For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee.
To be far from God is to stay distant from Him, and to go whoring from Him is to turn away in spiritual unfaithfulness, and both end in perishing and destruction. To perish is to be cut off and brought to nothing by utter extinction with no remainder to life, which is eternal death rather than living on in conscious misery forever. The latter end is learned in the sanctuary, where it is seen that God does not settle accounts in this life but will vindicate His justice in a future Judgment that rewards the suffering saints and casts the wicked down to destruction. By contrast the upright have an end of peace and will delight in abundance of peace in the new earth to all eternity, so that drawing near to God is good and lasting good belongs to those who follow Him in harmony with His law. There is therefore no reason to envy the wicked for their present ease and prosperity, for it does not last and does not alter their end, and present hardship does not make a faithful life vain.
Language and Setting
Psalm 73 was composed by Asaph during the reign of Hezekiah at the time of Isaiah's prophetic ministry, relating to the invasion of Sennacherib and the destruction of the Assyrian host. In that setting God is seen as King who requires loyal allegiance. To be far from Him is to remain distant and to turn away from Him, and to go a whoring from Him is spiritual unfaithfulness. Both conditions end in perishing and destruction.
The psalmist was stumbled when he envied the foolish and saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no bands in death, are free from trouble, are wholly at ease even in death, and have more than heart could wish. They flourish for a time like a green bay tree. Meanwhile the righteous are plagued, chastened, and afflicted, so that he reasoned he had cleansed his heart in vain.
His view changed when he went into the sanctuary of God and understood their latter end. There he saw the doom of sinners foreshadowed in the death of sin's victims, which changed his view of the prosperity of the wicked and showed him that drawing near to God was good. He learned that God does not settle accounts in this life. He learned also that life extends beyond this world.
Final End Foretold
Those who are far from God and who turn unfaithfully away from Him shall perish and be destroyed. The wicked may prosper for a time, yet their present prosperity does not alter their end, for their doom is already foreshadowed in the death of sin's victims and their latter end is eternal death. That latter end is understood upon entering the sanctuary, where it is learned that life extends beyond this world and that God does not settle accounts in this life. This is the final outcome of pursuing wealth at all hazards, and it stands as evidence that the wicked are ultimately destroyed rather than kept alive in punishment forever.
To perish means to be destroyed, cut off, and brought to nothing by utter extinction, with no remainder to life and no hereafter. It is eternal death rather than being kept alive in conscious misery forever. The upright, whose end is peace, though plagued and afflicted in this earth while the wicked now have all they desire, will in the new earth delight in abundance of peace for the remainder of life lasting to all eternity, but the remainder of the wicked shall be cut off.
The end seen in the sanctuary is a future Judgment that will vindicate the justice of God. When the psalmist was stumbled by the prosperity of the wicked while the righteous were plagued and chastened, so that he reasoned he had cleansed his heart in vain, he went into the sanctuary and understood their end. There decisions will be made to reward the suffering saints and to cast the wicked who are far from God down to destruction, so that all inequalities of the present life will be set right and the prosperity of the wicked is not to be envied. Then the dealings of God with the righteous and the wicked will be revealed as just through final rewards and retribution, and the throne of Him who sits between the cherubim above the ark and mercy-seat will be guiltless.
The verse sets a contrast between the wicked, who flourish for a time like a green bay tree but whose end is destruction, and the godly, whose prosperity comes from doing what is right in harmony with God's law and to whom lasting good belongs. Drawing near to God is good, for lasting good belongs to those who follow God. The present ease of the wicked, even when wholly at ease with no pain even in death, is carnal security and insensibility to danger, not proof of acceptance with God, and such a condition is not enviable once their perishing is learned. Present calamity likewise is not proof that a person has committed some particular sin or is more sinful than those who escape harm.
Warning and Comfort
There is no reason to envy those who are far from God, for though they prosper now their apparent freedom from trouble does not last and their end is to perish and be destroyed. The psalmist was stumbled when he was envious at the foolish and saw the prosperity of the wicked, who have no bands in death, are free from trouble, are wholly at ease with no pain even in death, and have more than heart could wish, while the righteous are plagued and chastened, so that he reasoned he had cleansed his heart in vain. His view changed when he went into the sanctuary of God and understood their latter end, that a future Judgment will vindicate the justice of God, with decisions to reward the suffering saints and cast the wicked down to destruction, so that all inequalities of the present life will be set right and the throne of Him who sits between the cherubim above the ark and mercy-seat will be guiltless. Their present ease is carnal security and insensibility to danger, not proof of acceptance with God, and such a condition once its end of perishing is learned is not enviable, while present hardship does not make a faithful life vain.
In the last days the people of God are liable to the same envy when they see others prospering in riches, adding farm to farm and receiving applause and honor, while they themselves are poor and despised and scoffed at as Advents for keeping the seventh-day Sabbath. The cure is to go into the sanctuary of God as did the psalmist and understand their end, that those far from God shall perish and all who depart from Him will be destroyed. The verse also characterizes the final outcome of pursuing wealth at all hazards, for those who turn away from God to seek it will perish.
Seeing that dreadful end of destruction and perishing grieved the psalmist and gives reason to urge sinners to seek salvation while there is still time. Those who remain far from God will perish in eternal death, while those who trust in Him can find comfort and hope amid affliction.
