One of the best known memoirs of the Holocaust is Night by Elie Wiesel. Most of us can probably think of a time we were glad we DIDNT say or do something I remember one time I wrote a comment on Facebook that really tore into someone but I just hit the delete key instead and wiped the whole thing out. (Nik Ripken, the author of the video were going to watch the next several Wednesday nights, was like that. Why do I cry by day and You do not answer, and by night, but I have no rest? document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); A Southern Baptist pastor for almost 35 years, I currently serve as Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Angleton, Texas, and post my weekly sermons on this site, as well as a brief overview for Sunday School teachers of the weekly Lifeway "Explore the Bible" lesson. Using the imagery of clothing in this verse, the psalmist boldly engages in shrewd moral and economic criticism.22 According to this verse, the affluent are well-off because of pride and violence. He was really troubled by what he had seen in the world around him, and it raised questions which bothered him. Once again he is able to see life from the perspective of eternity and his confidence and contentment in God are restored. He brought his confusion under the truth of God. One of the sweetest, finest men I have ever known is in Norwalk hospital. D. The book of Job and Psalm 37 deal with the same problem, but in this life; Psalm 73 deals with it in light of Matthew 25. 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. Verses 21-22 are a flashback on his traumatic experience reported in verses 2-16.36 In these verses he admits that when his heart and kidneys were poignantly disturbed (vs. 21) about the shalom of the wicked, he was stupid and lacked understanding (vs. 21ab).37 For all practical purposes, he confesses that his envy of the arrogant (vs. 3) was completely wrong. Psalm 25: Guidance From Above. It seemed to many people like he was just continuing to sin and get away with it. It wasnt right. That spoke to a need in my life, or a question on my heart. And I am grateful that God speaks to us through His word! Envy is so common that God made it the subject of one of His 10 commandments: "Do not covet your neighbor's house. Betcha no one got up that morning thinking they would have whale guts on them by noon! read more, Scripture: (This is) a psalm of *Asaph. Close Filters Scripture . This is a valuable lesson for us: When you are troubled by something in life, dont turn away from God; turn TO Him. Asaph might have looked at Hugh Hefner and said, Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure, and washed my hands in innocence. Why obey God if you can blatantly disobey His word like Hugh Hefner did, and seem to be blessed like that? In Psalm 73 a man named Asaph expresses a frustration that many have shared. According to verse 18, God will place the wicked on the slippery slope that the psalmist almost experienced (vs. 2). It reminds us . And he's about to get as real as it gets. He did what Job did. And then, in worship, he renews his relationship in praise: Yet I am always with you; You hold me by my right hand. 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). However, such is clearly not the case. Asaph looked at the lifestyles, the cars, the clothing, the houses they lived in, the company they kept, and thought to himself: "They're getting everything God promised to His covenant people! Put yourself in the position to where you can hear from God. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting: and let all the people say, Amen. Envy had poisoned him and had powerful effects on him. On January 17, 2004, a 66-ton whale died and was beached on the southwestern coast of Taiwan, near the city of Tainan. Asaphs Faltering Faith (A Man-Oriented Perspective) (73:1-3), They speak with arrogance and gain a following (vs. 8-10), Summary: The lives of the wicked are easy and prosperous (vs. 12), Asaphs Restored Faith (A God-Oriented Perspective) (73:18-28), 2023 Southern Hills Baptist Church - Round Rock, Texas, Southern Hills is a family of believers who exist to glorify God by helping people experience life change through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Psalm 73: Remembering the Truth in Times of Doubt. But because there is an eternity, what happens in this life is not even a speck on the timeline of eternity, and we know that things will be different there. He could see both God's judgment of sin as well as God's solution offered to sinners. They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threate It was a truly encouraging sermon about how our perspectives on the world can become skeweduntil we enter the sanctuary of the Lord and see from his perspective, all the way to the very end. Consequently, the solution of the psalmists heart-rending problem transcends human wisdom. The centrality of the worship experience (cf. That is so important. Why do good people suffering, and wicked people prosper? Therefore, the speaker claims in verse 10 (the Hebrew text is difficult) that the wicked enjoy popularity and attract a crowd of people. History will not see the wicked ultimately prosper. In light of the verses that follow, good could be taken to refer to material goods (cf. Who did something unfair to you at work? God allowed Satan to test Job. This makes it possible to use this sermon outline as a stand-alone. How could I say to Him: Blessed art Thou, Eternal, Master of the Universe, Who chose us from among the races to be tortured day and night, to see our fathers, our mothers, our brothers, end in the crematory? (Night, 64-65). In short, verse 27 declares that autonomy is a harlotry that does not work.54. As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image. Psalm 24 Back On The Farm. Free shipping on books, Bibles, gifts, VBS, and church supplies of $50 or more. This raises a crucial question for the preacher: does the psalmist expect to live with God after death in verse 24b? To not be senseless and ignorant; like a beast before (God) as Asaph says in :22; To believe that it WILL end better for those who trust in the Lord and do good., You often hear people today say: Dont be on the wrong side of history. We hear that a lot from people today who believe that God and the Bible and fading away into history, and the future holds only the triumph of godless values. As the truck crawled through that downtown region, with crowds looking on, the whale exploded. The negative moral evaluation and economic critique of verse 6 is intensified in the second part (vv. 2 From Mount Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines in glorious radiance. He says, the wicked people are succeeding, and the righteous are being punished. Self-centeredness This God-inspired worship leader is ready to walk away. Traffic was brought to a halt for hours. 