Psalms 73:2

Psa 73:2 But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped.

Ver. 2. But as for me, my feet were almost gone] i.e. I was well nigh brought to believe that there was no Divine providence; as the Athenians did when their good General Nicias was worsted and slain in Sicily (Thucyd.); as Pompey did, when having the better cause, he was overcome by Caesar; as Brutus did (that last of the Romans as he was called for his courage), when beaten out of the field by Antony, he cried out W τλημων αρετη, now I see that virtue is nothing, but all things are moderated by fortune, whom he charged his children therefore to worship, as a goddess of greatest power.

My steps had well nigh slipped] Quasi nihil effusi sunt gressus mei, that is, as Kimchi interpreteth it, Status meus erat tantillus quasi nullus esset pro figendo pede locus, I had scarce any fastening for my feet, my heels were gone almost. What wonder, then, that heathens have been stounded and staggered?

Cum rapiant mala fata bonos (ignoscite fasso)

Sollicitor nullos esse putare Deos,

saith Ovid. And to the same purpose another poet,

Marmoreo Licinus tumulo iacet, et Cato parvo,

Pompeius nullo; quis putet esse Deos?

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa_73:2

But am for me, my feet were almost gone: my steps had well nigh slipped.

Spiritual crises

The problems of human life and destiny pressed sore upon the mind of the good and thoughtful Asaph, the writer of this psalm. The story of his struggle and victory is here recorded.

I. The perilous crisis in a good mans life. My feet were, etc. The sword is dropping from his nerveless hand, the shield from his grasp. His strength is ebbing fast. Now--

1. Such crises may arise from circumstances over which we have no control: and--

2. In the holiest lives.

II. The antecedent history of this crisis is disclosed (Psa_73:3-4; Psa_73:13, etc.).

1. Asaph had come to doubt of the Divine Sovereignty. How doth God know? If God were Sovereign, how could He let such wickedness be? He forgot the future retribution.

2. And the Divine Fatherhood.

3. And had endeavoured to extricate himself by the aid of human reason alone (Psa_73:16).

4. This crisis was not an innocent one. Its root was unbelief.

III. The method of deliverance is revealed. Until I went into the sanctuary (Psa_73:17). On which note--

1. The sanctuary is the best place for trembling faith. Because

(1) There are special promises attached to its services (1Ki_9:8; 2Ch_7:15-16).

(2) There we enter the domain of faith.

(3) And are brought face to face with eternal realities. The future life comes into view.

2. The sanctuary is not necessarily any material edifice. Probably in this case it was. But every spot hallowed by heavenly intercourse is a sanctuary. Jacobs stony temple; Peters housetop, etc. And even within the sanctuary it is the attitude of the mind, not the position of the body, which brings relief.

IV. A recipe of prevention is recorded. We have--

1. A confession of folly (Psa_73:22).

2. An expression of confidence (Psa_73:23).

3. An affirmation of trust (Psa_73:24).

4. A testimony of gratitude (Psa_73:28; Psa_73:25). Therefore, learn--

(1) A querulous spirit is a source of spiritual danger.

(2) The record of past experience is the safeguard of to-day.

(3) God is our refuge and strength, and a very present help in trouble. (Homiletic Quarterly.)

Narrow escapes

The victorious general in the hour of triumph has not unfrequently reason be remember how nearly, through oversight or miscalculation, he had lost the day: a little more pressure on this wing or that, a trifling prolongation of the struggle, a few minutes further delay in the arrival of reinforcements--and his proud banner had been dragged in the dust. The pilot guiding his barque safely into port sometimes knows how through lack of seamanship he nearly made shipwreck. The successful merchant remembers crises in his history when he found himself on the brink of ruin, when the last straw only was wanting to precipitate the catastrophe. And like narrow escapes occur in the spiritual life.

I. The occasions of our peril.

1. Our soul is sometimes in imminent danger from unbelief. Many of Gods people find their faith severely tried, and hardly endure the trial. We have perhaps been exercised on the Divine existence, or we doubted the Divine Word. Sometimes these doubts have been pressed upon us from the outside by the disciples and literature of scepticism, at other times suggested by our own experience; and our soul fluttered in the fowlers net.

