Psalm 73

Turn to Psalm 73.

So whenever I get the 5.30 a.m. text of like,

Hey, I feel terrible. Can you preach this morning?

It's always an awesome reminder that any good that happens is not ever based on the amount of preparation I have.

It's like God kind of takes that from you.

You just have very little time.

So anything that does happen is just evidence of His grace.

And I was thinking, I don't know where Wes went, but I'm thankful that I've lived long enough to actually see how my hair,

old enough to see my hair actually go.

That's where Wes remains forever young and can't grow facial hair.

So I'm going to trade off.

So girls, you don't know this, but guys can kind of do that to each other and still be like, cool.

So it's all right.

But we're going to turn to Psalm 73 today.

But before we do, let's just join in a word of prayer.

Father,

Father,

we submit ourselves to you this morning,

to the work of your Holy Spirit that dwells in us.

that this is not,

this building is not a temple.

This building is not a house of God.

It is your people that you abide with,

the people that you have put your spirit in.

So I pray that He would stir in us today,

open our eyes,

convict us of sin,

and remind us of the possession that we have in you.

And so Lord,

just help me to be able to honor you with my words.

And the rest of this service may be an act of worship towards you in Christ's name.

Amen.

So Psalm 73,

one of my,

one of my favorite Psalms,

but just a little preface for some of this.

But the book of Psalms is probably one that I turn to probably every,

I don't know,

one out of every three times I open the word,

I go to Psalms.

So I,

I think a long time ago in the 1500s,

I think rightfully John Calvin called the Psalms,

he said,

they are the anatomy of the soul,

meaning that the Psalms expose like all that we are in our soul.

It exposes like our,

the heights of joy and happiness,

as well as like the depths of like depression and despair.

And a lot of the times,

like we can just be very dogmatic and very stoic about our faith,

but the Psalms are a very real book that exposes how we feel

and how our emotions play into the Christian life.

And so this is a Psalm very much like that.

So Psalm 73 is not a Psalm of David,

it's a Psalm of Asaph,

who is probably David's chief musician.

So let's read through it together.

We won't have time to unpack every single thing,

but we'll be able to get an overview.

So,

um,

Hmm.

I'm thinking that before we read this,

I'm going to give you an intro.

Sorry.

Um,

I know that the vast majority of the people in here are people who have tasted the goodness of God,

people who have encountered Christ,

people who have embraced salvation in Christ.

Um,

but at the same time,

life can be extremely difficult.

Becoming a follower of Christ doesn't like free us from the trials of this world.

It doesn't.

And often,

even as children of God,

we can find that our dreams,

our hopes,

um,

our aspirations can be like shattered to pieces over and over and over throughout our life.

Even as children of God,

um,

you may have like a job or a career that you were hoping would go well and you didn't get the job or you lost the job.

Uh,

a sickness or a disease could come upon you and totally destroy like a lot of the plans that you had for your life.

A sports team that you didn't make the cut for.

A relationship that you hoped would work out and might lead towards marriage.

Didn't work out.

Um,

so many things you,

uh,

a friend or a family member could die and you're caught off guard.

And in those moments,

you're,

you're asking what,

where are you God?

Like what is happening right now?

And I've experienced most of the things I've just mentioned to you in my own life.

So what are your disappointments?

Like where have you invested your time or your emotion into something in order to see something else happen?

What are them like shattered dreams and hopes that you had good shattered dreams,

good hopes that you had.

So for this answer,

we turn to the ancient writer to get it.

Psalm 73.

Let's read together.

Let's hear God's word.

Truly.

God is good to Israel,

to those who are pure in heart.

But as for me,

my feet had almost stumbled.

My steps had nearly slipped.

For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

For they have no pains until death.

Their bodies are fat and sleek.

They are not in trouble as others are.

They are not stricken like the rest of mankind.

Therefore,

pride is their necklace.

Violence covers them as a garment.

Their eyes swell out through fatness.

Their hearts overflow with follies.

They scoff and speak with malice.

Loftily,

they threaten oppression.

They set their mouths against the heavens,

and their tongues struts throughout the earth.

