Preached 9/26/21
Psalm 73
[audio]
INTRODUCTION:
Theology is a lot of different things to different people.
- To some it is the lofty and grandiose pursuit of wise sages to inhabit dusty libraries, mountain caves and monasteries.
- To others it is something to learn to become one of the “right” crowd and then use to denounce heretics.
- And, to others it is frankly just a few things they can use to use as slogans to demonstrate our spiritual superiority.
The word Theology means the study of God, which is why we think of it as such a lofty, lonely, difficult pursuit. But in actuality theology is the framework for all knowledge and moral evaluation of the universe. The knowledge of God is sort of like “the force” is described in Star Wars – "It Surrounds Us. It Penetrates Us. It Binds the Galaxy Together." Nothing makes sense without it, and there is no ultimate meaning to anything we do without it. As people of God it should be like the food we eat, the air we breathe, and the ground that we walk upon. Anyone not interested in it has a weak claim to being a follower of Him at all.
What the Bible reveals to us about God is essential to understanding everything. And it is because life has so many foibles and difficulties that we sometimes have problems staying true to what we have learned in church. Some people just give up and chuck the whole religion thing at the first sign of difficulty. We have all, I’m sure, been near that place at some point.
One of the biggest obstacles is people. On the macro scale we think of evil dictators and oppressors and mass murderers – names like Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin come to mind. Then on a smaller scale we think of burglars, robbers, rapists, killers, and other malefactors around us. On a smaller scale our day can still be ruined by a person who cuts us off on the freeway and gives us the finger, or the family member who ruins our family gathering, or even someone at church that says something insensitive. I’m sure that I have probably offended everybody in my church at some time, and just about everybody here over the last 40 years has hurt my feelings at least once. That’s because we are human and still being made more like Christ every day. And we have a long way to go. But so many have left churches because of a silly argument with someone and just announced that they are no longer going to a church any more. I knew an associate pastor at a church who got so upset at a perceived injustice that decades later his own children did not attend any church at all and blamed the church they were in as kids. There is something VERY wrong with this scenario.
But however wrong this seems, we don’t really have much of a leg to stand on, so we? In the end we tout our spiritual creeds, but it seems that our enthusiasm drains out when it gets hard.
To all of this we find hope in the 37th Psalm. In it the author gives an account of his own fall from grace because of evil people and how he found his way back to the love of God, which makes it a wonderful resource for us!
I Pat Theology vs The Real World (1-14):
The psalm of Asaph starts with a beautiful and comforting statement of absolute truth.
Psalm 73:1 Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.
This truth is the message of the entire psalm, and it is one which the psalmist probably learned as a child. It is a deep and abiding statement assuring us about the nature of God and of his faithful love for his people. It was (and is) the key to faith, as we read in a key verse in great faith chapter in Hebrews 11:6 which tells us
Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
But the problem we sometimes have is that the real world seems (just seems) to indicate a different reality. Any Christian who reads that “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good…” (Rom 8:28) eventually runs into situations that do not seem to back up that assertion. The result is often disillusionment and bitterness for those whose gospel teaching consists solely of the message “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” (The Bible also promises us that we will have affliction and persecution in this world, but somehow that promise gets left of many “God’s promises” books at the local Bible bookstore for some reason.)
Asaph now admits that he had this exact experience in his own life in the first section of Psalm 73 which goes from verse 2 through verse 14. Look how this section is bracketed:
Psalm 73:2-3, 13-14 2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. 3 For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. ... 13 All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. 14 For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning.
Wow. Just wow. This seems to almost be a complete repudiation of his premise, doesn’t it? It almost seems like verse one was intended to be ironic and that he will now repudiate it. But that is not the case. Instead, he will show us his imperfect human side, which all of us can easily identify with, and he then will take us through the solution to that problem so that we can escape it also. So before we write off Asaph, notice two things:
- His story in verses two and three are written in past tense. This is not his current view of life. And…
- He says that his feet had almost stumbled and that his steps had nearly slipped. The mark of a true believer is that we may come across various situations that challenge our faith, but that the Lord is the one whom Jude described as “him who is able to keep you from stumbling”. As Jesus told Peter “behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail…" (Luke 22:31-32a).
What we do see at the end of this part of the psalm is that whatever Asaph observed caused him to question everything that he had learned and was trying to live by. All of his holy living and sanctification was for nothing. How did he get to this extreme point? It was because he had a worldly focus (or a self-focus), and we will see here that a worldly focus leads to a pity party.
So what did he see in the world that shook his faith? Let’s read his observations:
Psalm 73:3-5 3 … I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 4 For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek. 5 They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.
The people he observed were described by two adjectives – wicked and arrogant. Both their actions and attitudes were bad, but Asaph was angry because these arrogant evildoers seemed to be allowed to have prosperous, comfortable lives. And Asaph was bitter and jealous of them. Isn’t that a very human emotion?
