A Psalm for a Post-Christian Time: Psalm 73

How do you respond when those who laugh and scoff at God seem to be blessed and those who fear and obey God suffer?  Psalm 73 is a psalm by Asaph, one of the chief musicians and author of many of the psalms provides keen insight and is particularly important in this post-Christian time when God has been removed from the moral fiber of law. Today, the majority may rule, but the majority isn’t always right; God has been abandoned for self indulgence. Mass media lifts up the immoral and defames those who would uphold moral values.  A national turning to God does not seem on the horizon. 

God’s Word does provide an honest and transparent answer for how we can respond:

1 Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. 2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. 3 For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 4 They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. 5 They are free from common human burdens; they are not plagued by human ills. 6 Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence. 7 From their callous hearts comes iniquity; their evil imaginations have no limits. 8 They scoff, and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression. 9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth. 10 Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance. 11 They say, “How would God know? Does the Most High know anything?” 12 This is what the wicked are like— always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.

13 Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and have washed my hands in innocence. 14 All day long I have been afflicted, and every morning brings new punishments. 15 If I had spoken out like that, I would have betrayed your children. 16 When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply 17 till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. 18 Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. 19 How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! 20 They are like a dream when one awakes; when you arise, Lord, you will despise them as fantasies.

21 When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, 22 I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you. 23 Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. 25 Whom have I in heaven but you?  And earth has nothing I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 27 Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. 28 But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.

Asaph begins with the truth that he had been taught, but it seemed the reality around him was something other than this truth.  The author had taken his eyes off the truth and fixed them on those around him and began to observe the apparent prosperity of the wicked.  They didn’t seem to suffer or have needs [v. 4-5], they were violent, arrogant, and calloused to the needs of others [v. 6-7].  They boasted about their rebellion, and seemed to say, “Even if there is a God, He doesn’t care or matter” [8-11].  In spite of all their evil, they just seemed to get richer and richer [v. 12].  How did the psalmist respond to all of this?                   

It takes courage to admit feelings and doubts. Here the psalmist even writes them down. His courage to admit [confess] serves to help encourage us when we are similarity tempted.  In his commentary, Dr. David Garland summarizes the psalmist response in verses 3-20: Asaph confesses [1] his own doubts about trying to live a good life– is it worth it all? [2]  his own troubled emotions in dealing with the situation, [3] concern for his people, had he continued to respond in doubt and  [4] the transformation of  being in the presence of God.  The change began when he “ entered the sanctuary of God” [v. 17].  His return to worship God and meditate on who God is and what He has done was the turning point in his attitude and response.  Notice that this does not change the actions of the wicked, but the focus of the psalmist heart.

In the first part of the psalm, the psalmist’ eyes are on the wicked, even envying their wealth and easy life of luxury, culminating with thoughts that being obedient to God has only been a mistake, a lie, that he has only gotten the “raw end of the deal,” while those that could care less about God only prosper.  In the second half of the psalm, the psalmist has refocused his attention on the reality of God, who has given him a new, eternal perspective: the consequences of lives lived in self gratification and lives lived in obedience to God’s laws. The destiny of the wicked is destruction; the destiny of the godly is being in the presence of God.

Not only does worship help the psalmist get his focus back on track, but it also helps him see what he was like while his focus was on the wicked: “my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, 22 I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you” [v. 21-22].  When we begin to focus on the wicked and envy them, we will become bitter. Wrong focus can lead to bitterness and bitterness can lead to depression. It makes us numb to God and what He is doing. We cease to function as God intended; we become like a “brute beast.” But meditating on God and spending time with Him changes us, it transforms us.

It is too easy to see only the present and not think of the future consequences of present actions, especially when we are suffering.  Worshiping and spending time with God helps us bring things back into focus and helps us see the bigger picture.  God is in control. God is just and righteous. He will bring a righteous judgement. We can trust Him, even when it seems that those who flaunt their rebellion against God are prospering. We must remember that they are on “slippery ground.” In the light of eternity, all their wealth and “accomplishments,” and their boasting, will prove false, hollow, and disappear like a vapor.

How are we to respond in this post-Christian world that we live in? We need to keep our focus on God, regularly spending time in worship, meditating on the greatness and goodness of God and all that He has done. We need to realize the temporal nature of this existence and that there is a reality of greater value that can only be seen by those who have put their trust in Christ as Lord and Savior.  Let’s look at some summary statements:

Insights
1. Even when things are going relatively well, we can get off track when we begin to shift our focus away from God and His goodness.
2. Evil people do evil things, and many times it will seem like they never suffer the consequences. Many times God seems to remain silent, not in approval, or because He doesn’t care, but in grace and mercy to allow for repentance.
3. We need to be honest how we feel when we see the wicked prosper, but careful about changing our focus.
4. As we begin to re-center our thoughts God, that He is good, that He is in control, and that He will bring a righteous judgement, we will begin to see the situation in better light.
5. We need to spend time each day refocusing and God’s greatness, love, and mercy.
6. Wrong focus can lead to confusion and bitterness. Bitterness can lead to a loss of hope and depression. Eventually we can become numb to the voice of God in our lives.
7. Even when we refocus our attention on God, the actual situation may not change. What does change is our response to the situation.
8. Responding correctly in difficult or unjust situations can serve as an encouragement to others who are going through difficult situation.

