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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/bruce-rodgers/psalm-73/
Could we read together, please, this morning in Psalm 73? Psalm 73. Now, we all like testimony meetings when someone gives their testimony. Well, this is a testimony psalm, only it's a testimony of a recovered saint.
And so I hope it will be encouraging, strengthening, maybe preserving. And I'm sure if we look at it carefully, we'll see that it's relevant to each one of us. So let's read down through Psalm 73. It's a psalm of Asaph.
And it's interesting that there are a number of psalms given in order here, all by Asaph. He says, verse 1, truly, God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart. But as for me, my feet were almost gone.
My steps had well nigh slipped. For I was envious at the foolish when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no bands in their death, but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men, neither are they plagued like other men.
Therefore, pride compasseth them about as a chain. Violence covers them as a garment. Their eyes stand out with fatness. They have more than heart could wish. They are corrupt and speak wickedly concerning oppression.
They speak loftily. They set their mouth against the heavens and their tongue walketh through the earth. Therefore, His people return hither and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them. And they say, how doth God know?
And is their knowledge in the Most High? Behold, these are the ungodly who prosper in the world. They increase in riches. Verily, I have cleansed my heart and vein and washed my hands in innocency. For all the day long have I been plagued and chastened every morning.
If I say I will speak thus, behold, I should offend against the generation of my children. When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me until I went into the sanctuary of God. Then understood I their end.
Surely, Thou did set them in slippery places. Thou castest them down into destruction. How were they brought into desolation as in a moment? They are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when one awaketh, so, O Lord, when Thou awakest, Thou shalt despise their image.
Thus, my heart was grieved and I was pricked in my reins. So foolish was I and ignorant. I was as a beast before Thee. Nevertheless, I am continually with Thee. Thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel and afterward receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but Thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee. My flesh and my heart faileth, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For lo, they that are far from Thee shall perish.
Thou hast destroyed all them that go a-whoring from Thee. But it is good for me to draw near to God. I have put my trust in the Lord God that I may declare all Thy works. So if you just took the first verse and the last verse, like some people like to read books, they read the forward and they read the last couple of pages and they've got the book.
Well, this is the psalm. God is good. God is good to His people. And then there's one important little qualification given in verse 1. Even to such as are of a clean heart. That's a very important condition in enjoying the presence of God.
Enjoying the consciousness of God. Enjoying the blessing of God in our lives. When you come to the end of the psalm, he says, it is good for me to draw near to God. God is good. He's generous. He's gracious.
He's faithful. He's loving. And it's good for me. It's beneficial for me. It's reality. It's wise for me to draw near to God. Now that's what we are looking for in coming together in the conference this weekend.
And we want to get to the center of this psalm. Because everything changed when he got into the sanctuary of God. And that's what our need is to get into the presence of God and have everything brought into perspective based on His presence.
Now, looking at this psalm, I mentioned it's a testimony of a restored or a recovered saint. I think it would be fair to say that we are living in a very cynical age. And a certain level of cynicism is justified.
Because everything is not as it's supposed to be. And I would say one of the messages that this psalm gives us is that a naive faith is going to be challenged and could be shattered. We are going to have to struggle in our faith.
Wrestling with the reality that we see in this world. The things that are not according to right principles. And they seem to be getting away with it. And that's really the problem that has stressed him in this psalm.
So his testimony now is God is good. Now, that's easy to say when everything's good with you. When your health is good, your family is well, finances are fine, and there's even spiritual blessing to enjoy.
But this is given in the context of a man who is suffering. Who has entered into harsh circumstances. And it's not just a momentary shock. It's something that has become chronic. Whatever the condition is, he's been afflicted.
And in the same time, in the same breath, his eyes are focusing upon the ungodly. And if you take notice of verse 12, behold, these are the ungodly who prosper in the world. From verse 4 down to verse 12 are his observations.
What he sees. What is impressing him as he looks around him. And one of the things that strikes me as I look at this psalm, I mean, how long ago was this written? Well, I don't know really when Asaph lived, whether he was a contemporary of David or not.
