Learning How to Worship: Psalm 73

“If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. But if you look at Christ, you’ll be at rest.”

-Corrie Ten Boom

Have you ever wondered why good things happen to bad people?

You aren't alone.

How can a Christian maintain our worldview of God's goodness to those who love Him (Rom 8:28), when so many terrible things happen in the lives of God's people.

In Psalm 73 Asaph resonates with every Christian (and every Jew) who has ever lived by exploring the issue of the prosperity of the wicked, and his answer is one that sometimes is unsatisfying, but one that is the most true. We find our answer to the question only when we take our eyes off of the prosperity of the wicked and enter into God's presence.

I think a maxim from one of my college professor's that, "What we need most is a clear vision of Jesus," is one that satisfies this longing expressed in the Psalm the best way we can attempt to.

Everyone can look around and desire the prosperity they see of people who live in evil. We do from time to time question whether the truth we know is worth the suffering or sense of unrest that we tend to experience. The way of the Godly is rough at times. The road is narrow. The covenant in Asaph's eyes was at times hard to desire. And so he writes down in a beautiful declaration what we all feel from time to time.

We want to know why Godless people like Donald Trump seem to prosper (yes, I just went there). We want to know why people idolize Hugh Hefner.

Is our way, is God's way REALLY worth it?

Asaph struggles for a bit, but eventually comes to the conclusion that yes, it is. 

The text says that he sought to understand this, but it seemed to be a very wearisome task, UNTIL Asaph went into the presence of God. He discerned the end of wicked people there.


The presence of God changes us.

Because the good that happens to bad people on earth will come to an end. To borrow a line from Jonathan Edward's famous sermon on this particular Psalm, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God":

"...he that walks in slippery places is every moment liable to fall; he can't foresee one moment whether he shall stand or fall the next; and when he does fall, he falls at once, without warning." 

Let us remember that just because God allows evil to seem to flourish, and prosper those who do injustice; he has promised to repay. 

In Romans 12:19-21 Paul writes,

Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,

“I will take revenge;
 I will pay them back,”
 says the Lord.

Instead,

“If your enemies are hungry, feed them.
 If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
 In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.”Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good. (NLT)

And again, Paul says in Galatians 6:7,

"Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap."

While in the presence of God, Asaph realizes his own weariness, frailty, and sin. He says that the bitterness he felt in his heart toward the wicked actually stirred his affections away from God. 

We will go through life always having one more question that never seems to be answered to our satisfaction, but like we see in this Psalm, our answer we get is rarely the answer we desire, but rather God gives us Himself.

Asaph realizes that the wicked are actually at a loss, because they don't get to be near God. He ends the Psalm by saying,

"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."

Asaph's heart is changed, and instead of bitterness toward the wicked he decides to evangelize. He wants to "tell of all God's works".

In the middle of this Psalm are some of my absolute favorite verses in the Bible. It is part of Asaph's prayer before he comes to his grand conclusion. It is a confession and a plea. The language he uses has always just been striking to me, and this is a prayer that I pray a lot throughout my day to remind myself of God's faithfulness to me, His presence with me, and that He is my lot, my portion, and my strength.

I would encourage everyone to memorize these verses and think about the words, hold them tight, and may they encourage you in the same way that they encouraged Asaph, encouraged Israel, encouraged Jesus (as I am sure He prayed these exact words while on earth, maybe even from the cross), and have encouraged me:

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. (vs.23-26)

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Nathan Bryant

is a pastor at River Run Church in East Orlando, FL. As a student at Ozark Christian College in Joplin, Missouri he majored in Biblical Leadership, New Testament Studies, and Missiology.  In 2014 he attended the Leadership Institute in Phoenix, AZ where he continued his education from other pastors and educators at one of the fastest growing churches in the United States. He loves the outdoors, whether it is camping in the mountains or jumping through the waves at the beach, nothing is better than enjoying God’s creation. Nathan longs for unity and commitment to Jesus to be a defining element in the global church of his generation.

Christ's Kingdom is bigger than our causes.

Christ's Kingdom is bigger than our boundaries.

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