It reminds me of a time when I was a young teenager and the government passed a new law requiring reflectors on bicycle spokes. I was riding my bike to the store with a friend from school when I was stopped by a policeman and given a ticket because I had not yet installed reflectors on my wheels. I remember being upset and (without thinking about what would probably happen) pointed at my friend (maintaining a safe distance down the street) and said “but he doesn’t have reflectors either!” So the policeman gave him a ticket, too. I do not blame him at all for being too mad to talk to me for quite a while. I felt so dumb for doing that! But I imagine you might feel the same was if you got a parking ticket and looked down the street at many other cars parked the same way without tickets, or watching lawmakers ignoring the laws that they place on the people - just like what Jesus condemned the Pharisees for doing. That really gets our goat – and it should. But it shouldn’t cause us to We get very angry at perceived injustices and are eager to mete out righteous punishment on those who “get away” with things, aren’t we?
What was the attitude of these evildoers toward God? Asaph piles on the description.
Psalm3:6-12 6 Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment. 7 Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies. 8 They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression. 9 They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth. 10 Therefore his people turn back to them, and find no fault in them. 11 And they say, "How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?" 12 Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.
No wonder Asaph was upset and disillusioned. But we know that all of this disillusionment was in his past. How did he escape?
II Seeking God and Confessing Sin (15-22):
First he confessed that he knew that this was a wrong and sinful attitude.
Psalm 73:15 If I had said, "I will speak thus," I would have betrayed the generation of your children.
Sometimes it is best to look at our anger and evaluate what our anger is saying. Asaph realized that if he actually said out loud what his feelings were saying that he would be renouncing God and misleading God’s people. How many arguments between family members would dissipate in shame if we actually articulated what we were feeling? I imagine something like this: “I refused to talk to you all afternoon because you, because you …, you… well, you, um, used, um, too much peanut butter and I wanted to put it on both pieces of bread – gee that sounds childish when I say it out loud…. Sorry.”
We know that the word used by the apostle John in 1 John 1:9 that is translated “confess” is the Greek word homologeo which means to “say the same as”. This is the first step of repentance – saying the same thing about our sin that God says, no more, no less. But changing our attitudes is more difficult. It takes a reprogramming of our point of view. Asaph describes that difficult process next:
Psalm 73:16-17a 16 But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, 17 until I went into the sanctuary of God;
Asaph admits that changing your feelings is hard. He describes it as a wearisome task. Changing your attitude is not something that we can do by sheer willpower. Just like a computer, our psyche needs new data to come to a new outcome, and Asaph goes right to the correct source. He steps into the presence of God and asks God to show him the eternal, omniscient, holy point of view. And we see that godly focus brings correct perspective.
Psalm 73:17b … I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.
Asaph had been looking at current events, but in the eternal perspective all of the prosperity of the wicked was short-lived and temporary. They were standing on quicksand and hell was below them. They were benefiting from the common grace God gives to all humanity in his mercy, but God promises that He will repay all wrongs and punish every sin. Over and over God promises to save and vindicate his people. And Asaph saw that once he entered the sanctuary of God to learn and worship. Asaph’s part was to continue to keep his own heart clean. He had no responsibility to worry about whether God would take care of the injustice – He would indeed! Asaph realizes that the end condition of the wicked was nothing to envy:
Psalm 73:18-20 18 Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin. 19 How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors! 20 Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
In the New Testament we see similar principles later. John in Revelation describes the wicked being “thrown into the lake of fire” with “the devil who had deceived them” where “they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Paul warns the Christians in Rome against trying to even the score ourselves in frightening language indeed:
Romans 12:19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord."
Finally, Asaph comes back to himself and how his own whiny attitude looks from his new vantage-point in the sanctuary of God:
Psalm 73:21-22 21 When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, 22 I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you.
He says that he was more like an unthinking animal than a human being in his envy and distrust of God’s moral leadership of the universe. I have recently watched several videos of psychological studies on monkeys and on dogs where more than one animal is given identical treats for doing certain tasks. After a while one animal is given a really nice treat as a reward for a task. The second animal got very excited but when they did the task their reward was the greatly inferior one. In both cases the animal that got the crummier reward got very angry at the situation. It is a natural, fleshly reaction. We imagine what we are owed and then if we don’t get what we imagined we perceive it as injustice.
Asaph also realizes that his bad attitude did not damage God at all but only hurt himself. How often have we done the same thing – ruining our own day just to hold on to the end of our anger? It reminds me of a meme I saw on social media the other day that really convicted me of doing this. It pointedly asked:
“Was it a bad day? Or was it a bad five minutes that you milked all day?”
What if we asked ourselves that same question every time we got cranky and had a bad attitude about something? I imagine we might have more happy days!