That's a logical connection. And yet, some of the context of Asaph's psalms would seem to suggest a time of devastation in Israel. Jerusalem, the temple, and so on being spoken of. And so I'm not sure if it's a different Asaph at a different time when God's people are going through tremendous judgment and discipline from the hand of God.
And the nations around are prospering. So you can look at it in a wider scale as well. But here is a man who has tried to be holy. He's tried to live righteously. And yet, he's suffering. Things are tough in his life.
And at the same time, he is observing the prosperity of the ungodly. And so, that really is the summary of it. Behold, these are the ungodly who prosper in the world. And they increase in riches. Now this is looking back at what you might say a recent time frame in his own experience.
And sometimes, I'm sure you've all seen somebody stumble and slip and you have a good chuckle because they look silly and then they recover themselves and no harm is done. But it isn't always like that.
Sometimes people stumble and they hurt themselves badly. And spiritually, it's the same reality. He's looking back at a time when he was almost gone. And I think we all have been sobered as we look back.
It may be our own life. It may be someone close to us who is not just almost gone, but they've given up. Their feet have slipped. They have let go. They have abandoned their hold on God. And they have given up their confidence in God.
That's what this psalm is rustling with. Hanging on to confidence in God when it seems like God is not paying any attention and things are not right. And so, his confession is, as for me, my feet were almost gone.
My steps had well nigh slept. Now, at least he's able to look back and analyze and recognize where he went wrong. And where he went wrong was very simple. He was looking at the wrong people. And he was placing a value on the wrong things.
His focus had become wrong. And nearly always, that's when we get into trouble. When our focus gets shifted to the wrong people for the wrong reason. Now, how much does prosperity matter to us today? Isn't it amazing how this was written so many years ago, and yet it could be put right on our Truth and Tidings April edition?
This is so relevant to what matters to our culture. Prosperity. Success in the now. Being able to have power. And we have been so exposed to the abuse of power in our cultures. Where those who have the riches, those who have the authority, have managed to, out of the chaos of the collapse of systems, protect themselves and let everybody else suffer.
And everybody knows it's wrong. And it engenders a bitterness, a sense of injustice, and a cynicism towards everything that we know. And the problem is, ultimately, it gets directed at God. Somehow God always ends up getting blamed, doesn't He?
When we become resentful, bitter, and cynical about life. And so, I'm not going to take the time to go down through all of these descriptions that we have. But as you see the descriptions of these ungodly people, pride and prosperity.
Arrogance against God. Insolent attitude. Contempt for what is of God. And oppression of other people. And as he is observing this, it's disturbing him more and more and more. What's his conclusion? Well, you'd have to say his observations may have been accurate.
Just as, you know, if you have eyes to see, you can see it so clearly today. His observations were accurate. But his conclusion was completely wrong. Here's what his conclusion is in verse 13. Verily, I have cleansed my heart in vain.
I have washed my hands in innocency. What is he saying? I've been too naive. I've assumed that, you know, the good guys win. The bad guys get punished. God always blesses those who are righteous and He punishes those who are wicked.
And here I've been cleansing my heart. I've been judging sin in my heart. I have been restraining myself from my own desires. I have been behaving myself. And what do I get for it? That's the attitude.
That's the bitterness. That's the breaking down of integrity that's happening within his heart. And the thing that has triggered this is not only what he sees in the world around him, but it is because of his own life experience.
And we can look at life around us. And as I say, as long as we are sort of in a normal range where things are relatively comfortable and decent, we can analyze it in a detached way. But when we are suffering hardship, and it's day by day by day, it seems so unfair, so unjust.
And you notice the language that he uses all day long and every morning? Well, I'm not even sure if that was realistic. Because you know what happens? When we start feeling sorry for ourselves, we start getting absolute inner declarations.
It's every day. It's all day. Every morning. It's always. And you sometimes hear language like, you know, things never turn out for us. It just never turns out. And this always goes wrong. And so we get into this kind of self-pitying frame.
