Psalms 73:20

So let me direct your attention to Psalm 73 and verses 12 through 20. Psalm 73 verses 12 through 20. Our focus tonight will be on verse 20. Behold, these are the ungodly who prosper in the world. They increase in riches. Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain and washed my hands and innocency. For all the day long have I been plagued and chastened every morning. If I say I will speak thus, behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children. When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me. So I went into the sanctuary of God, then understood I their end. Surely thou did set them in sluble. lippery places, thou castest them down into destruction. Are they brought into desolation as in a moment? They are utterly consumed with tears. As a dream, when one awaketh, so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image. May God bless to us, the reading of His holy. and sacred word this evening. After the collapse of the German army at the end of World War II, when Berlin was captured, they found, among the archives still there in Berlin, the entire membership role of the Nazi party. The knowledge of this membership list when it was found, was not joyous news to those whose names were included in it. Once, these people were proud, no doubt to be numbered among the ruling party. It meant power and prestige. The master list had been the key, perhaps to honor and authority for those whose names were listed. But now it was different. Now it was a matter of shame that their names were on this list. Now it meant perhaps sharp investigation, prison, and death for others. These Nazis lived to regret their past life and the way they were living. When it comes to the ungodly, who are living very wicked and perverse lives, There’s going to be a day of reckoning. There is going to be a day when they are going to regret that their names were included on the list of the wicked. For the moment, they made delight in their evil doing and think that the day will never come when they’ll be held accountable for their evil days. But there’s going to be a payday someday, and they’re blasphemy against God, and their association with the enemy of their enemy. of God is going to come back and haunt them. Psalm 73 provides some clear teaching about this subject, and we’ve been looking at it in the last several weeks as we’ve considered what Asaph has written under inspiration of God. In Psalm 73, you recall that Asaph records the trouble he is experiencing as a lot. a believer. Here he is. He’s trying to live an honorable, godly life, both inwardly and outwardly, but he’s suffering. He looks around him. He sees that the wicked are living very perversely, very wickedly, and very ungodly manner, living sinfully, and yet they’re prospering. Now this perplexes Asaph, and he’s pawfrey. wondering, you know, what about this whole thing, what to do about it. And God brings him to the conclusion of verse one that we looked at earlier in this study. Truly God is good to Israel. This is true Israel, even as such as are of a clean heart. Not just because you’re an Israelite in name, one who is an Israelite indeed. Now what is important is the way Asaph arrives at this conclusion. And it all really comes down to starting out with right thinking. He was thinking in a humanistic level until he goes to the sanctuary, until he goes to the house of God, and there he begins to understand more fully here about the full picture of life, the end. of the wicked. He says he was given understanding. And really, when we go to the house of God, that’s what it’s really for. We’re to be edified. We’re to be given such understanding about these matters. And Asaph begins thinking about God’s providence and character and connection with the wicked. He understands what their end is, but he also sees that God leads them. to this end. He has actually predestinated this end for them. For he tells us here he sets them in slippery places. He gives them a dangerous situation in which they are brought to destruction. And what we find from this is that God is in total control of the situation. He has the power to destroy the wicked any time he chooses as a just and righteous God. Today we want to concentrate on verse 20 in God awakening to judgment. Let me read that once again for you. As a dream when one awaketh, So, O Lord, when you awakest, thou shalt despise their image. Now, as we come to a passage like this, the first question you might ask is, is God really sleeping while the wicked prosper? You recall how in the Old Testament we read about Elijah, the prophet, in his showdown, on Mount Carmel with the prophets of Bail. And remember how he mocks them. He cries aloud, and he says this. He says, cry aloud, for he is, for he, Bail, is a God. Either he’s talking, or he’s pursuing, or he’s in a journey, or a pair of venture he sleepeth and must be awakened. verse kings chapter 18 verse 27 he’s either busy or he’s unconscious of the whole situation he’s sleeping how is it then that such a statement could even be made about the true and living god of scripture who upholds all things he’s never asleep at the wheel of the universe in Psalm 121 that i read tonight for our scripture reading he will not suffer thy foot to be moved he that