Psalm 73
Notes
Transcript
Background to the Psalms:
-I sometimes struggle to connect with the Psalms
-My favorite books of the Bible are John and Jonah, both of which are narrative for the most part
-I’m not a poetry guy, so the Psalms are a little harder for me
-But I am seeking to grow in my love and understanding of the Psalms, and so I am diving into them in some of my personal study of the Word of God, as well as in my preaching
-I am loving what I find
-The Psalms are meant to give God’s people a vocabulary to praise God
-We find here so much of who our beautiful and glorious God is
-The Psalms are also designed to shape not only our thinking of God, but also our emotions
-We are told what to love, what to hate, what to delight in, what to mourn over
-We see the emotions of those whose hearts are bent towards God
-In the Psalms, we also find how we are to speak truth to ourselves in differing circumstances of life
-How ought I to think about God in times of sorrow, worry, fear, anger, etc.
-And how do I communicate those truths to my own heart and soul so as to anchor myself to the character of God in emotional times
-Emotions aren’t wrong or sinful, but they can lead us into sin and trouble at times if we listen to our emotions and let them guide us
-This Psalm is written by Asaph, to whom 12 Psalms are ascribed
-Some of these Psalms seem to be written by those who continued to associate with his choir (psalm 74, 79)
-There is no indication that this one was written later on, so I’m going to assume that he wrote this one
I. The End Result
Vs. 1 — Truly, God is good to Israel
-We all know this and say this, right??
-“God is good!” we hear people say all the time, whether they’re saved or not!
-But what does this really mean, God is good?
-Keep that question in the back of your mind, because we’re going to come back to it
Vs. 1 — “To those who are pure in heart”
-What does this mean? Is God only good towards those who earn it? Towards good, pure people? I’m not always pure in heart. What does that mean to me?
-I thought God never changes! How is He only good to those who are pure in heart??
-Keep that question in mind, because we’ll get back to it as well!
-Now, there’s a big issue that’s at stake here in this Psalm, and we’re going to find out what it is. The Psalmist is going to bring up something he struggles with. But there’s an even bigger struggle that’s going on even underneath that. So, stick with me here in this as we seek to understand that huge underlying issue even underneath this issue that the Psalmist will bring up
-So we’ve got where the author ends up after his struggle. Now he’s gonna take us back in time and trace us through the struggle he’s had in his heart and mind. Let’s go on this journey with him through this inspired text
II. The Envy
Vs. 2 — “But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; My steps had nearly slipped.”
-So the Psalmist is openly admitting, he almost stumbled and fell
-A question I want you to consider and hold in your mind: in what area of his thinking did he almost slip? We’re going to come back to that
-Why did he almost slip? He’s going to show us that now in verse 3
Vs. 3 — “For I was envious of the boastful”
-This path towards stumbling in his thoughts started with him being envious of the boastful
-He begins to look around at “the wicked” and he gets envious
-Envy is like jealousy. It’s when someone else has something that you really want or think you deserve
-This word is used in Genesis 37:11 of how Joseph’s brothers envied him after getting a coat and having 2 dreams about them all bowing down to him
-Keep in mind, jealousy and envy always means there’s a comparison going on. Keep that in mind. And Asaph will flesh that out in 73:13-14
Why is Asaph jealous?
Vs. 3 — “when I saw the prosperity of the wicked”
-the word “prosperity” is shalom, which we all know means peace
-he sees the prosperity or peace or welfare of the wicked, and he’s envious
-Hey, why do they get all that?? Why are they doing so well and having so much fun??
What exactly does he mean by their “prosperity” or peace or welfare? In the next few verses he explains
Vs. 4 — “For there are no pangs in their death, but their strength is firm.”
-The word for pain can mean burden or fetter
-There doesn’t seem to be a struggle
-I believe in the Hebrew this isn’t talking as much about the process of them dying, but up until their death. Other translations would agree
-the CSB says “They have an easy time until they die”
-The word “strength” is probably better translated “body”
-Most other translations would, such as the ESV for example, would translate it “their bodies are fat and sleek.”