But then he comes to a point in verse 15. If I say, I will speak thus, behold, I should offend. I will stumble the generation of Thy children. I have to thank God when at least this restraint is upon our lips.
You know, sometimes we have this attitude, if this is the way I really feel, I might as well be honest and say it. Don't. What you say in a moment of bitterness may never be able to be recovered. And you may influence others and stumble others to give up on God.
To give up on God's people. And to turn away in despair. And you may eventually get recovered. And so, even though he's feeling this inside, he restrains himself because he doesn't want to harm. At least he has this desire.
But as he internalizes it, verse 16, when I thought to know this, it was too painful for me. Now we're getting into this over-stressed agony of inner turmoil that can bring you down to a complete breakdown where you can't handle this inner turmoil that's going on.
He says it was too painful for me. It was too much for me to cope with. It was destroying me until. Until what? Until God changed all the circumstances? Until God judged the world around Him? And He could finally see that, yes, things are right after all?
No. He says, until I went into the sanctuary of God. And if there's one thing that I sense I need more than anything else, it's the renewed sense of God's presence and of consciously enjoying God speaking to me.
It's too easy to let our spiritual life become a form, something that we keep going on with, and yet we're losing our inner strength, our inner resolve, and our stability. We must be in communion with God.
We must draw near to God. We must have conscious dealings with God within our own souls. Now, the local assembly is intended to be a place of sanctuary. What is a sanctuary? Well, in the natural sense, a sanctuary is a safe place.
It's a place where you come to rest. But this is God's sanctuary. And there's more than just natural relief from natural danger. This is where we come to terms with everything. Where everything comes into perspective because it is where the living God draws us to Himself.
And as we get a glimpse of something of God, it enables us to look at everything differently. Because that's the key to this psalm. Nothing has changed. When you come to the end of the psalm, none of His circumstances have changed.
None of His afflictions have changed. The people haven't changed. But He's realized something. He has gained an insight. And that insight relates to the future as you'll see in the end of v. 17, the beginning of v. 18 -20.
Then understood I their end. And if you've ever had trouble being envious of somebody or being intimidated by somebody or by the world in general with their insolence, their adamant disregard of God, their open contempt, their boldness to speak against God, and it kind of makes you shut down.
Well, you need this exact message. You need to see their end. And if you think of any person who is not saved, no matter what they've got, if they've got all that prosperity that maybe you sort of secretly wish you had, just visualize them.
Visualize them two minutes into eternity. Two minutes into hell and the lake of fire to see that pride, that arrogance dissolve into abject terror as they come into the judgment of God. And all that they have achieved and all the power and authority that they have gathered to themselves, torn from them, and they're a helpless prisoner of God's judgment in the despair of eternal judgment.
Why would you envy them? Why would you envy them? Now, it may be that your trouble is not envying the ungodly. Maybe it's envying other Christians and you still feel sorry for yourself. Well, that's just as foolish.
Because every Christian and all that they are is for your good. 1 Corinthians 3 at the end of the chapter says whether it's Paul, whether it's Cephas, whether it's the world, whether it's life, whether it's death, it's all yours because God has decreed blessing.
God has decreed your eternal blessing. And He is making everything move towards your ultimate good. Now, if you look at this little section from verse 18 to verse 20, there's some very striking imagery here.
It says in verse 20, He says, As a dream when one awaketh, so, O Lord, when Thou awakest, Thou shalt despise their image. You know, today, everything is image, isn't it? Everything is image. We need to be able to see through that image of the world.
To see its sham. To see its shallowness. And to recognize God will deal with all of that. And it's all for nothing. All for emptiness. But, I don't want to be irreverent, but it's Asaph that said it. He said, Lord, You've been asleep.
He said it's just like the Lord is just gently dozing. And then He's going to awaken. And then He's going to deal with it. This is really talking with the forbearance of God. God hates sin. God hates injustice.
He hates wickedness. But today, He is acting in forbearance. He is long-suffering. And it's important that we do not misunderstand that forbearance for apathy and indifference. Because just as somebody wakes up and then gets into action, so the moment will come when God will judge the world.