keepeth thee will not slumber behold he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep now that is what the scripture teaches is there a contradiction here no asaph is using what we call here an anthropomorphic in simpler terms, the psalmist is putting things in human language for our benefit and our understanding. We might speak about this from a human perspective and say what person was sleeping. They weren’t paying attention or something like that. Because of the limitation of human thinking and language, often the Bible, uses a word picture that takes into account human concepts. God doesn’t sleep. He’s never tired. He’s never weary. Why would he have to sleep? He’s always alert and actively engaged moment by moment in the running of the creation who upholds all things by his own power, the word of his power. He never puts things on cruise control. And when we ride over here, we take the turnpike for part of the way and Raina puts the car on cruise control, says you didn’t have to keep the foot on the paddle and adjust it, you know, up and down so much. Just put it on cruise control and you just go. God doesn’t put things on cruise control when he governs the universe. So what ASAP means here is this. God appears to be one who is sleeping to us. It’s not that he doesn’t have the power. It is not that he can’t, in his ability, bring down the wicked any time he chooses. But for the time being, he appears to be sleeping, not paying attention. with regard to the wicked. So it’s not that God has forgotten to be gracious to his own people. It is not that he is actually asleep, but using human terminology, it is this. God is patiently waiting to act in his own time in dealing with the wicked. This is what he means. when he says here that God is asleep. For his all wise ends, God waits before judging the wicked. And the idea is sort of like we read with Samson. Remember, if you read through Samson’s account, he’s always asleep, and then Delilah or somebody’s wake, he wakes out of sleep, and all of a sudden he goes forth to do mighty acts. Maybe. falling off the city gates of Gaza. He may be realizing that the Philistines, his enemies, are surrounding him, and he awakens, and he goes out and destroys them. So in scripture, we have this idea here that God, in a sense, we look at him. It’s almost as if he wakes up, and all of a sudden, now he acts. Like Samson. He goes out and boom, does a mighty act. Judges the wicked. In several places in the Psalms, you find this human terminology applied to God. Look at just a couple pages over. The Psalm 78, if you would. Look at beginning with verse 62. Psalm 78, beginning with verse 62. Another Psalm of Asaph, by the way. 62 through 66. He gave his people over also unto the sword, and was wrothed with his inheritance. The fire consumed their young men, and their maidens were not given to marriage. Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows made no lamentation. Then the Lord awakened is one out of slate. that’s how he words this. He’s not he’s actually, he’s not really sleeping, but as one, out of sleep. And like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine, he smote his enemies in the hinder parts and put them to a perpetual reproach. We also find this same language in Psalm 44 and verse 23, awake, why sleep is? thou, Lord, arise. Cast us not off forever. So Asaph here sees the success, the prosperity of the wicked and the suffering of the godly, and he knows that God is just and that God is all powerful. And he knows that God has providentially set the wicked in slippery places to bring about their destruction. So what he’s saying here is, God assert yourself. Arouse yourself to act against these evil doers. Be like Samson, pick up the jawbone of the ass and slaughter them and bring them and bring them the judgment. Heaps upon heaps. So human language here is used to describe God’s forbearance here or is waiting to judge the wicked. Now, we see the inconsistency of man. thinking with regard to God. There are many people who glibly questioned God’s character and his power. If God is God, and if he has the power, and if he’s merciful, and gracious, why did he not destroy a man like Hitler, let’s say, before he came to power, before he did all the damage that he did? Why did he let him arise to such power authority and create a world war. Why didn’t God destroy him completely in all his evil forces and therefore save the world from all this misery and suffering that they went through? Not only we have World War II and all the bloodshed, but we have the extermination camps for the Jews or like six million Jews were put to death. If God is so powerful, why doesn’t he assert himself? And so they say, well, there’s no God or God is dead. That was the phraseology that became popular. They failed to see that God at times sleeps, or perhaps we might better say, he waits, to use better language. He waits to bring about this judgment. It only appears. fears, toss, that God is sleeping. So the atheist defies God, he blasts Him God, he takes God’s God’s name in vain, he scoffs the idea of God doing any punishment of eternal hell and so forth, but what he fails to realize is that God may just let the wicked man go on his way for a period of time. Before, he brings him to