I want answers, God." In fact, he was a worship leader. Two of the words refer to the people he had been tracking. Psalm 73 is a favorite for many Jewish and Christian believers because the words of this precious psalm ring true to their experience. Im sitting on the couchwith my eyes closedattempting to nap. :4 There are no pains in their death, and their body is fat. Study Psalm 73 using Charles H. Spurgeon's Treasury of David to better understand Scripture with full outline and verse meaning. John Piper Dec 4, 1988. Second, the psalmists solidarity with the community did not solve his perplexing problem. 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. That is so important. 7-11). Walk Through the Text. This God-inspired worship leader is ready to walk away. Psalm 50:1-5 A psalm of Asaph. 2. God, I was like an animal. He was angry and disillusioned. That may also have been the reason that occasioned his doubt. Psalms 73:20. Ever been gossiped about? As we start in verse one, he's going to tell us about his experience looking around the world and also his beliefs. He was one of the great worship leaders in the OT. "You are guiding me with your counsel," he said . This wonderful psalm may be best understood by the . 1, 28) form an inclusio and frame within which the painful experience of the poet is unfolded. 1 Chronicles 25:1 and 2 Chronicles 29:30 add that Asaph was a prophet in his musical compositions. Psalm 73 moves from radical doubt to a robust reaffirmation of faith. Maybe Lazarus was tempted to give up HIS faith. Behind every support specialist, Bible study editor, graphic designer, and accountant is a Sunday School teacher, kids volunteer, or small group leader. He was used more by Satan than perhaps anyone else in his lifetime. Psalms 73. Pedestrians and shop owners poured into the streets to watch the spectacle of a whale carcass driven through the streets of downtown Tainan. We'll see that they don't necessarily sync up very well. And he doesn't keep the cause of his troubles a secret. Jobs questioning and doubt is a case in point. Thats the story of the Rich Man & Lazarus in Luke 16, isnt it? As Brueggemann rightly notes, this summary is not a condemnation of the wicked. How they are destroyed in a moment! He preached in the same church as C. H. Spurgeon over one hundred years earlier. There he was reminded of God's attributes, character and power. The negative moral evaluation and economic critique of verse 6 is intensified in the second part (vv. In addition, the Hebrew word lebab, heart, occurs six times in the poem.11As Martin Buber has underscored, ultimately the resolution of the poets struggle depends on the disposition of the heart.12 Finally, two Hebrew terms, ml (burden) and ng (plague) are repeated in reverse order in verses 5, 14 and 16 to contrast the comfort of the wicked and the poets experience of constant affliction. In fact, someone pointed out that over the past 20 years at the Oscar ceremonies, Harvey Weinstein had been publicly thanked in the Oscar speeches as many times as God! 2-3; vv. 7. be blessed man of god. This is what a lot of these Psalms are about. But Asaph is in trouble. He says, the wicked people are succeeding, and the righteous are being punished. They help us put words to our doubts and frustrations, but at the same time they give us reminders of the help and hope we have in God. The envy he had of the wicked was like blinders to his eyes. They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors!. For this reason they do not fear divine retribution. Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment. Psalms 73:25-26. Assembly Of God. It can only be understood from an eschatological perspective.31, Surprisingly, the psalmist does not report how entry into the sanctuary would provide the necessary insight. Laziness Unless otherwise specified, content on this website is licensed as Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0. This psalm is a brutally honest confessional, from the heart of Asaph to the God he felt had given him a rip off. 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 . He starts out saying, "God is indeed good to Israel, to the pure at heart. And were all in it for the same reasonto fuel the churchs mission of making disciples. 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. 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. v3 Some people had made themselves important. III. Consider this godly guidance when you get a raw deal. But in worship we see from God's infinite perspective. Furthermore, to highlight the uniqueness of worship, the beatitude in Psalm 65:4 should also be used because it claims that true happiness consists of God bringing us to his courts where we may be satisfied with his goodness. If he had publicly told of his envious musings, he would have betrayed a generation of Gods children. 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). The reader of Psalm 73 may wonder why the detailed profile of the wicked in verses 4-12 was inserted between verses 3-4 and 13-14. In light of the verses that follow, good could be taken to refer to material goods (cf. Those who draw near -who come in the true spirit of sacrifice, and with the only available offering, the Lord Jesus, shall be finally saved; therefore, it is good for them. This is unfortunate, since his works contain priceless gems of information that are found nowhere except in the ancient writings of the Jews. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. The connection with Psalm 24:4 suggests that functionally verse 1 is not a proverbial statement,16 nor exactly a brief reiteration of the torah piety of Psalm 1,17 but, instead, an asseveration of Gods justice that is formally similar to Psalms 25:8 and 92:15 (cf. God allowed Satan to test Job. Before you bail out on God, Asaph wants you to sit with him and learn from his experiences. This switch marks a major turning point in the poem. Rating . He says God is good; I know that . "Then I understood their final destiny. What stopped him was the feeling, "If I utter my doubts, i.e., if I speak out of my discouraged, envious heart, I will put a stumbling block in somebody else's path. 