SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR
4/14/2012 10:23:05 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Asaph learn contentment
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Psalm 73 PT-3
Message of the verses: In today’s SD we will look at the last two sections of Psalm 73, which is the first Psalm in Book III of the book of Psalms. Dr. Wiersbe wrote the following at the end of his introduction to help us understand more about this Psalm. “Asaph could not lead the people in divine worship if he had questions about the ways of the Lord, but he found in that worship the answer to his problems. Note five stages in his experience.
The Worshiper: Seeing the Bigger Picture (vv. 15-22): “15 ¶ If I had said, "I will speak thus," Behold, I would have betrayed the generation of Your children. 16 When I pondered to understand this, It was troublesome in my sight 17 Until I came into the sanctuary of God; Then I perceived their end. 18 Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction. 19 How they are destroyed in a moment! They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors! 20 Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when aroused, You will despise their form. 21 When my heart was embittered And I was pierced within, 22 Then I was senseless and ignorant; I was like a beast before You.”
“15 ¶ If I had really spoken this way to others, I would have been a traitor to your people. 16 So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper. But what a difficult task it is! 17 Then I went into your sanctuary, O God, and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked. 18 Truly, you put them on a slippery path and send them sliding over the cliff to destruction. 19 In an instant they are destroyed, completely swept away by terrors. 20 When you arise, O Lord, you will laugh at their silly ideas as a person laughs at dreams in the morning. 21 Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside. 22 I was so foolish and ignorant- I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you.” (NLT)
I think that the NLT helps me understand what it is that Asaph is saying to the Lord and I have to be honest that I am going through something that is similar to what he is talking about here. Although it is not exactly the same, it is similar and to read the words that are here is kind of like reading my own mind and I suppose that is good. Hebrews 4:12 says “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” After reading this section of Psalm 73 I am even more convinced of the truth of Hebrews 4:12.
Asaph was one of three main song leaders in Judah that lead the music in the temple of God. We know that Asaph loved the Lord, but he was having this problem as to why the wicked prosper (see verse 16). To his credit he decided to stop and consider what the Lord had to say about this and so he went into the sanctuary of God and while he was there he understood better what God was eventually going to do to the wicked and thus he felt a bit foolish about feeling the way that he was feeling.
All believers today are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Once Jesus died on the cross the curtain that was between the holy place and the Holy of Holies was torn down from the top to the bottom thus all believers now had entrance into the presence of God. Read the 9th chapter of the book of Hebrews to better understand this. As believers today we do not have to go into a sanctuary in order to talk to the Lord, for because we have the Holy Spirit in us we can talk directly to the Lord at any time and we can intercede for others since Peter says that we are priests of the Lord.
Because we live on the other side of the cross we have an easier time in accessing the Lord, but what we can learn from this section is that Asaph took his problems to the Lord and then he received the answer to his problem. Asaph was content that someday the Lord would take care of all of the wicked, and though they were prospering now it would end.
In his commentary Dr. Wiersbe writes “Jehovah isn’t a problem to wrestle with but a gracious Person to love and worship—especially when you are perplexed by what he is doing. God is awesome in His sanctuary (68:35, NIV), and when we commune with Him, we see the things of this world in their right perspective.”
The Conqueror: Rejoicing over God’s Goodness (vv. 23-28): “23 Nevertheless I am continually with You; You have taken hold of my right hand. 24 With Your counsel You will guide me, And afterward receive me to glory. 25 Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 27 For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You. 28 But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works.”
“23 Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny. 25 Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. 26 My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever. 27 Those who desert him will perish, for you destroy those who abandon you. 28 But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign LORD my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.”
Dr. Wiersbe writes “The psalm opened with ‘Truly God is good to Israel,’ but Asaph wasn’t sure what the word ‘good’ really meant. (See Matt. 19:16-17,) Is the ‘good life’ one of wealth and authority, pomp and pleasure? Surely not! The contrast is striking between Asaph’s picture of the godless life in verses 4-12 and the godly life in verses 23-28. The ungodly impress each other and attract admirers, but they don’t have God’s presence with them. The Lord upholds the righteous but casts down the wicked (v18). The righteous are guided by God’s truth (v.24) but the ungodly are deluded by their own fantasies. The destiny of the true believer is glory (v.24), but the destiny of the unbelievers is destruction (vv. 19, 27).”
He goes on to say “The possessions of the ungodly are but idols that take the place of the Lord, and idolatry is harlotry (Ex. 34:15-16; 1 Chron. 5:25). Even death cannot separate God’s people from His blessing, for the spirit goes to heaven to be with the Lord, and the body waits in the earth for resurrection (vv. 25-26; 2Cor. 5:1-8; 1Thes. 4:13-18).”
Asaph’s problems are similar to the problems that believers face especially those who are under persecution from the evil people of the world. The world is made up of two kinds of people, those who know the Lord and those who don’t "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." (John 3:36) I believe that there are times when the Lord uses the purposes of the evil to bring the believers closer to the Lord “2Co 3:18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” We are assured by the Word of God that in the end God will destroy the wicked and will take the believers to heaven to be with Him forever. “Re 19:20 And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. Re 20:10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Re 20:14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. Re 20:15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Re 21:8 "But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.’”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I know that on most every day that I write something about my struggle to be content and I believe that Asaph was struggling to be content with the problem that he was facing and the way that he solved that problem was to go into the house of the Lord and talk to Him about it and then he became content with the plan that the Lord had in dealing with the wicked. This is a pattern for me to follow and I am thankful for it.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Continue to learn contentment by trusting the Lord and the plan that He not only has for my life, but the plan that He has for the entire world, even the universe. Peter says the following words in 2Peter 3:10-12 “10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. 11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!”
4/14/2012 1:02:35 PM
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