-What’s he saying?
-Why are the wicked doing so well?? They don’t seem to struggle like I do!!
-Why are they so healthy?? My mom’s got cancer, my nephew is handicapped, by child or grandchild has a disability
-I mean, come on!! That’s not fair!
Vs. 5 — “They are not in trouble as other men, nor are they plagued like other men.”
-the word “trouble” has the idea of “labor” or “burden”
-they aren’t plagued!
-Maybe they don’t seem to get the flat tires that you do! Or the their tax return is huge while our’s is
Vs. 6 — Therefore pride serves as their necklace; violence covers them like a garment
-Because of their ease of life, pride and violence (or injustice) if flaunted by them
-They seem to wear their arrogance and their wrong-doing like a piece of clothing they want to show off
-Maybe you know people that are just so arrogant and sinful! they just flaunt it!!
-One of the guys I disciple, Marquise, has friend that we’re praying for. He’s talked to his friend about God and sin before, and his friend says “I love sin!” He’s all about that
-That’s how unsaved people are at times! Not only do they sin and seem to get away with it, but they love it and they’re ok with others knowing that!
Vs. 7 — Their eyes bulge with abundance; they have more than heart could wish.
-These wicked that Asaph is observing seem to have so much!!
-They’re just bursting with abundance!
-Their heart seems to have all they can desire!
-It’s like their bodies are doing great and their hearts are full of pleasure
Vs. 8-9 — They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression;
They speak loftily.
They set their mouth against the heavens,
And their tongue walks through the earth.
-Their speech is full of scoffing and speaking wickedly of inury, fraud, and unjust gain
-You know people like this!! Their speech is full of wrongness
-They have no problem speaking evil of others, or how they slack off at work, or they take advantage of others!
-They speak from altitude! They speak as if they’re up on hight
Vs. 9 talks about how they set their mouths against heaven
-They speak like they are God! Or they speak in a way that sets themselves up against Him!
-Their kind of speech can be heard all through the earth! Everywhere you go, you can hear this kind of talk!
Vs. 10 is very hard to translate
-The idea seems to be that people (whether God’s people, or the people of the wicked, or whoever)
-waters of a full cup are drained by them — seems to have the idea that people will enjoy and worship the success the wicked people have
-There are differing opinions on the meaning of this text, but we’re going to go with that one
Vs. 11 — This is almost the most stabbing and piercing thing of all!!
-The wicked seem to question or deny the Existence of a God who is intimately involved in and knows about the affairs of men!!
-God doesn’t see!! God doesn’t know!!
-the word knowledge also has the idea of wisdom or understanding. It seems to be more than just knowing facts
-If there even is a God, He doesn’t understand. He’s not a God of wisdom and knowledge
-In their mind perhaps, the evidence that injustice can happen, and that they can get away with it, shows that the One running everything must not be a God of Understanding and wisdom
-He’s an irrelevant God
Vs. 12 — Asaph sums it all up!
-The wicked are at ease!
-they increase in riches
-They have comfort and affluence
III. The Lament
-From this meditation and observation of the wicked, a shocking and blunt but honest observation comes pouring forth from the mouth of Asaph:
-Vs. 13-14
-Why have I chosen to serve God?? I mean, what do I get out of it??
-How does serving God benefit me?? I mean, what is that I get??
-This is the heart of the Psalm: what is the reward for following God?? What do I get??
-Asaph here is honestly voicing the thoughts that we all have struggled with a times
Vs. 13 — It’s all been for nothing
-it’s been worthless is what vain means
-I’ve cleansed my heart and washed my hands, and it’s all been for nothing
-I mean, do you understand how many hours I’ve spent in my life in church??
-How many hours I’ve spent reading my bible or praying??
-What a waste!!!