destruction. So that we might say judgment is delayed. It’s not immediate. The vessel of rack is fitted to destruction. They’re not always immediately brought to destruction. They’re not always broken to a thousand pieces immediately. The concept of God’s sleeping or waiting alludes them. So they think that there’s no true God. to meet out justice anywhere. There was a Scottish lawyer. It was a very wicked man. And he hired a horse from one of his neighbors and either through abuse of the creature or just by accident, he killed the animals. Naturally, the owner wanted to be compensated for his loss and his loss of use of the animal. The man of law acknowledged his liability. He said he was perfectly willing to pay. But the moment he was a bit short on cash, and he said this, he said, would you allow for me a little time if I wrote you out a promissory note to pay the debt? And the owner said, well, sure. you can. Now the lawyer said, well, can I have a longer period of time because I’ve got to raise the money. And the owner generously said, well, you can fix your own time. So he wrote out the promissory note, the lawyer, and on the promissory note, he said he made it payable at the day of judgment. So he figured, have I foxed this farmer, this, I took advantage of him, and there’s nothing he can do about it now. Well, eventually the owner took the lawyer to court, wanting to be paid. And there in defense, the lawyer asked the judge, take a look at that note. You’ll see, Judge, it’s due on the day of judgment. So the judge looks at it. He said, this promissory note is perfectly good, sir. and as today is the day of judgment, you will pay immediately the money that you owe. There are a lot of people who think they’re going to escape divine judgment. They think that somehow or other that God’s not going to hold them accountable, that they have outwitted or outfoxed God, there’ll be a payday someday. It’s going to come. So is God really sleeping while the wicked flourish? No. He’s using figurative land. here, telling us that God is waiting, and then he will crush the weekend. Now, secondly, why does God allow the ungodly to flourish? What is he wait? There are several reasons we could speak about. One is this. God allows the ungodly to flourish so that that sin may manifest itself and all its ugliness. There is sin it may manifest itself. Look with me at the book of Romans, if you would. Chapter 1 verses 21 to 32. This passage is familiar passage of Scripture. Verse 21 of 1 of Romans. Because that when they knew God, they glorified Him, not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and the birds, and four-footed beast, and creeping things. Wherefore, God also gave them up to uncleanness. through the lust of their own hearts to dishonor their own bodies between themselves, who changed the truth of God into a lie and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator who is blessed forever. Amen. For this cause, God gave them up under vile affections. For even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature. And likewise also the man, having the natural use of the woman, or leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another. Men with men, working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves, that recompense of their error which was meat. And even as they did not like to retain retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient. Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whisperers, backbiders, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without undisers, understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful, who knowing the judgment of God that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. Paul here describes the awful, depravity, and wickedness of society. And it gives a horrible list here of sin. and sexual perversions. And he says, this is the real explanation behind all that live this way. That mankind has rebelled against the law of God. And God has given them over to a reprobate mind. He has withdrawn his restraining power so that now sin flourishes and it’s given free reign, if you would. And God has allowed sin to develop and reveal itself for what it really is, in all its ugliness. So God here causes men to wallow in their wickedness and their sinfulness like a pig in the mire. Now this is something which we need to be reminded. of today. There is a great deal of alarm as we look around us at the moral condition of our society. Why is the United States in such a terrible spiritual condition? Because for several generations now people have turned their backs upon God. They’ve ignored his laws. They have cast aside his word. Humanism has come to the forefront. Man, thinks that he is the one who should be in charge, that he has the authority, that man has the right to set the rules for how he lives and his conduct and morality, that God’s truth is something that is now ignored. And what do we say then? Well, our society is reaping what it has sung in the past. God has turned people over to a reprobate mind. God says, as it were, okay, you think you can run the world without me? Go ahead. Let us see what happens. And now we see what man’s views and what man’s philosophies lead to disaster. Today, we are beginning to see what sin