Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 73:23
Nevertheless I [am] continually with thee: thou hast holden [me] by my right hand.
23. Nevertheless ] Lit., But as for me, I am &c. Render, Whereas I am &c. He contrasts his real position of fellowship with God with his former delusion and also with the insecurity of the wicked.
thou hast holden &c.] Better as R.V., thou hast holden my right band. Cp. Psa 63:8.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
23 26. The positive solution of the Psalmist’s perplexity: the only true and abiding happiness is to be found in fellowship with God.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Nevertheless, I am continually with thee – I am kept by thee in the land of the living; I am permitted to abide in thy presence; I am allowed to hope in thy mercy. Notwithstanding my low and unworthy views, notwithstanding my doubts about the justice of the divine administration, notwithstanding my envy at the prosperity of the wicked, and my spirit of complaining against God, I am not driven away from God; I am not banished from his presence, or cut off from his favor. Well may we marvel when we reflect on our thoughts about God, that He has not risen in his anger, and banished us from his presence forever and ever.
Thou hast holden me by my right hand – Thou hast not left me. Thou hast stretched out thy hand to keep me. Thou hast been to me as, a Protector and Friend. Thou hast not been angry at my unkind and ungrateful thoughts; thou hast not banished me eternally from thy presence.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 73:23
Nevertheless I am continually with Thee: Thou hast holden me by my right hand.
The Christians portion
Four privileges of Gods servants are mentioned in the text.
I. His presence with them–His constant presence. I am continually with Thee. It is another way of saying, Thou art continually with me. The Lord is ever side by side with His people.
II. Support. Thou hast holden me–holden me by my right hand. Two men may be travelling together the same road in company, and yet separate one from the other. But (says the psalmist) not so the Lord and I His afflicted servant; He takes hold of my hand, as He walks by my side, and lets me feel His presence, and I am content. With Him the wilderness becomes (as it were) a paradise; and without Him the fairest earthly paradise–oh, how soon does it become a desert to our souls!
III. Guidance. Thou shalt guide me–guide me with Thy counsel. Thou shalt do it. Hitherto we have looked on the Lord, as simply the companion and upholder of the believer on his way; here, you perceive, another character is given Him. He points out that way to him–the way to glory–leads him to it, and directs him along it.
IV. Glory. Thou shalt afterward receive me to glory. The Lords guidance of us is ultimately to end in this. Thither all His dealings with us tend. And now I would say to you two things.
1. Aim to get the psalmists faith and confidence, He saw and felt and rejoiced in his own personal interest in Gods care and love. And–
2. Aim to get the psalmists submissive spirit. (C. Bradley, M. A.)
Gods abiding presence
Here was a man who lived with an abiding sense of the Divine nearness. To him God was not an occasional visitor, but an abiding guest. I am continually with Thee. Now, is this a common experience with religious people? I fear not. Lo, I am with you always, said Jesus, and if we do not realize His presence the fault must be our own. Well, now, let us see what effect this abiding consciousness of God would have upon our daily life and experience.
I. Our life would be much holier. It is related that a certain shoemaker kept by his side a portrait of that famous Brighton preacher, the Rev. F.W. Robertson, and that whenever he was tempted to do anything wrong he took a look at the portrait, the very sight of which made it practically impossible for him to yield. Now, if the sight of that good mans portrait could have such a restraining effect upon that shoemaker, what would be the effect upon your life and mine did we daily live with the holy God before our eyes? I have set the Lord always before me, said the psalmist; and did we live with a constant consciousness of the Divine nearness I am sure we should be restrained from many things to which we are so apt to yield, and in which we sometimes perhaps indulge. But in a more positive way, and in a much larger sense, our whole life would be wondrously hallowed if we only carried into it all an abiding sense of the Divine presence. Professor Drummond has said that there are men and women in whose company we are always at our best. While with them we cannot think mean thoughts or speak ungenerous words. Their mere presence is elevation, purification, sanctity. All the best stops of our nature are drawn out by their intercourse, and we find a music in our souls that was never there before. And if the society of good people can exert such a hallowing influence upon us, what must be the sanctifying effect of daily companionship and fellowship with God? Ten minutes, said Professor Drummond, spent in His society every day, aye! two minutes, if it be face to face, and heart to heart, will make the whole day different. And if our whole life were pervaded with the consciousness of the Divine, as, thank God, some lives have been, then the whole life would be different.
