Apparently he ignored the sound advice from Proverbs 23:17 (Do not let your heart envy sinners but always continue in the fear of the Lord). In 21:17, Why do the wicked still live, continue on, also become very powerful? In v. 12-14, Asaph's envy had so taken his heart that he was fed up with living a godly life. Who did you in financially? Asaph paused to realize that his decisions will have ripple effects on others. Dont turn FROM God in your questions, turn TO Him. God is waiting to talk with you. Verse Psalms 73:28. His eyes were locked in on the prosperity of the wicked and he was overcome with envy. Vs. 17 certainly leaves us wanting more. Laziness Armed with a new perspective about God and this world, Asaph also sees himself clearly. Your community. And earth has nothing I desire besides You. Because he was blinded by envy, he admits emphatically that he did not recognize that, in spite of his brutish behavior, he was always with God (vs. 23a), an admission that represents the flipside of Gods promise to the patriarchs, I will be with you always. And, more importantly, in the temple he discovers that Gods right hand has a tight grip on him (vs. 23b). 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." 13-14), the poet first embarks on an extensive and vivid description of the actions and words of the wicked in verses 4-12.18. Rover is only concerned with the immediate. In light of the verses that follow, good could be taken to refer to material goods (cf. Asaph believes God exists, that He is good and sovereign over all. Sermon Notes Introduction to Psalm 73: "Seeing Clearly in the Sanctuary" by Carl Bosma. Psalm 25:2 E-Mail Challenge. All he could only see their immediate pleasure. In addition to the important connections between Psalm 73 and Psalms 1 and 2, Psalm 73 also shares important themes with Psalm 34. Some of us today might ask those same kinds of questions: You might say, I have always gone to church, and tried to do everything right, but yet I have all this trouble right now but my brother, or my friend, who never goes to church, and never thinks about God, has this great job, a nice home, and none of the troubles I have. Thats a good word for some of us. 2. As men despise their dreams when they awake from them, so, when God "stirs up himself and awakes to judgment" ( Psalms 35:23 ), he will despise such mere semblances of humanity ( Psalms 39:6) as the wicked are. v3 Some people had made themselves important. Let's look at Psalm 1 together for a few minutes. 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. Everything changed. 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. Envy My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. A key step in this process, of course, is to make the audience aware of the presence of Gods hand in their lives. If Asaph had lived our century instead of his own, he might have been looking at the life of Hugh Hefner. Back to Chuck Smith's Bio & Resources "THE PLACE OF UNDERSTANDING" Intro: I know a dear dedicated couple, tithe faithfully, serving God as active laymen in church, their first baby was born horribly deformed. Hah." Psalm 73:28, Tags: Her senior year she was having a great season, when in the first half of a game, she blew out her knee again, ending her career at OU. This psalm is a brutally honest confessional, from the heart of Asaph to the God he felt had given him a rip off. In light of verse 25 and Psalm 49:15 we are of the opinion that it does.43. They are the blessed, not me. More recently, Craig C. Broyles has called attention to the fact that Psalm 73 contains important echoes of the psalms of entry (Ps 15 and 24) and related psalms.14 The reference to a protestation of innocence in verse 15 and the expression of confidence in verse 28 that concludes in a vow to praise suggests that in Psalm 73 the poet reflects on his experience of the lament process in the temple. While the first half of the Psalm is marked by a man-oriented perspective, he now sees things from a God-oriented perspective. But he didnt get away with it, did he? What happened to him, and what he saw happening around him, raised questions that caused him to give up his faith. They wear a power-hungry, cutthroat, cynical attitude like a coat. He can handle it! He is a graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting: and let all the people say, Amen. Several times in recent months I have had individuals say to me: Pastor, that message today was for me! 3. Because He kept six crematories working night and day, on Sunday and feast days? The Prayers of The Psalms. Their prosperity is only temporary. It reminds us . 3 Our God approaches, and he is not silent. For the psalmist worship and economics were not separated. C. A Significant Turning Point (vv. He ceased being concerned about the sin of the successful and starting focusing instead on the success of the sinful. Eternity broke into his temporal perspective. That is where we meet Asaph in Psalm 73. Verse 27 summarizes his new reorientation concerning the wicked. 89:52, ending Book 3). In v. 4-12, he breaks down what he had observed. The reference to the phrase pure of heart and the act of washing ones hands in innocence in verse 13 suggests a connection between Psalm 73 and the psalms of temple entry.32 In any case, following the suggestion of Marvin E. Tate, entry into the temple provides a dramatic threefold correction of the poets envy blurred vision.33, 1. This raises a crucial question for the preacher: does the psalmist expect to live with God after death in verse 24b? I try to be faithful and do right, and I have to fight for every inch. God, I was like an animal. Rating . In short, the wicked are totally self-reliant and autonomous people. In :11 he says they say: How does God know? Psalm 73 is a favorite for many Jewish and Christian believers because the words of this precious psalm ring true to their experience. Asaph might have looked at Hugh Hefner and said, Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure, and washed my hands in innocence. Why obey God if you can blatantly disobey His word like Hugh Hefner did, and seem to be blessed like that? Whom have I in heaven but You? They live longer, play more, and get away with everything. heard sermons, made prayers, received sacraments, given alms, avoided sins, resisted temptations, withstood lusts, appeared for Christ and his cause and servants in vain": yea, his heart . There he was reminded of God's attributes, character and power. 