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." :17 If I had said, I will speak thus, behold I would have betrayed the generation of Your children. Lying God, I'm getting a raw deal! What is worse, according to verse 11, the wicked are very cavalier about God. You guide me with Your counsel,and afterward You will take me into glory. How many rash words and unsifted actions have we wished to take back because of the negative consequences they brought about? Survey respondents noted that temptations That's right, it blew up. He's Where the Joy Is by Tara-Leigh Cobble, Black Church Leadership & Family Conference. 1. Be like the disciples in John 6, when Jesus had told the crowds that had been following Him some difficult things about what it meant to believe, and everyone was leaving Him. HINT: Since there are such a large number of resources on this page (>10,000 links) you might consider beginning with the more recent commentaries that briefly discuss all 150 Psalms . Don't keep those emotions cooped up inside you, building layers of resentment and hardship between you and God. (LogOut/ On the basis of these and other repetitions the compositional structure of Psalm 73 may be subdivided as follows: vs. 1; vv. "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." Battling the Unbelief of Despondency. . A person may say, well I just dont feel like being there today but that may be the day that God is going to speak to you. Well have you ever watched your dog? Free Access to Sermons on Relational Vs Personal, Church Sermons, Illustrations on Relational Vs Personal, and Preaching Slides on Relational Vs Personal. With an eternal perspective, everything looks different. In Job 29-31, this broken man struggles with the raw deal he received. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. One of our daily Bible readings as we started off the year was the Book of Job. Study Psalm 73 using Charles H. Spurgeon's Treasury of David to better understand Scripture with full outline and verse meaning. Thank you for the inspiration you provide. It refers first of all to God. Psalm 73 belongs to the didactic psalms, conveying personal wisdom and faith. And that lead him to the fourth word we need to see in v. 3: envy. Asaph was one of three directors who worked under King David. It is good for me to draw near We have already seen that those who are far off shall perish; therefore, it is ill for them. For example, Psalm 73 shares the prominence of the wicked with Psalm 1.3 Moreover, Psalm 73:27 also shares the verb perish with Psalms 1:6b and 2:12. Because in His great might He had created Auschwitz, Birkenau, Buna, and so many factories of death? Isn't that just like life sometimes? But it wasnt just that he came to God; God actually SHOWED him something specific that helped him: he says in :17, Then I perceived their end. He says God showed me not just what the present state of these wicked people is, but what their END is going to be. They are arrogant and wicked, he said. 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 poet introduces his honest confession with the emphatic contrastive phrase But, as for me. This phrase introduces the yes, but factor. There is no record that God ever rebuffs Job for being honest. Psalm 25:1-10 Riding Out The Waves. What stopped him was the feeling, "If I utter my doubts, i.e., if I speak out of my discouraged, envious heart, I will put a stumbling block in somebody else's path. Two of the words refer to the people he had been tracking. Asaph had been checking out the people playing for the other team. Sexual Lust (Tie) Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies. You are currently impersonating {{userSessionData.email}}. 1855 Knollcrest Circle SE Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA They can take care of themselves. The inner conditions of the dead mammal, combined with the bumps in the road caused an eruption that the townspeople will not soon forget. Relationship To God, Great Expectations, Denomination: Our challenge today is to believe that. We arent told exactly what Asaph experienced, but we are told that when he went to the place of worship his heart and his perspective were changed. What caused Asaph to almost lose his faith, and what brought him out of it and how can this help those of us today, who might have some questions like he did? 2-3; vv. Brief outline from a message given at a nursing home, but suitable for any audience. In addition, as he looked around he saw those who had no regard for God living in prosperity and apparent happiness. Asaph takes his raw deal to the right place and finds out that he didn't have it bad after all. However, a bad illustration can distract and confuse if the listener. It took 50 laborers and three lifting cranes 13 hours to hoist the 56-foot behemoth onto a flatbed trailer truck. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. They do not need God. Job was a righteous man who lost all his children, his possessions, and his health. I hadnt felt good all day. The speakers extensive description of the wicked in verses 4-12 suggests that he was a careful observer and that he has been intensely occupied with the problem.19 His detailed description consists of two parts, verses 4-6 and 7-11. Envy means "I want what you have." There may be times when it seems to be going that way and it looks like that a lot in America today but the Bible says it will not end there. He kept his faith, but I lost mine. It is going to end differently. Here is where Asaph's perspective is expanded. The congregation was well instructed in the theme and shape of this psalm, which presents a . Holocaust is Night by Elie Wiesel, according to verse 11, the wicked people prosper Your email address follow... Emphatic contrastive phrase but, as for me the emphatic contrastive phrase but, as he around... Verse 6 is intensified in the position to where you can blatantly his! 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