To be far from God is to stay distant from Him, and to go whoring from Him is to turn away in spiritual unfaithfulness, and both end in perishing and destruction. To perish is to be cut off and brought to nothing by utter extinction with no remainder to life, which is eternal death rather than living on in conscious misery forever. The latter end is learned in the sanctuary, where it is seen that God does not settle accounts in this life but will vindicate His justice in a future Judgment that rewards the suffering saints and casts the wicked down to destruction. By contrast the upright have an end of peace and will delight in abundance of peace in the new earth to all eternity, so that drawing near to God is good and lasting good belongs to those who follow Him in harmony with His law. There is therefore no reason to envy the wicked for their present ease and prosperity, for it does not last and does not alter their end, and present hardship does not make a faithful life vain.
Language and Setting
Psalm 73 was composed by Asaph during the reign of Hezekiah at the time of Isaiah's prophetic ministry, relating to the invasion of Sennacherib and the destruction of the Assyrian host. In that setting God is seen as King who requires loyal allegiance. To be far from Him is to remain distant and to turn away from Him, and to go a whoring from Him is spiritual unfaithfulness. Both conditions end in perishing and destruction.
The psalmist was stumbled when he envied the foolish and saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no bands in death, are free from trouble, are wholly at ease even in death, and have more than heart could wish. They flourish for a time like a green bay tree. Meanwhile the righteous are plagued, chastened, and afflicted, so that he reasoned he had cleansed his heart in vain.
His view changed when he went into the sanctuary of God and understood their latter end. There he saw the doom of sinners foreshadowed in the death of sin's victims, which changed his view of the prosperity of the wicked and showed him that drawing near to God was good. He learned that God does not settle accounts in this life. He learned also that life extends beyond this world.
Final End Foretold
Those who are far from God and who turn unfaithfully away from Him shall perish and be destroyed. The wicked may prosper for a time, yet their present prosperity does not alter their end, for their doom is already foreshadowed in the death of sin's victims and their latter end is eternal death. That latter end is understood upon entering the sanctuary, where it is learned that life extends beyond this world and that God does not settle accounts in this life. This is the final outcome of pursuing wealth at all hazards, and it stands as evidence that the wicked are ultimately destroyed rather than kept alive in punishment forever.
To perish means to be destroyed, cut off, and brought to nothing by utter extinction, with no remainder to life and no hereafter. It is eternal death rather than being kept alive in conscious misery forever. The upright, whose end is peace, though plagued and afflicted in this earth while the wicked now have all they desire, will in the new earth delight in abundance of peace for the remainder of life lasting to all eternity, but the remainder of the wicked shall be cut off.
The end seen in the sanctuary is a future Judgment that will vindicate the justice of God. When the psalmist was stumbled by the prosperity of the wicked while the righteous were plagued and chastened, so that he reasoned he had cleansed his heart in vain, he went into the sanctuary and understood their end. There decisions will be made to reward the suffering saints and to cast the wicked who are far from God down to destruction, so that all inequalities of the present life will be set right and the prosperity of the wicked is not to be envied. Then the dealings of God with the righteous and the wicked will be revealed as just through final rewards and retribution, and the throne of Him who sits between the cherubim above the ark and mercy-seat will be guiltless.
The verse sets a contrast between the wicked, who flourish for a time like a green bay tree but whose end is destruction, and the godly, whose prosperity comes from doing what is right in harmony with God's law and to whom lasting good belongs. Drawing near to God is good, for lasting good belongs to those who follow God. The present ease of the wicked, even when wholly at ease with no pain even in death, is carnal security and insensibility to danger, not proof of acceptance with God, and such a condition is not enviable once their perishing is learned. Present calamity likewise is not proof that a person has committed some particular sin or is more sinful than those who escape harm.
Warning and Comfort
There is no reason to envy those who are far from God, for though they prosper now their apparent freedom from trouble does not last and their end is to perish and be destroyed. The psalmist was stumbled when he was envious at the foolish and saw the prosperity of the wicked, who have no bands in death, are free from trouble, are wholly at ease with no pain even in death, and have more than heart could wish, while the righteous are plagued and chastened, so that he reasoned he had cleansed his heart in vain. His view changed when he went into the sanctuary of God and understood their latter end, that a future Judgment will vindicate the justice of God, with decisions to reward the suffering saints and cast the wicked down to destruction, so that all inequalities of the present life will be set right and the throne of Him who sits between the cherubim above the ark and mercy-seat will be guiltless. Their present ease is carnal security and insensibility to danger, not proof of acceptance with God, and such a condition once its end of perishing is learned is not enviable, while present hardship does not make a faithful life vain.
In the last days the people of God are liable to the same envy when they see others prospering in riches, adding farm to farm and receiving applause and honor, while they themselves are poor and despised and scoffed at as Advents for keeping the seventh-day Sabbath. The cure is to go into the sanctuary of God as did the psalmist and understand their end, that those far from God shall perish and all who depart from Him will be destroyed. The verse also characterizes the final outcome of pursuing wealth at all hazards, for those who turn away from God to seek it will perish.
Seeing that dreadful end of destruction and perishing grieved the psalmist and gives reason to urge sinners to seek salvation while there is still time. Those who remain far from God will perish in eternal death, while those who trust in Him can find comfort and hope amid affliction.