Psalm 73:21-28

Asaph

One of four chief musicians in time of David

Wrote Psalms 50, 73–83

2 Sam. 6:17–19 David appointed Asaph to lead those in charge of worship

A composer, a trainer of musicians

Songs of celebration, songs that search the feeling of his heart

Psalm 73:21-28

21 When my heart was embittered

And I was pierced within,

22 Then I was senseless and ignorant;

I was like a beast before You.

23 Nevertheless I am continually with You;

You have taken hold of my right hand.

24 With Your counsel You will guide me,

And afterward receive me to glory.

25 Whom have I in heaven but You?

And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.

26 My flesh and my heart may fail,

But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

27 For, behold, those who are far from You will perish;

You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You.

28 But as for me, the nearness of God is my good;

I have made the Lord God my refuge,

That I may tell of all Your works.

Pray

Let’s understand what we are not covering this morning as well

PSALM 73: Pondering the Prosperity of the Wicked

RDCV 1 point #1

1. Asaph confesses envy of the carefree life of the wicked in this world
1. Appears to be the lifestyles of the rich and famous (That I do not have)
2. The initial look reveals or describes the material situation (verse 4&5)
3. Then it goes on to sketch the personality (verse 6-12)
4. Those who have it all tend to become arrogant (verse 6)
5. They sense no need for God and no need to be considerate of others (verse9 & 11)  

Psalm 73:1-12

1  Surely God is good to Israel,

To those who are pure in heart!

2  But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling,

My steps had almost slipped.

3  For I was envious of the arrogant

As I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

4  For there are no pains in their death,

And their body is fat.

5  They are not in trouble as other men,

Nor are they plagued like mankind.

6  Therefore pride is their necklace;

The garment of violence covers them.

7  Their eye bulges from fatness;

The imaginations of their heart run riot.

8  They mock and wickedly speak of oppression;

They speak from on high.

9  They have set their mouth against the heavens,

And their tongue parades through the earth.

10  Therefore his people return to this place,

And waters of abundance are drunk by them.

11  They say, “How does God know?

And is there knowledge with the Most High?”

12  Behold, these are the wicked;

And always at ease, they have increased in wealth.     

1. RDCV point #2

He became bitter, feeling his own commitment to god and His ways was all in vain

Psalm 73:13-15

13  Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure

And washed my hands in innocence;

14  For I have been stricken all day long

And chastened every morning.

15  If I had said, “I will speak thus,”

Behold, I would have betrayed the generation of Your children.

1. RDCV point # 3

Then, while worshiping,

He realized the very prosperity of the wicked was “slippery ground,” for they felt no need of God and they are vulnerable to judgment

Psalm 73:16-20

16  When I pondered to understand this,

It was troublesome in my sight

17  Until I came into the sanctuary of God;

Then I perceived their end.

18  Surely You set them in slippery places;

You cast them down to destruction.

19  How they are destroyed in a moment!

They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors!

20  Like a dream when one awakes,

O Lord, when aroused, You will despise their form.

1. RDCV point # 4

Suddenly Asaph felt foolish—and relieved

He had God, now and forever.

And having God as his portion far outweighs a carefree life

Psalm 73:21-28

Were are looking at the Aha moment of Asaph     

I.       We need to be honest with ourselves and God (verses 22-23)

21 When my heart was embittered

And I was pierced within,

22 Then I was senseless and ignorant;

I was like a beast before You.

A.   Asaph is giving us the process of his thoughts

B.   Whose heart? Verse21a

1.     Results

a)    Embittered lit., “grew sour”

b)    Pierced within

c)     Senseless (literally stupid, dense slow, dimwitted)

d)    Ignorant, “not discerning”

e)     Like a beast

(1)  No heart or soul, movement toward God

(2)   In our conduct toward God we are behaving like an animal by contrast of what we are about to discover next  

(3)  ‘When my thoughts turned sour and emotionally I was cut up, why, for my part, I was reacting as though I was spiritually untaught and in the dark—like a mere animal before you!’

Psalm 49:12

12  But man in his pomp will not endure;

He is like the beasts that perish.    

Psalm 49:20

20  Man in his pomp, yet without understanding,

Is like the beasts that perish.

2.     In other words, this believing man

a)    Was only just discovering

b)    That he had allowed himself to be as guilty as those arrogant people whom he had envied

 Psalm 4:2

2  O sons of men, how long will my honor become a reproach?

How long will you love what is worthless and aim at deception?     Selah.

II.    Never the less

23 Nevertheless I am continually with You;

You have taken hold of my right hand.

24 With Your counsel You will guide me,

And afterward receive me to glory.