II. Such a consciousness of God would make our life much stronger and safer. Life is full of difficulty and danger, and if we would be valiant and victorious we must seek a fuller and more constant realization of the Divine presence. I remember that on one occasion I had a very lonely road to travel, and had often felt exceedingly nervous. But I had an old friend who frequently accompanied me on that part of the journey, and in his companionship I had no sense of danger, but felt equal to any emergency. And amidst lifes thickest difficulties and dangers we may have the companionship of God, and that shall be our defence. The strongest and bravest man may well fear to face lifes stern duties and- difficulties in his own strength; for in that case defeat is inevitable. But with the assurance of Gods presence there comes power to face lifes sternest forces and foes. Our sufficiency is not of ourselves; our sufficiency is of God.
III. This abiding consciousness of God would make our life much happier. In ordinary life there is certainly much to sadden and sour the human heart, and the one great antidote to that is a more vivid realization of the Divine presence. In Thy presence is fulness of joy. Those words have a present significance. In Thy presence is fulness of joy; not then and yonder only, but here and now. Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord. The unexpected appearance of Jesus in their midst chased away those mens disappointment and doubt and sadness, and inspired them with a new hope and gladness. I have a little girl who repeatedly awoke in the night, and was terribly frightened with the darkness; and she always insisted on coming into her mothers room and bed. Nothing else would satisfy or soothe her. One night her mother said to her, You should not do so, Olive, for there is nothing to be afraid of; and it is just as dark in this room as in your own. Then, nestling up beside her mother, the little one replied, Yes, mother, but you are in this dark room. Ah, her mothers nearness made all the difference to the childs feelings. And there is nothing that can disarm the souls fears and soothe its sorrows like the realization of our Fathers presence. (B. Haddon.)
Influence of the Divine presence on a good man
I. His internal moral state.
1. The belief of the Divine presence acts upon them here, first, as an incitement to virtue. The presence of one whom we highly esteem and revere, of a sovereign, for instance, a father, or a friend, whose approbation we are solicitous to gain, is always found to exalt the powers of men, to refine and improve their behaviour. Hence, it has been given as a rule by ancient moralists, that, in order to excel in virtue, we should propound to ourselves some person of eminent worth; and should accustom ourselves to act as if he were standing by and beholding us. But what is the observation of the greatest or wisest men on earth to that presence of the Divinity which constantly surrounds us? The man who realizes to his mind this august presence, feels a constant incentive for acquitting himself with dignity.
2. Supposing, however, his virtuous endeavours to be faithful, many imperfections will attend them. Passions will sometimes overcome him; and ambition or interest, in an unguarded hour, will turn him aside into evil. Hence he will be ashamed of himself, and disquieted by a sense of guilt and folly. In this state, to which we are often reduced by the weakness of human nature, the belief of Gods continual presence brings relief to the heart. He can appeal to Him who knows his frame, that, in the general train of his conduct it is his study to keep the law of God.
II. His external circumstances.
1. It not only preserves the virtue of a good man amidst the temptations of pleasure, but it gives to his prosperity a security, and a peculiar relish, which to others is unknown. He dwells as with a friend and protector, from whom he conceives his blessings to proceed. He can appeal to him for the thankfulness with which he receives them; and for his endeavours to employ them well. He trusts that the God whom he serves will not forsake him; that the goodness which he has already experienced will continue to bless him; and though he believes himself not exempted from the changes of the world, yet, in the midst of these, he has ground to hope that sources of comfort and happiness shall always he left open to him. Moreover, the pleasures of life, while they last, are unspeakably heightened by the presence of that Benefactor who bestows them. The pleasing emotion of gratitude to the giver, mingles with the enjoyment of the gift.
2. From the prosperous, let us next turn to the afflicted condition of a good man. For as prosperity may, affliction certainly will, at one time or other, be his lot. It enters into the appointed trial of his virtue; and, in one degree or other, is the doom of all. Here we shall find various situations occur, in which no relief is equal to what a virtuous and holy man derives from a sense of the perpetual presence of God.