Therefore,

his people turn back to them and find no fault in them.

And they say,

how can God know?

Is there any knowledge in the Most High?

Behold,

these are the wicked,

always at ease.

They increase in riches.

All in vain I have kept my heart clean,

and washed my hands in innocence.

For all the day long,

I have been stricken and rebuked every morning.

If I had said,

I will speak thus,

I would have betrayed the generation of your children.

But when I thought how to understand this,

it seemed to me a worrisome task.

Until I went into the sanctuary of God,

then I discerned their end.

Truly,

you set them in slippery places.

You make them fall to ruin.

How they are destroyed in a moment,

swept utterly by terrors.

Like a dream in one that wakes.

Oh Lord,

when you rouse yourself,

you despise them as phantoms.

When my soul was embittered,

when I was pricked in heart,

I was brutish and ignorant.

I was like a beast towards you.

Nevertheless,

I am continually with you.

you hold my right hand.

You hold my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel,

and afterwards,

you will receive me to glory.

Whom have I in heaven but you?

And there is nothing on the earth that I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail.

But God is the strength in my heart and my portion forever.

For behold,

those who are far from you shall perish.

You will put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.

But for me,

it is good to be near God.

I have made the Lord God my refuge,

that I may tell of all your works.

Amen.

So,

as I like to do a lot of the time,

we are going to walk through the psalm

just by answering some questions

that will help us draw out the meaning of this

and help us kind of answer what I was speaking of earlier

when you feel like all hope has been lost.

So number one,

the first question,

is what is the theme of the psalm?

What is the theme?

You see this very clearly.

In verse one,

truly God is good to Israel,

to those who are pure in heart.

So he kind of stops himself and he said,

before I go any further,

let me just tell you that I'm,

the whole point of what I'm about to write

is to tell you that God is good.

He is good.

And why is that so important?

Why is that so important for him to do that?

Because when things aren't going well around you

and everything is falling apart,

we are tempted to doubt the goodness and sovereignty of God.

That's why.

When things are not going your way,

you're tempted to forget that.

That God is good

and that God is in control,

that he is sovereign.

So God doesn't just do good most of the time

or some of the time.

God,

by his very nature,

is the definition of good.

So it's not just that he does good,

it's that he is good

and that his actions overflow from his character.

So God will always,

right,

God will always,

during seasons of our lives,

he will always remain good to us

no matter what you are going through.

Psalm 119 says this,

God,

you are good

and you do good.

And this is the truth.

God is good to those

who have humbled themselves

and have come to Christ

and who have thrown themselves at his mercy,

who have received his salvation.

He is good to them,

those who have been made pure by his blood,

right,

those who are pure in heart.

So God is good.

That is the theme of this psalm.

And that he works all things for the good

of those who love him

and are called according to his purpose.

That's a promise.

So it's not like

sometimes God will be good to you

if you belong to him.

It's that he only will be good to you.

Only will be good to you

if you belong to him.

Yet,

yet though,

even though God has proven himself to us

a million times over,

right,

he has proved that he is good to us.

We still are tempted to doubt.

We are still tempted

to just say,

like,

I think just in this case

you might have made the wrong decision.

I feel that

you can't be trusted in this moment.

So,

all those things,

like Satan,

the world,

and our own sin

and our own lives

blind us from the goodness of God

so often.

So Asaph is saying,

like,

before I tell you why,

I'm going to just begin by telling you

that God is good.

That he is good to those

who are pure in heart,

those who have been washed by

the blood of Christ

in this case.

Yet,

he kind of says,

if you look

at the first verse,

he says,

he states that his feet

had almost stumbled,

his steps had nearly slipped

from this path.

So,

ultimately,

that's the goal

from this psalm

is for us to

treasure God

and to embrace

his goodness.

So,

that's number one.

Number two,

second question.

What caused

the psalmist

to be envious?

So,

what's causing him

to be envious?

What caused the psalmist

to be envious?

You see this in verse 2

and verse 3.

But as for me,

my feet had almost stumbled,

my steps had nearly slipped,

for I was envious

of the arrogant

when I saw

the prosperity

of the wicked.

He's envious.

