So far in our treatment of the Psalms versus common
grace, we have looked at Psalms 5 and 11, both penned by David. Now we
turn to Psalm 73, a Psalm of Asaph.
Asaph observed "the prosperity of the
wicked" (3). They enjoy good health (4), experience little hardship
in life (5), "increase in riches" (12) and "have more
than heart could wish" (7). Yet they are draped with pride and
clothed with violence (6) and they "speak loftily" (8) and
"set their mouth against the heavens" (9), asking "How
doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High?" (11).
Asaph was jealous of them: "I was envious at the
foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked" (3). Listen to
his lament: "Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my
hands in innocency. For all the day long have I been plagued, and
chastened every morning" (13-14). "I seek to follow the
Lord," reasoned Asaph, "but all I receive is daily chastening.
Why don’t I prosper and grow wealthy? Why should I bother living a
godly life?" He nearly apostatized: "But as for me, my feet
were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped" (2)!
What was Asaph’s problem? He believed in common
grace. Asaph thought that the material prosperity of the wicked meant
that God loved them and blessed them, and, since he was not wealthy like
them, he was not loved or blessed by God—at least not as much as he
should be.
Notice where Asaph’s problem was resolved:
"I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their
end" (17). He began to think straight again when he met with the
Holy One in His dwelling place. This happens today when foolish
Christians envious at the prosperous wicked and/or confused by the false
doctrine of common grace come to believe the teaching of faithful
churches concerning God’s uncommon grace—His sovereign,
particular and irresistible grace in the cross of Jesus Christ alone.
What was it that Asaph came to understand?
"their end" (17), where they were headed: eternal punishment
in hell. "Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou
castedst them down into destruction. How are they brought into
desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors"
(18-19). The ungodly are like men walking on ice or "slippery
places" (18). All the good things that they receive from God in His
providence (health, money, well-paying jobs, big cars, fine houses) are
so many weights that they carry on the ice, making it all the easier to
slip and fall into destruction. Notice too that it is God Himself who
pushes them over and throws them into hell: "thou castedst
them down into destruction" (18). It all happens "in a
moment!" (19). How fearful!
Asaph now understood that their earthly prosperity
did not prove that God loves them and blesses them. Instead, Jehovah
"despises" them (20)! The Most High sets them in slippery
places until He shoves them and they fall into the bottomless pit.
"How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are
utterly consumed with terrors" (19).
When Asaph came to his senses, he felt ashamed of his
former unbelief and stupidity: "Thus my heart was grieved, and I
was pricked in my reins. So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a
beast before thee" (21-22).
Asaph’s faith is renewed and he testifies of God’s
goodness to him. No matter if he is rich or poor, God is graciously
present with him (23). This is Asaph’s living hope: "Thou shalt
guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory" (24).
Listen to his wonderful confession of trust and hope in the Lord:
"Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that
I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the
strength of my heart, and my portion for ever" (25-26).
The opening verse of the Psalm sums it all up:
"Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean
heart" (1). Jehovah’s goodness to Israel is His love, favour and
grace towards them in Jesus Christ, irrespective of worldly wealth or
poverty. Israel is further defined as those who "are of a clean
heart" (1) and not the prosperous wicked in Israel who
"perish" (27) and whom Asaph used to envy (3). Christian
ministers and all Jehovah’s people should emulate Asaph by drawing
near to God in order to "declare all [His] works" (28),
including His work of providence in His justice (not grace) towards the
prosperous wicked and His righteous destruction of them (27).
For more on Psalm 73, I would strongly recommend
Prof. David Engelsma’s fine book, Prosperous Wicked and Plagued
Saints (available from the CPRC Bookstore for £6.60, inc. P &
P), as the best and most thorough exposition of Psalm 73 that I have
read.
The same point made in Psalm 73 is stated more
briefly in Psalm 92:5-9. The wicked are flourishing, springing up like
grass (7): growing tall and green; growing fast; filled with life and
vitality; healthy, beautiful and secure. Surely, common grace reckons,
this is a proof and demonstration of God’s love for the ungodly:
"When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of
iniquity do flourish; it is because God loves them and is gracious to
them and is blessing them."
But what saith the Scripture? "When the wicked
spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it
is that they shall be destroyed for ever" (7). This is God’s
intention and purpose and goal when He gives his enemies material
prosperity. He is preparing them for hell: "it is that they shall
be destroyed for ever" (7). "It is a fearful thing to fall
into the hands of the living God" (Heb. 10:31). Tremble before Him!
"For, lo, thine enemies, O Lord, for, lo, thine enemies shall
perish; all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered" (Ps. 92:9).
You who are unbelieving, turn to Jesus Christ or you will perish
everlastingly!
