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Psalm 73
! Introduction
I learned to golf by doing it.
Because no one taught me, I learned some bad habits and although I had some good games, I also had a lot of problems.
Then a fellow came into our life who was a golf pro.
I went golfing with him and he began to teach me to golf properly.
His first comment was, "You're going to be a long term project."
However, as I learned from him, I began to change some things.
Unfortunately my game got even worse because I wasn't used to doing what he was trying to teach me.
Eventually, however, I began to improve and although I still don't golf well, there are some problems I used to have that don't show up nearly as often any more.
This kind of thing can happen in many areas of life.
I know several women who grew up in the city.
Then met and married farmers and they had to learn a whole new way of living and it wasn't easy at first.
Whenever a computer program is updated, it is so frustrating to try to learn the new system and until you learn the new system you are inefficient.
One writer has written about this as moving from orientation – the way we are used to; to disorientation – a place where our normal is destroyed; to re-orientation where we learn to live with the new realities.
Psalm 73 presents this process in one of the most profound areas of life – our faith in God in light of the prosperity of the wicked.
As we examine these ideas, we will be challenged to grow deeper in our faith life.
The process of such growth can be uncomfortable and potentially even destructive, but when we arrive at re-orientation, we will discover that we have gotten to a deeper place and we have grown closer to God.
!
I. Can You Believe It?
!! A. Good People Are Blessed!
A common way of understanding life is that good people are blessed by God.
Our life is oriented to this perspective which is expressed in verse 1. "Truly God is good to the upright, to those who are pure in heart."
We believe this statement because it seems just.
It seems right that those who are good should have good things happen to them.
We even encourage one another to righteous living because we believe this statement.
It is the motivation to doing what is good and to living upright lives.
The Bible supports this orientation in Psalm 1 where there is a very clear and direct statement that the righteous are like a tree of life and will live well and prosper.
In that Psalm we also learn that the wicked are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
There are many examples of how this works in life.
The person who lives a life of violence is most likely to die violently.
The person who is kind to others will likely be treated kindly.
The person who eats healthy foods and exercises, will likely live longer.
According to cigarette packages, the person who smokes has a higher chance of dying of cancer.
That is the formula to which we understanding of God is oriented and by which we live our life.
!! B. But So Are Bad People??!!
But there is a problem.
The wicked aren't always blown away like chaff.
That reality creates a significant disorientation as the Psalmist expresses in verse 2 where he says, "I had nearly slipped."
It seems, he is really thrown for a loop by this observation.
This wasn't just an intellectual disorientation for him either.
He was envious of the wicked.
He saw wicked people prosper and he wanted in.
It caused him to almost give up his orientation to the Biblical truth he had understood.
In verses 2-12 he describes the wicked and their life and how he is upset by this disorientation.
In verses 6-9 he describes wicked people.
There are many different degrees of wickedness.
Some are decidedly evil and others are moderately evil.
The words in these verses show the varied nature of their evil.
We read that "pride is their necklace."
They wear self sufficiency and arrogance as a prominent feature of their personality.
Verse 6 also describes them as violent which we certainly see in the world of drug dealers but sadly also sometimes in the church, for all kinds of abuse can be found even among people who attend church.
But not all of their evil is violent.
Some of it is expressed in folly.
It isn't difficult to recall the inanities of things we see on TV or the foolish decisions made by politicians and even judges.
Mockery, opposition and threats against what is good and what is godly is not uncommon.
All over the world Christians are being persecuted and belief in God is not the foundation of most people's lives.
These are a few comments on the description of the wicked.
They reject God and godly living and live in all kinds of evil ways.
What is most disturbing to the Psalmist and often to us is that evil as they are, they seem to be getting along just fine.
Their life is not blown away like chaff, instead, they prosper, according to verse 3.
They go through their whole life and aren't even sick.
They don't experience pain.
We expect that evil people will have all kinds of trouble, but they don't always.
They are at ease, they are wealthy and they have it good.
When we think about that, it troubles us.
It doesn't seem fair.
Bad people should suffer but life isn't always like that.
People who do very bad things get along just great and we can think of all kinds of examples.
Does it ever disturb you?
Does it ever bring you to a place of disorientation?
Does it make you wonder where God's Word is fulfilled and where God's justice is exercised?
What is worse is that this disorientation causes us to be drawn to give up on the foundations.
Look at verse 10.
This verse indicates that people are attracted to these kind of people.
We are tempted to come to the conclusion that if God is blessing evil people, what is the point of being good?
Living in disobedience becomes attractive because it doesn't seem to matter.
It seems that there is no clear and obvious connection between a persons actions and God's judgment on them.
The conclusion we sometimes come to is to live as we please because obviously it doesn't matter.
Verse 11 asks these questions, "How can God know?"
Does God not see these things?
Where is God's action against the wicked?
The wicked come to the conclusion that their lifestyle can be lived with impunity and it seems that God is unaware!
If that is so, it becomes even more attractive to live as we please because it takes God out of the picture.
Elmer Martens says, "…such evil persons should have a hard lot in life.
But no!
They do not experience hurt; they are exempt from trouble such as comes to people generally.
And this carefree life only increases their arrogance as if to say, 'We can’t be all bad.'”
!! C. And…Good People Are Plagued??!!
What increases the distress of this is that the opposite is also true.
Not only do evil people have it good, but good people sometimes have a hard time.
Verses 13, 14 describe the hardships of the holy life.
One of the challenges of following God is that it involves us in a discipline of holiness.
We strive to live in obedience to God.
We try to do what is right all the time.
This involves concentration.
We need to be on guard all the time.
Sometimes it involves giving up things we would enjoy in order to be faithful.
That is no problem and it is worth doing if there is a reward for such discipline, but the disorientation which has just been described suggests that perhaps there is no reward.
If evil people get along just fine, then what is the point of living in holiness?
What makes things even worse is that good people are not exempt from trouble.
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