A Closer Look

A submarine was being tested and had to remain submerged for many hours. When it returned to the harbor, the captain was asked, “How did the terrible storm last night affect you?” The officer looked at him in surprise and exclaimed, “Storm? We didn’t even know there was one!”

The sub had been so far beneath the surface that it had reached the area known to sailors as the “cushion of the sea.” Although the ocean may be whipped into huge waves by high winds, the waters below are never stirred.

Psalm 73 is a confession by its author that he became distracted and despondent at the prosperity of the wicked around him. Such an observation created a storm in his soul. The only thing that brought him back to a peaceful state of mind was the cushion that God provided- that cushion was the knowledge that God loved him and took care of him. He rediscovered this through worship.

The majority of Psalm 73 is an elaboration on the demise of the wicked. It should be noted that the hearts is what leads one to such a sudden collapse. Man will know at the end of time, that God is fair. David confessed in Psalm 51:4

Psalm 51:4 (ESV)

4 you (are) justified in your words

and blameless in your judgment.

But in reflecting on last week’s message, I thought to myself: “I did not spend enough time on the last half of the message.” That final portion deals with God’s particular grace towards the believer. How God’s ability to govern and sustain the world affects your life as a Christian?

The Lexham Survey of Theology defines providence as:

God not only created the universe but he maintains it in being and directs it toward the fulfillment of his purposes. The God who made the universe also orders and governs it according to his will.

The last portion of Psalm 73 is in the form of a prayer. And I would like us to take a closer look at it this morning.

We first see that God is faithful, even when we are faithless.

Notice Psalm 73:23-24

Psalm 73:23–24 ESV

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.

It is important to know that every square inch of your life is governed by God. First, He blesses you with His presence.

A Pew Research study revealed the following:

“The belief that God is responsible for all or most things that happen in life peaks at 82% among those in the historically black Protestant tradition, and this view is shared by 72% of evangelical Protestants. More than half of Catholics (56%) also see God’s hand at work in all or most things that happen to them, as do 53% of mainline Protestants.” (Beliefs about God’s involvement in the world | Pew Research Center)

Consider the testimony of the Israelites God was with them through some of their most difficult times. He led them out of Egypt and took them through the wilderness.

He escorted them for 40 years, with a daily dependence upon Him for food and water. He gave them reassuring sign of His company by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. The tabernacle and later the temple were places that housed the presence of God, although no structure could do that in reality. as Solomon states in 2 Chronicles 7.

So determined to show His faithfulness, He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And Jesus assured His disciples of His presence in Matthew 28:20

Matthew 28:20 (ESV)

20 “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Also, we are given the promise in Hebrews 13:5-6 which is a reference to Deuteronomy 31:6.

Hebrews 13:5–6 ESV

5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

It was John Calvin who said:

“God, it is true, governs the whole world; but he is graciously pleased to take a more close and peculiar inspection of His Church, which he has undertaken to maintain and defend.” (Calvin’s Commentary on Psalms, Volume II, 124).

When sons were small, one of them had a difficult time sleeping alone. He had bunked with us up until that time and although we needed him to go to his own bed, he was reluctant. To break him of this habit, I had to move his bed next to ours and hold his hand at night, reassuring him that he would be okay.

And friend, whether you feel it at times or not, God holds you by the hand as you go through life. It is your job not to let go.

We have nothing on this earth besides the goodness of God.

Psalm 73:25–26 ESV

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.

The question marks a change in the passage and it is rhetorical in nature. The answer is that he has no one in heaven besides the Lord- the One who has revealed the destiny of the wicked. The Lord is the One has given him strength and satisfaction. Many places in the Bible are we reminded of our limitedness and mortality. Jesus said in John 15:5

John 15:5 ESV

5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

It was the author’s faulty heart and weakened mind that made him doubt his faith and tempted him to say: “What’s the use in living for God!?” Those that are leaving the Christian faith, who are “deconstructing,” are those who are asking the same thing and arriving at a different place. They are falling prey to the idea that you do not need Scripture as the authority in your faith, but you are fine with personal autonomy or the authority of self (Childers and Barnett, The Deconstruction of Christianity, 26-27).

So it really amounts to seeing your life from the perspective of God as the Governor of it and that there’s an end in mind in Psalm 73:24: “...afterward you will receive me to glory.” And furthermore in verses 27-28.

Psalm 73:27–28 ESV

27 For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you. 28 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.

The purpose of your life is to bring glory to God. And you can do this with the knowledge that God sustains your life. Consider question one from the Heidelberg Catechism, published in 1563: “What is your only comfort in life and death?” Its answer:

“That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of the devil. He also preserves me in such a way that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, all things must work together for my salvation. Therefore, by his Holy Spirithe also assures me of eternal life and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for him.” (What is your only comfort in life and death? - Lord's Day 1 - Heidelberg Catechism (heidelberg-catechism.com))

Without God, one can get pretty cynical. But there is a glory awaits us. Remember how Psalm 23 ends. “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

And the Lord keeps His promises. If you remember the story of the rich man and Lazarus, God said to the rich man. Abraham responded in Luke 16:25-26

Luke 16:25–26 ESV

25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’

Conclusion

In contrast to this, is the beautiful and attentive loving care that God gives those who trust Him. C.S. Lewis wrote in his book, Mere Christianity:

“Almost certainly God is not in time. His life does not consist of moments following one another. The point I want to drive home is that God has infinite attention, infinite leisure to spare for each one of us. He doesn’t have to take us in the line. You’re as much alone with Him as if you were the only thing He’d ever created. When Christ died, He died for you individually just as much as if you’d been the only person in the world.”

Recently, I was at the Annual Gathering of the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference where a brother in Christ from Connecticut approached me and we started talking. Somehow, we got on the subject of God’s faithfulness and tithing. He told the following testimony.

“To genuinely trust God, one must tithe. After our decision to follow where he would lead, God certainly led us on a roller coaster that took us through a bankruptcy, and the loss of our home and my job, to a balanced monthly budget, a new home, rented at half of our old mortgage, and a new job.

Through all of this and through our doubts too, God was teaching us to trust Him. I thought the worst was past, and I was sailing along when in the space of two days, we received an $1,100 bill from the utility company for a mistake in billing and a notice from the IRS that I owed $11,700 for 1985 and 86 taxes. So we kept on going and praying and tithing. The overtime at work dried up and our vehicles needed attention in the way of brake work, tires, shocks, etc. But we continued to tithe.

Then one day, I broke. I was livid with God. All that I had in me at the time was anger, frustration, doubt and a shaken faith in God. I prayed, among other things, “Lord just meet our needs.”

So it went like this for several days and I began to feel better. Then, a few days later someone anonymously gave us $6,000. This enabled us to fix one car and get a more dependable one and paying off the utility bill.

But that is not all. A few days after that, I got another letter from the IRS. They had recalculated the taxes from those two years and discovered a mistake, and now I owed only $10.

God took my anger and frustration and doubt and turned them into love and faith. My pressing needs were the most important thing to me. To let me feel His love was the most important thing to God.”