Those who do not see God’s purpose and intention in
giving good things to the wicked—namely, their eternal destruction—are
spiritually senseless and ignorant: "A brutish man knoweth not;
neither doth a fool understand this" (6; cf. Ps. 73:22).
But the righteous who believe God’s Word, praise Him for His wisdom
in destroying the wicked through their earthly prosperity: "O Lord,
how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep" (Ps.
92:5). In rejecting the false explanation of the prosperity of the
wicked that is offered by the theory of common grace (7), we justify the
omnipotent, righteous, wise and eternal God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ: "But thou, Lord, art most high for evermore" (8). Rev.
Stewart
Job: History or Allegory? (1)
One of our readers asked the following question about
the nature of the book of Job: "Is the book of Job a true story or
an allegory?"
There is no question about it that the book of Job
records true history. This is proved by James 5:11: "Behold, we
count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and
have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of
tender mercy." The historicity of Job himself and therefore of the
book that goes by his name is also proved from Ezekiel 14:14:
"Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it [i.e.,
the land of Judah], they should deliver but their own souls by their
righteousness, saith the Lord God." Like Ezekiel 14:14, verses 16
and 18 also refer to "these three men," not these two men
(Noah and Daniel) plus a figure merely mentioned in an allegory (Job).
Ezekiel 14:20 repeats the three names given in verse 14: "Noah,
Daniel, and Job."
The book is also infallibly and verbally inspired by
the Holy Spirit. In this respect, the book has something unique about
its inspiration. Two things about its inspiration ought to be noticed.
First, the speeches of the three friends, Elihu’s
speech, Job’s speeches and God’s final speech were not spoken
precisely as they are recorded in the book of Job. All these speeches as
recorded in our Bibles are in poetry; as they were spoken (with the
possible exception of God’s speech) they were probably not spoken in
poetry.
Second, there is a difference in the character of the
inspiration. All that the three friends and some of what Job said were
not inspired as to content. That is, what they said is not the Word of
God in the sense that their words contain divine truth. Surely Job’s
cursing of the day of his birth was wrong of Job and does not give us a
rule for our faith and life. What the friends said was, for the most
part, wicked, for they accused Job unjustly. So these parts of the book
are not inspired as to content. They are, however, inspired as to the
accuracy of what these friends said.
Even though the speeches were most likely not spoken
in poetry, the poetic form of these speeches is wholly and completely
accurate. It is the Spirit’s repetition of what each man said. It
accurately conveys the contents of each man’s speech.
Parts of the book are inspired also as to content.
The historical parts were so inspired; some of Job’s words were so
inspired, for example, Job 19:25-27, a passage that ministers of the
gospel have correctly held up to the people of God as proof for the
bodily resurrection of Christ and as an expression of our hope of the
resurrection of our bodies. It appears as if Elihu’s speech was also
inspired as to content, and certainly this was true of God’s final and
conclusive word.
But all this does not alter in any respect the divine
inspiration of this book. There are other parts of Scripture in which
wicked men spoke that are inspired as to the accuracy of what they said,
but are not inspired as to content. Surely at the time of the trial of
our Lord, the words of Caiaphas, of the Sanhedrin and of Pilate were not
inspired as to content. But they are totally accurate as to form: they
truly were said as they are presented in sacred Scripture.
We know that what the Holy Spirit inspires is
completely without error, for He cannot err, being God Himself. We do
not know whom the Spirit used to write the book of Job, but it may very
well have been Job himself. He did not write the book during the
exchange of speeches, but only after it was all over. God told him what
to write so that it accurately reproduced what was said in the lengthy
speeches; but God the Holy Spirit did this in the form of poetry.
That it was written in poetry does not subtract from
its verbal inspiration either, for the Psalms and other parts of
Scripture were also written in poetry. This is one of Scripture’s
unparalleled beauties: there are many different genera of writings, but
all are infallibly and verbally inspired.
The purpose of the book is defined by James: It is a
demonstration of Job’s patience in suffering, which we are called to
emulate; and it is a promise that, because of the mercy and pity of our
God towards us in our sufferings, He makes our sufferings serve our
salvation (James 5:11).
It might be worth our while to mention that it is higher critics of
Scripture who claim that the book of Job is an allegory. But they have
an axe to grind. For some evil reason, they do not believe that Job (who
lived during the time of Abraham) could possibly know anything, at such
an early date in the history of revelation, about the resurrection of
the body. Hence, when they come to Job 19:25-27, they give an entirely
different translation of the text that eliminates the idea of Job’s
confession of the resurrection. There are various such translations
around, and the interested reader may consult them. The translation of
the KJV is correct. Prof. Hanko
