Sunday, January 2, 2011 pm
Until I Went into the Sanctuary of God
PSALM 73
The message of this psalm is very relevant as it describes one
who is frustrated at the prosperity of the ungodly all around.
Yet we find the source of his trust in God as it leads to an
“attitude adjustment.” Let
us notice the message of this psalm.
a.
The
statement is an absolute truth –
i.
God was
TRULY good to Israel. Often
to a much greater degree than what was deserved.
When you study the patience of God in spite of how He was
treated throughout Israel’s history, you see true goodness.
(See Isaiah 63:7-9)
ii.
His
goodness is preeminently demonstrated to the godly (Pure in heart) –
James 4:8 tells us, “Draw near to
God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and
purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
Matt. 5:8, Jesus Himself said that the pure in heart would see God.
b.
The
statement is also a summary of this psalm.
i.
Asaph
struggles inwardly and reaches this conclusion.
ii.
He
declares he almost stumbled (2).
Here we have one who was on the edge of the cliff and stumbling
toward the ways of the world.
iii.
He was
envious of the worldly – the boastful and wicked because they seemed to
prosper. Do you ever look at
this life and think that many things are unfair?
Do you ever find yourself saying,
“If I just had a little more”? From
a physical standpoint – things do not seem right.
IT is the greedy who seems to live in comfort and he seems to
have his way with those who have little or nothing.
When righteousness is called for, he seems to have the resources
to resist and he does, often with great success.
Often, the helpless are oppressed and taken advantage of.
Because the wealthy have resources, they often have their way
with the government and find protection and even enablement to take
advantage, and they do. AT
times, even their so-called goodwill (i.e. laws for the betterment of
society – such as environmental laws) becomes oppressive, usually to the
middle class who struggles to make ends meet and are crushed by the
demands of thoughtless lawmakers, influenced by the selfish and ungodly.
When their success is seen, one is TEMPTED to want to join them.
But is that a good thing?
a.
NO pain in
their death – signifying they die in comfort with everything at their
side (though they still cannot stop death itself).
b.
Their
strength is firm – NASU, “their body is fat” – meaning they are healthy
and strong – not deprived of nourishment or insufficient clothing or
shelter, etc.
c.
They are
not in trouble as other men (5) – they do not face many of the struggles
of every day life of the poor.
They have the resources to deal with many of the minor
inconveniences of life.
d.
Therefore
they are prideful and violent (6) – attitudes that are invincible and
actions that hurt others, because they are the “haves” vs. the “have
nots”.
e.
Their eyes
bulge (7) – they have more than they actually need.
f.
They scoff
at oppression with arrogance (8) – they look down upon the poor and
lowly classes.
g.
They set
their mouths against the heavens (9) – it is often the worldly and
powerful that mock at God and any accountability beyond this life.
They will be the ones who finance campaigns against godliness in
favor of their maintaining their status.
h.
Full cups
drained (10) - They are over people and have the power to take from the
average person and below (i.e. it is the wealthy who can drive a poor
man out of business, with money they can control industries and raise
prices to their profit on the backs of those with little to spare.
History shows that during difficult times such as depressions and
recessions, the rich often get richer at the expense of the majority.)
i.
Vs. 11
shows the depth of their rejection of God saying, “How does God know?”
j.
Vs. 12,
these are the ungodly – they are always at ease and getting richer.
k.
Vs. 13-14
– The “pity party”. The
writer seeing these things thinks, “What’s the use in living righteous
when I could have these things as well?”
“I struggle to do the right thing and look what it gets me?
More misery and even suffering.”
“Why can’t I have just a few of the “perks” of my wicked
oppressor?”
l.
The
summary: Again recall that
when you look at all these things it is easy to say life is unfair and
ask “What’s the use?” of trying to do right.
m.
OBSERVATIONS: Let us notice some points before we move on.
i.
While the
writer paints a glorious picture of the life of the worldly wicked, know
that their lives are not always easy.
The wicked and the wealthy of this world DO face many of these
problems this psalmist reasons they avoid (but their worldliness does
relieve other troubles.)
ii.
As
Christians living in this ungodly generation, I want us to consider that
often when we are envying the worldly, we look at them with a skewed
perspective. We need to be
careful not to do this because it is full of worldly attitudes (cf.
iii.
Envy IS a
sin!
1 Cor. 13:4 says that love does not envy.
Gal. 5:19-21 – it is a “work of the flesh”
James 3:13-15 – describes envy as being sensual, earthly, and demonic.
