My Portion Forever
Notes
Transcript
Scripture Intro:
Scripture Intro:
Series on the Psalms
So far we’ve looked at:
Psalm 133, 1, 2, 139, 8, 46, 19, 119
Oil running down Aaron’s beard (133)
Blessed is the one who walks not in the counsel of the wicked (1)
Kiss the Son (2)
Where can I go from your presence? (139)
Also, 139, “you knit me together in my mother’s womb, I am fearfully and wonderfully made”
“O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth?” (8)
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (46)
“The heavens declare the glory of God. The skies proclaim the work of his hands.” (19)
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (119)
This psalm is not written by David.
Written by a choir director named Asaph.
Now, that’s how I pronounced it my whole life.
Until Hebrew class in seminary.
Both A’s make the “Ah” sound with the
“AH - Sahf” (emphasis on 1st syllable)
Asaph was the chief, and second to him were Zechariah, Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel, who were to play harps and lyres; Asaph was to sound the cymbals,
Then on that day David first appointed that thanksgiving be sung to the Lord by Asaph and his brothers.
Wrote 12 of the Psalms that are included in the Psalster.
Most of which are in Book Three of the psalms (ch. 73-89).
Scripture Reading (“Please stand…”)
Psalm 73:1 (ESV)
A PSALM OF ASAPH
Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.
But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek. They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.
Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment. Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies.
They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression. They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth.
Therefore his people turn back to them, and find no fault in them. And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches. All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence.
For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning. If I had said, “I will speak thus,” I would have betrayed the generation of your children.
But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.
Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin. How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors!
Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you.
Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.
Pray...
Intro:
Intro:
I remember the day that I saw it for the first time.
I was merely walking into the CVS in Riverview, Florida to grab a quick snack.
It was the closest store to our church in Florida...
I hadn’t eaten breakfast (like normal),
but today, I was just dying of hunger so ducked out of the office to grab something.
I was minding my own business...
enjoying the day, going to get my snack.
When I walk in,
there is a monitor hanging from the ceiling...
showing a live feed of their security camera (so it was me on the screen).
I saw me, but I didn’t believe it was me.
I saw something that stopped me in my tracks and absolutely disrupted my day.
B/c the camera was above me and behind me.
A perfect angle to see my newly forming bald spot in the back of my head.
“That’s can’t be me.”
Kaitlyn would comment about it years later (as a 4-year-old),
“Daddy, you have a hole in your hair.”
I walked in to CVS that day thinking one thing about myself.
I walked out seeing myself for who I really was.
The Psalms do the same thing for us.
When we look at the Psalms,
they allow us to see ourselves like a mirror.
They disrupt us and stop us in our tracks...
B/c we truly see ourselves… possibly for the first time.
John Calvin called the Psalms, “an anatomy of all parts of the soul”
Cry of the Soul:
“The psalms of complaint and songs of accusation—the music of confusion, doubt, and heartache—significantly outnumber the hymns of joy.” (Cry of the Soul)
Lament - 59 Psalms are considered Psalms of Lament.
From a visual perspective (each circle representing a Psalm),
you can see that the Psalms of Lament far outnumber any other theme:
Praise, Trust, Hymn, Thanksgiving, Wisdom, Royal
At least in terms of their primary classification.
So denial is not an option when you read the Psalms.
You cannot read them and stay in your unrealistic happy place.
You cannot stay with “Everything is fine”...
When actually everything is falling apart and you are in turmoil.
The Psalms will disrupt you.
The Psalms will allow you to see yourself accurately.
It begins as we would expect,
Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.
But it turns immediately into the honesty and doubt.
The Crisis of Faith
The Crisis of Faith
(v. 2-14) (don’t read it)
(v. 2) “But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped.”
He was right on the edge of giving up.
Walking away from his God.
Crisis of Faith...
He was frustrated, bitter, confused.
And remember...
he was the chief choir director.
He was up front leading God’s people in worship.
So don’t think for a second that people that lead from the front (me especially)...
are free of the same struggles and doubt that you have.
For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
He looked around...
and saw that people around him had it far better than him.
He was envious...
Jealous of someone else’s wellbeing or advantage in life.
Conclusions from What We See
Conclusions from What We See
(v. 4-12) “the arrogant”
“to shine… to flash forth”
4 For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek.
No pain… we fed and physically strong.
5 They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment.
Their glory/majesty (pride)… They are violent against other people.
7 Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies.
