2-28-21 Tucson Sermon

Psalm 73 (The Struggle: Psalms for Lent) Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke

Second Sunday in Lent Sunday, February 28, 2021 “The Struggle Seems Unfair”

When we sing the Psalms in worship, we are joining a long line of believers who used those songs. The music is different, the language is different, the settings are different, but the content and the meaning are the same. God has spoken his words through the pens of poets for many to be moved and comforted and encouraged.

But since the contexts and situations are so different, the Psalms that we sing in worship are sometimes adjusted in some way. So, for example, when last week we sang Psalm 3, our vocalist sang the verses of the Psalm, and if you had followed along in an NIV Bible, you would have noticed that he sang nearly every phrase of that Psalm, and all 8 verses. Meanwhile, if you had opened your Bible to follow along as we sang Psalm 73 this morning, you may have been a bit confused. In our sung Psalm, we sang only a few out of the 28 verses of Psalm 73. One reason for that may simply be the length. The Psalm is sung at a particular place in our worship service, and to include all of the verses of a longer Psalm could change the feel and the flow of our service in a way that would not contribute to our meditation. So, for some Psalms, like this one, we sing selections of the Psalm. Other Psalms in our worship books are split into multiple parts that we sing individually so that we can use the verses of the Psalms in smaller portions.

That also explains why last week we didn’t have the entire Psalm printed out in another place in the worship folder while today we have dedicated nearly a full page to the verses of Psalm 73. We are considering this Psalm in our sermon today, and I would like to read through it now for you.

The Text: Psalm 73 A psalm by Asaph.

1 Surely God is good to Israel, to the pure in heart.

2 But as for me, my feet almost slipped out from under me.

I almost lost my footing.

3 I even envied the arrogant when I observed the peace of the wicked.

4 For there are no struggles at their death.

Their bodies are sturdy.

5 They do not have the trouble common to people.

They are not plagued along with the rest of mankind.

6 Therefore pride is their necklace.

They wear violence like clothing.

7 Their eyes bulge out of their fat.

The schemes of their hearts step over boundaries.

8 They mock. They speak maliciously.

From a high perch they threaten oppression.

9 They set their mouths against the heavens.

Their tongues strut around on earth.

10 Therefore God’s people turn to them, and they drink it all in.

11 They say, “How can God know?

Does the Most High have knowledge?”

12 See, this is what the wicked are like— secure forever, they increase in strength.

Have I really kept my heart pure for nothing?

Have I kept my hands clean in vain?

14 I have been plagued all day.

My punishment comes every morning.

15 If I had said, “I will speak like this,” I would certainly have betrayed the circle of your children.

16 When I tried to understand this, it was very troubling to me, 17 until I went to the sanctuary of God. Then I understood their end.

18 Surely you place them on slippery places.

You cause them to fall into destruction.

19 How quickly they come to ruin, completely destroyed by terrors!

20 They are like a dream when someone wakes up.

So when you arise, O Lord, you will despise them like an illusion.

21 Yes, my heart was bitter, and I was torn up inside.

22 I was unthinking and ignorant.

I was a dumb animal before you.

23 Yet I am always with you.

You hold me by my right hand.

24 With your guidance you lead me, and afterward, you will take me to glory.

25 Who else is there for me in heaven?

And besides you, I desire no one else on earth.

26 My flesh and my heart fail, 13

but God is the rock of my heart and my portion forever.

27 No doubt about it!

Those who are far from you will perish.

You destroy all who commit adultery against you.

As for me, God’s nearness is good for me.

I have made the Lord God my refuge, so that I can tell about all your works.

28

So, have you ever felt like Asaph? Have you ever looked around and thought that things were just not fair or just not right? That’s the whole premise he presents in this Psalm. He begins with a statement about God’s loving goodness to his people, to Israel. The psalmist is convinced of it. God is good to his people. God is good to those who serve him.

But that conviction also caused an issue for him. It caused an issue because he didn’t always see it. He found his conviction slipping. He found himself losing his way. He looked at the wicked, at those who do not love God and do not seek God, and he was jealous. He was envious. He thought that things were simply not fair and not right.

When Asaph looked at the wicked around him, he often saw that they were successful and prosperous. He often saw that they were proud and secure. He often saw that life was easier for them than it was for him and for his fellow believers. Was this unfair? Did it mean that God didn’t really love his people? This is what Asaph struggled with. He felt that he was trying to obey God’s commands, to trust in God, to do what he was supposed to do, and he wondered whether that struggle was worth it. He wondered whether he should continue doing what he had been.

And that is a temptation for us, too, isn’t it? God calls us to struggle. We struggle against our enemy the devil.

We struggle against sin. We even struggle against our own sinful natures, our own sinful flesh with its desires.

