Psalms 73:2-3

Psalm 73, I’m going to read the first three verses for our text tonight. We’ll be looking at verses two and three in particular. Truly, God is good to Israel, even such as are of a clean heart. But as for me, my feet were almost gone. My steps had well nigh slipped, for I was envious at the foolish. when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. God blessed to us His Holy Word this evening. The Apostle Paul was called by God to do the missionary work of carrying the gospel throughout most of the Roman Empire. As God declared he is a chosen vessel unto me to bear my name before the Gentiles and king, and the children of Israel’s Acts 915 tells us. So why is it that Paul, in carrying out God’s will, was stoned, was beaten, was jailed, was shipwrecked, was maligned, was forsaken, was forsaken, and was the object of a death plot? God’s providence, seemed to be at odds with his command to Paul. And it seemed to be against Paul. Why would God not forbid such opposition to the missionary’s work? Why didn’t God, didn’t God wanted the gospel preached? Why is it that Paul is hindered so much in preaching the gospel? Does it make sense for Paul to be in jail when the gospel needs to be preached? Why permit Satan to buffet Paul with a thorn in the flesh? There is a mystery to God’s providence that you and I find perplexing. In fact, I think the righteous in general at times find God’s providence perplexing. He is governing the world, but the way in which he governs the world seems to be at odds with his eternal purpose. God’s ways are not always perfectly clear and plain for our comprehension. Anytime you ponder the doings a sovereign, all-wise God, you may find yourself overwhelmed. My thoughts are not your thoughts. My ways are not your ways. That’s what God declares, as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways. higher than your ways. And my thoughts, your thoughts. Half the trouble we have arises from the fact that we forget this truth. We often think, we believe that God should think and act like you and I, like a human being. You think you know what is best for God to do under the circumstance. And you expect the God to do that, and when he doesn’t do that, you’re baffled. Why doesn’t he do? that. He does something completely different. Aesaph is a godly man, but he’s greatly perplexed. He does not understand God’s providence. He doesn’t understand why God is governing the world the way he is. He’s perplexed about God’s providence, and that’s my topic tonight. Now, as a believer, you may come close the falling away from the faith. verse 2 says this, but as for me, my feet were almost gone. My steps had well nigh slipped. There is a danger to doubting the truth that God is gracious only to his true people, which we see from verse 1.1. one of this chapter of Psalms. But as for me indicates, this is what God tells us, but as for me, the way I was thinking, I didn’t see it that way. Asaph has declared the fundamental principle that God’s goodness is particular, that only believers enjoy it. God’s goodness refers to God having, God having a favorite. attitude toward or being gracious toward a person. God does not show favor or grace to everyone. It’s sovereignly bestowed according to God’s good pleasure. Noah alone amidst all the multitudes before the flood found grace in the eyes of the Lord. No one else did. only to Israel is God good and this is carefully defined for us as those with a clean heart. Not the nation at large but true Israel, Gentile are genuine believers living in the nation, the elect of God, even as we see from the New Testament very clearly, even Gentiles are included in the true Israel of God. These alone enjoy God’s favor and grace. Their hearts have been made clean by the blood of Jesus Christ. However, the psalmist admits there was a point at which he doubted the fundamental teaching of verse 1. Perplexed by God’s providential dealings with the righteous and the wicked, he thought just the opposite was true. It seemed to Asaph that God’s favor rested upon the wicked and his disfavor rested upon the righteous. God’s revealed truth is not always as sure and certain in the mind of a believer as it should be. We can become confused and Asaf was confused. Sadly, you may doubt the scriptural doctrine and consider it to be untrue because Satan deceives your mind about it. Anytime this occurs, it’s dangerous to your soul. So dangerous that Asa says, I almost cast off the faith. Verse 2. Almost. So important is the truth of God’s goodness being particular that your spiritual well-being depends upon this truth. So there is a danger in doubting the truth that God is gracious only to his true people. Notice also, there’s a danger of you almost falling away from the true faith. Sometimes when you doubt the truth of verse one, you put your soul in grave peril. Asaph speaks of a very, very narrow escape he had from becoming an apostate. If your footing is lost and your steps slip. You may