And so verse 21 down, you have His recovery. As He grasps this reality, all this that is so impressing Me, all this that seems so desirable that others are getting without God, and I'm being left out.
It's just temporary. Fleeting. And He says, thus My heart was grieved. I was pricked in My reins. So foolish was I and ignorant. I was just like an animal that doesn't understand. But then from verse 23 down, I want to just draw attention quickly to these principles that are given to us here.
He says, nevertheless, I am continually with Thee. Now, He could have said, nevertheless, you are continually with Me. Because He's really getting a renewed sense of the presence of God. But He has just been confessing.
He says, I've been like a senseless animal. Like someone without a brain in my head. I've been like a fool. Yet, I'm continually with you. And your right hand is holding Me. What an understanding. You know, I don't know how you are, but sometimes when I look back and think of some of the thoughts, some of the attitudes, some of the things that I have let wear me down, I've been acting as if God hasn't been there.
I've been acting as if God doesn't exist. And all the while, He's been continually with me. And not only just with me, but His right hand, He's been holding me by my right hand. Well, that's a beautiful picture of a father with his child.
And all the while that he's been sort of stumbling and grumbling and feeling sorry for himself, the eternal God has been tenderly holding on, protecting him, preserving him. What a beautiful picture to grasp of the care of our God to us.
And this leads to a renewal of His desire for God. So I want to just give you a series of expressions here of just what is renewed. First of all, renewed consciousness of God's presence and His preservation.
Verse 24, Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. And you know what? That's enough. This is what He is coming to realize. This is enough. You will guide me with Your counsel.
And afterward, receive me to glory, to perfection, to eternal blessedness, to richness that nobody in this world has ever experienced. To a quality of life that no one has ever achieved here in this world, in this age.
Afterward, receive me to glory. A renewed confidence of God's help for the present and the wonderful hope for the future. Then, verse 25, as he thinks about the future, he comes back to the present. He says, Whom have I in heaven but Thee?
And there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee. You know, it has been well said that a restored saint is just like a newly saved saint. It might be worth getting restored. Do you remember the joy, that thrill of God's salvation, of the consciousness of God, of just reveling in God?
And then somehow, we begin to let it grow stale. And we let the presence of the eternal God become commonplace. And we lose our consciousness of God. But he says, Whom have I in heaven but Thee? Even in the realm of the eternal and the perfect, it's only God that really matters to him now.
And there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee. Now I wonder if we can honestly say that today. Maybe you can look at this latter part of the psalm and just use it to measure. Am I really close to God?
Does He really matter supremely to me? Or is my desire completely distracted from God? There's actually nobody else that is worthy of the place of supreme desire and affection in our hearts. That's what belongs to God.
My heart supremely. There is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee. My flesh and my heart faileth. Nothing has changed in His infirmities, in His hardships. But now he's recognizing a strength. A resource.
God is the strength of my heart. And then he looks again briefly at those around him. And he says, Lo, they that are far from Thee shall perish. Thou hast destroyed all them that go a-whoring from Thee.
But it is good for me to draw near to God. I have put my trust in the Lord God that I may declare all Thy works. So we have a renewed desire for God. Love's devotion. Nothing else really matters. A renewed strength in God for present affliction.
A renewed fear of sin. One of the things that I sense that we are struggling with, and I'm including myself in this, we are losing our fear of sin. We are losing our abhorrence of sin. It is being paraded and pushed into our consciousness from the world around us so powerfully today.
And all of the media just presents this immoral, corrupted atmosphere around us. It's easy to lose our fear and abhorrence of sin. But a renewed closeness to God will in turn create again a sensitivity to the horror, the terribleness of evil in all its forms.
A renewed confidence in God and a renewed commitment to declare Him. May God grant to us that this conference will be a true experience of the sanctuary of God. That we will hear the voice of God. Our eyes will be opened once again.
We will be able to put things in perspective. And we will love Him as He is worthy of.