New Year 2023 - How Psalm 73 Helps Us.

 

I spoke on Psalm 73 on 1 January 2023. You can watch and listen here, and you can follow along with the manuscript below.

New Year 2023

Psalm 73 (2 Corinthians 6:16-7:1, Titus 2:1-10)

O God, who is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart; bring us, this day to see that you are continually with us, you hold our right hand, and you guide us with your counsel. Amen.

 

I quoted this statement last Sunday, and it is worth more thought: “Anything that erodes the fear of God will intensify the fear of man” (Edward T. Welch, “When People are Big and God is Small,” 79). And this is true in the other direction, anything that intensifies the fear of man will erode the fear of God. For a new year, I think this is a rock-solid subject to ponder. And you see Welch’s point played out in Psalm 73. And it begins with the slip.

 

The Slip (1-3): Asaph was a Levite, one of those from the priestly clan who were to exemplify the difference between the clean and unclean, embodying fitting worship from unfitting, and educating the people in all of this. But Asaph was appointed to lead in worship with songs and thanksgiving (1 Chronicles 16:7, 37). Which makes certain aspects of this Psalm most moving. This was a hymn written by Asaph to teach and admonish the people of God, and warn them to not go the way Asaph went for a season, and guide them in how to perceive conditions correctly. Rightly, beautifully Asaph begins by hammering into the rocky soil an anchor, “Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart” (v.1). This anchor should secure us through the storminess of Psalm 73. But this anchor is also meant to make clear the trouble Asaph got into; “Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.” The pure in heart! A group Asaph immediately removes himself from: “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” (v.2-3). Here he was. Not pure in heart, not looking with confidence to the God who is good to his people, but instead slipping in the slime of envy. And worst, it was envying the prosperity of the arrogant and the wicked. “Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the LORD all the day. Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off” (Proverbs 23:17-18). But no. He looked in the wrong direction and envied the successes of the arrogant and wicked! “Anything that erodes the fear of God will intensify the fear of man.” And anything that intensifies the fear of man will erode the fear of God. Which is exactly the path Asaph chronicles. But he doesn’t shift blame. Rather, he admits his own fault, his own most grievous fault. And so, the slip led to the slide.

 

The Slide (4-14): In verses 4-12, you can tell that Asaph scrutinized the achievements and attainments of the wicked. He methodically lists all of the ways they radiated success in v.4-12:  Well-fed (v.4), without trouble or sickness (v.5), proud and violent (v.6), saturated with folly (v.7), able to get by with evil speech of all kinds (v.8), sassy speech toward heaven and God (v.9), attracting public acclaim and a gaggle of groupies (10-11). Then comes the summary statement of the wicked’s feats, “Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches” (v.12). They’re powerful. They’re polished. They’re prosperous. They have all the media applause. They promenade through life fat, dumb, and happy, and God seems unconcerned and almost approving, which is what pained Asaph! It’s like the woman I know who had spent many, many years being oppressed financially, emotionally, spiritually, and verbally by her husband. He always seemed to be able to schmooze the police and sheriff’s deputies when they were called in, to get out of every deserved consequence for his tyrannizing behavior. And she asked in tears and with balled up fists, “Why is he always getting the upper hand? Why does he always get his way? Why does God let him off the hook?” But, because Asaph was studying the wicked in all their glamor and success, he began to slide down a dark, dark hole. He nearly loses faith. “Anything that erodes the fear of God will intensify the fear of man.” And anything that intensifies the fear of man will erode the fear of God! And here it is, because he even questions the value of pursuing God’s ways: “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” (v.13-14). He’s just this close to renouncing his ordination, to leaving the ministry, and this close to throwing all his vestments into the garbage! The slip has become a rushing, racing slide downward! Then, at just the right moment, at the last second, comes the slap.

 

The Slap (15-17): I once was working toward becoming a certified lifeguard (…). The slap comes in two parts and starts when he looks around at those for whom he is responsible, “If I had said, “I will speak thus,” I would have betrayed the generation of your children” (v.15). He suddenly recalls he is a role model, he is responsible, not only for himself, but those given into his care, the children of God! (Titus 2:7-8) This helped to give him a sobering pause, and that sobering pause brings him back into worship, to stand before the face of God, where he is slapped into sensibleness: “But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end” (v.16-17). Anything that intensifies the fear of God will erode the fear of man! Asaph received two-part lifesaving slap that intensified the fear of God. And it brings Asaph to confession.