fall. Now there are slips and falls which are not fatal, but they’re still harmful. Years ago, one winter day, it was raining in the morning, and I went outside to get the paper. And I was dashing out there, got the paper and brought it back in to read it. And after breakfast, about an hour later, I was ready to rush off to see the car tractor. And it was was still raining outside. What I didn’t realize is the temperature had dropped. And underneath the water on the front steps, it was sheer ice. So I’m thinking, I got to dash out to the car because it’s raining. I’m going to dash out to the car. Well, I took one step and my feet went out from under me, and down I fell against the steps. Broke four ribs with that fall. It was a very painful process. It took quite a while for it for me to recover from. But it wasn’t fatal. I didn’t hit my head. Thankfully, God had my hand on the rail when I was running out of the steps and my hand stuck on the rail when I slipped so that I turned sideways and landed on my rib cage. Spiritually, the righteous may fall and be harmed but it’s not always fatal. You recover. You’re brought to repentance. David and Bashsheba is an example of this. Proverbs 2416 says for a just man fall seven times and rise up again. However, there are those who lose their footing let’s say on a mountain ledge. And when one loses their footing on a mountain ledge, they may fatally fall to death and never recover. It’s impossible for those who are once enlightened if they fall away to renew them again under repentance, the writer of Hebrews tells us in Hebrews chapter 6 and verse 4 and verse 6. And the idea there is a complete falling away. The idea there is a total abandonment of the Christian faith. Apostasy. The writer of Hebrews, who I believe is Paul, is writing to the Hebrews about going back to the Jewish religion. Turning the backs on the revelation concerning Christ and the gospel that has been revealed to them. Going back to that apostate religion at this point, you go back there, that’s fatal. A willful turning your back on God’s revealed truth, and utter repudiation then of the gospel. Scripture calls this making shipwreck of your faith. it’s impossible to bring that person back to a state of repentance. They have fairly fallen. It’s this type of fall that Asaph is speaking about here in verse 2. It’s the fall of verse 18 where he says surely thou did set them in slippery places, thou castes them down into destruction. This is a fatal fault. The lesson here that we have, of course, is that God always preserves his true people. The faith of even the strongest believer at times may be greatly shaken. So his feet give way out from under him. And he slips, and it’s nearly fatal. But a true believer is never quite undone. There is always the almost and the well nigh associated with the true believer. Left to yourself, you would fatally fall away. But Christ doesn’t leave you to yourself. He doesn’t leave you on your own. The scriptures speak of him that is able to keep you from falling in Jude 24. And that you are preserved in Christ Jesus. Jude 1. In Jeremiah 32, verse 40, we read these words, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them to do them good. Very similar to verse one of our text. But I will put my fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from me. That’s what God promises to do in the new covenant. He promises to preserve his people. And he’ll always preserves his people, even under the old covenant, the true people God, are always preserved. But Christ intercedes for you as a believer. You remember when Peter thought that he could stand on his own, that if everybody else deserved Christ, he wouldn’t. Remember what Christ said to him, Satan wants to sift you as weak? But Jesus says, I have prayed for you that your faith fail not. And that is the truth we find with regard to all true believers. Christ’s intercession is such that he’s praying for us. Our faith doesn’t fail. God is constantly working in you sustaining your faith by His grace so that it cannot be extinguished. So as a believer, you may come close to fall away from the faith. But you never actually will. Notice secondly here, then, my second main heading is this, as a believer there is a great temptation to be envious of the ungodly. In verse three, he tells us for I was envious at the foolish when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. This is what caused him to almost fall. There is the troublesome problem of the prosperity of the wicked. How is it that those who hate the Lord, how is it that those who are opposed to the kingdom of Christ prosper? That God’s providence is such that it causes them to prosper in this world. That is perplexing. This is maybe what causes you to doubt that God is gracious to you. you compare your life to that of the ungodly and it doesn’t seem to add up, does it? What this prosperity consists of is found in verses 4 to 12, which Lord willing we’ll look at in our next study. He