2. At other seasons our special danger has arisen from worldliness. The most spiritual of Gods people may perchance remember when their heart was all but absorbed by the secular--the inner man forgotten in the outer, the eternal in the temporary, the love of the Father in the love of the world. Little by little we yielded to the authority of worldly maxims, to the tyranny of worldly interests, to the indulgences of worldly society and pleasure. Prayer became infrequent and unreal; the house of God was neglected; the Scriptures lost their relish; the family altar was dropping stone by stone into the dust.

3. Again, our peril has been actual immorality. How nearly betrayed by passion, appetite, covetousness, pride: the partition thin between us and the fallen.

II. The lessons of our deliverance.

1. Thankfulness. Great is our debt of gratitude to Him who renders our venial errors innocuous, who sustains us as we unwittingly step on slippery place or giddy brink; who delivers us from our inexperience, short-sightedness and frailty, not permitting our infirmity to work its natural issue of woe.

2. Humiliation. When we remember the fulness of light, the strength of motive, the richness of grace against which we sinned and brought ourselves into jeopardy, we may justly be humbled.

3. Caution. Narrow escapes gender presumption in foolish men, but the wise are admonished.

4. Sympathy. Having so narrowly escaped condemnation, we must think kindly and hopefully of those who went a little further, only a little further, and fell; having been so nearly run over, we must think tenderly of those who are carried to the hospital.

5. Consecration to God. Where a Christian is ever stumbling and slipping there is a real weakness of character, a deep defect of mind or heart or will, a central lack of balance and force. What such of us need is to come to the psalmists conclusion--complete, final devotion to God. Let us thus yield ourselves to God, and these humiliating, dangerous episodes we shall know no more. Let us dwell in the sanctuary. Every visit to the throne purges our vision, refreshes our soul, renews our strength. In communion with God we find the secret grounds of Gods ways, and become able to await calmly and hopefully the solution of all painful problems. Worship, too, fills the soul with spiritual images and forces, preserving from the insidious en-croachments of worldliness. And, faithful to our priestly privilege and purity, we shrink from contact with the unclean thing. (W. L. Watkinson.)

Faith--its peril and rescue

I. When was the faith of the psalmist endangered?

1. When he saw the prosperity of the wicked.

2. When he observed the apparent desertion of the righteous. The adversity of the saints was more mysterious than the prosperity of the wicked.

II. Why was the faith of Asaph imperilled? Faith is designed for times of darkness, distress, etc. Job declared, Though He slay me, yet, etc.

1. The psalmist has a wrong spirit. I was envious, etc. Our opinions are affected by our moods. Envy impaired the judgement and blurred the spiritual vision of Asaph.

2. The psalmist had narrow views. We are apt to express our opinions as if we understood all events and could compass all time.

III. The rescue of faith.

1. Through holy influences. I went into the sanctuary--the place nearest God.

2. Through clearer views, Then understood I their end. As we trace, on the other hand, the closing chapters in the lives of Joseph, Daniel and others, apparent discrepancies fade away.

3. Faith becomes more vigorous than before. He not only was satisfied but jubilant: Whom have I in heaven but Thee, etc.

Lessons:

1. Guard against judging by appearances, or from imperfect data.

2. Trust where it is difficult to trace infinite love.

3. Faith rests, questionings are silenced, when the soul is nearer to God. (John Love.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ver. 2. Here begins the narrative of a great soul battle, a spiritual Marathon, a hard and well fought field, in which the half defeated became in the end wholly victorious.

But as for me. He contrasts himself with his God who is ever good; he owns his personal want of good, and then also compares himself with the clean in heart, and goes on to confess his defilement. The Lord is good to his saints, but as for me, am I one of them? Can I expect to share his grace? Yes, I do share it; but I have acted an unworthy part, very unlike one who is truly pure in heart.

My feet were almost gone. Errors of heart and head soon affect the conduct. There is an intimate connection between the heart and the feet. Asaph could barely stand, his uprightness was going, his knees were bowing like a falling wall. When men doubt the righteousness of God, their own integrity begins to waver.

