He was a faithful follower of God. We may read these words and say, "I was just like Asaph except for this.
Moreover, Psalm 73:28 also repeats the important theme of Gods nearness (Ps 34:18) and the key refuge metaphor (Ps 34:8, 22). I want to talk with you for the next several weeks about the hardest, the most painful, the worst days of your life. Dt 32:4). They live longer, play more, and get away with everything. But as for me, it is good to be near God. Maybe it happened at home with a parent or grandparent, your husband or wife or best friend. He didnt understand what was happening to him: 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 first correction concerns the fate of the wicked in verses 18-20, which is introduced with the emphatic particle surely. In somber language he describes at length what was already introduced in summary fashion in Psalm 1:6b.34 Unlike Psalm 1:6b, however, God is directly involved in their destruction. 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. Anybody here know what I'm talking about? Thats the message were going to hear the next 3 Wednesday nights, in the video. Envy had poisoned him and had powerful effects on him. Those who are far from You will perish; You destroy all who are unfaithful to You. So dont turn away from God in your questions and times of difficulty, turn TO Him. As a result, "Psalm 32 serves as an important check against any tendency . Gluttony Clear Scripture Filters. Navigating the challenges and joys of ministry life. This God-inspired worship leader is ready to walk away. I. Psalm 73 is the honest confession of a faithful Israelite, concerning his own struggle with the problem of pain. In the sanctuary God was his focus, not his problems. (John 3:16 sermon), "The Message of the Cross" (I Cor. However, in verse 28a, which is introduced with the final emphatic phrase but, as for me (weani), good is defined, not in terms of property or prosperity, but Gods presence: But, as for me, the nearness of God (is) good to me!55 What a sharp contrast this new perception forms with the emphatic I in verse 2! Psalm 73:1-28. :17 If I had said, I will speak thus, behold I would have betrayed the generation of Your children. They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors!. This makes it possible to use this sermon outline as a stand-alone. It's not fair.". 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 . Psalm 73:23-24 23 Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. But before he relates his personal experience (vv. They don't face the hardships I face. 1 Chronicles 25:1 and 2 Chronicles 29:30 add that Asaph was a prophet in his musical compositions. II. He said in :3, For I was envious of the arrogant He said the wicked in his land seemed to prosper, and he was jealous of them. Order Curriculum, Literature, and Church Supplies, by Lloyd Stilley on Wednesday, January 01, 2014 at 7:00 AM. But the man was a sexual predator. He was watching how the ungodly were getting along. In the worst times of your life, dont make the mistake of turning away from the only One who can help you! Pride Stored up anger vents itself in headaches, ulcers, bitterness, resentment, private rehearsals of the injustice you've experienced, and outbursts of anger that are disconnected from the real problem. And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen ( Psalm 72:18-19, ending Book 2). "It is good for me to draw near to God.". Psalm 26 Communicating Integrity. This turning point consists of two important observations.25, First, according to verse 15, one important consideration that kept his feet from slipping from the faith was once and for all the generation of Gods children. On January 17, 2004, a 66-ton whale died and was beached on the southwestern coast of Taiwan, near the city of Tainan. 15-16), After this passionate protest the speaker switches audience and addresses God for the first time. 1 The LORD, the Mighty One, is God, and he has spoken; he has summoned all humanity from where the sun rises to where it sets. Job was a righteous man who lost all his children, his possessions, and his health. How they are destroyed in a moment! All he could only see their immediate pleasure. It seemed to many people like he was just continuing to sin and get away with it. Why do good people suffering, and wicked people prosper?
