Hey Church!

Begin your preparations for Sunday’s worship service by meditating on the following chapter of scripture. 

PSALM 73
The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous.
A Psalm of Asaph. 

Surely God is good to Israel,
To those who are pure in heart! 
But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling, 
My steps had almost slipped. 
For I was envious of the arrogant 
As I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 

For there are no pains in their death, 
And their body is fat.
They are not in trouble as other men, 
Nor are they plagued like mankind. 
Therefore pride is their necklace; 
The garment of violence covers them. 
Their eye bulges from fatness;
The imaginations of their heart run riot. 
They mock and wickedly speak of oppression; 
They speak from on high. 
They have set their mouth against the heavens,
And their tongue parades through the earth. 

Therefore his people return to this place,
And waters of abundance are drunk by them. 
They say, “How does God know? 
And is there knowledge with the Most High?” 
Behold, these are the wicked; 
And always at ease, they have increased in wealth. 
Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure 
And washed my hands in innocence; 
For I have been stricken all day long 
And chastened every morning. 

If I had said, “I will speak thus,” 
Behold, I would have betrayed the generation of Your children. 
When I pondered to understand this, 
It was troublesome in my sight 
Until I came into the sanctuary of God; 
Then I perceived their end.
Surely You set them in slippery places; 
You cast them down to destruction. 
How they are destroyed in a moment! 
They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors! 
Like a dream when one awakes, 
O Lord, when aroused, You will despise their form. 

When my heart was embittered 
And I was pierced within, 
Then I was senseless and ignorant; 
I was like a beast before You. 
Nevertheless I am continually with You; 
You have taken hold of my right hand. 
With Your counsel You will guide me, 
And afterward receive me to glory. 

Whom have I in heaven but You?
And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. 
My flesh and my heart may fail, 
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 
For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; 
You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You. 
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. 

Have you ever felt like you have kept your heart pure and your feet from evil in vain? Surely even the greatest Christians have, at times, been troubled by the way the wicked prosper while God’s righteous ones shoulder such heavy sorrows. Asaph’s consolation is in “their end,” at which time the prosperity of the arrogant ones will become like straw in fire and their form despised by God. 

From the greatest of preachers to the lowliest of saints, many of God’s most pure-hearted disciples have been taken out of His service by bouts of pain, depression, and disease. I know that some of you reading this are presently suffering. To you, “Consider the end” resonates as truth but is, in this moment, yet another unhelpful platitude. We know that all will be made right in the end, but there must be something to hope for in this life, if the despairing faithful are to endure another sunrise. 

“Happily for us our happiness does not depend upon our understanding the providence of God. We are able to believe where we are not able to explain, and we are content to leave a thousand mysteries unsolved rather than tolerate a single doubt as to the wisdom and goodness of our heavenly Father.” (C.H. Spurgeon)

This is the earthly hope of all who have been crucified with Christ: our affliction is under the authority of a good Father whose wisdom exceeds our own. If heaven is the finish line, and we are called to run a thorny track, then humility must be our first frightful step. This is the only way we can sincerely come to be “joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer.” (Rom. 12:12)

Again, Spurgeon said, 

“We are nothings and nobodies, but that we think otherwise is very evident, for as soon as we are put on the shelf we begin anxiously to enquire, ‘How will the work go on without me?’ The fly on the coach wheel may just as well enquire, ‘How will the mails be carried without me?’

Far better men have been laid in the grave without the Lord’s work having been brought to a standstill, and shall we fume and fret because for a short season we must lie upon the bed of languishing? If we were laid aside only when it was obvious that our services could be spared, then there would be no jolt to our pride, but to weaken our strength at the precise moment when our presence seems most needed is the surest way to teach us that we are not essential to God’s work, and that even when we are most needed he can easily do without us. If this be the practical lesson, the rough schooling may be easily endured, for surely it is desirable beyond all things that self should be kept low and the Lord alone magnified.”

To all you who are sick in body, mind, or heart: resist the temptation to grow bitter, give your “why’s” and “why-nots” the weekend off, and look to your Father believing His heart to be kind and His purposes good. Choose to be foolish to worldly wisdom and, instead, declare in faith: “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.” And then come to church Sunday to be encouraged and strengthened in your faith.