My steps had well nigh slipped. Asaph could make no progress in the good road, his feet ran away from under him like those of a man on a sheet of ice. He was weakened for all practical action, and in great danger of actual sin, and so of a disgraceful fall. How ought we to watch the inner man, since it has so forcible an effect upon the outward character. The confession in this case is, as it should be, very plain and explicit.

Ver. 2. But as for me. Literally, it is, And I, which ought to be read with emphasis; for David means that those temptations which cast an affront upon the honour of God, and overwhelm faith, not only assail the common class of men, or those who are endued only with some small measure of the fear of God, but that he himself, who ought to have profited above all others in the school of God, had experienced his own share of them. By thus setting himself forth as an example, he designed the more effectually to arouse and incite us to take great heed to ourselves. John Calvin.

Ver. 2. Let such also as fear God and begin to look aside on the things of this world, know it will be hard even for them to hold out in faith and in the fear of God in time of trial. Remember the example of David, he was a man that had spent much time in travelling towards heaven; yet, looking but a little aside upon the glittering show of this world, had very near lost his way, his feet were almost gone, his steps had well nigh slipped. Edward Elton. 1620.

Ver. 2. He tells us that his feet were almost gone. The word signifies to bow, or bend under one. My steps had well nigh slipped, or poured out, kept not within their true bounds; but like water poured out and not confined, runs aside. Though these expressions be metaphorical, and seemingly dark and cloudy, yet they clearly represent unto us this truth, that his understanding was misguided, his judgment was corrupt, his affections disordered, turbulent, and guilty of too great a passion; and this, the consequence (Ps 73:22 in which he acknowledges himself ignorant, foolish, and brutish) do sufficiently evidence. Our understanding and judgment may well bear the comparison for feet, for as the one, in our motion, supports the body, so the other, in human actions and all employments, underprops the soul. The affections, also, are as paths and steps; as these of the feet, so these are the prints and expressions of the judgment and mind. Edward Parry, in "David Restored." 1660.

Ver. 2. Almost gone. There is to be noted that the prophet said he was almost gone, and not altogether. Here is the presence, providence, strength, safeguard, and keeping of man by Almighty God, marvellously set forth. That although we are tempted and brought even to the very point to perpetrate and do all mischief, yet he stays us and keeps us, that the temptation shall not overcome us. John Hooper. 1495-1555.

Ver. 2-14. But the prosperity of wicked and unjust men, both in public and in private life, who, though not leading a happy life in reality, are yet thought to do so in common opinion, being praised improperly in the works of poets, and all kinds of books, may lead you --and I am not surprised at your mistake--to a belief that the gods care nothing for the affairs of men. These matters disturb you. Being led astray by foolish thoughts, and yet not able to think ill of the gods, you have arrived at your present state of mind, so as to think that the gods to indeed exist, but that they despise and neglect human affairs. Plato.

Ver. 2.

I. How far a believer may fall.

II. How far he shall not fall.

III. What fears are and what are not allowable.

Ver. 2. A retrospect of our slips; prospect of future danger; present preparation for it.

Psalms 73:3*

Ver. 2-14. See Psalms on "Ps 73:2" for further information.

Ver. 2-14. See Psalms on "Ps 73:2" for further information.

Ver. 2-14. See Psalms on "Ps 73:2" for further information.

Ver. 2-14. See Psalms on "Ps 73:2" for further information.

Ver. 2-14. See Psalms on "Ps 73:2" for further information.

Ver. 2-14. See Psalms on "Ps 72:9" for further information.

Ver. 2-14. See Psalms on "Ps 73:2" for further information.

Ver. 2-14. See Psalms on "Ps 73:2" for further information.

Ver. 2-14. See Psalms on "Ps 73:2" for further information.

Ver. 2-14. See Psalms on "Ps 73:2" for further information.

Ver. 2-14. See Psalms on "Ps 73:2" for further information.

None.

Psalms 73:14*

Ver. 2-14. See Psalms on "Ps 73:2" for further information.