-I could have made money or done something fun during that time!
-Do you know how many times I’ve said no to illicit sex or porn over the years? How many times I wanted to join in on the wicked fun of my friends?
-Do you know how many times I’ve wanted to cuss, or watch this movie or TV show, or wore this, but I didn’t
Vs. 14
-These are active verbs, which implies that someone or something is doing the plaguing and the chastening
-Who??
-God is!!
-The Psalmist is implicating God here!
-God plagues me and chastens me!
-God’s in control of everything, so it is Him! The Psalmist is right in ascribing all things that happen in His life to God
-The Psalmist isn’t like the wicked of verse 11. He knows God is a God of knowledge and understanding. He knows God is in control and is intimately involved in the affairs of men
-I’m plagued, but in vs. 5 the wicked aren’t
-I’m rebuked (chastened)
-What does all this mean? It means that God seems harsh towards me!
-Why the flat tire? Why the financial difficulties, why did I get a migraine yesterday
-God, don’t you see I’m trying to serve you!! Why couldn’t you keep my mom from getting cancer?? Or why couldn’t the baby just sleep through the night for once!!
-What a waste!! What do I get for all this?? What is the reward for being a Christian??
IV. The Turning Point
Vs. 15
-This is what it seems like to me! And the things I observe seems to play into this
-But Asaph says “if I voice this, I would be untrue (unfaithful, treacherous) to God’s people”
-I don’t want to hurt others! I love my fellow God-followers and don’t want to do damage to them
-Oh that we would think of and love others like this
Vs. 16
-Asaph is saying “I want to understand! But it’s hard.”
-The word means toil, effort, grievance
-It’s troubling! It’s burdensome! It’s painful to think of the wicked and how much fun they seem to have and how they’re so well off and unburdened and how they get away with things! And how that’s not the case with me!! Is this all for nothing??
Vs. 17
Until — here’s the turning point
-I went into the sanctuary of God
-The dwelling place of God on earth, where His presence is (although He is everywhere, this is where God has chosen to reside on earth)
-When I came into the presence of God
-Then I understood there end (destiny, fate)
-When I came into the Presence of God, the King of Kings, the Sovereign One, the Great I AM, the Self-Existent One, the One who inhabits Eternity!
-Then I understood their end
Vs. 18-19
-God gets them in the end
-they are set up for destruction (vs. 18) in the end
-they are brought to desolation suddenly (vs. 19)
-That word is the same word used in Zephaniah 1:2
-God casts them down to destruction
-This is all what happens in the end. Nothing has changed as far as Asaph’s observations of the wicked in this life
-He’s not saying “oh, I was wrong about the wicked in this life! They actually don’t do all that well and aren’t all that prosperous.”
-They do prosper. They do do well so often!
-But he now understands their end
-But understand this, the eternal destruction judgement and suffering of the wicked is not the only thing going on here. There’s something even more weighty than just the physical aspect of their eternal punishment
Vs. 20
-They get rejected by God
-The verse is telling us that though they seem so large and powerful now, one day, they’ll be little more than a dream.
-That they will be despised by God
-The real tragedy is not their physical torment, but by being despised and rejected by Almighty God, the One they thought was irrelevant and not all-knowing
-the eternal shame of being rejected by God
V. The Repentance
Vs. 21-22
-The Psalmist admits his sin
-The word “grieved” in vs. 21 could be translated sour, or bitter.
-The word “vexed” means sharpened or pierced
-The Psalmist had become bitter in his heart and experienced painfully sharp thoughts
-The hurt and bitterness of such thinking is hard to bear
-He admits the he was foolish and ignorant
-The CSB translates this “I was stupid and didn’t understand”
-He compares himself to an animal in his ignorance before God
-How could I be so stupid!! Look what pain and bitterness doubting this kind of thinking has caused me!!
This leads us to the glorious climax of the Psalm! This leads us into the Presence of God and to come face to face with who He is!