He confesses

that

as he's looked

around the world

around him

in the fallen world,

he looks at the people

who don't know God,

the people who hate God,

and life just seems

to be going great

for them.

But he,

a follower,

a believer,

things are not going

so well for him.

So,

he's being tempted

to say,

where are you?

Like,

why is this happening?

Why are the people

who hate you,

why are they always

doing good?

And why are the people

who trust you

and love you

always just apparently

things not going good?

He says in verse 4,

for they have no pangs

until death

and their bodies

are fat and sleek.

So,

like,

it seems like

a lot of them

just go through life

carefree,

painfree,

that they're happy

all the time,

they enjoy

just their wealth

and their prosperity.

Fatness,

back in this time,

meant that you were wealthy

because,

like,

chances are

if you were,

if you were a little

obese,

it's because

you were wealthy

and could afford

to eat a lot.

And so,

it was a sign,

a symbol

of being wealthy.

And so,

he's like,

they're,

they're always

that way.

Verse 5,

they are not in trouble

as others are.

They're not stricken

like the rest of mankind.

So,

it seems that they don't

even,

like,

get to experience

fierce trials

in their life.

the opposite of what he thinks

he is going through.

So,

you ever felt that way?

You ever just thought,

man,

I'm a follower of Christ.

I've,

I've given my life to him,

but I look around

and everything around me

seems to be going wrong

all the time.

But then you look around

at people who don't know God

and they seem to be

just doing just fine

with no problems

at all.

So,

so the question

is not an unusual question

in the Bible.

And look,

okay,

here's the deal.

It's not wrong for you

or for me

to ask that question.

I'm going to tell you that.

But the attitude

and the posture

you have towards God

really matters

in this case.

if you're coming to him

being like,

how dare you?

You owe me an explanation.

Like,

this isn't fair.

And you come to him

with more of like a,

a proud attitude.

That's wrong.

But if you genuinely

come to him

broken and humbled

and you just ask,

I'm confused.

Help me understand.

I feel like

something's just not right,

but I know

that you have taught me

that you are good.

So help me understand.

So,

very common question.

Why does the things

always work out

for people

who don't care about God

and why do we

always struggle?

Job asks

the same question.

I have some references

to Job today.

You don't have to turn

there right now,

but in Job 21,

Job 21:7

verse 7,

this is what Job says.

Why do the wicked live,

reach old age,

and grow mighty in power?

Their offspring

are established

in their presence

and their descendants

before their eyes.

Their houses

are made safe

from fear

and no rod of God

is upon them.

They spend their days

in prosperity

and in peace

they go down

to Sheol.

So,

to make it worse,

right,

the unbelievers

are even arrogant

about how well

they're doing.

Look at what

my own strength,

look at what

my own,

you know,

money and my own

ability

has got for me.

so they're arrogant

even about

the wealth

that they do possess,

right?

That they got all that

by the strength

of their own labor.

So,

instead of thanking God,

who is the giver

of all good things,

they boast about it.

And not just that,

but they even,

like,

taunt God,

right?

We don't need you.

Look at verse 9.

They set their mouths

against the heavens

and their tongues

strut throughout the earth.

Therefore,

His people will turn

back to them

and find no fault

in them.

And they say,

how can God know?

Is there knowledge

in the Most High?

Verse 10

is kind of an unusual

verse,

but the literal

means,

like,

the waters

of a full cup

have been drained

out completely

by the wicked.

So,

this idea of

they seem

to be satisfied,

and,

so they're taunting God

as if their own hand

has prospered them

in a very arrogant

fashion.

So,

they mock

and they despise God.

So,

hear me,

like,

any success

that you have at all

is not because

you are smart.

It is not because

you have done

everything right.

God can blow on that

and it can fall

to pieces.

So,

if you begin

your life

in arrogance,

kind of saying

that my own hand

my own ability

to do business,

my own ability

to perform,

whatever,

if you boast of that,

then God is

not going to bless you.

It says,

he opposes the proud,

but he gives grace

to the humble.

We have nothing

to boast about.

Like I said

last week,

nothing at all.

So,

so they taunt God

as if they're even

calling him a coward.

