Psalms 73 and 84, two mutually exclusive Psalms, and yet I have discovered that they go well together, and now I will be sharing, in my first two part post about what I have learned, two things must be done when in the situation that the Psalmist finds himself in in Psalm 73, look and hear:
Psalm 73:1-3 "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."
Interesting thought... I wonder, how many of us will freely admit to this type of thinking? Have you had these thoughts in your heart? Have you entertained these things in your heart?
It is a true thing, the wicked seem to
prosper, they need not fight to gain anything, for they do not serve God, they
serve themselves, and their passions and idols, who require, for a little
while, so little in return.
Verses 4-12 in Psalm 73 express this, and
after that the Psalmist begins to say things that, if we were honest, we have
thought too, and perhaps think a lot.
Psalm 73:13-15: "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."
So we now see the dilemma. The
Psalmist knows that these thoughts are not right, that they betray God's truth,
which the Psalmist knows very well, and loves. Then a strange thing happens,
the beleaguered Psalmist goes to the sanctuary of the Lord, and he realizes
what the truth is.
He realizes that while for a time, the wicked
prosper, since they need not fight war against themselves daily, nor suffer in
the name of God, that that time is swiftly ending. Verses 18-20 speak very
clearly thus: The wicked who seem to prosper now will fall to ruin by their own
seeming prosperity, because it is sinful idolatry, they please themselves with
no thought to God at all.
So where do we stand in all of this? What are
we to learn? This same truth that I learned, Psalm 73, and Psalm 84 give us two
things we must do when we are tempted to think like this, or tempted to think
that somehow, what this world offers is better than what God offers, and the
first half is pointed to here in Psalm 73, is distance.
We have to draw back from the idea that somehow,
the world has it better than us, that they somehow have more freedom than we
do.
Hear me say this Christian, they are the ones
who are enslaved... We are the ones who are free, no matter how things seem, it
is not in vain that we keep our hearts clean, or wash our hands in innocence.
We must speak the same words as the Psalmist to
find our way out of this trap of thinking:
Psalm 73:25-28
"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."
This is what we
must get into the habit of doing when we are tempted thus, we must know that
God is not holding out on us, but He is in fact, punishing the wicked by
allowing them to prosper in their sin. (Romans 1:24; 28-32)
Hear again the
Psalmist's last words: "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."
Those who are far
from God, seemingly prospering in their lives given up to any whim of their
sinful hearts, will most certainly perish... Hear that Christian, do not be
tempted to envy them, for their fate is sealed as surely as yours is, though
you are promised a better fate.
"But for me
it is good to be near God..." This is where we must end up when we are tempted
in the same way as the Psalmist in Psalm 73, we must draw this conclusion from
all of our wandering thoughts, that no matter what we may go through, it is
good, indeed our ultimate and only good, to be near our Sovereign Creator, and
our Blessed Savior.
Draw near to Him Christian, and he will give
you what you truly crave, Himself.
On Wednesday, we will look at Psalm 84, which
is the next step, we go from walking away from temptation and envy, to drawing
near to our only good God.
May you draw near the Throne of Grace,
--The Scribe
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