psalm 73 sermon illustration

surely in vain I have kept my hands pure like Asaph here in Psalm 73, Video for Psalm 73: The title of this psalm ( A Psalm of Asaph) tells us that it was written by the great singer and musician of David and Solomon's era ( 1 Chronicles 15:17-19, 16:5-7, 25:6 ). Therefore, the speaker claims in verse 10 (the Hebrew text is difficult) that the wicked enjoy popularity and attract a crowd of people. God allowed Satan to test Job. ", Building Your Life On The Rock (Matthew 7:24-27 sermon), "This Is My Story: The Woman At The Well" (John 4:1-42 sermon), "The Greatest Verse in the Bible?" As men despise their dreams when they awake from them, so, when God "stirs up himself and awakes to judgment" ( Psalms 35:23 ), he will despise such mere semblances of humanity ( Psalms 39:6) as the wicked are. Laziness On either translation, it is the entry into Gods sanctuary that permits insight into the fate of the wicked. (LogOut/ This is important because, according to George Barna, people, even church people, are searching to be near to God, but frequently they are not finding it in the organized church.63Yet, after a sermon on Psalm 73, no one should leave church without being able to affirm that it is good to be near God, particularly in this season of Lent. "Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him." It wasnt right. This psalm is a brutally honest confessional, from the heart of Asaph to the God he felt had given him a rip off. ( Psalm 73:1-3) The contradiction between the goodness of God and the prosperity of the wicked. WORD AND PHRASE STUDY. In the midst of suffering believers often feel cheated and begin to question and doubt Gods goodness. In light of the verses that follow, good could be taken to refer to material goods (cf. He wrote, Why, but why should I bless Him? Asaph, the author, is the choir leader, whose occupation placed him in constant contact with the people of Israel, and with the sanctuary of God, the temple. Listen to his words in v. 16-17: "When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny." And what we'll see is that just when we think God is nowhere to be found, GOD IS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK. Thank you so much for that blessing Peter! Let's look at Psalm 1 together for a few minutes. It is just like Psalm 73 says: You have set them in slippery places How they are destroyed in a moment.. The speaker of Psalm 73 admits that he was envious. In the midst of suffering believers often feel cheated and begin to question and doubt God's goodness. God is the Christian's inheritance as the light of his intellect. Sermon Notes Introduction to Psalm 73: "Seeing Clearly in the Sanctuary" by Carl Bosma. Consider this godly guidance when you get a raw deal. It should be noted that the psalmists sobering moment begins, not in isolation, but as a member of a larger community to which he is accountable.26. And were all in it for the same reasonto fuel the churchs mission of making disciples. Panic, Conclusions, Denomination: 13-14) to praise of Gods handiwork (Gen 2:2).57 Now he speaks no longer as an ignorant beast; instead, through Gods guiding counsel he has now become a spiritually enlightened witness.58. But the man was a sexual predator. Psalm 73:28 Sermons Topics . But she had great character; she worked hard and came back, and was an inspiration to many. If you'll allow me to paraphrase it, it goes like this: "So this is how life really works! There isn't a product on the other side of these prayerful actions. Message. I want answers, God." That poor man was carried away to eternal comfort, but the rich man found himself in agony in this flame. It is just as Psalm 73 says: You cast them down to destruction, How they are destroyed in a moment. Thats why its so important to be here at church on a regular basis. That rich man lived in luxury, and wouldnt even give the crumbs from his table to poor Lazarus; and there was that poor man, covered with sores, starving. The centrality of the worship experience (cf. Maybe it happened at home with a parent or grandparent, your husband or wife or best friend. But heres the thing: what if they hadnt been here to hear that word? This wonderful psalm may be best understood by the . We may read these words and say, "I was just like Asaph except for this. Someone once said they felt like the Psalms were all just about this guy who was groaning and complaining all the time but it helps to understand that the Psalms are the record of people like you and me, who dont understand the hard things that are happening to them, and they have brought these prayers to God, and they are just being honest with Him. They are the blessed, not me. Yet most people today have never heard of John Gill. You live by lust, power, greed, and deceit, and you become a celebrity. They are free from common human burdens; they are not plagued by human ills. NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 73:1-9 1 Surely God is good to Israel, To those who are pure in heart! 3. However, the Hebrew verbs of verse 17 are not in the past tense. To help listeners who are struggling with unsettling doubts in their faith, therefore, a sermon should lead the audience step by step through the poets train of thought. The thing about these questions is that they are usually based on our circumstances on what we see happening around us and to us but what we have to learn is that these circumstances dont show us the whole picture. Morning by morning (Ps 101:8), when one would expect a gracious word from God, he is chastised. He says, God showed me that what I am seeing around me NOW, is NOT how this story is going to end: He says in :18-20 Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction. Asaph believes God exists, that He is good and sovereign over all. (Exodus 20:17). Our culture in America is uniquely designed to create inevitable comparison and inevitable dissatisfaction. And then it happened. You have yours; I have mine; Asaph said he had his and he said he almost gave up because of them. Like Asaph, come into the sanctuary of God.. Psalm 73 moves from radical doubt to a robust reaffirmation of faith. But in the end, God allows Asaph to regain a proper perspective. Psalm 73 is a favorite for many Jewish and Christian believers because the words of this precious psalm ring true to their experience. Furthermore, Psalm 73:28 echoes the theme of refuge from Psalm 2:12, which, as we have noted in our exegesis of Psalms 34 and 91, is a prominent theme in the Psalter. He said its just about enough to make you lose your faith. (Psalms 73:15-16 RSV) Here he is, filled with doubts and despair and almost ready to give up, but something stops him. While the first half of the Psalm is marked by a man-oriented perspective, he now sees things from a God-oriented perspective. 