 

The Confession (18-22): The first part of the confession is that God really is good, he actually does care about the unfairness, the advancement of evil, and he will one day, at the right time “when you rouse yourself”, act to turn all wrongs to right (v.18-20). “Their end” (v.17) will be this end (18-20) because God is this kind of God! The confession begins with Asaph renouncing the skewed and screwed up notions about God that the wicked had and he was beginning to think might be the case (v.11). But the confession gets closer to home, in that Asaph announces his own fault in this whole affair (he’s back to v.2-3). He was embittered, pricked in heart, brutish and ignorant, and lastly, he had acted like a senseless beast (v.21-22). In other words, he places his slip and slide squarely on his own shoulders. “It’s my fault that I almost walked away. It’s my own faithless fault, my own stupid fault, my own envious fault.” This moment is like the minister who had a seriously bad church situation and was run out of Dodge. He spent years decrying that congregation’s problems, and the backstabbing and back-alley ways that congregation used against him. But then, subtly, like a conversion, he begins to point out his own ministerial knuckleheadedness, his bad attitude that bred much of his trouble, and his biting tongue that had harmed many of his parishioners. This conversion moment is right here in v.21-22. And yet notice that the wicked are still wicked, and still accountable for their immoralities. None of this confession wipes out the first part of the Psalm. But Asaph no longer hides behind them as an excuse. Instead, he concedes that his problem was himself. That is a giant turn in a man’s life, in a woman’s journey. This confession shows real, genuine repentance is in the works. Which makes Asaph open to God’s confirmation.

 

The Confirmation (23-26): First, the confirmation is closely tied to Asaph’s repentant confession, “toward you” (v.22), “with you” (v.23), “besides you” (25). Asaph stood before his Judge in v.22, but now that he has come clean, he finds that his Judge is really tender and compassionate (v.23), and, honestly, is his all-in-all (v.25). Second, why Asaph didn’t fall away completely, why he didn’t ever lose faith totally, though it was shattering and splintering, is described here and it’s all God’s grace alone and God’s goodness alone toward his people, even toward this one who was not pure in heart (23-26). (…). Next, there is a play on the idea of endings. In v.17, the wicked’s end is v.18-20. But Asaph’s end is different, “afterward (Hebrew: in the end) you will receive me to glory” (24c). And so, lastly, Asaph has become clearheaded, clear-eyed and recognizes where his only comfort in life and in death repose, “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” (v.25-26). Anything that intensifies the fear of God will erode the fear of man! This confirmation spawns Asaph’s concluding composure.

 

The Composure (27-28): This concluding composure is a million miles away from the first 22 verses of the Psalm! Those whom Asaph was once envious of, well, their conclusion is not a happy one (v.27). He doesn’t gloat over it. He doesn’t pump his fist in the air in some kind of Super Bowl victory dance. Instead, it’s a declaration to remind the children of God not to be envious of the arrogant and wicked and their successes (like Asaph once was). It’s an announcement to the arrogant and wicked who might have come to church that day when the Psalm is being sung. It’s the bad news that has an open door to good news. And the good news lies in the final verse: “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” (v.28). Goodness lies in being near God, who has shown – once again – that he wants us to be near him! Goodness is found in making God your refuge, even when the successful wicked run the corporations, foundations, legacy media, universities, governments, etc. And, goodness lies in our gossiping the gospel, gabbing about the goodness of God our refuge, instead of spending all of our time giving evil and evildoers all of our breathe and brain-energies. “Anything that erodes the fear of God will intensify the fear of man,” also anything that intensifies the fear of man will erode the fear of God. But anything that intensifies the fear of God will erode the fear of man!

 

2023 is upon us! Let nothing erode the fear of God in you. If it does, it will only intensify the fear of man! And you have every reason to think and remember and gab about the goodness of God, even in the face of overwhelming badness and lies and evil. God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart! Nevertheless, nevertheless, I am continually with you…