(1) Is he, for instance, thrown into an obscure condition in the world, without friends to assist him, or any to regard and consider his estate? He enjoys the satisfaction of thinking, that though he may be neglected by men, he is not forgotten of God.
(2) But though raised above obscurity or poverty, yet, in any situation of fortune, calumny and reproach may be the lot of the servant of God. His good intentions may be misconstrued; his character unjustly traduced; and, to the open reviling of enemies, the more bitter unkindness of friends may sometimes be joined. In this situation, when wounded in spirit, and, perhaps, unable to make his innocence appear, to whom shall he have recourse for defence, to whom make his last appeal, but to that God who is ever present with him, and who knoweth his heart?
(3) Supposing the character of a good man to be untainted by reproach, supposing also his external situation to be opulent or distinguished; many, notwithstanding, and severe, are the distresses to which he may be exposed. Secret griefs may be preying upon him; and his heart left to feed in silence on his own bitterness. He may labour under sore disease, and discern his earthly frame gradually moulder into dust. He may be deprived of those friends and relatives who had been the chief comforts of his state; or may be obliged to prepare himself for taking farewell of them for ever. In the midst of these various afflicting scenes of human life, no consolation can be more powerful than what arises from the presence of a Divine protector and guardian, to whom our case, with all its sorrows, is perfectly known. (Hugh Blair, D. D.)
The Christian with God, supported by Him
I. What is implied in being continually with God.
1. As a duty, it implies, that this is peculiar to real Christians; as they alone are prepared for it, and disposed to it, as being acquainted with Him, reconciled to Him, and in a state of the most intimate friendship with Him (Amo 3:3).
(1) It is Gods express command (Gen 17:1).
(2) Their covenant-consent strengthens the obligation (Jer 1:5), and having opened their mouths they cannot go back.
(3) The honour of God, which of all things is the dearest to them, obliges them to it. To forsake Him would be a reflection on God and His ways.
(4) To this they feel the constraints of love (Psa 73:25).
(5) The blessedness arising from it, and the misery resulting from a contrary conduct, is a further obligation to this.
(6) The sincerity of their love and attachment to God is thereby to be evidenced.
(7) And they feel themselves deeply concerned thus to act, as they would not lose their work and their crown, and expose themselves to greater wrath (2Jn 1:8.; Heb 10:38).
2. As a privilege, it implies that they are with God,
(1) As members of His Son (1Co 12:27).
(2) As His children (Rom 8:14).
(3) As His heirs (Rom 8:17).
(4) As His portion (Deu 32:9).
(5) As His living temple (Eph 2:21).
II. The happiness resulting therefrom. The Lord holds them by their right hand. This is necessary–
1. On account of the weakness of their graces (1Co 3:1-2).
2. The remains of the carnal mind (1Co 3:3).
3. The prevalence of evil example (1Co 5:8).
4. The opposition of the world (Joh 15:19).
5. The unwearied diligence of Satan (1Pe 5:8).
6. And in all these circumstances God will uphold them, according to His word and promise (Heb 13:6; Isa 54:17).
Improvement:–
1. How happy is the state of those who walk with God! Let us cultivate a greater intimacy than ever.
2. How dreadful is the state of those who are at a distance from God! (Psa 73:27). (T. Hannam.)
Constant enjoyment of the Divine presence consistent with variable experiences
Our abiding frame is the index of character, said Garfield. I have seen the sea lashed into fury and tossed into spray, and its grandeur moves the soul of the dullest man. But I remember that it is not the billows, but the calm level of the sea from which all heights and depths are measured. When the storm has passed and the hour of calm settles upon the ocean, when the sunlight bathes its smooth surface, then the astronomer and surveyor takes the level from which he measures all terrestrial heights and depths. And it is thus with the saint in his spiritual enjoyments. They may be as variable as the surface of the ocean, but he does not judge of his state by their fluetuations, but by the fact that deep down in his heart, in yearning and desire, if not in actual experience, he is able to say, I am continually with Thee. (The Quiver.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 23. I am continually with thee] I now see that myself and my people are under thy guardian care; that we are continually upheld by thee; and while in thy right hand, we shall not be utterly cast down.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Nevertheless; notwithstanding all my temptations, and my gross folly in yielding to them.