13-14), the poet first embarks on an extensive and vivid description of the actions and words of the wicked in verses 4-12.18. Instead, the wicked, now defined as those who live far from God in their actions and speech (vs. 11), will perish.52 By itself this crucial discovery in verse 26a seems to be based on wisdoms conduct and consequence principle that was already introduced in Psalm 1:6b: the way of the wicked self-destructs. Unlike Psalm 1:6b, however, the speaker attributes the destruction of the wicked directly to God in the parallel clause: you destroy (or silence) all who commit adultery (vs. 27b).53 This reappraisal assumes that the Lord is the Judge of the earth (Ps 94:1) and that it is God who will repay them for their injustice and that God, his stronghold and refuge (Ps 94:22), will destroy them (Ps 94:23). The revelation of Gods word shows us this important truth: that what you see now, of the wicked succeeding and the godly suffering, is not how it is always going to be. Relationship To God, Great Expectations, Denomination: According to the twice repeated expression "Happy are those," in verses 1-2, divine forgiveness of sins is the gateway to happiness. He was a faithful follower of God. Psalm 73 begins with a unique affirmation of faith in verse 1 that functions as its basic premise, which is tested in verses 2-27 and marvelously reaffirmed in verse 28: Surely God is good to Israel,15 to those who are pure in heart. Read Online Responsorial Psalms For Funeral Liturgy Pdf For Free A Good Goodbye: Funeral Planning for Those Who Don't Plan to Die Common Worship: Pastoral Services The 1928 Book of Common Prayer Funeral Hymns Holy Bible Common Worship: Times and Seasons President's EditionContinuing Bonds How God guides The Moon by Night Elegy in a country church yard, on the evening of a funeral. Things are going to change very quickly; sometimes even here on earth, but if not; they will change very dramatically the first moment of eternity. Thats like Asaph here. Thats the message were going to hear the next 3 Wednesday nights, in the video. Whether it's standardized tests, beauty contests, and your neighbor's new dress, we are all encouraged to envy. They do not need God. You are an awesome preacher! Asaph was one of three directors who worked under King David. He didn't pretend everything was okay. Job had questions like this, didnt he? In fact, in their boldness they lay claim to heaven and earth (vs. 9). As Brueggemann rightly notes, this summary is not a condemnation of the wicked. This turning point consists of two important observations.25, First, according to verse 15, one important consideration that kept his feet from slipping from the faith was once and for all the generation of Gods children. The connection with Psalm 24:4 suggests that functionally verse 1 is not a proverbial statement,16 nor exactly a brief reiteration of the torah piety of Psalm 1,17 but, instead, an asseveration of Gods justice that is formally similar to Psalms 25:8 and 92:15 (cf. 3 Tests Of Plagiarism: Do Your Sermons Pass Them. 13-14) into exuberant trust also underscores the need for careful liturgical planning. On the contrary, the oppressive economic practices of the wicked were at the heart of his problem. 1. Reorientation with Respect to the Wicked (vv. According to Psalm 1:6b, the way of the wicked self-destructs. "I was envious of these openly wicked, loud-living sinners when I saw their God-blessed lives. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. BIBLE VERSE OF THE DAY: "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever," ( Psalm 73:26). God is NOT insane; it IS worth it to serve Him, literally no matter what the cost. . But sometimes we never do see it here on earth. Rating . 8-Week Series for Lent. With an eternal perspective, everything looks different. In addition, the Hebrew word lebab, heart, occurs six times in the poem.11As Martin Buber has underscored, ultimately the resolution of the poets struggle depends on the disposition of the heart.12 Finally, two Hebrew terms, ml (burden) and ng (plague) are repeated in reverse order in verses 5, 14 and 16 to contrast the comfort of the wicked and the poets experience of constant affliction. He also announces the reason for his reaffirmation of faith: to tell of all of your works (Ps 26:7). (John 3:16 sermon), "The Message of the Cross" (I Cor. Study Psalm 73 using Charles H. Spurgeon's Treasury of David to better understand Scripture with full outline and verse meaning. He was used more by Satan than perhaps anyone else in his lifetime. Do you ever think to yourself, "Does it pay to serve God? Because, according to verse 14, while the arrogant wicked are not plagued (vs. 5), the speaker is plagued constantly. Order Curriculum, Literature, and Church Supplies, by Lloyd Stilley on Wednesday, January 01, 2014 at 7:00 AM. Hard and came back, and was an inspiration to many as the light of the verses that,... Moves from radical doubt to a robust reaffirmation of faith: to tell all! Morning by morning ( Ps 26:7 ) lay claim to heaven and earth ( vs. 5 ), the verbs! Sanctuary that permits insight into the fate of the actions and words of the Psalm is marked by man-oriented... The arrogant wicked psalm 73 sermon illustration not in the midst of suffering believers often feel and... Or grandparent, your husband or wife or best friend exuberant trust also underscores need., good could be taken to refer to material goods ( cf Psalm is a favorite many. 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