Ps. 73.21-22 (beast ravings)

When my heart / was as sour as vinegar
and my insides / were torn up
I was senseless / and ignorant;
I was a brute beast / before you. 

These verses largely recapitulate the experience of the psalmist prior to his entrance of the Temple. Importantly, he begins where the drama of the psalm has played out: the heart. The opening described God’s goodness to those in Israel who are “pure in heart” (vs. 1). By contrast, the wicked have “conceit” in their hearts (vs. 7). The righteous, who must endure the seeming blessed life of the wicked experience the “clean heart” as “nothing”. (vs. 13). The attempt to “understand” and “comprehend” this reality becomes, for them, a “torment” (vs. 16). However, once the “clean heart” has entered the Temple, everything is revealed; the righteous ‘comprehend’ the destiny of the wicked. (vs. 17). It is the experience of the heart, prior to it entering the presence of God, that is the focus of these verses. It is portrayed in visceral ways—sour as vinegar; insides are “torn up”. This is the “torment” and “overwhelming” plague and punishment of verses 13-16. Further, the need to resolve, to “comprehend”, this reality is here, as there, the question goes unresolved: “I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.” Outside the Temple, his ability to understand the wicked rises no higher than that of an animal. I think, too, this summary of his experience is also related to another portion of the psalm—the swilling of the water of the wicked in verses 10-11. There, we saw that the righteous “turned”, then “drank” and then, after appropriating the wicked, they speak horrendous and arrogant words directly aimed at mocking God. I do not think the psalmist partook of these ‘drinks’. However, he was, by admission, envious of the wicked and coveted their prosperity (vs. 3). Within the context he “turned” to them, even if he did not drink. The point is that this ‘turning’ put the psalmist in a twilight of comprehension. It began in him a process leading to torment and a brutish existence “before God”. When the heart ‘turns’ it begins to lose its ability to perceive and comprehend the reality that the Temple was established to solidify. The wicked grow in their presence, and in their oppressive weight. As we saw, the wicked eclipse the glory of God as dwelling in the Temple. When that glory is eclipsed, man falls lower than his status as human and devolves to the position of a brute animal before God. Any attempt to comprehend the wicked in this state of ‘turning’ will not be satisfied but will only lead to an ever-growing torment. More importantly, perhaps, is the fact that the psalmist can now, after entering the Temple, accurately perceive his former state: he can pronounce judgment on himself saying, in effect, that he was unable to perceive what was obvious (he was “senseless” and “ignorant”). This places the entire first section of the psalm under judgment (and a question mark). They were the ravings of a beast.