Psalm 73–Its Structure and Theology: I Delight in God’s Goodness in Spite of Devastating Problems

Authors

Jiri Moskala ThD, PhDFollow

Abstract

"Martin Buber explains why he is so attracted to this Psalm: “What is it that so draws me to this poem that is pieced together out of description, report and confession, and draws me ever more strongly the older I become? I think it is this, that here a person reports how he attained to the true sense of his life experience and that this sense touches directly on the eternal.”10 I am always touched by the deep wisdom of Psalm 73; it is no wonder that it is usually characterized as a wisdom Psalm even though it is not directly designed as a maskil Psalm. Asaph honestly and candidly describes his own perplexities with life and search for its meaning. He reflects on the struggles of the believer, because it seems that the simple reading of life does not work; it is very complex. The easy definition that the righteous prosper and the wicked encounter problems is contradicted by the facts of our human experience. Reality is different. Even though laws of sowing and reaping, blessings and curses, are valid, nevertheless they are not always obvious. Life is full of contradictions, paradoxes, and tensions. It looks like another law governs which I would like to identify as the law of God’s grace with His sustaining power, patience, and long-suffering."

Recommended Citation

Moskala, Jiri ThD, PhD (2016) "Psalm 73–Its Structure and Theology: I Delight in God’s Goodness in Spite of Devastating Problems," Journal of the Adventist Theological Society: Vol. 27: Iss. 1, Article 9.

Available at: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/jats/vol27/iss1/9