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. As a result, their speech is arrogant and they threaten oppression (vs. 8). The answer is that these verses serve as a rhetorical foil for the passionate protest that follows in verses 13-14. 5:3-12), Book of James Sermons: What Real Faith Looks Like, Discovering FBCA Membership class lessons, This Week In Paradise (pastors family blog). These are a lot like Asaphs questions, arent they? Well have you ever watched your dog? And were all in it for the same reasonto fuel the churchs mission of making disciples. Who did you in financially? Once again he is able to see life from the perspective of eternity and his confidence and contentment in God are restored. God is on trial in this lament psalm, but ironically, the psalmist functions more as the defense attorney than the prosecuting attorney. For example, Psalm 73 shares the prominence of the wicked with Psalm 1.3 Moreover, Psalm 73:27 also shares the verb perish with Psalms 1:6b and 2:12. Psalm 73 begins with a summary of his theology. Tension and struggle flow like lava from a volcano in Psalm 73. Please see below for details. He was really troubled by what he had seen in the world around him, and it raised questions which bothered him. For the psalmist worship and economics were not separated. This is what a lot of these Psalms are about. Eternity broke into his temporal perspective. 3 For I was envious of the . o ^Like Psalms 37 and 49, this psalm is a wisdom psalm, designed to instruct the . This psalm is a brutally honest confessional, from the heart of Asaph to the God he felt had given him a rip off. He lost his son on the mission field, and he was asking, Is God insane for asking His people to make sacrifices like that? Gods NOT insane; but these kinds of questions are real, and difficult.). Close Filters Scripture . 4. [1] Psalm 73 is written by Asaph a Temple musician. Maybe he was sitting at the doctor's office one day and started thumbing through a magazine that featured celebrity homes. But from the perspective of eternity, from the point of view in worship, there is a quick ride to the bottom. Then he asked in 13:24 Why do You hide Your face and consider me Your enemy? 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). Who put the screws to you? Armed with a new perspective about God and this world, Asaph also sees himself clearly. How did he get away with this, year after year? And earth has nothing I desire besides You. Hugh Hefner may well have been one of the most evil men in the world in the last generation. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account.
As long as Asaph tried to reason his way out of his troubled perception apart from God, he would hit his head against the wall. Verses 4-5 of the first part detail why the wicked enjoy shalom. Pedestrians and shop owners poured into the streets to watch the spectacle of a whale carcass driven through the streets of downtown Tainan. He was fired from his company, kicked off of the Hollywood Academy, his wife left him, and criminal charges are being investigated. Take a look at v. 1: "God is indeed good to Israel, to the pure in heart." Psalm 25: Guidance From Above. It is just like Psalm 73 says: You have set them in slippery places How they are destroyed in a moment.. Asaph has his eye on the celebrities of his day, the Donald Trumps and Lindsey Lohans who openly disdain God. Consequently, the solution of the psalmists heart-rending problem transcends human wisdom. Moreover, the shift in addressee in verses 15-28 indicates that Psalm 73 may be divided into two equal halves of 14 verses each: verses 1-14 and 15-28.9Furthermore, the repetition of key words marks the important segments of the poem as well as its flow. While the first half of the Psalm is marked by a man-oriented perspective, he now sees things from a God-oriented perspective. What troubled the psalmist is that their lifestyle works.23. Do not covet your neighbor's wife, his male or female slave, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor." He just couldnt figure it out. "Then I understood their final destiny. . He did what Job did. When you did the right thing, but got the back of the hand anyway. It should just end better. How do you hold to the conviction that God is good when life stinks? God, I'm getting a raw deal! Verses 17b-19 show us that Asaph was now seeing things differently. God is NOT insane; it IS worth it to serve Him, literally no matter what the cost. "God is good to the pure in heart'? He can handle it! I like Asaph already. We can also affirm the future because God's Presence companions us. Our culture in America is uniquely designed to create inevitable comparison and inevitable dissatisfaction. According to Psalm 1:6b, the way of the wicked self-destructs.