III Renewed Faith (23-28):
Now that Asaph has gotten his attitude adjusted and his perspective changed to God’s perspective, the blessings flow down like a heavy rain upon his head.
Psalm 73:23-24 23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.
Asaph now comes back to his original statement in the psalm. He is surrounded by God’s lovingkindness and faithfulness, he is buoyed up on angels wings into the presence of God and rejoices in his ultimate eternal reward with God in heaven. There are many fewer Old Testament references to a heavenly afterlife than in the New Testament, but this is a beautiful one indeed, full of hope and joy and anticipation. Asaph continues into a song of praise, love and longing for his God:
Psalm 73:25-26 25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever..
So we see our third point - a correct perspective brings assurance and peace.
III Conclusion: Perspective is a Double-Edged Sword!
So in this psalm we have the answer to spiritual discouragement and doldrums. But there is more that we need to take from this. What do I mean? Well consider the words of Asaph. It would seem that this Psalm could be used to support a “holier than thou” attitude and spiritual pride. If we aren’t careful we can adopt a callous attitude toward the unsaved and even a vindictive attitude toward people in our own church. To correct this error we will look at the verse that we already quoted from Romans 8:19. But now let’s read it in context. The verse that tells us that God will avenge himself has interesting surroundings.
Remember that Romans has two parts. The first eleven chapters give a detailed theology of salvation – why we need it, how it is provided, how to get it, and what it accomplishes. Starting at chapter twelve Paul changes to what the results of salvation should be in our behavior. Remember that chapter 12 starts with the admonition to make our bodies a living sacrifice, acceptable to God. In verse 14 he starts a section telling us how to relate to one another. Now let’s look at our “revenge” verse in context:
Romans 12:14-21 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." 20 To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
So the fact that God will deal out vengeance for sins isn’t used by Paul to encourage aloofness or elitism. It is used to encourage compassion and love. And not just love for good and nice people, but specifically for the bad people. Not just the clumsy and thoughtless, but for those who we can legitimately refer to as enemies (v20), to those who are evil (v21), and those who specifically do terrible things to us (v14). And the reason is that God is going to punish them? How does that make any sense?
I want to propose a mental picture as an illustration of what I think Paul is getting to here. Imagine someone who has really hurt you in the past year. Perhaps it is a stranger who humiliated you or endangered you in public. Perhaps it is an unknown person who stole something from you. Perhaps it is a corrupt bureaucrat or businessperson who cheated you. Just pick someone whose spiritual state is unknown to you. Have you thought of someone? Good, let’s go on to the illustration.
Imagine I handed you a box now. That box has no features other than a large, unlabeled red button on the top that you can press. I tell you that this person will get an annoying traffic ticket when you pressed the button. Or maybe a pie in the face. Or they will step on a rake or something. The common feature is that it will be annoying, mildly painful and embarrass them in front of their friends. And they will never know that it was because of you. Would you be tempted? Of course you would. It would be mostly harmless but they would “get what’s coming to them” and that would make you feel a bit better about your own pain.
But now imagine I hand you a different box instead. It looks like the last one but it has Romans 8:19 inscribed on it and I tell you “if you push the red button, that ground will open up under that person and they will immediately fall into the lake of fire where they will be punished for what they did to you in terrible suffering that will never end. I imagine that just about everybody would shudder and push the box away in horror. “It’s too much!” we might say. But that is what Paul is ultimately talking about here. God is just, and all sinners will be punished for their sins. Period. And his vengeance is eternal.
But Paul uses this here, not to encourage us in our assurance and hope - that’s what the first eleven chapters of Romans are about. He encourages us to love our enemies. Why? Because just like Asaph, we can see their end. And it should drive us to compassion. It should drive us to forgiveness. It should drive us to return good for evil. It should drive us to comfort them when they are crying. It should cause us to rejoice with them when they are happy. It should keep us from looking down on them.
Because we see their end.
And if we understand that, we want them to be saved from that end.
We are not only to return good for evil – we are to “overcome evil with good”.
What they did to you, whatever it was, will be punished by the just and holy God. And it will happen one of two ways. Either they will pay the debt of that sin against you (which, as David says in Psalm 51, was actually against Him), or the punishment will have been paid for by Jesus on the cross because that person that hurt you received the salvation offered in Christ. And if they do the latter, they will be a recipient of the same amount of God’s loving grace of salvation as you were. And they will deserve it just as little as you did. And you will be set free to enjoy Jesus together for eternity in heaven, where no matter how nasty that person was in your estimation, you will not be able to remember that slight thing. As Paul writes in Romans 8:
Romans 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
So, enter the sanctuary of God, look at eternity, and say with Asaph
Psalm 73:23-24 23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.
And in that light, don’t envy the wicked. Seek after the Lord, and love the other sinners. That’s our job.
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