Like,

you know,

you're a pushover.

We can do all this

on our own.

We don't need you

to exist.

So,

what happens?

So,

what is Asaph?

He's looking at this

and what is the result

of him looking at

and envying the wicked?

Alright?

Jealousy and envy

never help.

They're serious.

That's why God said

you shall not covet.

So,

what does that reveal

about him?

You see that

in verses 13

through 15?

And you see that

the fruit of this

bitter discontent

is the fruit of envy

will be discontentment

and depression.

If you are envious

of someone,

if you are jealous,

that will be

the result.

You will be

never satisfied.

You will be discontent

and often it can lead

to just very

low depths

of depression.

If you are jealous

of someone,

right,

it never pays off.

So,

look at 15,

or excuse me,

verse 13.

Look at verse 13.

He says,

so he's looking at this

and this is what he says,

all in vain

I have kept my heart clean

and washed my hands

in innocence.

So,

when we envy others,

particularly the life

of unbelievers,

we're tempted to think,

why am I doing all this?

Like,

I've kept myself

pure before God.

I've like,

said no to temptation.

I've lost

for the sake of Christ.

Like,

is all this just worthless?

Like,

what is the point?

All in vain

I've done this.

Look how wicked

they behave

and they have

everything I want.

You ever felt that way?

Is it worth it?

It never pays off.

All I do

is try to honor you,

God,

and right now

I feel like

it's not paying off.

I feel like

I'm getting nothing

and they get everything.

So,

these things

just don't ever

go away from us.

We pay a price

for following God.

So,

have you ever thought that?

Why have I fought

so hard for this

when everybody around me

just seems to get it

without any problem at all?

All in vain

I've kept myself clean.

Spurgeon says this

about this verse.

He says,

he questions

the value

of holiness

when its wages

are not paid.

He says,

the pure

may have seen

to have cleansed

themselves altogether

in vain,

but

we must not judge

after the sight

of the eyes.

Like,

it may feel that way,

but he's saying

don't just believe

what you see.

Alright?

That's important.

Don't just believe

what you see.

Which leads

to the next question.

Number three.

what caused

the psalmist's

attitude to shift?

So,

that's what he was thinking.

He was being,

he was feeling envious,

he was feeling jealous.

What caused him

to shift?

You see this

in

verses 15

through 19.

He says,

he stops himself,

and he says,

if I had said,

I will speak thus,

I would have betrayed

the generation

of your children.

But when I thought

of how to understand this,

it seemed to me

a wearisome task.

So,

it wore him out.

Like,

trying to process

all this,

just like,

exhausted him.

It seemed to me

a wearisome task

until

I went

to the sanctuary

of God,

and then

I discerned

therein.

Truly,

you set them

in slippery places.

You make them

fall to ruin.

How they are

destroyed in a moment,

swept away

utterly by terrors.

Like a dream

when one awakes,

O Lord,

you rouse yourself.

You despise them

as phantoms.

So,

the point here

is be slow

to judge God.

Right?

Be very slow.

He says,

it's not always

wise

for you

to just start

speaking about

how you feel.

Hear that?

It's not always

wise

for you

just to start

talking about

how you feel.

And the reason

why is

because

you're an heir

and like,

if you're wrong,

you're in danger

of risking

the faith of others.

That's what he says.

So,

example,

like,

younger believers,

people who are new

in the faith,

or even children,

how you respond

to trials,

if you respond

to that

with like,

anger,

discontentment,

bitterness,

when something

happens like that

in their life,

they're gonna,

it's very likely

they will respond

to God

the same way.

And he's saying,

like,

I'm glad

I didn't say that

because

if I had,

I would have

betrayed a whole

generation.

Right?

I'm glad

that I didn't,

I'm glad

that I waited

upon the Lord

to reveal

this to me.

So,

when God

puts you

through trials,

it's not always

just for your

sake,

it's for the

sake of others

too.

This is something

Job said,

again,

Job 40,

Job 40:6

verse 6,

he says,

then the Lord

answered Job

out of the whirlwind.

So,

sorry,

let me back up.

