Look Up!

As we all experience a world turned upside-down by those elitists who insist they know better how to run our lives than we do, proceeding to do everything in their power to cause harm and force a collapse of the global economy in order to create a new world order, we’re all looking for a hero to swoop in out of the sky and rescue us from this terrible nightmare.

The good news is, HE HAS! One only need to read the Psalms in order to be reassured of this again and again and again. I love the Psalms. They bring me comfort and I’m always amazed at how tightly they coordinate with today’s culture and social scene. This morning as I was reading through Psalm 73, I was reminded of a sermon I recently heard, grouping this Psalm into 3 main sections: Looking OUTWARD, Looking INWARD, and Looking UP. May you too find comfort in the following.

The psalmist opens in raw honesty:

73 Surely God is good to Israel,
To those who are pure in heart!
2 But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling,
My steps had almost slipped.

We discover why he almost stumbled as we read through verses 3-12. Note all the occurrences of the word “they” or “their”. It is here the psalmist is looking OUTWARD.

3 For I was envious of the arrogant
As I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 For there are no pains in their death,
And their body is fat.
5 They are not in trouble as other men,
Nor are they plagued like mankind.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
The garment of violence covers them.
7 Their eye bulges from fatness;
The imaginations of their heart run riot.
8 They mock and wickedly speak of oppression;
They speak from on high.
9 They have set their mouth against the heavens,
And their tongue parades through the earth. 
10 Therefore his people return to this place,
And waters of abundance are drunk by them.
11 They say, “How does God know?
And is there knowledge with the Most High?”
12 Behold, these are the wicked;
And always at ease, they have increased in wealth.

Have you ever felt like this psalmist? I know I have! Now let’s look at verses 13-16 and note all the occurrences of the word “I”. Here the psalmist has an INWARD look.

13 Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure
And washed my hands in innocence;
14 For I have been stricken all day long
And chastened every morning. 
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
Behold, I would have betrayed the generation of Your children.
16 When I pondered to understand this,
It was troublesome in my sight

Verse 17 is pivotal, beginning with UNTIL, noting a shift. It’s directly connected to verse 2 (read verse 2 then verse 17 to see the connection)

2 But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling,
My steps had almost slipped.
17 Until I came into the sanctuary of God;
Then I perceived their end.

Verses 18-24, note all the occurrences of the word “You” or “Your”. Now the psalmist is looking UP

18 Surely You set them in slippery places;
You cast them down to destruction.
19 How they are destroyed in a moment!
They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors!
20 Like a dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when aroused, You will despise their form.
21 When my heart was embittered
And I was pierced within,
22 Then I was senseless and ignorant;
I was like a beast before You.
23 Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.
24 With Your counsel You will guide me,
And afterward receive me to glory.

And the climax of the story is found in verses 25-28, so beautiful!

25 Whom have I in heaven but You?
And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
27 For, behold, those who are far from You will perish;
You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You.
28 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.

Be encouraged. Be blessed.