1. The Believer: Standing on What He Knows (v. 1). The French mystic Madame Guyon wrote, “In the commencement of the spiritual life, our hardest task is to bear with our neighbor; in its progress, with ourselves; and in the end, with God.” Asaph’s problems were with God. Asaph affirmed “God is,” so he was not an atheist or an agnostic, and he was certain that the God he worshipped was good. Furthermore, he knew that the Lord had made a covenant with Israel that promised blessings if the people obeyed Him (Lev. 26; Deut. 28–30). The phrase “a clean [pure] heart” means, not sinlessness, but total commitment to the Lord, the opposite of verse 27. (See 24:4; Matt. 5:8.) But it was these foundational beliefs he stated that created the problem for him, because unbelievers don’t face problems of this sort. If the Lord was good and kept His covenant promises, why were His people suffering and the godless prospering? This first verse marked both the beginning and the end of his meditations. He came full circle. Note that he used “surely” or “truly” in verses 1, 13, and 18 and that “heart” is used six times in the psalm (vv. 1, 7, 13, 21, 26). When pondering the mysteries of life, hold on to what you know for sure, and never doubt in the darkness what God has taught you in the light.