So,

Job

has been suffering,

going through

so many trials,

losing everything,

but the whole time

he's maintaining

a trust

in God.

very little

though.

He's barely

hanging on,

it feels like,

and he's asking

God,

why?

Why is this

happening to me?

Why?

And then eventually,

and later on

in the book of Job,

God shows up

and he answers Job.

This is why.

So,

verse,

chapter 40,

verse 6,

the Lord answered Job

out of a whirlwind

and said,

dress for action

like a man.

I will question you

and you will make

it known to me.

Will you even

put me in the wrong?

Will you condemn me

that you may be right?

Have you an arm

like God?

And can you thunder

with a voice

like this?

Adorn yourself

with majesty

and dignity

and clothe yourself

with glory

and splendor?

So,

basically,

he kind of pops out

and is like,

you've been questioning me,

now I'm going to question you.

Prepare yourself.

Basically,

who are you,

you little man,

you sinful,

broken man?

Like,

who are you

to judge me

the most high?

We do that.

So,

again,

we have to be careful.

Don't judge God

too quickly

at all.

Wait for Him.

Be patient.

Wait for Him

to reveal

what is going on.

So,

I will tell you this,

though.

God doesn't promise

in this life

to always tell you

exactly why

you went through

what you went through.

Sometimes He does.

Sometimes He gives you

a moment like Joseph

in Genesis

where he suffered

and suffered

for 13 years

and then all of a sudden

like He sees

His brothers

below Him

and like goes,

ah.

This is what

all this was for.

Sometimes He does,

but sometimes

you may have to wait

until glory

to know the purpose.

So,

be careful.

Be careful,

especially those

who are younger

in the faith.

They will watch

how you go through trials.

They watch.

Because if all you're doing

is this,

it won't go real far.

If you can quote theology

and quote theologians

and quote Bible verses

and that's all you got,

like,

you will suffer

in this life

and when that happens,

you're not going to stand.

So,

we have to be building,

asking God to build us

and prepare us

for this kind of stuff

because it's going to come.

So,

so here's His conclusion,

right?

He's like,

I'm glad I didn't do this.

Here's why.

Now let's really look

at the state

of the wicked.

He says,

I felt bitter.

I felt depressed

until I went

to the sanctuary

of God.

So basically,

he went

to worship.

He went to worship God

and during that encounter,

he chose to worship God

instead of cursing God

and it changed him.

It changed how he thought,

right?

So as he worshiped God,

his nearsightedness

kind of vanished

and God gave him

a fuller picture

of what really

was going on,

right?

So here's two things

about the wicked,

all right,

about their apparent ease

that they have

that it's not real.

So when you're envious,

you're looking at people

around you

who don't know God

and life's going great,

just think about

these two things.

One is,

their apparent joy

is not real.

It's not real.

God chooses

sometimes

to bless

even people

who hate him

out of his own goodness.

We never do that.

He does.

Jesus said

in Luke 6,

Luke 6:35

verse 35,

he says,

love your enemies

because God

does.

He says,

love your enemies

and do good

to them.

Lend,

expecting nothing

in return

and your reward

will be great

for you'll be

sons of the most high.

Listen to this,

for God

is kind

to the ungrateful

and the evil.

So,

even their

apparent prosperity

is like just God

being kind to them.

Like,

can you imagine

feeding your enemies?

Can you imagine

giving gifts

to your enemies?

That's like

a display

of God's grace

called common grace

in theological circles.

However,

right,

despite they may

have a big house,

they may have

a ton of cars,

they may have

a lot of money

in the bank,

they may have

a big retirement

laid up,

wearing the best

clothes,

it's nothing.

It's nothing.

Don't buy that.

It doesn't mean

anything.

God can blow it

away and it's gone.

Like,

if you don't

possess Christ,

you have nothing.

As the old

saying goes,

everything

minus Christ

equals nothing.

Right?

Everything minus Christ

equals nothing.

But Christ

minus everything

equals everything.

We possess

everything in Christ.

Solomon said,

more than likely

Solomon,

Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 1:14

chapter 1

verse 14,

I have seen

everything that is

done under the sun.

I've done it all.

