Psalm 73

[0:00] Turn to Psalm 73. So whenever I get the 5.30 a.m. text of like, Hey, I feel terrible. Can you preach this morning?

[0:12] It's always an awesome reminder that any good that happens is not ever based on the amount of preparation I have. It's like God kind of takes that from you.

[0:22] You just have very little time. So anything that does happen is just evidence of His grace. And I was thinking, I don't know where Wes went, but I'm thankful that I've lived long enough to actually see how my hair, old enough to see my hair actually go.

[0:41] That's where Wes remains forever young and can't grow facial hair. So I'm going to trade off. So girls, you don't know this, but guys can kind of do that to each other and still be like, cool.

[0:54] So it's all right. But we're going to turn to Psalm 73 today. But before we do, let's just join in a word of prayer. Father, Father, we submit ourselves to you this morning, to the work of your Holy Spirit that dwells in us.

[1:15] that this is not, this building is not a temple. This building is not a house of God. It is your people that you abide with, the people that you have put your spirit in.

[1:28] So I pray that He would stir in us today, open our eyes, convict us of sin, and remind us of the possession that we have in you.

[1:41] And so Lord, just help me to be able to honor you with my words. And the rest of this service may be an act of worship towards you in Christ's name.

[1:53] Amen. So Psalm 73, one of my, one of my favorite Psalms, but just a little preface for some of this.

[2:06] But the book of Psalms is probably one that I turn to probably every, I don't know, one out of every three times I open the word, I go to Psalms. So I, I think a long time ago in the 1500s, I think rightfully John Calvin called the Psalms, he said, they are the anatomy of the soul, meaning that the Psalms expose like all that we are in our soul.

[2:36] It exposes like our, the heights of joy and happiness, as well as like the depths of like depression and despair. And a lot of the times, like we can just be very dogmatic and very stoic about our faith, but the Psalms are a very real book that exposes how we feel and how our emotions play into the Christian life.

[3:01] And so this is a Psalm very much like that. So Psalm 73 is not a Psalm of David, it's a Psalm of Asaph, who is probably David's chief musician.

[3:16] So let's read through it together. We won't have time to unpack every single thing, but we'll be able to get an overview. So, um, Hmm.

[3:29] I'm thinking that before we read this, I'm going to give you an intro. Sorry. Um, I know that the vast majority of the people in here are people who have tasted the goodness of God, people who have encountered Christ, people who have embraced salvation in Christ.

[3:44] Um, but at the same time, life can be extremely difficult. Becoming a follower of Christ doesn't like free us from the trials of this world.

[3:57] It doesn't. And often, even as children of God, we can find that our dreams, our hopes, um, our aspirations can be like shattered to pieces over and over and over throughout our life.

[4:09] Even as children of God, um, you may have like a job or a career that you were hoping would go well and you didn't get the job or you lost the job.

[4:20] Uh, a sickness or a disease could come upon you and totally destroy like a lot of the plans that you had for your life. A sports team that you didn't make the cut for.

[4:34] A relationship that you hoped would work out and might lead towards marriage. Didn't work out. Um, so many things you, uh, a friend or a family member could die and you're caught off guard.

[4:48] And in those moments, you're, you're asking what, where are you God? Like what is happening right now? And I've experienced most of the things I've just mentioned to you in my own life.

[5:00] So what are your disappointments? Like where have you invested your time or your emotion into something in order to see something else happen? What are them like shattered dreams and hopes that you had good shattered dreams, good hopes that you had.

[5:16] So for this answer, we turn to the ancient writer to get it. Psalm 73. Let's read together. Let's hear God's word.

[5:26] Truly. God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled. My steps had nearly slipped.

[5:38] For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they have no pains until death. Their bodies are fat and sleek. They are not in trouble as others are.

[5:50] They are not stricken like the rest of mankind. Therefore, pride is their necklace. Violence covers them as a garment. Their eyes swell out through fatness.

[6:01] Their hearts overflow with follies. They scoff and speak with malice. Loftily, they threaten oppression. They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongues struts throughout the earth.

[6:14] Therefore, his people turn back to them and find no fault in them. And they say, how can God know? Is there any knowledge in the Most High?

[6:26] Behold, these are the wicked, always at ease. They increase in riches. All in vain I have kept my heart clean, and washed my hands in innocence.

[6:37] For all the day long, I have been stricken and rebuked every morning. If I had said, I will speak thus, I would have betrayed the generation of your children. But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a worrisome task.

[6:53] Until I went into the sanctuary of God, then I discerned their end. Truly, you set them in slippery places. You make them fall to ruin.

[7:04] How they are destroyed in a moment, swept utterly by terrors. Like a dream in one that wakes. Oh Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.

