Verses 27-28
These verses contrast with 1-3. Those who do not follow God faithfully will suffer eventually. However, those who walk in close fellowship with Him will experience His blessing in the end. Therefore Asaph closed this "intricately crafted speech" [Note: Brueggemann, p. 121.] by reaffirming his commitment to stay close to God. This would benefit himself and others with whom he would share his testimony.
"The problem of the suffering of the righteous has no clear resolution, but the ’pain’ is relieved by the experience of God’s living presence." [Note: VanGemeren, p. 476.]
What Asaph wrote about the wicked applies to unbelievers and to believers who do not follow God faithfully. Many believers in Asaph’s day, and in ours, choose to live for the present rather than for the future (contrast Jacob and Esau). We, who have committed to following God faithfully and putting His priorities before our own preferences, face the same temptation Asaph described here. This psalmist’s transparency will help us adjust our attitude when we, too, are tempted to become bitter because we do not have many of the things unbelievers and compromising Christians enjoy materially.
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