And behold,

all is vanity

and a striving

after the wind.

It doesn't

satisfy.

So people who

really don't

have Christ,

it's not real.

They'll experience

pain, sorrow,

disappointment.

The joy of the

wicked is only

a mirage.

It's an illusion.

It's not real.

So,

don't buy the lie.

Right?

If you just saw

their outward condition,

you can't see their heart

and what's really

going on.

So,

secondly,

the joy of the wicked

is short-lived.

It's short-lived.

Hebrews 11 says,

they call sin

the fleeting

pleasures of sin.

So,

the joy they have

temporarily

is gone.

Like,

they may,

they have to go back

and back

and back

and back again

to even get

some satisfaction.

They don't have

Christ who is

eternally satisfying.

And so,

those are the two

reasons.

It's not real

and it's short-lived.

Like,

their prosperity

and the joy

that they have.

And then,

moving in,

what else

convinced him

of this?

He saw

their judgment.

He saw

their end.

Right?

Look at that

in verse 18.

Truly you set them

in slippery places.

You make them

all fall

to ruin.

How they are

destroyed in a moment,

that swept away

utterly by terrors.

So,

they're boasting.

They're arrogant

about what they have.

And he's saying

that one day,

God will blow on that

and we'll be gone.

And they'll be

woken up

as if waking up

from a dream.

It'll be terrorizing

to them.

It will scare them.

Like nightmares,

it kind of says.

For he says

in verse 27,

all those

who are far from you

shall perish.

So really,

he just understood

this idea

that if they don't

have God,

they have nothing.

And their apparent

joy will be brought

to ruin one day

when God judges them.

Scripture is very

clear about this,

guys.

Hopefully,

most of you

in this room

out of believe

know Christ,

but I know

that there's so many

of you out there

who don't.

And you're probably

fooling yourself.

You think that

you can do

certain things

and God

not know about it.

Not okay.

The day of judgment

will come.

Zephaniah,

Zephaniah 1:14

chapter 1,

verse 14,

is a prophecy

about

the final judgment

and the return

of Christ.

It's called

the day of the Lord

a lot of the times

in the Old Testament.

And it very much

parallels

what we see

in the New Testament

from what Jesus said

and from what John said

in Revelation.

The same kind of stuff.

But

I just want to read it.

Just a few verses

of it.

Not to scare you.

Well, maybe

if that's what

God's intent is.

But wake up.

If you're without Christ

today,

you have nothing.

But Zephaniah,

Zephaniah 1:14

chapter 1,

verse 14,

it says,

the great day

of the Lord

is near,

near and hastening fast.

A sound

of the day

of the Lord

is bitter.

The mighty man

cries aloud.

A day of wrath

is that day.

A day of distress

and anguish.

A day of ruin

and devastation.

Of darkness

and gloom.

A day of clouds

and thick darkness.

And this is what

God says,

I will bring

distress

on mankind

so that they

shall walk

like the blind

because they

have sinned

against the Lord.

Their blood

shall be poured

out like dust

and their flesh

like dung.

Neither their silver

nor their gold

will be able

to save them.

So your wealth

will not save you

from this day.

Scary.

The fire

of his jealousy.

All the earth

shall be consumed

for a full

and sudden end

he will make

to all the inhabitants

of the earth.

That's what awaits

the wicked.

That's what awaits

people who are

think that they're

doing very well

right now

but without Christ

they possess nothing.

And he understands

that.

They don't have anything.

If they don't have Christ

they don't have anything.

So that he

that clicks

like he realizes

that it's not real.

So

so that's his conclusion.

He shifts

he shifts

his thought.

And this goes on

to our

last question.

What is the

psalmist's conclusion?

What is the

psalmist's conclusion?

See that?

Verse 21

through 28.

I won't read

all of this

right away

but

he says

let's pick a few

verses here.

He says

nevertheless

I am continually

with you.

you hold my right hand

you guide me

with your counsel

and afterwards

you receive me

to glory.

Right?

So

what he does

is he like

repents

of his jealous

covetous attitude.

Right?

You see that

in verse 15

or excuse me

verse 21

he says

I was angry

I was bitter

against you.