A.   Not in faith yet, he does not condemn himself, he recites what he knows 

B.   I am continually with you

1.     Our nearness to God always helps us maintain a balanced perspective

a)    On material things

b)    And on the wicked

C.   We are with God, as a dependent beneficiary

1.     And he keeps us from falling

D.   Take hold of my hand

E.   With your counsel, you will guide me

1.     “Into glory” could also be translated “with glory,”

a)    That God would guide him through his troubles

b)    So that he would enjoy honor and not shame 

F.    The writer has found a complete victory over his doubts   

III.  The aha moment

25 Whom have I in heaven but You?

And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.

A.   Nothing in heaven

B.   Nothing on earth

1.     And this world has a lot to offer

2.     No relationship

3.     No persons, no things, no possessions, no delights 

C.   Nothing is more incredible then God and what he did for us  

26 My flesh and my heart may fail,

But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

D.   My flesh and heart fail

1.     It will happen

2.     The body will fail by sickness, age, and death

3.     When the flesh fails the heart is ready to fail too; our conduct, courage, and comfort fail

4.     God controls even that

a)    Sovereign relief provided in this distress:

But God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever  

b)    Not just now

c)     Not just when we have a challenge

d)    But for eternity 

27 For, behold, those who are far from You will perish;

You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You.

E.   In a state of distance and estrangement

F.    They choose to be far from God, and they shall be far from him for ever

28 But as for me, the nearness of God is my good;

I have made the Lord God my refuge,

That I may tell of all Your works.

G.   God gave back to the psalmist the gift of faith

H.  When Asaph went into the sanctuary of God,

1.      When he returned to God in penitence

2.      Approached God in awe and wonder

3.      No longer secretly wanting to be like the arrogant persons he knew

4.      God answered his cry

a)    God did so, not by giving him an intellectual answer to the problems of divine providence and to the existence of evil

b)   But by helping him win the battle within his own soul for the very survival of his personal faith

5.     But the word used in the Hebrew describes Aspah’s own inner egotistical view of life

a)    The answer God gives Asaph s not argumentative

b)    God gives Himself, his very Presence

c)     By doing so God reveals to us His unspeakable love and grace

Psalm 18:1

1  “I love You, O Lord, my strength.”    

Psalm 16:5

5  The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup;

You support my lot.    

Psalm 119:57

57  The Lord is my portion;

I have promised to keep Your words.

Psalm 142:5

5  I cried out to You, O Lord;

I said, “You are my refuge,

My portion in the land of the living.

Psalm 73:2

2  But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling,

My steps had almost slipped.

Psalm 14:6

6  You would put to shame the counsel of the afflicted,

But the Lord is his refuge.

Psalm 46:1

1  God is our refuge and strength,

A very present help in trouble.

Psalm 61:3

3  For You have been a refuge for me,

A tower of strength against the enemy.

Psalm 62:7-8

7  On God my salvation and my glory rest;

The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.

8  Trust in Him at all times, O people;

Pour out your heart before Him;

God is a refuge for us.     Selah.

Psalm 71:7

7  I have become a marvel to many,

For You are my strong refuge.

Psalm 91:2

2  I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,

My God, in whom I trust!”

Psalm 91:9

9  For you have made the Lord, my refuge,

Even the Most High, your dwelling place.

Psalm 68:26

26  Bless God in the congregations,

Even the Lord, you who are of the fountain of Israel.

Psalm 49:16

16  Do not be afraid when a man becomes rich,

When the glory of his house is increased;

Isaiah 58:8

8  “Then your light will break out like the dawn,

And your recovery will speedily spring forth;

And your righteousness will go before you;

The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.

Psalm 16:2

2  I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord;

I have no good besides You.”

Psalm 141:3

3  Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;

Keep watch over the door of my lips.

James 4:8

8  Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Psalm 18:2

2  The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;

My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

     ;

2 Samuel 22:47

47  “The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock;

And exalted be God, the rock of my salvation,    

2 Corinthians 12:7

7  Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself!

Proverbs 14:30

30  A tranquil heart is life to the body,

But passion is rottenness to the bones.    

Proverbs 30:2

2  Surely I am more stupid than any man,

And I do not have the understanding of a man.

     ;

Job 42:5-6

5  “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear;

But now my eye sees You;

6  Therefore I retract,

And I repent in dust and ashes.”.

2 Samuel 24:10

10  Now David’s heart troubled him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O Lord, please take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”    

2 Timothy 4:18

18  The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Psalm 89:6

6  For who in the skies is comparable to the Lord?

Who among the sons of the mighty is like the Lord,    

Psalm 146:3-5

3  Do not trust in princes,

In mortal man, in whom there is no salvation.

4  His spirit departs, he returns to the earth;

In that very day his thoughts perish.

5  How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,

Whose hope is in the Lord his God,