really is how ugly and vow it is. Look at the riots in our streets. The violence, the harm that is being done, the thievery, the murder, the destruction, the property. God would teach man the exceeding sinfulness of sin. And this is one of the ways he waits before he judges. So the wicked do whatever their heart desires and you’re seeing the effects of this. Thus, we see horrible sexual perversion. We see ungodly lust. We see the blackest and the most vow, depravity, rears its ugly head. It’s like in Noah’s Day. When every thought, the imagination of man’s heart was only wicked continually and violence was in the land. So God allows the wicked to flourish so that their sin may manifest itself in all its ugliness. Also, God allows the ungodly to flourish so that people may reap some of the consequences of their sins. I want you to turn with me the book of judges, if you would. I’m going to give you a sampling here, but you see this repeatedly, actually, throughout the book. Also, in first and second kings, you find. a very similar situation. The book of judges, direct your attention, the chapter 2, 1.11 to 19 of the book of judges. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served Balaam. And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt and followed other gods of the gods of the people that were round about them and bowed themselves under them and provoked the Lord to anger. And they forsook the Lord and served bail and Astero. And the anger the Lord was hot against Israel and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them. And he sold them into the hands of their enemies roundabout so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. whithersoever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil. As the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn under them, and they were greatly distressed. Nevertheless, the Lord raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of them that spoiled them. And yet they would not hearken under their judges, they went a hoaring after other gods and bowed themselves under them. They turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the Lord, but they did not so. And when the Lord raised them up judges, then the Lord was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge but repented the Lord because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them. And it came to pass when the judge was dead that they returned and corrupted themselves more than their fathers in following other gods to serve them and to bow down under them. And they ceased not from their own doings nor from their stubborn way. I could read chapter 3 in several places. there and we see the same kind of thing. Man by nature wants the pleasure of sin but doesn’t want the punishment. Don’t want any consequences to sin. You may desire to sin and not suffer from it. No repercussions. But you can’t. Because God allows the world to get into such a state of godliness as part of its punishment. I do not hesitate to assert the explanation. from some of the world wars that we have been in were related directly to God punishing men, the bloodshed, the death, and so forth. There’s a terrible price to pay for sin. God is meeting out punishment to mankind for its defiance of him, even decades prior to these things happening. If you sow the wind, you reap the whirlwind. What man doesn’t realize is he gets into these situations and doesn’t realize this is part of God’s judgment. When the world turns its back on God, then you get bad leadership. You get Hitler’s. You get Mussolini’s. You get Stalin’s and Castros and Sodomusains and so forth. When I was at the old gym that I used to attend, there was an ex-Ferlini, FBI agent there was there. And I would talk to him about spiritual things, and the election had come up where Obama was running against McCain. And he said to me, you know, God would never allow Obama to win, because that would be the destruction of our constitution in our country. And I said to him, oh, yes, he would. I said, this country is very perverse and wicked, and he may do it as a punishment. He didn’t see that happening. But I said, it’s in the Bible. If you read your Bible, you’ll find it there all the time. It happens. Even the people of God are disciplined, chastened when wicked men come to power. And it’s a sad situation. How often did God raise up enemies against the children of God to discipline them? And when they turn to other, their gods, God sent an evil monarch against them. Made their lives miserable. When you sow a sin, eventually you’re going to reap something. God chastens his people through the means of ungodly men, and he puts them in leadership sometimes. Notice thirdly here. God allows the wicked to flourish in order to fill up their cup of iniquity so as to make their overthrow more complete. I’ll just to select one verse of scripture. There are several we can look at, but let’s look at First Thessalonians if you would. Chapter 2, verses 14 to 16. 