And we look around us at people who don’t have those struggles, who give in to their desires and do what they determine at any moment without care or concern. And they are often rich and successful. Some are even famous, not in spite of their sinful ways, but because of them. They often seem happy. And so the struggle seems unfair. We get jealous.

Jesus talked about this struggle for a Christian in today’s Gospel. He said, “If anyone wants to follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Mark 8:34). Jesus calls us to struggle. He calls us to carry a cross. He warns us that following him brings challenges and suffering. Those who don’t follow Jesus don’t need to carry a cross. They don’t need to struggle.

And our sinful natures can be quite persistent and quite powerful. Even as young children, we think that we know what is best for us and that we don’t need our parents and their rules, that we don’t need to be respectful of them. After all, we know someone else who sasses his parents, and he seems to be doing just fine. As teens and young adults perhaps the temptation presents itself differently. We realize that God tells us his will is that we save ourselves for our spouses, but look at how much fun and excitement we might miss out on! So many in our world view the idea of waiting for marriage as antiquated and foolish. Why should we struggle against what we want?

What about the temptation of greed? Should I really give generously to the church, toward the sharing of God’s Word? I could save up a lot of money if I didn’t give a percentage of my income that way. I could have the nice things that my neighbor has. I could have a more secure future.

The wicked and the ungodly do often seem to succeed. They often seem to live without struggle. Our psalmist, Asaph, concludes, “See, this is what the wicked are like—secure forever, they increase in strength. Have I really kept my heart pure for nothing? Have I kept my hands clean in vain?”

And God gave him an answer. And God gives us an answer. We find the answer not in figuring it out for ourselves or in examining the situation more closely or carefully. We find the answer in listening to God and his Word. Asaph confesses, “When I tried to understand this, it was very troubling to me, until I went to the sanctuary of God.”

Commentators debate whether Asaph went to the physical Temple or simply was reminded of the truths of God’s Word. Perhaps as he continued to ponder on his own, that is where his thoughts turned. Perhaps someone else helped his thoughts turn that direction. Either way, his point is clear. Asaph began to understand when he looked at the problem from a different perspective. He got his answer when he considered an eternal perspective.

No matter how successful an unbeliever may be, that success is precarious. Asaph wrote, “Surely you place them on slippery places. You cause them to fall into destruction. How quickly they come to ruin, completely destroyed by terrors! They are like a dream when someone wakes up. So when you arise, O Lord, you will despise them like an illusion.” From an eternal perspective, the success of all who do not believe in God is short-lived. Even if it is true that they may succeed throughout their earthly lives, apart from faith they are doomed to destruction.

So the answer to Asaph’s struggle is to not focus only on the here and now, but to focus on eternity. And in order to understand what God says about eternity, we need to throw out what we think about fairness and equity. The struggle against sin and our attempts to follow what God says are not things that can earn us God’s favor. They are not ways that we can climb the ladder up to heaven or convince God to love us more. We follow God’s directions because God loves us already, because he lover us first. We follow God’s instructions out of thankfulness for all he has done for us. Because he has called us, we want to follow God, and so we will, even if and when it means picking up and carrying a cross, whatever form that may take.

Jesus also talked about that eternal perspective. He said, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. After all, what good is it for a man to gain the whole world and yet forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:35-36). When Peter tried to rebuke Jesus for predicting his suffering and death, Jesus rebuked him for not having in mind the things of God, but only the things of men, earthly things. And Jesus taught everyone who would listen about the things that were truly and eternally important. He would die for the sins of the world, as unfair as that truly was for him. He wasn’t there to give people fairness, he was there to give them his grace and his love and his forgiveness. He was there to give eternal life.

That same eternal perspective could direct Asaph’s thinking. As a follower of God, Asaph did not need to concern himself with earthly pursuits, earthly successes, or comparing himself in any way to others. And God did lead him to that conclusion.

God led him to understand that purely because of God’s love for him, Asaph had a home in heaven. He confessed, “Yet I am always with you. You hold me by my right hand. With your guidance you lead me, and afterward, you will take me to glory.” That’s the eternal perspective. May it be our perspective, too. The God who made rich promises to Asaph has fulfilled those promises in Jesus. The God who showed this psalmist not to look jealously at others invites us to celebrate his goodness to us. He sent his own Son to be the world’s Savior, to be our Savior. He promises to use even challenges and suffering and struggles to accomplish good for us. He promises us eternal glory.

And so he calls us not to give up the struggle, even if at times it seems unfair. Don’t listen to voices that sound convincing, sound loving, sound caring, but really are the voices of Satan and not the voice of God. Listen to God say, “Take your cross and follow me,” and respond by saying with the psalmist Asaph, “My flesh and my heart fail, but God is the rock of my heart and my portion forever.” Carry whatever cross he calls you to carry, and follow him. The struggle may at times seem unfair, but from an eternal perspective, it is worth it.