I was like a brute

before you.

The term brute

in the Hebrew here

is pretty cool.

It basically means

like

you're acting

like someone

who has never

been touched

by the grace

of God.

That's like

what it

reads.

He's saying

I was acting

that way.

I was envious.

Jesus said

in Luke 12

take care

and be on your guard

against all types

of covetousness

for one's life

does not consist

in the abundance

of his possessions.

Right?

They don't have

anything.

So never judge

God's love

based on

whether or not

he grants you

something

you want.

That's it.

Don't judge

God's love

based on

if he grants

you something

or he doesn't.

So

Spurgeon

again

he says

if earthly goods

were of much value

then why

does the Lord

give such a large

measure of them

to those who hate him.

True.

It is a pitiful thing.

Here's a

man this is so convicting.

He says

it is a pitiful thing

that an heir

of heaven

should ever

have to confess

I was envious.

When we possess

all in Christ

there's no grounds

for us to feel that way.

So

turn to this

please

hold your hand

in Psalm 73

but look at Job 42.

Job 42.

An heir

of heaven

should never

have to confess

that they were

envious.

Job 42

Job 42:1

verse 1.

So

after Job

had been

disciplined

in a way

by God

God had

answered him

right

and his answer

is basically

I'm God

who are you

to question

me

and after

this encounter

he is

completely

humbled

and this

is his

response

in a similar

way

that

Asaph

is responding

in this

Psalm.

Verse 1

it says

Job

answered the

Lord

and said

I know

that you

can do

all

things

and no

purpose

of yours

can be

thwarted

who is

this

who hides

counsel

without

knowledge

therefore

I have

utterly

uttered

what I

did not

understand

things too

wonderful for

me

which I did

not know

so he's

saying

like I

was

speaking

about

stuff

I had

no idea

about

when I

was

questioning

you

I

was

clueless

and it

says

hear

and I

will

speak

I

will

question

you

and you

will

make

it

known

to

me

I

have

heard

of

you

by

the

hearing

of

the

ear

but

now

my

eyes

see

you

therefore

I

despise

myself

and I

repent

in dust

and ashes

so that

was his

response

like

who am

I

I

repent

of

this

attitude

I

had

towards

you

so

a couple

other

things

realize

and believe

that God

is still

good

that he

is still

sovereign

and even

despite

of our

the sin

that we

have

often

of doubting

him

not

trusting

him

when he

has won

our trust

a thousand

thousand

times

over

we still

doubt him

all the

time

he

still

bears

with

us

through

that

he

knows

what

is

good

and

he

knows

what's

best

for

you

so

write

this

down

if

you're

taking

notes

like

this

was

probably

like

one

of

the

most

convicting

things

to me

in my

prayer

life

I

remember

doubting

God's

goodness

to me

because

I

was

feeling

very

sick

a

relationship

that I

wanted

at the

time

was

not

working

out

and I

was

doubting

like his

goodness

in that

moment

this was

a few

years

ago

and this

is what

I really

felt

the spirit

just impressed

on me

okay

be careful

with impressions

Bible

first

alright

but

if you

ever

doubt

God's

goodness

and love

towards

you

look

no

further

than

the

cross

okay

if

you

doubt

that

like

God

took

care

of

your

greatest

need

and

sacrificed

his

own

son

to bring

you

eternal

good

in

him

that's

enough

that's

greater

than

anything

in

this

world

he

could

give

you

he

brought

you

back

to

himself

through

the

death

of

Christ

he

reconciled

you

to

himself

and

so

for

centuries

ancient

writers

have

called

God

son

of

which

means

like

he

is

the

chiefest

of

all

goods

the

greatest

of

all

goods

even

our

English

word

our

old

Saxon

word

for

God

means

the

good

because

he

is

good

Psalm

Psalms 84:11

84

verse

11

this

is

so

good

for

the

Lord

God

is

a

sun

!

and

!

the

Lord

bestows

favor

and

honor

and

hear

this

no

good

thing

does

he

withhold

from

those

who

walk

up

rightly

no

good

thing

does

he

withhold

from

those

who

walk

up

rightly

so

as

the

as