They’re so well fed their eyes are bulging out.
Even though they are foolish, they still thrive.
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.
They mock God.
They walk around like they own the place.
10 Therefore his people turn back to them, and find no fault in them.
Everyone still follows them and thinks they are great.
11 And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
They question God… as if he is aloof and doesn’t see them.
They’re thinking… (same as the psalmist).
If God is letting them get all this,
then he must not see or care.
And he must not be God at all.
12 Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.
This sums it all up:
Wicked
Always at ease (not a care in the world)
Increase in riches (they continue to prosper)
He concludes according to what his eyes can see.
The godless and wicked prosper.
The one who fears the Lord suffers and struggles.
That DOES NOT compute.
That is not logical.
That is not fair.
Therefore, God is NOT good.
God is NOT who he says he is.
He is concluding based on what he sees and observes.
App. Don’t we do the same thing.
Bigger houses, Newer houses, Nicer Cars
More successful, better achievements, more accolades
In high school/middle school,
it seems that the wicked have far less struggles.
They always have a date
They always have friends
They never seem unhappy.
What’s the advantage of following Jesus?
All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence.
Conclusions from Struggle and Pain
Conclusions from Struggle and Pain
(v. 13)
“in vain” - “for no purpose, for no gain.”
“It was a waste of my time.”
Why pursue righteousness if I am NOT going to get any upside out of it?
It is the conclusion of self-centeredness.
Why are following God?
Is it out of worship and awe?
Or b/c of what he will do for you and give you?
For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning.
It’s not that he MERELY missed out on some of benefits...
he feels crushed as a follower of God.
His logic:
If God were really God...
and if God were really good...
Then, his people would be the most blessed and not have a care in the world.
Yet, it’s the wicked, who mock God that are flourishing!!!
Therefore, God is not worth it.
Cry of the Soul:
The psalmist disrupts our denial that we are angry or afraid. He disrupts our pretense that our anger and fear are not directed against God. “The problem is not the situation that provoked your fear and anger,” he tells us. “The problem is that your heart is opposed to God.” (Cry of the Soul)
The Realization of Faith
The Realization of Faith
(v. 15-28)
What you SEE is not what truly is.
What you SEE is not the way things truly are.
“Walk by faith and not by sight.”
Faith -
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
certain of what we hope for
and (persuaded) of things NOT SEEN
Reorientation of Worship
Reorientation of Worship
(v. 15-17)
(v. 15) If I would have spoken my thoughts,
I would have walked out on God’s people (“generation of your children”)
(v. 16) He tried to understand all of this.
He wanted to figure it out.
He wanted to reconcile his thoughts.
“a wearisome task”
“until....”
until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.
“the sanctuary of God”
He was oppressed by what he observed...
UNTIL he went into worship.
Knowing God
Surrendering to God
Remembering that God is still God...
especially when we don’t understand him.
Cry of the Soul:
“The Psalms help us understand that every emotion is a theological statement.” (Cry of the Soul)
When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you.
Toward whom? God
Every emotional struggle you have is ultimately a struggle with God.
App. God is giving you permission to bring your complaints, doubt, and questions to him.
What have you buried in your soul?
What do you need to grieve and rage about before God?
(v. 17b) “then I discerned their end”
until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.
(v. 18-20) - further details of their destiny
“set them of slippery places”
“fall to ruin”
“destroyed in a moment”
“swept away”
“when you rouse yourself, you despise them” (God’s patience will not last forever)
Destination of Faith
Destination of Faith
(v. 23-24)
Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.
“continually with you”
Now
And forever - “receive me to glory”
Contrast of Faith
Contrast of Faith
(v. 25-28)
Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
James Montgomery Boice
Predominant Pronoun of the various sections:
First Section - “they”
Second Section - “I”
Third Section - “you” (God)
Fourth Section - “you” and “I”/”me” (together)
This same God that we doubt and complain against...
is the same God who put his Son on a cross for us.
Now that is proof that...
“Truly God is good to Israel.”
But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.
** On Communion Sunday...
If after 10:30,
go straight to the Lord’s Supper.
Close in Prayer
Close in Prayer
Closing Song:
Closing Song:
“We Will Feast in the House of Zion”
“you will receive me to glory”
Not simply let us in...
but allow us to share in his glory and his abundance.
The Feast of God’s people.
Benediction:
Benediction:
From Psalm 29:10-11...
The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.
May the LORD give strength to his people!
May the LORD bless his people with peace!
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