The Big Picture

Psalm 73:7-14

7These fat cats have everything

their hearts could ever wish for!

8They scoff and speak only evil;

in their pride they seek to crush others.

9They boast against the very heavens,

and their words strut throughout the earth.

10And so the people are dismayed and confused,

drinking in all their words.

11“Does God realize what is going on?” they ask.

“Is the Most High even aware of what is happening?”

12Look at these arrogant people—

enjoying a life of ease while their riches multiply.

13Was it for nothing that I kept my heart pure

and kept myself from doing wrong?

14All I get is trouble all day long;

every morning brings me pain.

You may have heard the legend that Nero “fiddled” while Rome burned. The truth is that Rome had a terrible fire in the summer of A.D. 64. We don’t know whether Emperor Nero was practicing his violin at the time, but he took advantage of the disaster to claim the charred land and build himself a new palace. He also blamed the Christians for the fire, launching a wave of persecution that resulted in the deaths of Peter, Paul, and many others.

Nero was the kind of “fat cat” that Psalm 73 complains about. No matter how you look at it, it’s just plain wrong that a moral degenerate like Nero would be given the power to kill two saints like Peter and Paul. Didn’t God see what was going on?

And if wicked emperors win out over holy apostles, why bother to be holy? Well, don’t overlook the big picture. God sees everything, even though we often don’t.

When Jesus predicted Peter’s death, he said it would “glorify God” (John 21:19). Paul said, “To me, living is for Christ, and dying is even better” (Philippians 1:21). Nero’s victory was temporary. It may seem as if the wicked triumph, but God and his people will be the true winners in the end.

Through the night of doubt and sorrow,

Onward goes the pilgrim band,

Singing songs of expectation,

Marching to the Promised Land.

BERNHARDT SEVERIN INGEMANN

A Word on Words

“Fat cats” in verse 7 is not just a slangy paraphrase. The Hebrew text literally says, “Their eyes bulge with fat.”

Notable Quotable

“The way to heaven is an afflicted way, a perplexed, persecuted way. . . . Queen Elizabeth is said to have swum to the crown through a sea of sorrows.”

JOHN TRAPP