2. Asaph said as I looked around in the world, there were some things that bothered me. I don't understand what is happening or why! To help listeners who are struggling with unsettling doubts in their faith, therefore, a sermon should lead the audience step by step through the poets train of thought. 7-11). Look at v. 3: "For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked." To have faith; to know that what we can see right now, is not the end of the story. ( Psalm 73:1-3) The contradiction between the goodness of God and the prosperity of the wicked. The smell was almost unbearable. Lying Yet over the years they bring steadfastness . "You try to honor God and stay humble and do good, you'll have a tough, mediocre life. 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. And then, in worship, he renews his relationship in praise: Yet I am always with you; You hold me by my right hand. He was used more by Satan than perhaps anyone else in his lifetime. NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 73:1-9 1 Surely God is good to Israel, To those who are pure in heart! So dont cave in to your doubts. But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. The inner conditions of the dead mammal, combined with the bumps in the road caused an eruption that the townspeople will not soon forget. "You are guiding me with your counsel," he said . For example, my father recited the beautiful words of verses 24-25 of this psalm to my mother on August 27, 1945, just before she died. How they are destroyed in a moment! Panic, Conclusions, Denomination: Lloyd Stilley is pastor of First Baptist Church, Gulf Shores, Alabama. WHEN a man is sick, everybody knows what is good for him. The Argument of Psalm 1. Hang on to Him! Reorientation with Respect to Self (vv. He preached in the same church as C. H. Spurgeon over one hundred years earlier. But Peter answered and said to Him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Close Filters Scripture . These godless people, they live on easy street! When he had all those questions that were nagging him, he didnt run away from the house of God, he went TO the sanctuary of God. Psalm 73. This is what a lot of these Psalms are about. As we start in verse one, he's going to tell us about his experience looking around the world and also his beliefs. Intro: One day, six blind men decided to go to the zoo.They hired a guide to tell them about all the exotic animals they couldn't see. Why is God blessing them instead of judging them?". Looking back, Im glad I didnt send it! Psalm 73 in context. They don't face the hardships I face. She said: It should end better for this kid. Battling the Unbelief of Despondency. He was watching how the ungodly were getting along. He was, I believe, a godly man during the time of his personal struggle. One of our daily Bible readings as we started off the year was the Book of Job. In either case, questioning and doubts are not virtues, as some have suggested.60 Ultimately, the truth is that continuous questioning and doubt destroys human relationships. He gives the soul (1) security; (2) happiness; (3) support in the hour of death. May Gods word continue to bless your life! The poet introduces his honest confession with the emphatic contrastive phrase But, as for me. This phrase introduces the yes, but factor. Psalm 25:6-9 All The Wrong Notes. A sermon should underscore, to borrow from the title of Robert Davidson excellent commentary, the vitality of worship. According to verse 16, human rationality could not explain the perplexing problem of why good things happen to bad people and why bad things happen to good people.62 Only the communal experience (vs. 15) in the sanctuary of God provided the necessary perspective to resolve the psalmists crisis of faith (vs. 17). Browse by letter: A. Sermon illustrations can be the tie that binds the text of God's word to the heart of the individual listening. Then he asked in 13:24 Why do You hide Your face and consider me Your enemy? You didn't plan for it. 15 Outstanding Quotes To Recharge Your Preaching. 23-26). Envy had poisoned him and had powerful effects on him. Commentaries, Sermons, Illustrations, Devotionals. And for all eternity, we will know that was worth it all, in the end, to serve God, no matter what we suffered here on this earth. Who did something unfair to you at work? It suggests that the affirmation of faith in verse 1 posed a serious problem for the speaker. read more, Scripture: 173.] More than anyone else he brought pornography into the public realm, and as one of his critics said, he basically bought and sold female flesh. Asaph was one of three directors who worked under King David. (Exodus 20:17). 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. While CHICKEN LITTLE was hit in the head by a piece Dec 4, 1988. (This is) a psalm of *Asaph. Here is where Asaph's perspective is expanded. A person may say, well I just dont feel like being there today but that may be the day that God is going to speak to you. So when Asaph got this revelation from God, he said Oh, Ive been so foolish. He said in :22, I was senseless and ignorant; I was like a beast before You, God. Its the same thing with our daily Bible reading. Such a condition is contrary to the basic belief that God rewards the good with good. It was a truly encouraging sermon about how our perspectives on the world can become skeweduntil we enter the sanctuary of the Lord and see from his perspective, all the way to the very end. Pride Consequently, the way of the wicked looks like a viable alternative way to live.24. In 13:24 why do the wicked. lived our century instead of them! The goodness of God 's attributes, character and power by Satan than anyone! And stay humble and do right, and get away with everything his lifetime questions, turn to,... Arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. was reminded God. 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