Poisoned by Bitterness

“For I see that you’re being poisoned by bitterness and you’re a prisoner of wickedness!” [Acts 8:23, ISV]

The story of Simon in Acts 8 is a fascinating story: after having public attention and admiration for his occult practices and “magic,” he hears the Gospel being preached by Philip, believes and is baptized. In Acts 8:13 Luke records that “he [Simon] became devoted to Philip.” It is not unusual for a new convert to latch onto the one who led he or she to Christ, but there seems to be more here than gratitude for having shared the message of salvation. Simon is overwhelmed by the miracles he witnesses. He has spent his life making money from his “magic” and now he is witnessing something more than just magic and is having a difficult time processing what is going on.

Later, when Peter arrives and lays hands on these new believers, they receive the Holy Spirit. Simon’s natural [old self] response is to offer to buy this new “magic,” for no doubt, that is how he had learned many if not all the “magic” he had practiced. But the Holy Spirit opens Peter’s eyes to see the motivation behind his request. Listen to Peter’s reply in verses 20-23:

“But Peter told him, ‘May your money perish with you because you thought you could obtain God’s free gift with money! You have no part or share in what we’re saying, because your heart isn’t right with God. So repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, your heart’s intent may be forgiven you. For I see that you’re being poisoned by bitterness and you’re a prisoner of wickedness.’”

Strong words. The fame and attention he once had had now faded and these “new guys” with this “new magic” were taking the city by storm. He has been left out and now wanted back in and was willing to pay good money for a chance at the opportunity. This was more than a simple misunderstanding. This was greed. He was bitter over the loss of income, prestige, and certainly confused about how things in the Kingdom of God were handled. If it had only been this confusion, I don’t think Peter would have said what he did. The Holy Spirit of God goes to the root of the problem, his greed, his jealousy, his bitterness and candidly shares with him what is wrong.

Bitterness was poisoning him. He was a prisoner of old habits, old desires, and he had to come to the point where he realized what he was doing. At that point, God sends Peter, the restored leader of the apostles, who shares openly and directly. “You’re a prisoner of an unholy life and the bitterness in your heart is like poison and will kill you, Simon.” Simon’s response is a plea for Peter and Philip to pray for him for deliverance.

So, what’s all this have to do with worship? Great question.

Like many in public ministries, Worship leaders are put on pedestals, looked up to, etc. It is very easy to begin to believe all the positive comments people make [while trying to forget the other ones], and bask in the limelight. Then something happens, and all the attention begins to fade, and we are left with a choice: to believe that our real and ultimate approval comes from God and not from others, or to worry and become bitter over the situation.

In the case of Simon, perhaps the first problem was that he seemed to be more anchored in Philip than in Jesus. When we make other believers more than God intended, we are setting ourselves up for major disappointments. We can never receive from another person that which only God can give: acceptance and approval. Only God can meet those deepest needs in a relationship with Him. Simon had fixed his eyes on Philip more than Jesus. When we set our focus on others to meet our needs of acceptance and love we are setting both of us up for ultimate failure.

But that is not all. Simon had reverted to his old ways of thinking and acting. I will not try to debate whether or not he had truly been converted; Scripture only says that he had believed and was baptized, and the words used there are the same ones for others that had truly believed. Based on that, it seems that he had believed. But what had been a lifetime pattern of thinking was going to take some time to change. Old thought patterns have to be rooted out, named, and abandoned by replacing them with new one. If not, these older patterns of thinking would poison him.

Bitterness works like poison, choking out the life and joy of the individual until nothing of the former self remains. Worship leaders can become bitter from a multitude of issues: change of roles, change of financial conditions, changes of personnel, even changes in leadership and in the process lose the joy of rendering service.

What can be done? First, we need to be careful that we are “devoted to Christ,” not individuals. There are many wonderful men and women of God who can offer wonderful encouragement in our walk with God, but we must remember that even they have “feet of clay.”

Second, recognize bitterness for what it is: poison to your system. Admit your hurt to God, since He is only one that can change the situation if He so desires. Confess your bitterness and hurt to Him.

Third, repent, ask for forgiveness, for help. Bitterness breaks our fellowship with God, makes focusing on Him difficult because our minds keep replaying the hurt or words we would like to say over and over again. Ask God to help you refocus on Him, His power, His love. Thank Him for what He has done, for His great forgiveness and grace, even though we do not deserve it. Pray for those that might have been the cause.

Lastly, act in the power of the Holy Spirit to minister to someone in need. Remember what Paul said in Ephesians 4:31 “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice,” as well as what the writer of Hebrews said in 12:15, “See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”