I am continually with thee; either,
1. In a way of duty. Yet I did not depart from thee, nor from thy ways; but did at last conquer them, and firmly cleave unto thee by faith. Or rather,
2. In a way of mercy and favour, of which he speaks in the next clause of this and in the following verse. Although I gave thee just cause to east me off, yet thou didst continue thy gracious presence with me, and thy care and kindness to me. And this phrase, with thee, seems to have some emphasis in it, as being opposed to the other with thee, Psa 73:22. I was a beast with thee, such was my folly and wickedness; and yet I was in favour with thee, such was thy goodness: thou didst pardon and cure it.
Thou hast holden me by my right hand, that my faith might not fail, and I might not be overthrown by this or any other temptations.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
23. Still he was with God,as a dependent beneficiary, and so kept from falling (Ps73:2).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Nevertheless, I am continually with thee,…. Upon the heart of God, in his hands, under his eye, under his wings of protection and care, and not suffered to depart from him finally and totally; he could not be disunited and removed from him by the above temptation; nor was he left to cast off the fear of the Lord, and to forsake his worship and service; nor altogether to lose his love and affection for him, which still continued; see Ps 73:25, or “I shall be always with thee” z; not now, for though the saints are always in union with the Lord, yet they have not always communion with him; but hereafter, in heaven, to all eternity:
thou hast holden me by my right hand; as an instance of condescension, respect, and familiarity; see Ac 23:19, as a parent takes his child by the hand, and learns it to go, so the Lord takes his children by the hand, and teaches them to walk by faith in him, Ho 11:3 or in order to keep them from falling, and bear them up under temptations and exercises; as well as to lead them into more intimate communion with himself in his sanctuary, and to raise them up out of their low estate to an exalted one; see Isa 45:1, and likewise to put something into their hands, to supply their wants, and fill them with his good things; see Eze 16:49.
z “ego jugiter futurus sum”, Junius Tremellius, Piscator “itaque ego in posterum semper tecum ero”, Michaelis.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
But he does not thus deeply degrade himself: after God has once taken him by the right hand and rescued him from the danger of falling (Psa 73:2), he clings all the more firmly to Him, and will not suffer his perpetual fellowship with Him to be again broken through by such seizures which estrange him from God. confidently does he yield up himself to the divine guidance, though he may not see through the mystery of the plan ( ) of this guidance. He knows that afterwards ( with Mugrash: adverb as in Psa 68:26), i.e., after this dark way of faith, God will receive him, i.e., take him to Himself, and take him from all suffering ( as in Psa 49:16, and of Enoch, Gen 5:24). The comparison of Zec 2:12 [8] is misleading; there is rightly accented as a preposition: after glory hath He sent me forth (vid., Khler), and here as an adverb; for although the adverbial sense of would more readily lead one to look for the arrangement of the words , still “to receive after glory” (cf. the reverse Isa 58:8) is an awkward thought. , which as an adjective “glorious” (Hofmann) is alien to the language, is either accusative of the goal (Hupfeld), or, which yields a form of expression that is more like the style of the Old Testament, accusative of the manner (Luther, “with honour”). In the poet comprehends in one summary view what he looks for at the goal of the present divine guidance. The future is dark to him, but lighted up by the one hope that the end of his earthly existence will be a glorious solution of the riddle. Here, as elsewhere, it is faith which breaks through not only the darkness of this present life, but also the night of Hades. At that time there was as yet no divine utterance concerning any heavenly triumph of the church, militant in the present world, but to faith the Jahve-Name had already a transparent depth which penetrated beyond Hades into an eternal life. The heaven of blessedness and glory also is nothing without God; but he who can in love call God his, possesses heaven upon earth, and he who cannot in love call God his, would possess not heaven, but hell, in the midst of heaven. In this sense the poet says in Psa 73:25: whom have I in heaven? i.e., who there without Thee would be the object of my desire, the stilling of my longing? without Thee heaven with all its glory is a vast waste and void, which makes me indifferent to everything, and with Thee, i.e., possessing Thee, I have no delight in the earth, because to call Thee mine infinitely surpasses every possession and every desire of earth. If we take still more exactly as parallel to , without making it dependent upon : and possessing Thee I have no desire upon the earth, then the sense remains essentially the same; but if we allow to be governed by in accordance with the general usage of the language, we arrive at this meaning by the most natural way. Heaven and earth, together with angels and men, afford him no satisfaction – his only friend, his sole desire and love, is God. The love for God which David expresses in Psa 16:2 in the brief utterance, “Thou art my Lord, Thou art my highest good,” is here expanded with incomparable mystical profoundness and beauty. Luther’s version shows his master-hand. The church follows it in its “Herzlich lieb hab’ ich dich” when it sings –
“The whole wide world delights me not,
For heaven and earth, Lord, care I not,
If I may but have Thee;”
and following it, goes on in perfect harmony with the text of our Psalm –
“Yea, though my heart be like to break,
Thou art my trust that nought can shake;”
(Note: Miss Winkworth’s translation.)