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Psa 73:2-3. But as for me — Yet I must acknowledge with grief and shame, concerning myself, that notwithstanding all my knowledge of this truth, and my own experience and observation of God’s dealings with me and other good men; my feet were almost gone — My faith in God’s promises and providence was almost overthrown by the force of temptation; and I was almost ready to repent of my piety, Psa 73:13, and to follow the example of ungodly men. My steps had well nigh slipped — Hebrew, שׁפכו, shuppechu, were almost poured forth, namely, like water upon the ground, which is unstable, and runs hither and thither with great disorder and uncertainty, till it be irrecoverably lost. So was I almost transported by my unruly fancies and passions into unworthy thoughts of God, and a sinful course of life. For I was envious at the foolish — I was vexed and murmured to see the wicked, notwithstanding their guilt and desert of punishment, in a very flourishing condition, and I thought it very hard that pious men should not equal, if not exceed, them in such happiness; especially when I saw no likelihood that it would end, but that they continued in their prosperity. With great propriety are the wicked, and those that live as if there were no God, called the foolish; for nothing can show greater folly.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa 73:2. And I (or as for me), my feet were almost gone, my steps had well nigh slipped. The pronoun in the first clause is emphatic. I, who so confidently make this profession of my faith in God's unchanging goodness, am one whose feet were almost gone, literally inclined or bent, either from the straight course or from an erect position. See above, on Psa 62:2, where the same verb is applied to a wall inclined or bent by violence. .The phrases rendered almost and well nigh strictly mean like little and like nothing, and imply that it wanted little or nothing of a fearful fall on his part, in other words, that he had narrowly escaped it. Slipped, literally poured out, which seems to be a figure both for weakness and divergence. Instead of pursuing a direct course, or remaining in a firm position, his steps were scattered and without effect, like water poured upon the ground. See above, on Psa 22:14.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

73:2-3 The poet sees the prosperity of the wicked as unfair (see 72:7) and resents it. • The psalmist’s feet were slipping from the way of wisdom and godliness (see 17:5; 37:31), but God kept him from falling off the trail entirely (38:16; 66:9; 94:18; 121:3). • when I saw them prosper: Cp. 72:3, 7.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 2. My feet were almost gone] I had nearly given up my confidence. I was ready to find fault with the dispensations of providence; and thought the Judge of all the earth did not do right.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2. As for me, etc. Literally, it is, And I: which ought to be read with emphasis; for David means that those temptations, which cast an affront upon the honor of God, and overwhelm faith, not only assail the common class of men, or those who are endued only with some small measure of the fear of God, but that he himself, who ought to have profited above all others in the school of God, had experienced his own share of them. By thus setting himself forth as an example, he designed the more effectually to arouse and incite us to take great heed to ourselves. He did not, it is true, actually succumb under the temptation; but, in declaring that his feet were almost gone, and that his steps had well nigh slipped, he warns us that all are in danger of falling, unless they are upheld by the powerful hand of God.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(2) Slipped.—Literally, were poured out. This metaphor for weakness and instability is obvious. Comp.

“Dissolvuntur enim turn demum membra fluuntque.”

LUCRETIUS, iv. 920.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. But the Psalmist had almost lost his faith in God’s goodness. He had as it were all but swerved from the right path (Psa_44:18); all but lost his footing in the slippery places of life’s journey (Psa_17:5).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But as for me,.... Who am one of the Israel of God whose heart has been renewed and purified by the grace of God, and to whom he has been kind and good in a thousand instances; yet, ungrateful creature that I am,

my feet were almost gone; out of the good ways of God, the ways of truth and holiness just upon the turn, ready to forsake them, and give up all religion as a vain thing:

my steps had well nigh slipped, or "poured out" (c) like water; the allusion is to standing on wet and slippery ground, where a man can scarcely keep upon his feet. It may be observed, that good men are liable to slips and falls, to fall into sin, snares, and temptations, and from their steadfastness in the faith, but not totally and finally; their feet may be "almost", but not "altogether", gone: their steps may "well nigh" slip, but not "quite"; they may fall, but not be utterly cast down; at least they rise again, and are made to stand; for God is able to keep them, and does keep them, from a total and final falling away.