gives in the detail about what he’s talking about when he talks about the prosperity of the wicked. But in general, basically, we’re talking about earthly abundance. We’re talking about trouble-free life, good health, a peaceful death, things of this nature. Seemingly, and this is the difficulty, everything seems to go well for some wicked people. And therefore, you could conclude, well, God’s favor rest upon them. In particular, he’s talking about some of the most notoriously wicked people in this passage. In contrast to this, Asaph finds his life trouble fulfilled verse 14 as we’ve read in the past here that he finds himself plagued every day, chastened every morning. Thus it does seem that God’s grace in favor rest upon the wicked. It does seem that verse one can’t be possibly true. So he’s looking at God’s providence is this doesn’t add up. But God’s words is something different. And he’s saying, I don’t understand how God’s providence matches up with God’s work. It seems, and this is what troubles Aes Aes Aesaf, that striving to do what’s good, right, proper, honest, in the eyes of God, obeying his commands, mortifying sin in your life, pursuing holiness, doesn’t profit you at all. Why? You’re not better off than the wicked. The temptation is you could live soon. and have a trouble-free life. Now, that’s a dangerous soul-destroying theory. But that’s what Asaph has come to. That’s a conclusion that he’s drawn. Satan is always trying to get you to doubt God’s word. To make you think that what God says is untrustworthy. Look at Satan’s temptation at Eve in the Garden. What is the first thing? he does. He gets her to doubt God’s word. He says, have God said, He shall not eat of every tree of the garden. Is that really so? And the woman Eve explains God’s curse of death upon us if we eat of the tree that’s in the midst of the garden. And the serpent says under the woman, He shall not surely die. for God doth know that in the day ye eat there of your eyes shall be opening, you shall be as God’s knowing good and evil. So what does Satan whisper in our ears? What God says is good is really evil. And what he says is evil is really good. It’s beneficial for you. So here’s the troublesome problem of the prosperity of the wicked. And then we see the sin of being envious of the wicked. Because of the sin. of their prosperity he says I’m envious of them. Now when he uses the word foolish here, the word fool in scripture, the fool has said in his heart there’s no God, Psalm 141. We might think that these people live wickedly because they don’t believe there is a God. They don’t believe they’re going to have to give an account before God. So they have no spiritual wisdom or insight, no understanding about God in his one. ways. Asa’s envy here is not covetous in nature. It’s not that they have more than I have. That’s not what’s troubling him. His envy is a much more deep, seated discontentment that God seems to bless the very ones who hate the Lord. That doesn’t seem right. It seems to withhold his benefits and blessings from the righteous. Who love and serve the Lord. Now, obviously, this envy is sinful. No question about it. Because it’s based on a denial of verse 1. It’s rested upon the mistaken notion that the prosperity and riches, that the wicked and joy are blessings flowing from God’s gracious goodness. And that adversity is God’s disfavor and poverty is God’s curse. Both are considered as a withholding of God’s gracious favor from the righteous. I suppose, as a way to illustrate this, we could talk about a well-behaved son who finds his father seemingly depriving him of many good things, disciplining him severely every day. And yet his father perhaps shows every token of seeming love to the depraved, boy in the neighborhood. And he gives that troublesome boy all sorts of good things, and he seems to favor that child over his own son. Wouldn’t the son envy then the neighbor boy, who is mischievous? Who could blame him for thinking, I’d be better off being the scoundrel who lives next door? This captures the envy of ASAP. This is what ASAP’s concerned about here. And the idea of it is the idea. is what is the use of fearing God? I’d be better off living like the wicked. The sin of being envious of the wicked. Now here is the right thinking you need. We’ve got to square this tonight. Let me say this very clearly. Wrong doctrine always leads to wrong behavior. If you don’t get verse one right, then you’re going to be led to verse two. And verse three, which leads you. you in the wrong direction. Your doctrine’s wrong. Your thinking’s wrong. Then your behavior becomes wrong. You must believe only the doctrine of verse one. That God only favors and is gracious to his people. By implication, the opposite must be true with regard to the ungodly. That God is not good, favorable or gracious to the wicked. The wealthy, the healthy, the healthy, the cursing, the God-hating infidel, must not be. considered graciously blessed of God because