It seemed to many people like he was just continuing to sin and get away with it. III. Summary: To the ancient writers the word glory meant praise, splendor, brightness, majesty, honor and dignity. At least that seems to be the meaning of the emphatic summary conclusion of the lengthy description of the wicked in verse 12, which echoes verse 3 and, together with it, frames verses 4-11: Look (hinneh) at the wicked always at ease, they increase their wealth. Asaph has his eye on the celebrities of his day, the Donald Trumps and Lindsey Lohans who openly disdain God. In Psalm 73 a man named Asaph expresses a frustration that many have shared. Psalm 73:23-24 23 Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. Sometimes things change very quickly, even here on earth, dont they? In the opening verse (vs. 1), the meaning of the predicate adjective good is ambiguous. The inner conditions of the dead mammal, combined with the bumps in the road caused an eruption that the townspeople will not soon forget. I try to be faithful and do right, and I have to fight for every inch. Job was a righteous man who lost all his children, his possessions, and his health. One of the sweetest, finest men I have ever known is in Norwalk hospital. Still, in v. 15, he stops to consider the impact his next steps will have: "If I had said, 'I will speak thus,' I would have betrayed your children." They simply assert that God Most High, the creator of heaven and earth (Gen 14:19), is totally oblivious to what happens on earth. My feet nearly *slipped and I almost fell over. Well have you ever watched your dog? They are not in trouble as other men, nor are they plagued like mankind. Laziness God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him Learn more about Desiring God . God, I'm getting a raw deal! You are the church, and Lifeway is here to serve you with biblical resources for everything life brings your way. In addition to the important connections between Psalm 73 and Psalms 1 and 2, Psalm 73 also shares important themes with Psalm 34. II. He says, there are wicked people in the world, whom you would THINK God would be punishing, but instead they are not only not being punished, they are succeeding; they are prospering. (Psalm 22:2) Lying Battling the Unbelief of Despondency. He was one of the great worship leaders in the OT. But from the perspective of eternity, from the point of view in worship, there is a quick ride to the bottom. "You try to honor God and stay humble and do good, you'll have a tough, mediocre life. Commentaries, Sermons, Illustrations, Devotionals. Study Psalm 73 using Charles H. Spurgeon's Treasury of David to better understand Scripture with full outline and verse meaning. Our culture in America is uniquely designed to create inevitable comparison and inevitable dissatisfaction. The speakers extensive description of the wicked in verses 4-12 suggests that he was a careful observer and that he has been intensely occupied with the problem.19 His detailed description consists of two parts, verses 4-6 and 7-11. Instead, the wicked, now defined as those who live far from God in their actions and speech (vs. 11), will perish.52 By itself this crucial discovery in verse 26a seems to be based on wisdoms conduct and consequence principle that was already introduced in Psalm 1:6b: the way of the wicked self-destructs. Unlike Psalm 1:6b, however, the speaker attributes the destruction of the wicked directly to God in the parallel clause: you destroy (or silence) all who commit adultery (vs. 27b).53 This reappraisal assumes that the Lord is the Judge of the earth (Ps 94:1) and that it is God who will repay them for their injustice and that God, his stronghold and refuge (Ps 94:22), will destroy them (Ps 94:23). If Asaph had lived our century instead of his own, he might have been looking at the life of Hugh Hefner. It isn't a Psalm about a dramatic event but rather about an internal struggle and a moment of revelation, an Epiphany. This little song is worth several sermons so don't feel bad if we emphasize some parts tonight and not others. BOOK III Psalms 73-89 -A psalm of Asaph. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); A Southern Baptist pastor for almost 35 years, I currently serve as Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Angleton, Texas, and post my weekly sermons on this site, as well as a brief overview for Sunday School teachers of the weekly Lifeway "Explore the Bible" lesson. Panic, Conclusions, Denomination:
God is on trial in this lament psalm, but ironically, the psalmist functions more as the defense attorney than the prosecuting attorney. Even though these words were written 3000 years ago, they might as well have been written today. And earth has nothing I desire besides You. As a result, their speech is arrogant and they threaten oppression (vs. 8). Video for Psalm 73: The title of this psalm ( A Psalm of Asaph) tells us that it was written by the great singer and musician of David and Solomon's era ( 1 Chronicles 15:17-19, 16:5-7, 25:6 ). Recognize it? But because there is an eternity, what happens in this life is not even a speck on the timeline of eternity, and we know that things will be different there. The third word we need to see became a private obsession for this worship leader: it was the prosperity these God-rejecters enjoyed. He didnt understand what was happening to him: Is it really worth it to serve God? Verses 4-5 of the first part detail why the wicked enjoy shalom. Let's look at Psalm 1 together for a few minutes. : "When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you." v1 I am sure that God is good to (the people of) Israel, to the people whose hearts are clean. He did what Job did. Those who are far from You will perish; You destroy all who are unfaithful to You. surely in vain I have kept my hands pure like Asaph here in Psalm 73, He is a graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Psalm 25:8 Bubbles On The Border. 1.