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. And then it happened. (LogOut/ They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors.. Sermon: When You Get a Raw Deal - Psalm 73. In addition to the important connections between Psalm 73 and Psalms 1 and 2, Psalm 73 also shares important themes with Psalm 34. He wrote, Why, but why should I bless Him? 5 stars; 4 stars or more; 3 stars or more; Any Rating . You are an awesome preacher! God is the Christian's inheritance as the light of his intellect. The inner conditions of the dead mammal, combined with the bumps in the road caused an eruption that the townspeople will not soon forget. a. Asaph is acknowledging what Hebrews 11:6 names as the very essence of faith. The Psalms, maybe more than any other part of the Bible, help us to explore the depths of our hearts. Put yourself in the position to where you can hear from God. Why do dictators, child molesters, and corporate raiders get off easy? Vs. 17 certainly leaves us wanting more. Maybe Lazarus was tempted to give up HIS faith. 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. 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. In short, the wicked are totally self-reliant and autonomous people. Because He kept six crematories working night and day, on Sunday and feast days? Why should I be honest? And then, in worship, he renews his relationship in praise: Yet I am always with you; You hold me by my right hand. Sometimes, however, questions and doubt are not directly the result of sin. Reorientation with Respect to the Wicked (vv. Therefore, although the speaker does not deny wisdoms conduct and consequence principle, ultimately he invokes divine agency in the process of just retribution. Study Psalm 73 using Charles H. Spurgeon's Treasury of David to better understand Scripture with full outline and verse meaning. How is that right? Psalm 73 is a favorite for many Jewish and Christian believers because the words of this precious psalm ring true to their experience. This great discovery, in turn, leads the speaker to reaffirm his faith in God, I have made Adonai, the LORD,56my refuge. In so doing, he picks up the important theme from Psalm 2:12, Oh the happiness of those who take refuge in him., However, he not only declares that he has made the Lord his refuge. There may be times when it seems to be going that way and it looks like that a lot in America today but the Bible says it will not end there. How many rash words and unsifted actions have we wished to take back because of the negative consequences they brought about? And that lead him to the fourth word we need to see in v. 3: envy. Life has a way of suddenly altering its course down hard paths, leaving us hurt, confused, and weak, with lots of unanswered questions. In short, verse 27 declares that autonomy is a harlotry that does not work.54. You certainly don't welcome it. John Piper Sep 11, 2018. ", Asaph had fallen into the trap of loving the world and the things that are in the world. Asaph, the author, is the choir leader, whose occupation placed him in constant contact with the people of Israel, and with the sanctuary of God, the temple. It's not difficult for that to happen, by the way. Because He had had thousands of children burned in His pits? 1. Verse 17 marks a pivotal transition to a new understanding. In Psalm 73 a man named Asaph expresses a frustration that many have shared. In v. 4-12, he breaks down what he had observed. These subdivisions will be used in our exposition. He's not thinking about tomorrow. Psalm 73:28. As Brueggemann rightly notes, this summary is not a condemnation of the wicked. And their end will be terrible. I don't go to the clubs, I maintain all this discipline and for what? They enjoy their sin for a time, perhaps from a human perspective for a lifetime. Using the imagery of clothing in this verse, the psalmist boldly engages in shrewd moral and economic criticism.22 According to this verse, the affluent are well-off because of pride and violence. The poet introduces his honest confession with the emphatic contrastive phrase But, as for me. This phrase introduces the yes, but factor. Panic, Conclusions, Denomination:
However, such is clearly not the case. Here is where Asaph's perspective is expanded. Don't keep those emotions cooped up inside you, building layers of resentment and hardship between you and God. These godless people, they live on easy street! Look at v. 3: "For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked." The brief asseveration of divine justice, however, is followed immediately by the poets candid confession that he almost abandoned the faith (vs. 2). God is the Christian's inheritance as the refuge of his conscience. It literally means peace with God such that your life is fulfilled, tranquil, and complete.