that’s a violation of verse one. Such ungodly people must be told indeed God, must not be told God’s gracious to you. God blesses you abundantly because he desires to do you good because that’s not true. That’s not true. We know that all things work together for the good to them that love God, to them who are the called, according to his purpose, Romans 828. What does that mean? What’s the opposite to that? That all things are not working together for good to them that hate God and are not called to salvation. There is no gracious blessing to be found in unbelief and unrighteousness. None whatsoever. God is destroying them. by all the wealth and the health and the long life and the pleasures that they enjoy in this life because it’s all working together for the bad of these people. Verse 18 again, God has set their feet in slippery places to bring them down to destruction. So we would tell such infidels, even though everything seems to be going smoothly in their life, repent, or you will perish. For God hateth all workers of Iniquity. Psalm 5.5. Instead of emming these people, that’s the wrong approach. You ought to pity these people. Because friends, they go merrily on their way to hellfire without any check from God to deter them. For them, the broad way that leads to destruction is sort of like the interstate highway, where there are no stop signs. There’s no lights. There’s nothing to slow them down. So they go flying down the road at breakneck speed, heading to destruction. In some rural communities where there’s a housing plan, they put speed bumps in. I really don’t like the speed bumps, but they put them in. So you can’t even go 35 miles an hour because your whole car gets all shook up. So you have to go real slow and go over the ooh, you know, it’s like the dipper at the amusement parks for little kids, you know, this is one little hill or something. So you have to slow down to go over that. They don’t have any speed bumps. Nothing slows them down. It was God’s way of retarding the sinfulness of Israel were told in the book of Josea chapter 2 in verse 6 by doing this. Behold I will hedge up by way with thorns and make a wall. What is God saying here? God is saying here, I’m going to retard your sinfulness. You want to pursue this sinful course? Fine, I’ll put a hedge in front of you of thorns that will jag and cut you as you try to work your way through. I’ll make it like a wall out of them. That you have to go through. But here, in this text before us Tonight, there is no such inderance. There’s nothing. Nothing that cuts them. Nothing that jags them. No strike from God upon them. No rod of God falls upon them to slow them down, to humble them in any capacity. No thorns that are painful to pass through. No wall to turn them aside from the road to destruction so they go headlong toward their eternal deal. And so instead of envying them, you ought to pity them. But Asaph doesn’t understand that truth yet. He’s going to understand it because God’s going to reveal it to him. But this is the truth. This is what verse one actually is indicating to us. So we see the troublesome problems of prosperity of the wicked. We see the sin of being envious of the wicked and the right thinking you need to have. Now let me close tonight by saying this. There is a mystery to God’s providence, which may baffle you. There’s no way around it. Sometimes God does things that we just don’t understand. God called Paul to preach the gospel, and yet at the same time his providence is such that all kinds of obstacles are placed in his way. He allowed Paul to be hindered in his work by a thorn in the flesh. Think about that. But God didn’t want him exalted above measure. Curtail is pride to curtail the gifts that he was given. There’s a sense in which God was saying, I’ll keep you humble Paul. I won’t let you get out of control here. Even though we look at it and say, well, this doesn’t seem to be right. But when he writes to the Philippians, he says, even though I’m in jail, and this seems like a hindrance of the gospel, actually, it’s for the falling out of the gospel further. Not other people were stepped up into preaching the gospel while I’m here. And he writes to the churches, and those letters we have now today. So all this all works ultimately to promote the gospel. But we don’t always see it because God’s ways are up here and our ways are down here. We’re looking at it from a short-term perspective. God’s looking at it from a long-term perspective. So don’t be perplexed when God’s providence seems to prosper the wicked over the righteous. This should not be the cause of your faith faltering. You shouldn’t be envious of the wicked. This is a major mistake. It’s a very dangerous step to take. Cling to the truth of verse one, and that will keep you out of trouble. That’s the fundamental truth. Don’t let that out of your sight. Keep that before your eyes. No matter what takes place in God’s providence. Let us close with a word of prayer tonight.