[7:17] When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was brutish and ignorant. I was like a beast towards you. Nevertheless, I am continually with you.

[7:29] you hold my right hand. You hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterwards, you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you?

[7:40] And there is nothing on the earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail. But God is the strength in my heart and my portion forever. For behold, those who are far from you shall perish.

[7:56] You will put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you. But for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.

[8:10] Amen. So, as I like to do a lot of the time, we are going to walk through the psalm just by answering some questions that will help us draw out the meaning of this and help us kind of answer what I was speaking of earlier when you feel like all hope has been lost.

[8:30] So number one, the first question, is what is the theme of the psalm? What is the theme? You see this very clearly.

[8:41] In verse one, truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. So he kind of stops himself and he said, before I go any further, let me just tell you that I'm, the whole point of what I'm about to write is to tell you that God is good.

[8:59] He is good. And why is that so important? Why is that so important for him to do that? Because when things aren't going well around you and everything is falling apart, we are tempted to doubt the goodness and sovereignty of God.

[9:16] That's why. When things are not going your way, you're tempted to forget that. That God is good and that God is in control, that he is sovereign. So God doesn't just do good most of the time or some of the time.

[9:32] God, by his very nature, is the definition of good. So it's not just that he does good, it's that he is good and that his actions overflow from his character.

[9:44] So God will always, right, God will always, during seasons of our lives, he will always remain good to us no matter what you are going through. Psalm 119 says this, God, you are good and you do good.

[9:59] And this is the truth. God is good to those who have humbled themselves and have come to Christ and who have thrown themselves at his mercy, who have received his salvation.

[10:12] He is good to them, those who have been made pure by his blood, right, those who are pure in heart. So God is good. That is the theme of this psalm.

[10:24] And that he works all things for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose. That's a promise.

[10:34] So it's not like sometimes God will be good to you if you belong to him. It's that he only will be good to you. Only will be good to you if you belong to him. Yet, yet though, even though God has proven himself to us a million times over, right, he has proved that he is good to us.

[10:54] We still are tempted to doubt. We are still tempted to just say, like, I think just in this case you might have made the wrong decision. I feel that you can't be trusted in this moment.

[11:09] So, all those things, like Satan, the world, and our own sin and our own lives blind us from the goodness of God so often. So Asaph is saying, like, before I tell you why, I'm going to just begin by telling you that God is good.

[11:24] That he is good to those who are pure in heart, those who have been washed by the blood of Christ in this case. Yet, he kind of says, if you look at the first verse, he says, he states that his feet had almost stumbled, his steps had nearly slipped from this path.

[11:46] So, ultimately, that's the goal from this psalm is for us to treasure God and to embrace his goodness. So, that's number one. Number two, second question.

[12:00] What caused the psalmist to be envious? So, what's causing him to be envious? What caused the psalmist to be envious? You see this in verse 2 and verse 3.

[12:12] But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped, for I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

[12:25] He's envious. He confesses that as he's looked around the world around him in the fallen world, he looks at the people who don't know God, the people who hate God, and life just seems to be going great for them.

[12:39] But he, a follower, a believer, things are not going so well for him. So, he's being tempted to say, where are you? Like, why is this happening?

[12:50] Why are the people who hate you, why are they always doing good? And why are the people who trust you and love you always just apparently things not going good? He says in verse 4, for they have no pangs until death and their bodies are fat and sleek.

[13:07] So, like, it seems like a lot of them just go through life carefree, painfree, that they're happy all the time, they enjoy just their wealth and their prosperity.

[13:19] Fatness, back in this time, meant that you were wealthy because, like, chances are if you were, if you were a little obese, it's because you were wealthy and could afford to eat a lot. And so, it was a sign, a symbol of being wealthy.

[13:33] And so, he's like, they're, they're always that way. Verse 5, they are not in trouble as others are. They're not stricken like the rest of mankind. So, it seems that they don't even, like, get to experience fierce trials in their life.

[13:48] the opposite of what he thinks he is going through. So, you ever felt that way? You ever just thought, man, I'm a follower of Christ. I've, I've given my life to him, but I look around and everything around me seems to be going wrong all the time.

[14:08] But then you look around at people who don't know God and they seem to be just doing just fine with no problems at all. So, so the question is not an unusual question in the Bible.

[14:23] And look, okay, here's the deal. It's not wrong for you or for me to ask that question. I'm going to tell you that. But the attitude and the posture you have towards God really matters in this case.

[14:35] if you're coming to him being like, how dare you? You owe me an explanation. Like, this isn't fair. And you come to him with more of like a, a proud attitude.

[14:48] That's wrong. But if you genuinely come to him broken and humbled and you just ask, I'm confused. Help me understand. I feel like something's just not right, but I know that you have taught me that you are good.