1. Thessalonians 2, 14 to 16. We read this. For ye, ye brethren, became followers of the churches of God, which in Judea are in Christ Jesus. For ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews, who both killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us, and they please not God, and are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles, that they might be saved. And notice this, to fill up their sins away. For the romew for the rinds. wrath is come upon them to the uttermost. In scripture, we have the idea of a cup of wrath. He’s saying here, in a sense, they’re filling up their cup. This is what God is letting them do here. They have this free reign at the moment, but all they’re doing is making it worse. The destruction will be more complete. here. This is what God is telling us. When God raised up Pharaoh to the throne in Egypt, he was a vessel of wrath that was fitted for destruction. He had great power and authority. He enslaved the people of God. He rejects the call of Moses and Aaron to let my people go. God does not immediately strike him down. He goes on for a time in this state. He defies God. Who is the Lord? that I should obey his voice. God sends various plagues upon the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh remains stubborn, doesn’t he? God hardens his heart so that he will not listen. That he will not comply with God’s command. Why does he do that? That Pharaoh may fill up his cup of wrath and have the complete destruction in the Red Sea that was shortly coming. My friends, this is the way it is with the wicked. They are puffed up, they’re proud, they’re arrogant people, and they think nothing can stop them. And what happens is that God suddenly burst to their bubble and brings them destruction. They don’t realize it all the time all they’re doing is filling up their cup. drop by drop by their wicked behavior. Then God arises and their fall occurs. It’s almost as if we might say God is ripening them for judgment. Thus, with regard to the Jews in this passage of Scripture from First Thessalonians too, it is God here bringing about the complete overthrow of the Jews by raising up Titus in 70 AD to absolutely destroy and bring judgment upon the nation to slaughter them to overthrow Jerusalem, they’ll burn the temple. It’s a complete destruction that comes. So why does God allow the ungodly to flourish? Here’s some good reasons that we have here in Scripture. Now let me in closing touch on the very last part of verse 20 here in Psalm 73 where we read this, O Lord, when thou wakest, thou shalt despise their image. While God appears to be sleeping and the wicked are flourishing, he will awaken. And as soon as God decides to act, we read here that you see that the image here, there, this concept of of their prosperity and earthly success that people see is going to be despised. The wicked are going to be despised and it’s going to vanish. This word image has the idea of an illusion, a figure. Sometimes it’s used of like the shadow of death, like in Psalm 23. The appearance of death. And yet, David is spared. As a dream vanishes, as soon as you awake, so the instant the Lord begins to exercise his judgment and his justice, the illusion that the prosperous wicked enjoy God’s favor and grace is going to disappear. They never enjoy God’s favor, as one already is indicated to us. It was always, all a pleasant type of dream, if you would. Suddenly, it all disappears when God is aroused. And like the faintness of a dream that vanishes from you, like Nebuchadnezzar who couldn’t remember his dream after he woke up, it’s gone. Their life is what Shakespeare says, such things as dreams are made of. There’s nothing. of substance to. God is going to not permanently stay asleep, but he’s going to awake, and then, in a short time, judgment falls. Right now, he’s given them latitude. I always like to say he gives them enough rope to hang themselves. And that’s what he’s doing. And Asaph tells us very clearly what’s going to happen to these supposedly successful ungodly people. Everything about them. It’s going to vanish like a dream. You know, you can’t take all the prosperity of this world with you when you die either. It’s going to be gone. This supposed divine favor is an image. It’s going to disappear. It’s never been a reality. Now, the ungodly appear so powerful, so self-sufficient, almost indestructible, and then all of a sudden they’re gone like a flash of lightning. Boom. Either God takes their life or he brings some type of judgment even in this life. It’s a powerful warning to those who would live wickedly and ridicule God in his ways and mock the people of God and so forth. Time is coming. God is just waiting. God is just waiting. So the people are going to reap the consequences of their sins. The cup of iniquity God has allotted to the wicked will be filled eventually. And then suddenly God will judge. Lord Jesus Christ will return in flaming fire a flaming fire to destroy every wicked person off the face of the whole earth. And they’ll all be gone. As 2nd Thessalonians 1 tells us, may God grant us to see what Asaph now sees, God is just waiting. Waiting is time for things to get ugly. Let them wall in their sin. Let them pay a price for that. It chastens us even as the people of God at times with this situation. But ultimately, they’re just filling up their cup. And then the end comes. May God bless to us this word. May it encourage us sometimes when we say, where is God? Why does he do something? Well, he will. He will do so in his time. Let us close with the word.