But the man was a sexual predator. As we will see shortly, this is a man who is resting in God's goodness. Wiesel was a devout Jew before his experience in the Nazi death camps, but his time there destroyed his faith. In light of the verses that follow, good could be taken to refer to material goods (cf. "I nearly lost my grip on what I believe. Listen to his words in v. 16-17: "When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny." But the thing is, the Christian has the ultimate perspective on history. 8. He goes on to describe their situation: Maybe people who walked by and saw the Rich Man & Lazarus were tempted to give up THEIR faith. They are healthy (vs. 4) and experience no trouble (amal), nor are they plagued (vs. 5). How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! (LogOut/ Two of the words refer to the people he had been tracking. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; My steps had nearly slipped. And yet Hugh Hefner lived in a $200 million mansion, and lived to the ripe old age of 91! It took 50 laborers and three lifting cranes 13 hours to hoist the 56-foot behemoth onto a flatbed trailer truck. Introduction to Psalm 73: "Seeing Clearly in the Sanctuary". And that lead him to the fourth word we need to see in v. 3: envy. The thing about these questions is that they are usually based on our circumstances on what we see happening around us and to us but what we have to learn is that these circumstances dont show us the whole picture. A key step in this process, of course, is to make the audience aware of the presence of Gods hand in their lives. Verse Psalms 73:28. o ^Like Psalms 37 and 49, this psalm is a wisdom psalm, designed to instruct the . Thats a good word for some of us. 1, 28) form an inclusio and frame within which the painful experience of the poet is unfolded. On the contrary, in verse 16 he reports that when he tried to understand the problem concerning the prosperity of the wicked and the suffering of the righteous, when he tried to develop a theodicy, it became a burden (vs. 5) in his eyes. He tells it all in v. 13: Did I purify my heart and wash my hands in innocence for nothing? read more, Scripture:
Asaph takes his raw deal to the right place and finds out that he didn't have it bad after all. This wonderful psalm may be best understood by the . v2 But (this is what happened) to me. Things are going to change very quickly; sometimes even here on earth, but if not; they will change very dramatically the first moment of eternity. 21ff. Why do violence-endorsing rap singers, arrogant executives, and God-mocking people get their own TV shows? Wicked emphasizes the guilt of those who are actively choosing that which is offensive to God. Just like Asaph, bring your doubts to the Lord, and let Him show you in His word that although it may not look like it now, it is going to end better if youll hang in there, and learn the lesson of the man who almost gave up his faith. He took his doubts and confusion to God in prayer. Truly God is good to Israel, To such as are pure in heart. Look at v. 3: "For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked." To get insight into Asaph's struggle here, notice four key words in v. 3.
(Psalm 41:9), Listen, the real Bible not just the feel good parts of the Bible that get quoted in a lot of our devotionals the real Bible is FULL of these REAL, honest, hard questions that Gods people have brought before Him. Moreover, Psalm 73:28 also repeats the important theme of Gods nearness (Ps 34:18) and the key refuge metaphor (Ps 34:8, 22). It's not fair.". The poet introduces his honest confession with the emphatic contrastive phrase But, as for me. This phrase introduces the yes, but factor. 173.] You can sense this music director's relief when he comes to worship. Denomination: Methodist. In the sanctuary God was his focus, not his problems. WHERE YOU STAND DETERMINES WHAT YOU SEE!. Close Filters Scripture . Two weeks later, on January 29, authorities decided to truck the dead whale to a laboratory where they could do an autopsy. 3 Our God approaches, and he is not silent. Psalm 73 is a favorite for many Jewish and Christian believers because the words of this precious psalm ring true to their experience. It should just end better. Your Bible study. But then he begins to tell his own personal testimony in :2, "But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling.". 13-14) into exuberant trust also underscores the need for careful liturgical planning. Consider this godly guidance when you get a raw deal. God will judge the wicked, and He will reward the righteous; those who have turned away from their sins, and followed Jesus as their Savior. In fact, in rather strong language, he acknowledges that he behaved as a brute beast38 with God. May Gods word continue to bless your life! be blessed man of god. Take a look at v. 1: "God is indeed good to Israel, to the pure in heart." Gluttony When they came to the elephants, the zoo keeper wanted them to have more than a verbal description, so he allowed them each to feel the elephant. read more, Scripture:
a. Tension and struggle flow like lava from a volcano in Psalm 73. We may read these words and say, "I was just like Asaph except for this.
How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of . Armed with a new perspective about God and this world, Asaph also sees himself clearly. Or maybe he does business with an ungodly person in town who seems to have the Midas touch. This statement represents his settled conviction after the trouble he recounts in the Psalm. Asaph confessed his self-pitying, self-centered bent. Then I perceived their end. There are a couple of things here that Asaph says changed his perspective on what he saw happening around him: A. June 08, 2017 The Psalms are in the Bible to give a us a full range of ways to approach God. Verses 21-22 are a flashback on his traumatic experience reported in verses 2-16.36 In these verses he admits that when his heart and kidneys were poignantly disturbed (vs. 21) about the shalom of the wicked, he was stupid and lacked understanding (vs. 21ab).37 For all practical purposes, he confesses that his envy of the arrogant (vs. 3) was completely wrong. They wear a power-hungry, cutthroat, cynical attitude like a coat. The concluding verse, verse 28, summarizes the new vision the speaker obtained in verses 23-25 and, what is more important, it serves as a clearer definition of what it means that God is good to the pure in heart (vs. 1). But the NRSV translation of this clause shows that the clause could also mean that the psalmist is restored to his honor. "God is good to the pure in heart'? Survey respondents noted that temptations
The section as a whole concludes with a summary statement in verse 12, a verse in which the term wicked is repeated from verse 3 and the phrase at ease (NRSV; cf. But she had great character; she worked hard and came back, and was an inspiration to many. In further illustration of this exalted exercise, I would remark, that prayer is appointed as the act of our approach to Him. And they show us that we can be HONEST with God; we dont have to hide in some kind of fake spirituality and hold any of our questions back from Him. What does he mean by this? So make the visit that Asaph made; put yourself in the place where God can speak to you about the issues of your life: be faithful in your church attendance; be faithful in your daily Bible reading. Tension and struggle flow like lava from a volcano in Psalm 73: & quot ; Seeing Clearly the... His health God in prayer wicked enjoy shalom with the emphatic contrastive phrase but, for! 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