or with Paul Gerhard, [in his Passion-hymn “ Ein Lmmlein geht und trgt die Schuld der Welt und ihrer Kinder ,”
“Light of my heart, that shalt Thou be;
And when my heart in pieces breaks,
Thou shalt my heart remain.”
For the hypothetical perfect expresses something in spite of which he upon whom it may come calls God his God: licet defecerit . Though his outward and inward man perish, nevertheless God remains ever the rock of his heart as the firm ground upon which he, with his ego, remains standing when everything else totters; He remains his portion, i.e., the possession that cannot be taken from him, if he loses all, even his spirit-life pertaining to the body, – and God remains to him this portion , he survives with the life which he has in God the death of the old life. The poet supposes an extreme case, – one, that is, it is true, impossible, but yet conceivable, – that his outward and inward being should sink away; even then with the merus actus of his ego he will continue to cling to God. In the midst of the natural life of perishableness and of sin, a new, individual life which is resigned to God has begun within him, and in this he has the pledge that he cannot perish, so truly as God, with whom it is closely united, cannot perish. It is just this that is also the nerve of the proof of the resurrection of the dead which Jesus advances in opposition to the Sadducees (Mat 22:32).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
23 Nevertheless I was continually with thee. (205) Here the Psalmist declares, in a different sense, that he was with God. He gives him thanks for having kept him from utterly falling, when he was in so great danger of being precipitated into destruction. The greatness of the favor to which he adverts is the more strikingly manifested from the confession which he made a little before, that he was bereft of judgment, and, as it were, a brute beast; for he richly deserved to be cast off by God, when he dared to murmur against him. Men are said to be with God in two ways; either, first, in respect of apprehension and thought, when they are persuaded that they live in his presence, are governed by his hand, and sustained by his power; or, secondly, when God, unperceived by them, puts upon them a bridle, by which, when they go astray, he secretly restrains them, and prevents them from totally apostatising from him. When a man therefore imagines that God exercises no care about him, he is not with God, as to his own feeling or apprehension; but still that man, if he is not forsaken, abides with God, inasmuch as God’s secret or hidden grace continues with him. In short, God is always near his chosen ones; for although they sometimes turn their backs upon him, he nevertheless has always his fatherly eye turned towards them. When the Psalmist speaks of God as holding him by the right hand, he means that he was, by the wonderful power of God, drawn back from that deep gulf into which the reprobate cast themselves. He then ascribes it wholly to the grace of God that he was enabled to restrain himself from breaking forth into open blasphemies, and from hardening himself in error, and that he was also brought to condemn himself of foolishness; — this he ascribes wholly to the grace of God, who stretched out his hand to hold him up, and prevent him from a fall which would have involved him in destruction. From this we see how precious our salvation is in the sight of God; for when we wander far from him, he yet continues to look upon us with a watchful eye, and to stretch forth his hand to bring us to himself. We must indeed beware of perverting this doctrine by making it a pretext for slothfulness; but experience nevertheless teaches us, that when we are sunk in drowsiness and insensibility, God exercises a care about us, and that even when we are fugitives and wanderers from him, he is still near us. The force of the metaphor contained in the language, which represents God as holding us by the right hand, is to be particularly noticed; for there is no temptation, let it be never so slight, which would not easily overthrow us, were we not upheld and sustained by the power of God. The reason then why we do not succumb, even in the severest conflicts, is nothing else than because we receive the aid of the Holy Spirit. He does not indeed always put forth his power in us in an evident and striking manner, (for he often perfects it in our weakness;) but it is enough that he succours us, although we may be ignorant and unconscious of it, that he upholds us when we stumble, and even lifts us up when we have fallen.
