A few notes from Psalm 73 which I started to make on airports and flights from Edinburgh to Hannover, Germany on our journey to our treasured children and grandchildren. These random notes, will remain that for now, while maximum time is spent with our loved ones.
Family life with young children is BUSY! Maybe you find yourself in a similar situation and need bullet point notes as starters so you can still feed on God's Word even though occupied with necessary things.
So, here they are straight from Psalm 73, random lines that will change our perspectives if we hear and see and do.
- the blight of envy and the power of self-interest, sour life.
- the ruinous effect of impurtiy.
- the theme of "heart" through the Psalm.
- a confusion about God's goodness.
- the danger of judging only by what we see.
- the folly of thinking sin pays.
- the turning point of "untill" in verse 17.
- the light breaks through when the Psalmist turns to God Himself.
- this turning to God is not in speculation but as the One we worship
- the disillusionment of a future that makes an end to everything the godless lived for
- judgement is God's personal rejection, His dismissal of someone (verse 20)
- the judgement of "I never knew you."
- the judgement of expelled and finally and eternally ignored.
- the crowning joy is to be found being in God's presence (Verses 23 and 24) compare Psalm 49:15
- the assurance is seen in verse 25: can we rest here however unpromising our situation?
- God is heaven's light, joy and crown.
- the sense of standing in God's presence has transformed his outlook on his life.
- death is faced with true realism
- my highest good is to be near God
- my body may fail, my heart dejected and my life burned out - yet God is the strength of my life.
- God is the rock and strength of my failing life.
- in Gethsemane the greatest spiritual warfare of all time took place.
- Were Satan's darts and taunts something like this:
- Jesus, Calvary is a black hole of futility.
- These people are not worth it.
- The death on a cross is not going to work.
- These temptations knocked Jesus.
- Jesus was troubled onto death.
- the Psalmist moved from radical doubt to robust faith.
- the prominence of the wicked through the psalmist.
- Is "God is enough for me" true of my heart?
- If I don't get better, will God still be enough for me?
- I don't want to be despised as a phanton by God
- The psalmist gets very honest with God in verse 2.
- The truth slipped away from Aspah and he lost sight of God's goodness.
- All Asaph could see was how good the arrogant were doing.
- Asaph became consumed with envy and thought that being God's was all in vain.
- In verse 17, Asaph steps into the presence of the holy and awesome God.
- In God's presence Asaph sees perspective.
- The outcome of the wicked is to be swept away by terror.
- In verse 23, Asaph's heart shifts back to faith and trust.
- I need God to be the strength of my heart.
- Stop thinking of them - look at Him.
- What is your primary preoccupation?
- Measure your life by eternity = not only by this life.
- There's a whole eternity beyond this life.
- This life here alone does not deliver.
- We can't work our way around death.
- Don't ignore your soul that will exist forever.
- Remember who holds you and who guides you.
- Until God is enough for us we will never have enough.
- God is more than enough.
- Psalm 73 is biographical.
- The world depresses the psalmist.
- Verse 25 - nothing compares to Christ.
- His feet nearly slipped - like someone on high-heels on an ice-rink.
- Psalm 16 - apart from you I have no good thing.
- It's dangerous to be far from God.
- Christians may conclude they are stupid to play by the rules.