[15:03] So help me understand. So, very common question. Why does the things always work out for people who don't care about God and why do we always struggle?

[15:14] Job asks the same question. I have some references to Job today. You don't have to turn there right now, but in Job 21, verse 7, this is what Job says. Why do the wicked live, reach old age, and grow mighty in power?

[15:31] Their offspring are established in their presence and their descendants before their eyes. Their houses are made safe from fear and no rod of God is upon them.

[15:41] They spend their days in prosperity and in peace they go down to Sheol. So, to make it worse, right, the unbelievers are even arrogant about how well they're doing.

[15:54] Look at what my own strength, look at what my own, you know, money and my own ability has got for me. so they're arrogant even about the wealth that they do possess, right?

[16:06] That they got all that by the strength of their own labor. So, instead of thanking God, who is the giver of all good things, they boast about it.

[16:17] And not just that, but they even, like, taunt God, right? We don't need you. Look at verse 9. They set their mouths against the heavens and their tongues strut throughout the earth. Therefore, His people will turn back to them and find no fault in them.

[16:32] And they say, how can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High? Verse 10 is kind of an unusual verse, but the literal means, like, the waters of a full cup have been drained out completely by the wicked.

[16:49] So, this idea of they seem to be satisfied, and, so they're taunting God as if their own hand has prospered them in a very arrogant fashion.

[17:00] So, they mock and they despise God. So, hear me, like, any success that you have at all is not because you are smart.

[17:11] It is not because you have done everything right. God can blow on that and it can fall to pieces. So, if you begin your life in arrogance, kind of saying that my own hand my own ability to do business, my own ability to perform, whatever, if you boast of that, then God is not going to bless you.

[17:32] It says, he opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. We have nothing to boast about. Like I said last week, nothing at all. So, so they taunt God as if they're even calling him a coward.

[17:49] Like, you know, you're a pushover. We can do all this on our own. We don't need you to exist. So, what happens? So, what is Asaph?

[18:00] He's looking at this and what is the result of him looking at and envying the wicked? Alright? Jealousy and envy never help. They're serious.

[18:12] That's why God said you shall not covet. So, what does that reveal about him? You see that in verses 13 through 15? And you see that the fruit of this bitter discontent is the fruit of envy will be discontentment and depression.

[18:30] If you are envious of someone, if you are jealous, that will be the result. You will be never satisfied. You will be discontent and often it can lead to just very low depths of depression.

[18:42] If you are jealous of someone, right, it never pays off. So, look at 15, or excuse me, verse 13. Look at verse 13.

[18:53] He says, so he's looking at this and this is what he says, all in vain I have kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. So, when we envy others, particularly the life of unbelievers, we're tempted to think, why am I doing all this?

[19:10] Like, I've kept myself pure before God. I've like, said no to temptation. I've lost for the sake of Christ. Like, is all this just worthless? Like, what is the point?

[19:21] All in vain I've done this. Look how wicked they behave and they have everything I want. You ever felt that way? Is it worth it? It never pays off.

[19:32] All I do is try to honor you, God, and right now I feel like it's not paying off. I feel like I'm getting nothing and they get everything. So, these things just don't ever go away from us.

[19:45] We pay a price for following God. So, have you ever thought that? Why have I fought so hard for this when everybody around me just seems to get it without any problem at all?

[19:57] All in vain I've kept myself clean. Spurgeon says this about this verse. He says, he questions the value of holiness when its wages are not paid.

[20:12] He says, the pure may have seen to have cleansed themselves altogether in vain, but we must not judge after the sight of the eyes. Like, it may feel that way, but he's saying don't just believe what you see.

[20:27] Alright? That's important. Don't just believe what you see. Which leads to the next question. Number three. what caused the psalmist's attitude to shift?

[20:41] So, that's what he was thinking. He was being, he was feeling envious, he was feeling jealous. What caused him to shift? You see this in verses 15 through 19.

[20:56] He says, he stops himself, and he says, if I had said, I will speak thus, I would have betrayed the generation of your children. But when I thought of how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task.

[21:10] So, it wore him out. Like, trying to process all this, just like, exhausted him. It seemed to me a wearisome task until I went to the sanctuary of God, and then I discerned therein.

[21:25] Truly, you set them in slippery places. You make them fall to ruin. How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors. Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, you rouse yourself.

[21:40] You despise them as phantoms. So, the point here is be slow to judge God. Right? Be very slow.

[21:51] He says, it's not always wise for you to just start speaking about how you feel. Hear that? It's not always wise for you just to start talking about how you feel.

[22:03] And the reason why is because you're an heir and like, if you're wrong, you're in danger of risking the faith of others. That's what he says.