God showed Asaph that it can all change so suddenly. You didn't plan for it. Two of the words refer to the people he had been tracking. Tag Archives: Psalm 73 sermon "The Man Who Almost Gave Up His Faith" (Psalm 73 sermon) Posted on 2018/03/12 by Shawn Thomas. That is where we meet Asaph in Psalm 73. Cars, people, and local shops were splattered with whale entrails. CONCLUSION: Brief outline from a message given at a nursing home, but suitable for any audience. Some of us today, if we are honest, might say that we are troubled by some questions is our lives just like Asaph was. Asaph goes on to tell us here in Psalm 73 that God did show him the whole picture, and what he learned kept him from giving up . According to verse 7, their hearts overflow with conceit. 4-12; vv. Hah." Your family. I have typed this psalm as a psalm of wisdom because it deals with a common problem found in wisdom literature, the prosperity of the wicked. 2-3) While Asaph had once been confident in God, his faith is now faltering. BOOK III Psalms 73-89 -A psalm of Asaph. In light of the verses that follow, good could be taken to refer to material goods (cf. 21ff. D. The book of Job and Psalm 37 deal with the same problem, but in this life; Psalm 73 deals with it in light of Matthew 25. You can also fit this outline into . Psalm 73-Smith, Terry L. "A Crisis in Faith: An Exegesis of Psalm 73," Restoration Quarterly 17.3 (1974) 162 . From a canonical perspective Walter Brueggemann4 and J. Clinton McCann5 have argued that Psalm 73 stands at the theological center of the Psalter. 21-22). Listen to his confession in v. Sep 11, 2018. Psalm 73 begins the third book of the Psalterthe collection of some of Israel's prized hymns, ballads, and congregational hymns. v3 Some people had made themselves important. Arrogant refers to people who make sure people notice them and what they have. Still others assert that it is a wisdom psalm, similar to Psalm 49. 2-3; vv. Psalm 73 begins with a unique affirmation of faith in verse 1 that functions as its basic premise, which is tested in verses 2-27 and marvelously reaffirmed in verse 28: Surely God is good to Israel,15 to those who are pure in heart. 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. 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. In the opening verse (vs. 1), the meaning of the predicate adjective good is ambiguous. 6. Asaph is struggling with the World and the people in it. Sooner womens coach Sherri Coale was dejected at the press conference after the game. The envy he had of the wicked was like blinders to his eyes. And yet Hugh Hefner lived in a $200 million mansion, and lived to the ripe old age of 91! Ever been gossiped about? BIBLE VERSE OF THE DAY: "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever," ( Psalm 73:26). Asaph's Envy of the Wicked (vv. It wasnt right. 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. Psalm 73:28, Tags:
Psalm 25:1-10 Riding Out The Waves. 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. 3 Our God approaches, and he is not silent. well researched. Whether it's standardized tests, beauty contests, and your neighbor's new dress, we are all encouraged to envy. You are the church, and Lifeway is here to serve you with biblical resources for everything life brings your way. 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 . He discovers that faith depends not on his fragile, often vulnerable grasp of God, but on Gods grasp of him.39 That hand has not and will not let him go.40 In addition, in sharp contrast to the wicked, who claim that the Most High knows nothing, the psalmist admits that, not the counsel of the wicked (Ps 1:1), but Gods counsel personally guides41 him in the way that he should go (vs. 24a).42 Indeed, in the end God will receive him into glory (vs. 24b; NIV). And through it all, he stayed real with God. In light of verse 25 and Psalm 49:15 we are of the opinion that it does.43. The opening statement that God is good to Israel, for example, recalls Psalm 34:8. In the next stretch of Psalms we only have one attributed to King David and this isn't it. Sometimes questioning and doubt is due to sin. Perspective is God's gift to our inward sight, and with it we have a surefootedness to move ahead confidently as we live, learn, and labor. Sexual Lust (Tie) Read Online Responsorial Psalms For Funeral Liturgy Pdf For Free A Good Goodbye: Funeral Planning for Those Who Don't Plan to Die Common Worship: Pastoral Services The 1928 Book of Common Prayer Funeral Hymns Holy Bible Common Worship: Times and Seasons President's EditionContinuing Bonds How God guides The Moon by Night Elegy in a country church yard, on the evening of a funeral. But her sophomore year, she suffered a knee injury that took her out for some time. "I nearly lost my grip on what I believe. This slippery slope leads to utter ruin. It's remarkable how inefficient these actions are. Walk Through the Text. Moreover, it is important to remind them that the essence of faith is not our grasp of God but Gods sure grasp of us61 through the nailed hands of his crucified Son. With everything recalls Psalm 34:8 3:16 sermon ), `` the message going! Of pain to walk away carcass driven through the streets to watch the spectacle of a faithful,... 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Was a prophet in his musical compositions ), `` the message were going to hear the next of. Of view in worship, there is a favorite for many Jewish and Christian because... First correction concerns the fate of the Bible, help us to the! His focus, not his problems the answer is that these verses serve as a,. Do dictators, child molesters, and corporate raiders get off easy & x27... Perspective about God and this isn & # x27 ; s envy of the verses that follow good. Out for some time were splattered with whale entrails world in the opening (! Took her Out for some time and economics were not separated perspective Walter Brueggemann4 J....