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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 73:1-14

This psalm begins somewhat abruptly: Yet God is good to Israel (so the margin reads it); he had been thinking of the prosperity of the wicked; while he was thus musing the fire burned, and at last he spoke by way of check to himself for what he had been thinking of. ?However it be, yet God is good.? Though wicked people receive many of the gifts of his providential bounty, yet we must own that he is, in a peculiar manner, good to Israel; they have favours from him which others have not. The... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 73:13

Verily, I have cleansed my heart in vain ,.... Which supposes that his heart had been unclean, as every man's is, and which appears by what is in it, and by what comes out of it; that it was now cleansed, not in an absolute and legal sense, as if it was wholly free from sin, for this no man can say; but in an evangelical sense, being purified by faith in the blood of Christ; that he had himself some concern in the cleansing of his heart, which seems to be contrary to Proverbs 20:9 and... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 73:13

I have cleansed my heart in vain - It is no advantage to us to worship the true God, to walk according to the law of righteousness, and keep the ordinances of the Most High. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 73:1-28

Metrically, the psalm seems to fall into eight stanzas; the first and last of two verses each, the remaining six each of four verses. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 73:1-28

The grievous conflict of the flesh and the Spirit, and the glorious conquest of the Spirit at the last. I. THE BEGINNING OF THE PSALM . In this he ingeniously pointeth at those rocks against which he was like to have split his soul. II. THE MIDDLE OF THE PSALM . In this he candidly confesseth his ignorance and folly to have been the chiefest foundation of his fault. III. THE END OF THE PSALM . In this he gratefully kisseth that hand which led him out... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 73:1-28

Asaph's trial and deliverance. Asaph was greatly tempted, as this psalm plainly shows. It does not matter whether he speaks of himself or, as is likely, of some other servant of God. Consider— I. HIS TEMPTATION . 1 . It was a very terrible one. (See Psalms 73:2 , "My feet were almost gone," etc.) How honest the Bible is! It tells the whole truth about men, and good men, too. It shows them tempted, and all but overcome. 2 . It arose from his seeing " the prosperity of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 73:1-28

The solution of a great problem. The question here is—Why should good men suffer, and bad men prosper, when the Law had said that God was a righteous Judge, meting out to men in this world the due recompense of their deeds? The course of things should perfectly reflect the righteousness of God. The psalmist struggles for a solution of this problem. The first verse contains the conclusion he had arrived at. I. HIS DANGER . Expressed in the second, thirteenth, and twenty-second... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 73:13

Verily, I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency. Such was the psalmist's first instinctive feeling, when he noticed the prosperity of the wicked. The Prayer book Version inserts, between this verse and the last, the words, "and I said;" which is correct, though somewhat free, exegesis. Compare with the expression, "I have washed my hands in innocency," Job's remarkable words, "If I wash myself with snow, and make my hands never so clean" ( Job 9:30 ). read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 73:13

Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain - That is, There is no advantage in all my efforts to become pure and holy. It does not assist me in obtaining the favor of God; and it would be just as well to live a sinful life - to indulge in the pleasures of sense - to make the world my portion. Nothing is to be gained by all my painful efforts at self-discipline; by all my endeavors to become righteous. It would have been as well for me - or better - if I had lived a life of sin like other people.... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Psalms 73:13-14

Psalms 73:13-14. Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, &c. Hence I have been tempted to think, that religion is a vain and unprofitable thing; that “all my faith, my charity, and my devotion; all my watching and fastings, in short, all the labour and pains I have taken in the way of goodness, have been altogether vain and fruitless; since, while the rebellious enemies of God enjoy the world and themselves at pleasure, I, who continue his servant, am in perpetual tribulation and... read more

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