Month: January 2025

Psalm 74:20-21 Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name.

The response to God’s grace is to respect the covenant God made with His people. The Lord made a covenant that He would be our God and we would be His people, meaning, God will save and protect us and we will believe and obey Him. God made a new covenant with based on the blood of Christ. Jesus keeps the covenant for us and this obligates the Lord to keep His part for our salvation and protection. We respect, that is, we believe God and His promises.

God in Christ has rescued us from the “dark places” of the earth where cruelty and evil hide. It is easy to find ourselves in a dark place, where sin, death, and the devil can lie to us and frighten us into fear, worry, and anxiety (a dark place). The Light comes in and brings us into the glory and safety of God’s kingdom.

In that bright place the spiritually oppressed will not be disappointed and the spiritually poor will praise His name. We live a life of praise and thanks to God for His Life and Salvation.

Psalm 74:10, 18 O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? Shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?…Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O Lord, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name.

The enemies of God, and of us, the adversary, the Devil, Sin, and Death respond to God’s work of salvation in the world by reproaching God, His name,, His character, His Word, and His work. They say, and tempt us to say, bad things about God, they deny God’s existence, they ignore Him and act like He is either not good or He is not there, they rebel against Him and push Him away. They blaspheme His name, using it as a curse or an oath (even though they don’t believe in God), using His name in vain and frivolous matters.

The foolish people are the atheist unbelievers who say there is no God blaspheme the name, which they say isn’t real. Even the wise believer takes the Lord’s name in vain, blames God for His troubles, and says “Where is God?” from time to time. Living in a relationship with God can be tricky when we are honest, but we still respond to trouble with prayer and petition, thanks and praise. For even in the most troublous of times we still believe God is good.

Psalm 74:8, 10 They said in their hearts, let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land….O God, how long shall the enemy reproach? Shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?

Asaph bewails the response of enemy armies that try to wipe out every trace of God. This is often the response of people who hate God. Today, talk of God has been removed from traditions in public life and from subjects in schools. We do what we can to maintain a Christian influence, and we don’t become discouraged when others seek to eliminate all traces of God. They cannot eliminate His Presence among believers.

Our response to this response of our unbelieving enemies is to boldly maintain a Christian witness in our world. God is here, He is real, and He is present in us and among us; and we are not ashamed to continue praying and bearing witness to the Gospel. We recognize spiritual warfare and are aware of the Enemy, and we take up our spiritual armor and stand against the wiles of the Evil One. Nothing will shake us from our faith and salvation.

Psalm 73:28 But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works.

“They” that are far from God will perish; they will be destroyed that go after other gods. As sinners, we are born separated from God, which is death. The Psalmist sees this and responds with the desire and determination that he will draw near to God, and trust in Him. God sees the separation but loves us so that He sends His Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish, be dead to God and be separated from life.

The Lord lifts up Jesus on the cross and draws all people to Him with limitless love. He gives the Holy Spirit to draw us near to God and to life through the Gospel. The Word convicts us of being far from Him and it compels us to draw near because of Christ. When we hear the gospel we believe, that is, draw near. What really happens is that God draw near to us, forgives us, enters into the heart, and lives in us.

Then we declare all His works, what He has done, with gospel words and kind deeds, telling everyone what He has done. Our life and behavior shows forth God’s love, and through us He draws others near. We begin by drawing near to God through daily repentance and prayer.

Psalm 73:24-26 Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me in glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire before thee. My flesh and my heart faileth, but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.

Asaph responds to the troubles of life but trusting God alone for love, care, presence, protection, and guidance. And he trusts God to receive him in glory at the end of his troubled life. Not only will God guide us through life, but we know He will receive us into eternal glory when we die, because of Christ.

We can believe God all through life and through death. Because of His gracious promise, we are confident He guides us now in life and then in death. There is nothing and no one in heaven that I have but the Lord alone, so I turn to Him. And there is nothing and no one in earth that I desire instead of the Lord alone. I believe Him, I know Him, and I desire God alone in this life and the next.

I by myself will surely fail, but God enters my life through the Gospel and strengthens my heart. He is mine forever. Jesus never fails.

