Reflecting on the Psalms | Psalms 73-75
Introduction
This week begins Book III of the Psalms in the original Hebrew division of the total compilation of the 150 psalms, with the first three of the Psalms of Asaph. It seems likely that Asaph is the priest mentioned in 1 Chron. 6:39 as part of the temple musician team during the reign of King David. This Asaph was the right-hand man (literally the term used by the Bible) of chief musician Heman.
Asaph’s psalms cover a variety of themes. The first two of his psalms that we look at this week show he wrestled with the question of why evil can continue to exist in this world when the almighty and good God is in control.
Psalm 73: A Puzzled Priest
“When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.” - Ps. 73:21-22 (NIV)
How do we evaluate ourselves and others? It’s common to use comparisons to evaluate and measure people and things. We measure football quarterbacks by their touchdown passes and yardage compared to other QBs, we evaluate which car to buy based on capacity and fuel economy, and so on.
But so many of the important things in life can’t be translated into numbers that can be compared. We measure ourselves against others by things like “standard of living” and “happiness”. but how do we actually assign numbers to such things?
Asaph had this problem: he looked around at the world and saw that wicked and evil people who didn’t care about God whatsoever were prospering, while Asaph and his fellow Jews were dealing with a long list of problems. Asaph spent his days in the temple, composing and playing music while seeing the problems of the faithful as they came to offer their sacrifices to God.
And this bothered him. A lot. Following God seemed to be useless (73:13) and increasing his frustration was an inability to speak openly about his misgivings and doubts, as doing so could cause others to also doubt God (73:15). So, how did he deal with this?
We read that he finally put aside the comparisons of himself and his fellow believers against non-believers and instead entered into God’s sanctuary to shut out the noise around him and seek God’s face (73:17). And it was there in God’s presence that he began to understand.
We have to have an eternal perspective, otherwise denying oneself and following God makes little to know sense. Perhaps before this, Asaph had adhered to an utilitarian view of religion, seeing it as something good and beneficial because it makes life feel better, and his doubts were caused by recognizing that following God doesn’t always make life in the short run better.
We are promised to inherit the earth and live eternally with God, but for reasons that are never fully explained (although 2 Peter 3:9: “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” gives us a pretty good idea of God’s reasoning) we have to wait and occasionally suffer in the meantime.
The evil are like a dream or a fantasy (73:20) while those who know God inhabit the true and eternal reality.
So we cannot compare ourselves or the truth of Christianity to the world around us. That would be like comparing reality to a bizarre dream where some real things and are mixed up with non-existent things, events, and characters. It is only in seeking after God that we find the true reality and real center of our existence.
Psalm 74: Rise Up, O God
“We are given no signs from God; no prophets are left, and none of us knows how long this will be.” - Ps. 74:9 (NIV)
We know that God’s timing doesn’t necessarily match our desired timeline, but that doesn’t mean it is wrong to call on God to do what we know he will do. Here we have the songwriter looking at a scene of defeat, where God’s enemies have cut down both God’s people and the holy places where they met Him, and he reminds himself (in the guise of reminding God) of God’s power and authority.
When we read psalms saying “remember, O God”, I think it’s obvious to say that we’re the ones who actually need to remember. God remembers everything (or perhaps since he exists outside time and is able to be everywhere he actually exists simultaneously in every moment of history?)
Even in the destruction caused by humans, we don’t need to fear because we serve a God who controls the entire earth, even the most strange parts of it (the reference to a sea monster and the mysterious “Leviathan” in verses 13-14 echo Job 41 and continue to puzzle those who study dinosaurs and mythological monsters from a Biblical perspective today).
He will hear the calls and rise up. The only question is, when he comes, will he find people waiting, watching, and calling for him?
Psalm 75: Praise God and don’t boast in your strength
The point of this psalm is simple: God is in charge, so don’t boast in your own strength. God will cut off the horns (a symbolic reference to human strength) of the wicked, but lift up the horns of the righteous.
Note here that it is God who does the lifting up. Even though we are righteous in God’s eyes and we know we will be lifted up, we are still required to wait for the vindication that comes from God, rather than trying to justify ourselves. Until God’s vindication comes, the Christian can wait patiently assured that he or she is part of the righteous that God loves.
Thought for the week
Out of all the psalms, Psalm 73 is one of my favorites. Much like 1 and 2 Timothy are two of my favorite parts of the New Testament because I think Timothy and I have a lot in common, Psalm 73 makes me think Asaph and I also must have puzzled over the same things.
We’re now at the halfway point of this journey (we’re a little behind what I originally thought would again take us a calendar year but now looks to be a 14-15 month project), so consider, which of these first 75 psalms has spoken the most to you?
Next Week: Psalms 76-78