoke by way of check to himself for what he had been thinking of. ?However it be, yet God is good.? Though wicked people receive many of the gifts of his providential bounty, yet we must own that he is, in a peculiar manner, good to Israel; they have favours from him which others have not. The... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 73:3

For I was envious at the foolish ,.... The atheists, as in Psalm 14:1 , who deny the creation, as Arama; the wicked, as after explained, as all wicked men are, how wise soever they may be in things natural and civil, yet in religious things, in things of a spiritual nature, they have no understanding; they are proud boasters, glory in themselves, and in their outward attainments, as the word F4 בהוללים "in arrogantes", Gejerus; "stolide gloriosos", Michaelis; "at vain glorious... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 73:3

I was envious at the foolish - I saw persons who worshipped not the true God, and others who were abandoned to all vices, in possession of every temporal comfort, while the godly were in straits, difficulties, and affliction. I began then to doubt whether there was a wise providence; and my mind became irritated. It seems to have been a maxim among the ancient heathens, Θεου ονειδος τους κακους ευδαιμονειν , "The prosperity of the wicked is a reproach to the gods." But they had no just... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 73:3

Verse 3 3.For I envied the foolish (154) Here he declares the nature of the temptation with which he was assailed. It consisted in this, that when he saw the present prosperous state of the wicked, and from it judged them to be happy, he had envied their condition. We are certainly under a grievous and a dangerous temptation, when we not only, in our own minds, quarrel with God for not setting matters in due order, but also when we give ourselves loose reins, boldly to commit iniquity, because... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 73:1-28

Metrically, the psalm seems to fall into eight stanzas; the first and last of two verses each, the remaining six each of four verses. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 73:1-28

The grievous conflict of the flesh and the Spirit, and the glorious conquest of the Spirit at the last. I. THE BEGINNING OF THE PSALM . In this he ingeniously pointeth at those rocks against which he was like to have split his soul. II. THE MIDDLE OF THE PSALM . In this he candidly confesseth his ignorance and folly to have been the chiefest foundation of his fault. III. THE END OF THE PSALM . In this he gratefully kisseth that hand which led him out... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 73:1-28

Asaph's trial and deliverance. Asaph was greatly tempted, as this psalm plainly shows. It does not matter whether he speaks of himself or, as is likely, of some other servant of God. Consider— I. HIS TEMPTATION . 1 . It was a very terrible one. (See Psalms 73:2 , "My feet were almost gone," etc.) How honest the Bible is! It tells the whole truth about men, and good men, too. It shows them tempted, and all but overcome. 2 . It arose from his seeing " the prosperity of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 73:1-28

The solution of a great problem. The question here is—Why should good men suffer, and bad men prosper, when the Law had said that God was a righteous Judge, meting out to men in this world the due recompense of their deeds? The course of things should perfectly reflect the righteousness of God. The psalmist struggles for a solution of this problem. The first verse contains the conclusion he had arrived at. I. HIS DANGER . Expressed in the second, thirteenth, and twenty-second... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 73:3

For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked (comp. Psalms 37:1 ). To envy the wicked because they prosper is to make more account of the good things of this life than of God's favour—to prefer physical good to moral. It is also to doubt that God governs the universe by the strict rule of justice. The word translated "foolish" means rather, "vain arrogant boasters." Such the wicked commonly become when they prosper (comp. Psalms 5:5 ). read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 73:3

For I was envious at the foolish - The word “foolish” here refers to sinners. It may either refer to them as foolish, or as proud, insolent, vain - for so the word is elsewhere used. See Psalms 14:1.When I saw the prosperity of the wicked - More literally, “the peace of the wicked.” The reference is not so much to their prosperity in general as to their peace; their conscious safety; their freedom from trouble; and especially their calmness, and their freedom from suffering, in death. From all... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 73:1-14

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 73:3

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 73:3

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 73:3

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 73:1-28

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 73:1-28

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 73:1-28

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 73:1-28

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 73:3

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 73:3

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