Psalm 73: A Psalm for Today

 

Psalm 73:6 Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence. (NIV)

If you’ve never read Psalm 73 in its entirety, then I recommend that you do so. It relates the experience of a faithful worshipper who is driven to despair because of the threats, arrogance, and violence of the wicked. He has served God all of His life, so he expects things to be fair and just. All around him, however, powerful people are using their positions of authority to suppress the faithful; they are callous and hard-hearted; they do not care about those beneath them and they publicly proclaim their brazen and haughty ways.

 

            This causes the psalmist to question his faith in God. If so many unrepentant people are permitted to control the community, then why doesn’t God do something about it? Have the wicked won and the violent been given victory? Is there any point in believing in goodness or seeking justice? Have the scoffers manipulated the people with their malice? Have the thugs cowered the community into silence because of their threats? Those are the questions that the psalmist ponders and makes him wonder if God has lost control.

 

            I guess we all know those feelings and have asked very similar questions. Those who resort to violence and make threats against their opponents, who are unrepentant and seek to subdue others with iron fists and loaded rifles seem to have gained the upper hand. They even use Christ and faith to justify their hostile and antagonistic ways. Anyone who opposes them is deemed less than human; every one who does not follow their ways becomes a target. This, however, is inhumane and the complete opposite of what Christ called His followers to apply and live by each day. His personal command for Christians to love God by loving one another is ignored by the wicked and is replaced with ‘God takes care of those who take care of themselves.’

 

            Toward the end of Psalm 73, the psalmist realizes that those who are hateful, violent, and wicked will eventually destroy themselves. God will judge them for every careless and callous word and they will be condemned for their wickedness. As the psalmist states in verse eighteen: Surely you (God) place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin.

 

            The psalmist’s faith has returned to him after wrestling with God and these questions. He understands that God sees, hears, and knows everything, so there will be no defense for those who persist in being callous, hostile, and wicked. Their violence will their own undoing; their faithlessness will condemn them forever. Psalm 73 closes with these grave words:

 

27-28Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. 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.

 

May God help and guide us to understand His ways and lead us away from self-righteous and uncompassionate words and deeds. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

 

If you would like to read all of Psalm 73, here is a link: Psalm 73

Daily devotions: Scunnered! Psalm 73 v 21-22

Psalm 73:21- 22         When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered,

I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.

Sometimes there’s nothing like using an old Scottish word to express my feelings. Take the word ‘scunnered,’ for example. It conveys everything about today’s verse from the Psalm 73. In some households, including my own when I was a child, it was so severe a word that it was treated as being vulgar and coarse. If I dared to use the words “scunner” or “scunnered” in the presence of my parents, I was sent to my room. Of course, that only made me feel more scunnered!

Psalm 73 is one of my favorite psalms because it deals with the age-old problem of why do good people suffer and bad people become successful? The psalmist is bitter and angry with God because he has done all the right religious things and gets nowhere fast, whereas the wicked keep piling up their riches, esteem, and power. Life seems so unfair to the writer and, to coin the Scottish phrase again, he is absolutely scunnered with the injustice of the situation.

Towards the end of the psalm, he undergoes an emotional change. He realizes that the success of the wicked is only fleeting. When death comes, they will have nothing to take with them, whereas he will still have his eternal relationship with God.  As Jesus Himself said, centuries later: “they will have had their reward in full.” (Matthew 6 v 16)

‘Assurance’ is a much, much better word and greater feeling than ‘scunnered,’ because it conveys a positive confidence in the blessings and promises of God. And for Christians, it takes on an even better meaning because it denotes our absolute belief that Christ died for our sins and has restored us to God forever! Hallelujah!

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, thank You for the promises You have fulfilled and the blessings that You bestow upon those who truly believe in You. At the end of our lives, when we cannot take anything with us beyond the threshold of death, Your relationship and hold of us will remain steadfast and sure. Thank You for this wonderful, everlasting gift. In Your Holy Name, we joyfully pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is the latest drawing from John’s Appalachian series called “Smoky mountain Mill.” You can view a larger version at the following link: http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4092/4832636533_78b724526e_b.jpg

You can also view the entire Appalachian suite at this link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=191879&id=525292108&l=28296169e3

Daily Devotions: Escaping Envy

Psalm 73:25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

Psalm 73 is one of my favorite psalms. It deals with jealousy and envy. The writer feels that he is losing out of the spoils of life and riches of success. He is faithful to God, but not wealthy. He is a good person surrounded by ‘evil’ people who possess more than he owns.

Podcast version here

He’s suffering from clerical envy, or what I call holy jealousy. And I know exactly how he feels. Pastors are meant to be quiet, unassuming, and humble people. We are supposed to be examples of peace, happiness, and contentment. But we’re not. When it comes to our churches, most of us are territorial and always comparing our failures to the successes of other pastors. I guess it’s a mixture of insecurity and narcissism, instead of faith and loving God.

Anyway, if you take time to read the whole of Psalm 73, you’ll know exactly what I mean. The psalmist expresses his disappointment with God and vehemently points out the wickedness of others. He is essentially saying to God, “I have done everything right and been perfectly faithful. So, why aren’t you blessing me, God?” It’s a question that pastors constantly ask, as well as other Christians in their own workplaces.

The turning point in the psalm occurs when the writer realizes that possessions are only temporary and that his life is meant to serve God, not himself. That’s the part that I like the most because it reminds me not to value myself through the things I own, but to count myself fortunate that I am owned by God. In the end, all of my possessions will turn to dust and my ambitions will all fade away. In the end, only God will be important to me.

Prayer: Lord God, I am sorry that I allow envy and greed, jealousy and ambition to overwhelm my spirit at times. I am sorry that my insecurity and desires take away my contentedness and satisfaction with life. Forgive me, Lord, for surrounding myself with possessions that I cannot hold on to, or things that I will have to leave behind. Help me to focus on the eternal goodness of Your love and the everlasting blessings of Your grace. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee.