Psalm 73 has a detailed description of pride, which is foul to God: "They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression....Therefore the people turn and praise them, and find no fault in them. And they say, 'How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?' Such are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches."
Like today's corrupt politicians and celebrities, the evildoers the psalmist describes seem to suffer no hardships. They are rich and admired despite their evil deeds. Some are intimidated by the lofty words and arrogant demeanor of these wicked people, so they join them in mockery of God.
Asaph is obviously distressed by the unfairness of the situation, and offended by those people who have no reverential fear of God whatsoever. The psalmist seems to desire swift justice to fall upon them, and he might be a bit frustrated with God for allowing their behavior to continue without apparent consequence. He laments the tendency of arrogant scoffers and those who take advantage of others to prosper in the world, and he has trouble reconciling what he sees with faith in a just God.
However, by envying the wicked, the psalmist admits he is being foolish and failing to trust God's plan. His feet "had almost stumbled," a metaphor implying that his faith is shaken by seeing evil people flourish. The end of Psalm 73 returns to the uplifting tone of the opening line, which contains a statement about God's holy nature. Rather than abandoning God and joining the scoffers, the psalmist returns to God's presence, where he finds reassurance:
"But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end. Truly You set them in slippery places; You make them fall into ruin."
When the psalmist stops focusing on the evildoers and starts focusing on God instead, he realizes their prosperity lasts only a short while and will come to a destructive end. He perceives this truth, implying that he gained the insight from God as a result of prayer and reflection -- a subtle revelation, rather than hearing the voice of God externally. "Slippery places" brings to mind the precariousness of walking on a slick surface such as ice, and the violently rapid fall that can suddenly result from a single misstep.
Only by focusing on God instead of the problem does the psalmist realize this truth. Remembering God's justice lifts his spirit, so the psalm ends with an uplifting promise that God will make everything fair in due time. This, of course, also applies to contemporary arrogant, wicked people and scoffers, along with cowards who are influenced by them.
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