(205) “Notwithstanding these foolish thoughts, I am under the care of thy good providence.” — Patrick.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
23. Nevertheless I am continually with thee Notwithstanding my unreasonable and even brutish conduct, yet “all this while I have been particularly considered and cared for, and in a special and eminent manner supported, by thee.” Hammond. The expression, “I am continually with thee,” as Hengstenberg says, “is not self praise, but praise of the divine compassion and faithfulness in keeping him,” as the second hemistich explains.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
DISCOURSE: 625
THE CHRISTIANS EXPERIENCE AND HOPES
Psa 73:23-24. I am continually with thee: Thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.
THERE are in the Holy Scriptures many expressions which are difficult to be reconciled with each other. For instance, the Psalmist, in the very words before my text, says, So foolish was I and ignorant, I was as a beast before thee. Yet behold, in the text itself, he speaks as one enjoying the sublimest communion with his God, and possessing a most confident expectation of his favour. Now, how is this to be explained? The fact is, that he had been sorely tempted to envy the ungodly world, when he saw how prosperous they were, in comparison of many of Gods most faithful servants. But when he reflected on the end that awaited them, he condemned his former thoughts, as betraying rather the ignorance of a beast than the judgment of a real saint: and then he congratulated himself as elevated far above the most prosperous of ungodly men, in that, whatever he might want in this world, he possessed God himself for his friend, his counsellor, his everlasting portion.
I shall take occasion from these words to consider the saint in,
I.
His present experience
Here we see, the saint with his God, in a way of humble dependence; and his God with him, in a way of effectual support.
1.
The saint with his God
[Numberless are the difficulties with which the Christian is encompassed, whilst yet in himself he has not power to surmount the smallest of them. In fact, he has to wrestle not only with flesh and blood, but with all the principalities and powers of hell itself. What then shall he do? How shall he entertain a hope of a successful issue? He would sit down in utter despair, out that he remembers he has with him, at all times, a Friend, who is almighty, and all-sufficient for him. He has been taught to look unto God as his Father in Christ Jesus: he has been assured, that, since he has fled to Christ for refuge, and sought for reconciliation with God through Him, he is entitled to regard God as a friend, and to commit into his hands his every concern. Hence he becomes composed, in the midst of all his trials; and comforts himself with the reflection, I am continually with my God: I see him ever present with me: confiding in him, I have no fear: it is a small matter to me what confederacies there may be against me: having him at hand, I need no other help: I therefore repose all my confidence on him, and cast all my care on him.]
2.
His God with him
[To enter fully into this idea; conceive of a child passing over rocks where there is scarcely room for his feet; and where the path is so slippery, that it is scarcely possible for him to stand; and where there are precipices on every hand so steep and tremendous, that a single false step must of necessity cause him to be dashed in pieces. Conceive a father guiding his beloved child in all this way; holding him by his right hand, that he may not fall; and raising him up, if at any time he have fallen; and preserving him from all the dangers to which he is exposed. Here you see our God with the soul who trusts in him. Not for a moment does he leave the trembling saint: and it is altogether in consequence of this effectual help that any saint in the universe is enabled to pursue his way. Hence every child of God ascribes his safety to him who has thus upheld him; and with unfeigned gratitude exclaims, My foot standeth fast: in the congregation will I bless the Lord [Note: Psa 26:12.].]
In unison with his present experience, are,
II.
His future prospects
Knowing in whom he has believed, he expects
1.
Guidance in all his way
[In addition to all the difficulties of his journey, he knows not which way he is to pursue. He has a general notion of his path: but an infinite variety of circumstances occur from time to time, to render it difficult to discern which is the way in which it will be best and safest for him to proceed. He is aware that one single step may lead to consequences inconceivably important. Joseph was sent to visit his brethren. The step was good: but oh! to what a diversity of trials did it lead [Note: Gen 37:14.]! David also was sent to visit his brethren: hero too the step was good; and from it resulted the victory over Goliath, and the deliverance of Israel from their oppressors [Note: 1Sa 17:20.]. In the consciousness that God alone can guide him, he asks counsel of the Lord every step he takes: and God vouchsafes to guide his feet into the way of peace. There are many different means which God is pleased to make use of for the direction of his people: sometimes he guides by his word; sometimes by his Spirit; sometimes by his providence, opening or shutting a door, as is pleasing in his sight: diversifying these as he sees occasion, he accomplishes his gracious ends; just as, in the days of old, he led his people Israel through the trackless wilderness, till they came in safety to the Promised Land.
