“So foolish was I, and ignorant; I was as a beast before Thee.” — Psalm 73:22
Remember this is the confession of the man after God’s own heart; and in telling us his inner life, he writes, “So foolish was I, and ignorant.” The word “foolish,” here, means more than it signifies in ordinary language. David, in a former verse of the Psalm, writes, “I was envious at the foolish when I saw the prosperity of the wicked,” which shows that the folly he intended had sin in it. He puts himself down as being thus “foolish,” and adds a word which is to give intensity to it; “so foolish was I.” How foolish he could not tell. It was a sinful folly, a folly which was not to be excused by frailty, but to be condemned because of its perverseness and wilful ignorance, for he had been envious of the present prosperity of the ungodly, forgetful of the…
dreadful end awaiting all such. And are we betterthan David that we should call ourselves wise! Do we profess that wehave attained perfection, or to have been so chastened that the rod hastaken all our wilfulness out of us? Ah, this were pride indeed! If Davidwas foolish, how foolish should we be in our own esteem if we could butsee ourselves! Look back, believer: think of your doubting God when Hehas been so faithful to you — think of your foolish outcry of “Not so, myFather,” when He crossed His hands in affliction to give you the largerblessing; think of the many times when you have read His providences inthe dark, misinterpreted His dispensations, and groaned out, “All thesethings are against me,” when they are all working together for your good!Think how often you have chosen sin because of its pleasure, whenindeed, that pleasure was a root of bitterness to you! Surely if we knowour own heart we must plead guilty to the indictment of a sinful folly; andconscious of this “foolishness,” we must make David’s consequent resolveour own — “Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel.”
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Producer: Todd Adkins
Voice Artist: Ian Cullen