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. Pride Reorientation with Respect to the Wicked (vv. 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. If you've ever had something happen to you that was out of human control but seemed so unfair that you don't understand how a good God could let it happen, then you need to sit awhile with a choir director named Asaph. Survey respondents noted that temptations 3 For I was envious of the . We do things that brought regret and heartache because we didn't stop to consider the consequences of our words and choices. Asaph believes God exists, that He is good and sovereign over all. Verse 25-26. Notice how personal, direct, and intimate the psalmist is in addressing God. Looking back, Im glad I didnt send it! I hadnt felt good all day. Its the same thing with our daily Bible reading. They can take care of themselves. Psalm 24 Back On The Farm. It is going to end differently. Moreover, it helps them transition from radical doubt to a robust reaffirmation of faith. Take a look at v. 1: "God is indeed good to Israel, to the pure in heart." They recommend specifics by the score; salts from the earth, herbs of the field, drugs from the east, minerals from the rock, extracts, compounds, simples, cordials, decoctions, quintessences, and I . Because they live at ease, therefore, according to verse 6, they are proud21 and violent. Psalm 25: Guidance From Above. CONCLUSION: He's not thinking about tomorrow. You guide me with Your counsel,and afterward You will take me into glory. We're sorry, an error occurred. And that lead him to the fourth word we need to see in v. 3: envy. They have no trouble; they succeed at everything they do; they are so well off they are bulging with fatness; and are at ease and have increased in wealth. a. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. 3 Tests Of Plagiarism: Do Your Sermons Pass Them. If it is, then just eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you may die. If this life is all there is, then it may not be worth it to serve God, because there are people who sin, and cheat, and steal, and seem to get away with it while people who obey God sometimes suffer. I try to be faithful and do right, and I have to fight for every inch. He kept his faith, but I lost mine. Panic, Conclusions, Denomination: Thank you so much for that blessing Peter! You live by lust, power, greed, and deceit, and you become a celebrity. Ps 26:7-8) in dramatic transformation of the psalmists despairing doubt (vv. Morning by morning (Ps 101:8), when one would expect a gracious word from God, he is chastised. Moreover, the opening behold (hinneh) at the beginning of verse 27a matches the behold in the summary description of the wicked in verse 12.50 This obvious cross-reference to verse 12 shows that through his transforming temple experience the psalmist made the startling discovery that his earlier perception about the wicked was false.51 The prosperity (shalom) of the wicked is not forever! John Piper Sep 11, 2018. Psalm 25:1-10 Riding Out The Waves. In this strategic location the poem examines one of the most complex and perplexing problems for believers: the prosperity of the wicked and the suffering of the righteous.6 In this struggle Psalm 73 summarizes, according to McCann, the basic lesson that readers should have learned in their meditating on Psalms 1-72, namely, that happiness or goodness has less to do with material prosperity than with the assurance of Gods sustaining presence amidst suffering.7. 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). ( Psalm 73:1-3) The contradiction between the goodness of God and the prosperity of the wicked. 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. But as for me, it is good to be near God. Reorientation with Respect to Gods Presence (vv. You didn't see that coming. read more, Scripture: You can also fit this outline into . Your Emotions Matter to God Learning from the Bible's Songbook. But it WILL change suddenly and even more dramatically, the moment they enter eternity. Psalm 26 A Life Of Integrity. That spoke to a need in my life, or a question on my heart. And I am grateful that God speaks to us through His word! That poor man was carried away to eternal comfort, but the rich man found himself in agony in this flame. It is just as Psalm 73 says: You cast them down to destruction, How they are destroyed in a moment. Thats the message of Psalm 73. How to Live with God as Your Portion By Kristine Brown . soul satisfying. How could I say to Him: Blessed art Thou, Eternal, Master of the Universe, Who chose us from among the races to be tortured day and night, to see our fathers, our mothers, our brothers, end in the crematory? (Night, 64-65). Job was a righteous man who lost all his children, his possessions, and his health. In :11 he says they say: How does God know? Psalm 26 Communicating Integrity. 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. In short, verse 27 declares that autonomy is a harlotry that does not work.54. In the midst of suffering believers often feel cheated and begin to question and doubt God's goodness. Once again he is able to see life from the perspective of eternity and his confidence and contentment in God are restored. 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. In short, the wicked are totally self-reliant and autonomous people. 2-3) While Asaph had once been confident in God, his faith is now faltering. In addition, as he looked around he saw those who had no regard for God living in prosperity and apparent happiness. "It was oppressive to me," he said. Moreover, Psalm 73:28 also repeats the important theme of Gods nearness (Ps 34:18) and the key refuge metaphor (Ps 34:8, 22). (Psalm 22:2) Gluttony Most of us can probably think of a time we were glad we DIDNT say or do something I remember one time I wrote a comment on Facebook that really tore into someone but I just hit the delete key instead and wiped the whole thing out. Certainly God is good to Israel, and to those whose motives are pure ( Psalm 73:1 ).