The entire process may be seen, as it were, realized in actual life. Behold the saints desire of counsel, as expressed in the prayers of David [Note: Psa 143:4-8.] and mark the accomplishment of that desire in the consolations and encouragements administered to the waiting soul [Note: Isa 41:10-15.] And this is exactly what every believing soul is warranted to expect: I will instruct thee, and teach thee in the way thou shall go: I will guide thee with mine eye [Note: Psa 32:8.].]
2.
Glory at the end
[Never will God cease from his offices of love, till he has completed all his gracious purposes, and fulfilled the utmost desires of those who wait upon him. Glory is that to which every soul looks forward, as the consummation of its bliss: that is the joy that is set before us, the prize of our high calling, the recompence of our reward; and God will not suffer his people to come short of it. He will fulfil in them all the good pleasure of his goodness, till the work which has been begun in grace is consummated in glory. Of this St. Paul was confident [Note: Php 1:6.]; and in the prospect of it every believing soul may rejoice, even as if he were already in possession of the full result [Note: Rom 8:33-39.] ]
See, then, the Christians life exhibited before you.
It is,
1.
An arduous life
[The people of the world imagine it an easy thing to get to heaven: but the real saint finds it far otherwise. They glide down the stream in a way of carnal gratification: but he has to go against the stream of corrupt nature, and to stem the tide of a voluptuous world. Were it so easy a matter to serve the Lord, it would never have been characterized by terms which convey so different an idea. The wrestler, the racer, the warrior, find that they have enough to do, in order to obtain a successful issue to their exertions.]
2.
An anxious life
[St. Paul says, I would have you without carefulness. But our Lord says, Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation. Unbelieving anxiety is doubtless to be put away: but watchfulness and holy fear are never to be intermitted one single moment. St. Peter knew, by bitter experience, how needful that caution was, Be sober, be vigilant; because your Adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about, seeking whom he may devour. It would ill become a man on the borders of eternity to indulge a careless frame of mind. The most eminent saint in the universe should take heed lest he fall, and should walk in the fear of the Lord all the day long.]
3.
A happy life
[It should seem as if anxiety were inconsistent with happiness. And it would be so, if we knew not where to look for the grace that is needful for us. But the very trials which drive us to our God for help, are the means of drawing forth the succours which God has promised, and of bringing God himself into closer union with us. In truth, it is from such discoveries of the divine character, and such communications of the heavenly grace, that the Believer derives his sublimest pleasures: and he is then most truly happy, when his fellowship is most intimate with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ [Note: 1Jn 1:3.].]
4.
A glorious life
[To the eye of sense, a Believer is only like a common man, and his walk like that of other men: but to the eye of faith it is not so. A Believer walks with God: his soul is brought into closest union with the Deity. What has been said of a father and a son, does but very faintly convey what actually passes between God and him. There is, on the one part, the entire dependence of his soul on God; and, on the other part, the tender care of a father exercised towards him in every step he takes. Throughout the whole of his life is this continued, till the period has arrived for his being invested with all the glory and felicity of heaven. And is not this a glorious life; ordered as it is by the Father; prepared by the Son; effected by the Holy Spirit; begun in grace; consummated in glory? Think what ye will, this is a glorious life indeed; a life which even an angel might affect; and which is, in some respects, more glorious than that of angels, inasmuch as it is the effect of Redeeming Love, and will issue in louder songs of praise and thanksgiving, than the angels, who never experienced such trials, will ever be able to sing.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
It were a pity to separate these verses, and the devout and happy frame which appears through the whole of them. Reader! what a thought is that one, Nevertheless I am continually with, thee! An union with Christ gives this everlasting abiding with him, and blessedness in him. It is impossible to be otherwise than happy while Jesus Christ is our portion. All grace is secure from this principle; for while the Head exists, the members must exist no less. Because I live ye shall live also; Joh 14:19 . Heaven itself, but for Jesus and the constant flow of righteousness and glory in him, would cease to be heaven. Our souls could be no longer happy or righteous but as those supplies flow into our souls and keep them alive in him. So that the everlasting need of Christ, as the Head of his church here below, to supply grace, is evident from hence; and the everlasting need of Christ, as the head of his church in glory, must be the same also; and hence, Reader, think how eternally and unchangeably precious must Jesus be, both for earth and heaven, to become the perennial and overflowing fountain of life, and light, and peace, and happiness, and glory, to his whole church, in time and to all eternity. Oh! precious, precious Jesus, do thou make me to see that I am continually with thee, and that thou art holding me by thy right hand.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 73:23 Nevertheless I [am] continually with thee: thou hast holden [me] by my right hand.