VI. The Beauty and Preciousness of God
Vs. 23-24
-Nevertheless — despite my ignorance and foolishness and wrong thinking
-Nevertheless, I am continually with You;
-God’s presence is all I need!!
-This is the point of the whole Psalm!!
The Psalmist was asking, “What do I get?? What’s my reward for being a God-follower?? The wicked get money, and fame, and are at ease, and they get illicit sex, and drugs, and do whatever they want! What do I get???
-WE GET GOD
-We get God with us right now! (You hold me by my right hand)
-God comforts us and holds onto us
-He gives us security and stability as he grasps onto us
-Isaiah 41:13
-We get God in the future (You will guide me with Your counsel)
-The rest of your today is God’s hand
-And your tomorrow
-He guides us by His wise counsel
-I get God for eternity! (And afterward receive me to glory)
-the word “receive” is the same Hebrew word used of both Enoch and Elijah when God “took” them to be with Him
-This speaks to the fact that I am eternally secure in Him
-John 10:28-30
We get God today, tomorrow, and for all eternity
And now we come to the true climax in verses 25-26
Vs. 25
-What’s he saying?? I don’t need or desire ANYTHING else than God!! He’s everything!!
-Nothing in this world or in the whole universe compares to getting God in all His glory!
Vs. 26
-My flesh and my heart may fail
-My flesh and my heart as a Christian will surely end
-One day, they’ll take my worn out body and put it in the ground
BUT
-God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever
-the word strength there is often translated as “rock”
-The brevity of my life and flesh is contrasted with the eternal covenant relationship I have with God
-He will never fail
-My relationship with Him will never cease
“My portion forever”
-What do I get as a Christian?? I get God!!
-He is my portion
-He is my heritage
-He is my reward
-People can have all the money and fame and drugs and sex and ease and comfort and toys and trinkets and 401ks and retirement funds and cars and boats and houses
-Give me God!!
VII. The Final Comparison
Vs. 27
-He goes back toe the wicked
-They will perish, having been rejected by God
-God destroys those who desert Him for harlotry?
-What does that mean?
-In the context, the Psalmist is showing the beauty of God and how He is all satsifying
-Well, what is harlotry? It’s going after whoever to get sexual satisfaction right?
-In this Psalm, the Psalmist is showing us that the only God satisfies. We were made to enjoy him
-These wicked people are seeking the joy and contentment and beauty in what only Christ can give
How can I get God? I’m wicked too
Vs. 28
-Draw near to God
-putting our trust in Him
-That word for trust is usually translated “refuge”
-Most other translations have something like “I have made the Lord God my refuge”
-As NT believers, we know that the only way we can draw near to Him, is to make Him our refuge.
-Jesus Christ is God’s provision for drawing near to Him
-Romans 5:8-9
-Jesus Christ came to earth, lived a perfect life, and died on the cross to atone for our sins and then rose again
-When we flee to Jesus alone for refuge from the wrath to come, we can be saved from God’s wrath and judgement on our sin
-1 Peter 3:18
“So I can tell about all you do.”
-Are you so full on Christ that you’re ready to tell others?
-Are you so in love with Jesus, and His all-satisfying sweetness, that you’re ready to tell about all God has done?
Vs. 1
-This is what it means that God is good
-He’s all I need
-What about those pure in heart?
-To those who are committed to seeking after God
-To finding their joy and satisfaction in Him
-If you’re saved, God loves you and you’ll always be saved
-You’ll never experience the wrath of God
-But the reason that some of us aren’t finding Christ to be all-satisfying is that we, like the Psalmist, are too busy looking at the world
-If only I had this and that!!! Then I’d be happy!!
-Why can’t I have more money like them? Why can’t I have a better job like them? Why can’t I sin like them?? IT looks so good!!!
-You won’t find God all-satisfying like that
-When we seek Him though, and give our heart to Him, He is enoug