Translation: ESV
Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.
The conviction reached after passing through doubt and struggle on the journey of faith is the deepest form of faith.
▸Asaph's psalm begins with a conclusion-first structure.
Asaph's psalm begins with a conclusion-first structure. It opens with the conclusion reached after all the struggle and doubt: 'God is truly good.' The story of this conviction being shaken and then restored is the journey of this psalm.
But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped.
Believers too experience crises of faith and doubt, and honestly acknowledging this is an expression of authenticity.
▸After the conviction of verse 1, the sudden confession that he had almost stumbled comes.
For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
Envy and doubt arising from seeing the wicked prosper can trigger a crisis of faith.
▸The cause of the faith crisis is revealed.
until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.
Worship is a space where earthly reality is reinterpreted from God's perspective, and this is the solution to the crisis of faith.
▸This is the turning point that resolves the crisis of verse 3.
Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
The exclusive love of God arrived at after passing through a crisis on the journey of faith is the deepest expression of faith.
▸This is the theological summit of the psalm and one of the most beautiful confessions of faith in all of Scripture.
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Even when everything fails, God is our rock and eternal portion.
▸Even when flesh and heart fail, God is the rock and eternal portion.
But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.
Being near God is a greater blessing than all the prosperity the world can offer.
▸This is the conclusion of the psalm and its most concise confession of faith.