Ver. 23. Nevertheless I am continually with thee ] Or, yet I was always with thee, sc. when at worst. Infirmities discard us not. The marriage knot is not dissolved by every falling out; nor the league between princes broken by the wrongs done by pirates.
Thou hast holden me by my right hand
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Nevertheless I. Note the emphasis on Pronoun, according to the Structure, (Psa 73:23) and (Psa 73:28), “As for me, I”.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 73:23-26
Psa 73:23-26
“Nevertheless, I am continually with thee:
Thou hast holden my right hand.
Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel,
And afterward receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but thee?
And there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee.
My flesh and my heart faileth;
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
What a marvelous affirmation of faith in God is made here. The answer to all of earth’s inequities, maladjustments, injustices, and wretchedness is not to be expected in this life. Over against all of the misfortunes and sorrows of the redeemed there is written the glorious words of the Son of God, “Great is your reward in heaven.”
“And afterward receive me to glory”! (Psa 73:24). Here is another glorious Old Testament text promising the resurrection of the dead and the entry of the saints of God into everlasting blessedness. As an apostle has stated it:
“For our light affliction, which is for the moment, worketh for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2Co 4:17-18).
“Whom have I in heaven but thee” (Psa 73:25). These beautiful words were utilized by Fanny J. Crosby:
“Thou the spring of all my comfort,
More than life to me.
Whom have I on earth beside thee,
Whom in heav’n but thee.”
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 73:23. God did not penalize David because of his anxiety, he continued to hold him under divine protection.
Psa 73:24. Counsel means wisdom and instruction. By that David was guided while in the activities of this life. Since he was willing to take such guidance he expected finally to be received in the Glory World. This is another passage that shows that people in Old Testament times believed in aonther life after death in this world.
Psa 73:25. A familiar song, “Pass Me Not 0 Gentle Saviour,” includes this verse in its wording. When heaven is used in contrast with earth it means the 3rd heaven, the place where God dwells personally.
Psa 73:26. David meant that both his outer and inner beings would fail were if not for the help of God.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Nevertheless: Psa 16:8, Psa 23:4, Psa 139:1-12, Psa 139:18, Gen 17:1, Mat 1:23, Mat 28:20, Heb 13:5
thou hast: Psa 37:17, Psa 37:24, Psa 63:8, Isa 41:10, Isa 41:13, Isa 42:1
Reciprocal: Psa 41:12 – settest Psa 109:31 – For he Psa 119:117 – Hold Psa 139:10 – General Isa 45:1 – whose Jer 31:32 – in the Dan 6:20 – servest Act 2:25 – for 2Co 5:8 – present
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 73:23. Nevertheless Notwithstanding all my temptations, and my gross folly in yielding to them; I am continually with thee In thy favour and under thy care. Although I gave thee just cause to cast me off, yet thou didst continue thy gracious presence with me, and kindness to me. Thou hast holden me by thy right hand Hast upheld me, that my faith might not fail, and I might not be overthrown by this, or any other temptation. The remainder of the Psalm contains the most dutiful and affectionate expressions of a mind perfectly at ease, and reposing itself with comfortable assurance on the loving-kindness of the Lord, of which it had thus experienced a fresh instance in its support under the late temptation, and complete victory over it. Horne.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
73:23 Nevertheless I [am] continually {m} with thee: thou hast holden [me] by my right hand.
(m) By faith I was assured that your providence always watched over me to preserve me.