(c) "effusi sunt", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Cocceius; "effusi fuissent", Musculus, Gejerus, Michaelis.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

But as for me - literally, “And I.” The meaning is, “And I, who so confidently now trust in God, and believe that he is good, was formerly in a far different state of mind; I was so hesitating, so troubled, and so doubtful, that I had almost entirely lost confidence in him as a wise and just moral governor.”

My feet were almost gone - I was just ready to fall. Of course, this refers to his state of mind. In regard to his faith or confidence in God, he was like a man standing in a slippery place, and scarcely able to remain upright.

My steps had well nigh slipped - The expression rendered “well nigh” means “like nothing,” or “as nothing;” that is, in reference to firmness it was as if there was “nothing” left. There was nothing which would keep him from slipping. The word rendered “slipped” means “poured out.” That is, in his going he was like water poured out, instead of being like something solid and firm. The idea is, that his faith seemed to be all gone. He was like a falling man; a man who had no strength to walk.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Yet I must acknowledge this with grief and shame concerning myself; notwithstanding all my knowledge of this truth, and my own experience and observation of God’s gracious dealings with me, and other good men,

my feet were almost gone; my faith in God’s promises and providence was almost overthrown by the three of this temptation; and I was almost ready to repent of my piety, Psa 73:13, and to follow the example of ungodly men.

Had well nigh slipped, Heb. were almost poured forth, like water upon the ground, which is unstable, and runs hither and thither, with great disorder and uncertainty, till it be irrecoverably lost. So was I almost transported by my own unruly passions into unworthy thoughts of God, and a sinful course of life.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2. But as for me—The psalmist at once turns aside to trace the causes and extent of his doubts as to the goodness and equality of God’s ways. Literally, And I—my feet almost turned aside, or swerved. The almost, here, shows that the temptation had taken hold of him; he had halted and wavered, and but little was wanting to complete the triumph of evil. The next line carries forward the figure.

My steps had well nigh slipped—The word translated “well nigh” literally means, nothing was wanting. Everything was complete to give practical effect to the temptation. Had he remained in that state he would have fallen; but he went into “the sanctuary of God,” Psa_73:17. This saved him.

Slipped—Literally slipped out, or poured out, like water, and so he had been “well nigh” lost.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped. The psalmist had doubted God"s goodness and righteousness, on account of the prosperity of the wicked. He feels now that his doubt had been a sin, and had almost caused him to give up his confidence and trust in the Almighty. He had well nigh slipped from the rock of faith into the abyss of scepticism.

Narrow escapes.

"The victorious general, in the hour of triumph, has not unfrequently reason to remember how nearly, through oversight or miscalculation, he had lost the day. A little more pressure on this wing or that, a trifling prolongation of the struggle, a few minutes" further delay in the arrival of reinforcements, and his proud banner had been dragged in the dust. The pilot, steering his barque safely into port, sometimes knows how, through lack of seamanship, he nearly made shipwreck. And the successful merchant remembers crises in his history when he found himself on the brink of ruin when the last straw only was wanting to precipitate the catastrophe." And like narrow escapes occur in the spiritual life.

I NOTE SOME OF THEM.

1. The doubt and darkness of unbelief caused by brooding over the mysteries of providence. (cf. Jer_48:11)

2. Terrible temptation. See Joseph in prison, Moses in Egypt, Daniel in Babylon, the martyrs. "The righteous scarcely are saved.

3. When brought very low, as the prodigal son was, by our own sin. Then the crisis is when we have to decide whether we will turn back to God or go on in our sin. The prodigal went back to his father; Ephraim was joined to his idols, and, like Amon, "sinned more and more." How many are in heaven now who once were all but lost! David, Manasseh, Peter, the penitent thief, Mary Magdalene, and many more.

II WHAT SUCH INSTANCES TEACH US.

1. Never to despair of any one. God can save them.

2. Never to presume for ourselves. "Let him that thinketh he standeth," etc.

3. Great thankfulness, if we are kept.

4. Deep sympathy with those who fall.

5. Ever to abide in Christ. S.C.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

My feet - My faith in God's providence, was almost overthrown.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

But as for me before I laid this to my heart.

my feet had almost turned away and my steps swept away to turn away from following the Omnipresent.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.