We live in a society that wants to punish the wealthy simply because
they are wealthy. Let us be
careful to think that because they have more than they need (or we think
they deserve) that we have the right to deprive them of it!
Such an attitude from the poor or less fortunate is just as
envious and materialistic as those they desire to take from (consider 2
Thess. 3:10 – i.e. it prompts laziness and ingratitude).
a.
The
psalmist did NOT utter the thoughts going through his mind.
His righteousness would not allow him to do so.
We need to live our lives in such a way that when thoughts of
evil enter our mind, we immediately dismiss them because we realize the
consequence of such things.
b.
(15)He
realized that such utterances would have been untrue to the generation
of the children of God (i.e. setting a poor example).
The NASU says, “I would have betrayed the generation of Your
children.”
c.
(16)
Thinking about these things was painful – realize the conflict going
through his mind.
Considering the pursuit of worldly gain and how such would hurt the
godly. Both are wrong, and
the pure mind is grieved that such thoughts would even enter the mind.
BUT they are going through his mind.
So where does he find answers?
d.
(17) – “Until
I went into the sanctuary of God.
Then I understood their end.”
IT is when we put ourselves in the presence of God that we realize the
foolishness of the worldly thinking we have discussed.
i.
When discouraged we need to STUDY God’s word,
Ps 119:104, “Through Your precepts
I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.”
Acts 20:32, “So now, brethren, I
commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build
you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”
John 17:17 – it is His word that sanctifies us.
ii.
We
need to assemble with the saints
– NOTE that the Psalmist went to the sanctuary of God.
During David’s day that would have been the tabernacle.
When we assemble with others saints, it is a strengthening
occasion. We teach and
admonish one another (Col. 3:16), we edify one another (1 Cor. 14:26),
etc.
More than ever, here is where we need to be reminded that we NEED TO BE
HERE!
Heb. 10:25 commands that we not abandon our brethren by failing to
assemble. In light of our
context, consider the other side – when you are discouraged, if you
assemble with the saints, perhaps they can build YOU up!
When you are weak, let the presence of God and His people build you up!
a.
(18) The
wicked (them) are set in slippery places.
While the wealthy and worldly seem to prosper, they fall as well.
And usually when they fall, it is great!
History and the news tell countless stories of the collapse of
the worldly. And when they
lose it, what do they have left?
b.
(19) Their
collapse can happen in a brief moment of time (as in a stock market
crash, etc.) and be totally devastating.
Such is the nature of temporal things – they perish.
Their terrors are the result of nowhere to turn for relief.
c.
(20)
Contrasted with a dream, the wicked wake up to reality and it is out of
favor with God. Even if man
in this life has everything, if he forsakes God, he has nothing lasting.
He may see “sweet sleep” to end his life here, but when he does
awake, like the rich man in Luke 16:23, he will be in torments.
Also consider here Matthew 16:26, “What
profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world…”
d.
Friends,
when you are discouraged at your state in this life, if you are doing
the best you can, don’t let it defeat you.
Remember these consequences of the plight of the things of this
world.
a.
(21-22)
There are two possibilities with the psalmist’s mindset.
1) In these verses we have an acknowledgment of the ungodly
attitude that was consuming him in bitterness before he “woke up” OR 2)
we have his mindset when he realizes his sinful and petty attitude about
the things of this life.
b.
(23-24) “I am continually with You.
You hold my right hand…”
With corrected perspective, the psalmist now acknowledges where
he belongs.
He has correctly turned to God’s counsel instead of the counsel of men.
Prov 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own
understanding; In all your
ways acknowledge Him,
And
He shall direct your paths.”
James 1:5 calls for us to ask of God for wisdom.
c.
(25) His
focus is again on heavenly things.
EVEN upon the earth, his desires are centered in heaven –
Colossians 3:1-2 – where is your mind set?
Phil. 3:8 do you count the things of this world “rubbish”?
d.
(26) While
his flesh might fail, God is still his strength.
e.
(27) Why?
Because He will right the wrongs of this life.
The ungodly will face Him and be punished (2 Thess. 1:8-9)
f.
(28) The
psalmist concludes, “But it is good for me to draw near to God.”
Remember how in verse 1 we read that God is good? Now we find
that it is good for us to draw near to God.
May we always put our trust in Him and declare all His works to
others.
And thus we see another psalm and its
lessons. What a profound and
pertinent lesson we find in this psalm.
May we never let the things of this world pull us away from God –
either to follow them or in bitterness because we can’t have them.