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Psalm 73:23
Nevertheless, I am continually with you. You have held my right hand.
21For my soul was grieved. I was embittered in my heart.
22I was so senseless and ignorant. I was a brute beast before you.
23Nevertheless, I am continually with you. You have held my right hand.
24You will guide me with your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.
25Whom do I have in heaven? There is no one on earth whom I desire besides you.
Notice
“Nevertheless” marks the surprise of this confession: after naming his bitterness and ignorance, the speaker finds that God has kept hold of his hand.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
How does “Nevertheless” change your reading after the speaker’s admission of bitterness and ignorance?
Write on thisWhat does the picture of God holding your right hand help you express about trust?
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Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Isaiah 41:13For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I will help you.’Both passages describe God holding someone’s right hand, with Isaiah adding an explicit promise of help.
Psalm 16:8I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.Both speak of ongoing closeness to God and use the right hand to describe his supporting presence.
Psalm 139:10even there your hand will lead me, and your right hand will hold me.Both describe being held by God’s hand, while Psalm 139 also speaks of his hand leading.
Psalm 63:8Both join closeness to God with the assurance that his hand holds the speaker.
Matthew 28:20teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.Both speak of enduring presence: the psalmist remains with God, and Jesus promises to remain with his disciples.
Hebrews 13:5Be free from the love of money, content with such things as you have, for he has said, “I will in no way leave you, neither will I in any way forsake you.”Both express assurance of God’s continued presence, which Hebrews connects with freedom from the love of money.
Psalm 23:4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.Both address God as present with the speaker, with Psalm 23 naming that presence amid the threat of death.
Matthew 1:23“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall give birth to a son. They shall call his name Immanuel,” which is, being interpreted, “God with us.”Both speak of God’s presence with people, expressed in Matthew through the meaning of the name Immanuel.
Isaiah 41:10Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the …Both connect God’s presence with his sustaining hand, while Isaiah adds commands against fear and dismay.
Isaiah 45:1The LORD says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held to subdue nations before him and strip kings of their armor, to open the doors before …Both describe God holding someone’s right hand, though Isaiah speaks of Cyrus and his conquest of nations.
Isaiah 42:1“Behold, my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights: I have put my Spirit on him. He will bring justice to the nations.Both portray God sustaining a person: he holds the psalmist’s hand and upholds the servant named in Isaiah.
Genesis 17:1When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty. Walk before me and be blameless.Both concern life before God: the psalm speaks of continued presence, while Abram is commanded to walk before God.
Where this verse fits
Feeling distant from God. doubt. guilt and confession.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
The speaker can admit how little he understood and still speak of closeness to God. His ignorance has not made God let go of his hand.
Now put it in your words.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).