Psalm 73:17, 21 When I went into the sanctuary of God, then I understood their end…Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins.

When we get into the Word of God and come into His Presence we understand the end result for unbelievers. We understand the character of God, His holiness and love, His judgment and mercy. And instead of rejoicing in God’s eternal judgment of our ungodly enemies, we are grieved at heart and pierced in our mind, for these are human beings, who have rejected God and spurned His love. Our appropriate response to the judgment of unbelievers is sadness, not glee.

We are glad and rejoice in our forgiveness, life, and eternal salvation, but saddened about the end for unbelievers. Our love for all people prompts us to pray for them and share the gospel, so that some might be saved, through faith. Our grieving over the final judgment of unbelievers moves us to make disciples of all nations. Grief is caused by love for the lost and condemned. But “there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents.”

Psalm 73:11-13 And they say, How doth God know? And is there knowledge of the Most High? 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 in innocence.

The atheist says there is no God; the agnostic says we can’t know if there is a God. These are the ungodly who prosper in this life. And it seems to the faithful that they get away with unbelief and ignorance of God, and get earthly riches anyway. They will end in death with nothing.

But it is not so with me: I respond by believing God, trusting His holiness and love. Therefore, I cleanse my heart and wash my hands, by confession, repentance, faith, and receiving life. God not only demands cleanliness and holiness, He also grants it by grace through faith. We acknowledge that we are answerable to God, and that God has provided the answer in Christ.

Since we are still unclean sinners, we daily cleanse our hearts and hands (thoughts and behavior) through repentance and faith. “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” We get dirty walking in this world; we get cleansed believing in Jesus Christ.

Psalm 73:2-3 But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped. For I was envious of the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

Asaph admits that he was losing his grip, or his footing, when he saw the prosperity of the unbeliever. His response was sinful envy: “I want what they have.” Envy is one of the seven deadly sins, deadly because it leads us away from God and life and finally to eternal death. 1 Timothy 6:10: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through craving that some have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many pangs.”

Note that it is not money itself that is evil but the love of money. Greed and envy is the problem that we confess, and this is endemic to all people, whether rich or poor. It takes God’s grace to forgive and God’s Spirit to overcome. It is through the Gospel that we recognize the sinful response, repent, receive forgiveness, and have the power to overcome.

Two strong themes wind their way through this Psalm: 1) the wicked prosper, leaving the godly to wonder why they bother to be good, and 2) the wealth of the wicked looks so inviting that the faithful wish they could trade places. But these two themes come to unexpected ends: wealth loses its power at death, and the rewards of the godly take on eternal value.

We respond to earthly poverty by focusing on true heavenly riches, and the Spirit grants faith to see the End.

Psalm 72:18-19 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen.

Our response to the Lord’s greatness and goodness is to bless Him and to bless His glorious name. For our God has done wondrous things for us, for our good, and for our life. The whole earth shows forth His glory; therefore we bless His name forever. We bless God for His awesome Creation of the universe and of us. We bless God for His marvelous work of Redemption in Christ

To bless God is to say wonderful things about Him and good things to Him. We can’tb make Him feel better; of course, we can’t do that, but it makes us feel better. Our spirits are lifted when we lift Him up. The more blessed God is in our hearts and minds the more blessed we are. We know, believe, and feel the glorious goodness of God when we bless His Holy Name.

Psalm 71:22-24 I will also praise thee with the psaltery, even thy truth, O my God; unto thee will I sing with the harp, O thou Holy One of Israel. my lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee, and my soul, which thou hast redeemed. My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long, for they are confounded, for they are brought unto shame, that seek my hurt.

After reflecting on a long life of blessing, the psalm writer responds to what God has done for him and through him. He takes up the psaltery to praise God and the harp to sing unto the Lord. He uses his lips to rejoice and sing He talks with his tongue about the goodness of God all day long.

The Lord has redeemed his soul, and his whole self (soul) rejoices and sings because of God’s great salvation. He praises God for defeating his enemies that try to hurt him. He has the Lord on his mind all day long, every day, and speaks of God’s goodness at every opportunity. It is in this sense of constant awareness of God’s presence that we live our daily lives and enjoy Him forever.