Psalm 73:24-26 With Your counsel You will guide me, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Psalm 73 begins with the writer’s statements of confidence found in God and the blessings that come from God. Following this, we read a description of the Psalmist’s conflict and temptations. The Psalmist’s conclusion is to confess his own struggles and turn towards God’s grace, God’s guidance, and the focus of God’s glory.
Today we’ll begin to look at the truths found in verses 24 through 26.
God will guide His children.
We have a certain hope for our future.
The things of earth are nothing compared to riches in heaven.
Our flesh and heart may [will] fail.
God is our strength.
God is our inheritance forever.
Let’s look at the first two truths in verse 24:
God will guide His children, and
There is hope for our future.
With Your counsel You will guide me. God guiding us means He leads us, He governs us, and even makes our paths straight. Do you remember playing ‘follow the leader’ when you were a kid? The idea of this simple game was to first choose a leader, then line up and follow and repeat the leader’s words and actions as closely as possible. Sometimes it was easy and other times, it was difficult to perform and remember the exact patterns. Psalm 73:24 tells us it is God’s counsel – His plan, His advice, and His purpose – which guides us.
In order to follow God we must be familiar with His instructions to us. In other words, what does His word say? What are His commands? God’s word is His written testimony to the world of who He is, what He has done, and what He will do. God’s word gives us the account of His creation of the world, His love for mankind, and His plan for the future. In it, He tells us how we can live in obedience to Him. If we do not keep our eyes and focus on God’s truths then we will have trouble knowing what He wants us to do.
Think! Have you ever been lost? How did you feel? Before we had map programs on our phones, our maps were printed on paper. We used to pick them up at the local auto club, or you could purchase a book of maps called a Thomas Guide, at a convenience store. These maps were good for the most part but because they had to be updated, but it took time to print new editions, roads and addresses were frequently missing. Real time maps have improved but they also are not perfect! I am certain each of you has been in a vehicle driving around in circles, trying to find a particular street or address!
Here's another example of being lost. When my first son was young, he had the habit of wandering off in a store. I once watched him walk away from me, and I let him go (with my eyes on him, of course), in order to teach him to stay close. When he realized he was lost, he became terribly upset; I then went to his rescue, and he never wandered again! All of us become a bit rattled when we become lost! None of us likes that feeling of uncertainty. There is good news – we do not need to wander around in this world feeling lost, with no purpose. We do not need to live in confusion wondering why we are here.
Thankfully, God’s children have His promise of guidance through the truths in His word and the prompting of His Holy Spirit. If your complete trust is placed in Jesus, you have a personal guide and a written manual of instructions for your life! No need to wonder what this is all about, or what we are to do next. We are here to glorify the One who created us and sustains us.
Psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.
Psalm 48:14 For such is God, our God forever and ever; He will guide us until death.
Isaiah 58:11 "And the LORD will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.
“Thou shalt guide me: as thou hast kept me hitherto in all my trials, so I am assured thou wilt lead me still into right paths, and keep me from wandering or straying from thee, or falling into mischief. … With thy counsel; partly, by thy gracious providence, executing thy purpose of mercy to me, and watching over me; partly, by thy word, which thou wilt open mine eyes to understand, as Psalm 119:18 Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.; and principally, by thy Holy Spirit, sanctifying and directing me in the whole course of my life.” Matthew Poole’s Commentary.
If you are a follower of Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you will be able to look back at your life and see His hand guiding you. It is His work in us which allows us to recognize and avoid snares and temptations that may lead us into sin. Looking back to the beginning of this Psalm, we can see that the writer struggled with choosing his own way instead of following God. In his conclusion of this Psalm, he recognizes His trust and understanding must be put solely in the hands of God, following God’s direction alone.
Psalm 143:8,10 Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning; for I trust in You; teach me the way in which I should walk; for to You I lift up my soul. … Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
“Can we have a better guide? When a guide has been well recommended to us by those who have tried him, it is our wisdom to place ourselves unreservedly in his hands; and if he say our way lies to the right, it would show our folly to say we were determined to go to the left”. John Gadsby.
Think! Many of us have taken a tour at one time or another. Perhaps you have had a guided tour of a museum, or were at a famous landmark, or even in a foreign land. Typically, you pay a sum of money to be led through an area and listen to information given by your guide. Sometimes, the guides are truly knowledgeable and helpful and at other times, we may be disappointed with their lack of information. God is perfect in His guidance; we can place our complete trust in Him.
“His actual help is necessary to direct, quicken, strengthen, protect and defend us. In our way to heaven, we need not only a rule and path, but a guide. The rule is the law of God; but the guide is the Spirit of God”. Thomas Manton.
God will guide His children.
We have a certain hope for our future. Read the second half of Psalm 73:24, And afterward receive me to glory.
This life on earth is only the beginning of our purpose which is to glorify God in heaven for eternity. Here, we struggle with difficulty all around us, one day we will be received into heaven. As God’s child, you have a promise for your future. The certainty of being in heaven with Jesus, propels us to move forward through life following His guidance.
“Afterward. After all our toil in labour and duty, after all our crosses and afflictions, after all our doubts and fears that we should never receive it; after all the hiding of his face, and clouds and darkness that have passed over us; and after all our battles and fightings for it, oh, then how seasonably will the reception of this reward come in: Thou wilt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. O blessed afterwards; when all your work is done, when all your doubts and fears are over, and when all your battles are fought; then, O then, ye shall receive the reward”. John Spalding.
The Psalmist had the assurance of being in God’s presence forever. This understanding was a powerful tool in his determination to keep on keeping on even in the midst of struggle. We can easily see that sometimes those who follow evil seem to prosper, and those who seek to do good seem to suffer. The Psalmist was disturbed with the prosperity of the wicked around him; he was concerned to see that they seemed to have an abundance of good things, even in their pride and sin. Yet, he was reminded of God’s perfect knowledge and power and chose to set his sights on God’s word. In Psalm 73:23, the verse preceding the one we are studying, it says, “Nevertheless I am continually with You; You have taken hold of my right hand”. So even though it seems that some people are prospering in their sin, we need to remember that our true reward is in Heaven, and we need to live accordingly. Never mind the state of others, instead be mindful of what you are to do as God’s child and the future He has promised.
Do you have the same assurance as the Psalmist? Are you able to claim, “With Your counsel You will guide me, and afterward receive me to glory”?
One commentary puts it this way, “All doubts are silenced in confidence of divine guidance and future glory”. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown.
1Corinthians 13:12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.
We are unable to fully understand God’s thoughts and ways. What we do know is that God is perfectly loving and just in all things.
“And afterward. "Afterward!" Blessed word. We can cheerfully put up with the present, when we foresee the future. What is around us just now is of small consequence, compared with afterward.” Treasury of David.
John 14:3 "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
2Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
1Peter 1:3-9 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.
Psalm 73:24 With Your counsel You will guide me, and afterward receive me to glory.
God will guide His children; we have a certain hope for our future. All praise, glory, and honor to the One who loves us far beyond anything we might imagine.