[22:15] So, example, like, younger believers, people who are new in the faith, or even children, how you respond to trials, if you respond to that with like, anger, discontentment, bitterness, when something happens like that in their life, they're gonna, it's very likely they will respond to God the same way.

[22:36] And he's saying, like, I'm glad I didn't say that because if I had, I would have betrayed a whole generation. Right? I'm glad that I didn't, I'm glad that I waited upon the Lord to reveal this to me.

[22:52] So, when God puts you through trials, it's not always just for your sake, it's for the sake of others too. This is something Job said, again, Job 40, verse 6, he says, then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind.

[23:08] So, sorry, let me back up. So, Job has been suffering, going through so many trials, losing everything, but the whole time he's maintaining a trust in God.

[23:19] very little though. He's barely hanging on, it feels like, and he's asking God, why? Why is this happening to me? Why? And then eventually, and later on in the book of Job, God shows up and he answers Job.

[23:35] This is why. So, verse, chapter 40, verse 6, the Lord answered Job out of a whirlwind and said, dress for action like a man.

[23:47] I will question you and you will make it known to me. Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be right?

[23:59] Have you an arm like God? And can you thunder with a voice like this? Adorn yourself with majesty and dignity and clothe yourself with glory and splendor?

[24:10] So, basically, he kind of pops out and is like, you've been questioning me, now I'm going to question you. Prepare yourself. Basically, who are you, you little man, you sinful, broken man?

[24:23] Like, who are you to judge me the most high? We do that. So, again, we have to be careful.

[24:33] Don't judge God too quickly at all. Wait for Him. Be patient. Wait for Him to reveal what is going on. So, I will tell you this, though.

[24:45] God doesn't promise in this life to always tell you exactly why you went through what you went through. Sometimes He does. Sometimes He gives you a moment like Joseph in Genesis where he suffered and suffered for 13 years and then all of a sudden like He sees His brothers below Him and like goes, ah.

[25:06] This is what all this was for. Sometimes He does, but sometimes you may have to wait until glory to know the purpose. So, be careful.

[25:19] Be careful, especially those who are younger in the faith. They will watch how you go through trials. They watch. Because if all you're doing is this, it won't go real far. If you can quote theology and quote theologians and quote Bible verses and that's all you got, like, you will suffer in this life and when that happens, you're not going to stand.

[25:41] So, we have to be building, asking God to build us and prepare us for this kind of stuff because it's going to come. So, so here's His conclusion, right?

[25:54] He's like, I'm glad I didn't do this. Here's why. Now let's really look at the state of the wicked. He says, I felt bitter. I felt depressed until I went to the sanctuary of God.

[26:08] So basically, he went to worship. He went to worship God and during that encounter, he chose to worship God instead of cursing God and it changed him.

[26:20] It changed how he thought, right? So as he worshiped God, his nearsightedness kind of vanished and God gave him a fuller picture of what really was going on, right?

[26:33] So here's two things about the wicked, all right, about their apparent ease that they have that it's not real. So when you're envious, you're looking at people around you who don't know God and life's going great, just think about these two things.

[26:50] One is, their apparent joy is not real. It's not real. God chooses sometimes to bless even people who hate him out of his own goodness.

[27:04] We never do that. He does. Jesus said in Luke 6, verse 35, he says, love your enemies because God does.

[27:16] He says, love your enemies and do good to them. Lend, expecting nothing in return and your reward will be great for you'll be sons of the most high.

[27:26] Listen to this, for God is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. So, even their apparent prosperity is like just God being kind to them.

[27:41] Like, can you imagine feeding your enemies? Can you imagine giving gifts to your enemies? That's like a display of God's grace called common grace in theological circles.

[27:53] However, right, despite they may have a big house, they may have a ton of cars, they may have a lot of money in the bank, they may have a big retirement laid up, wearing the best clothes, it's nothing.

[28:05] It's nothing. Don't buy that. It doesn't mean anything. God can blow it away and it's gone. Like, if you don't possess Christ, you have nothing. As the old saying goes, everything minus Christ equals nothing.

[28:24] Right? Everything minus Christ equals nothing. But Christ minus everything equals everything. We possess everything in Christ.

[28:37] Solomon said, more than likely Solomon, Ecclesiastes chapter 1 verse 14, I have seen everything that is done under the sun. I've done it all.

[28:48] And behold, all is vanity and a striving after the wind. It doesn't satisfy. So people who really don't have Christ, it's not real.

[28:59] They'll experience pain, sorrow, disappointment. The joy of the wicked is only a mirage. It's an illusion. It's not real. So, don't buy the lie.

[29:11] Right? If you just saw their outward condition, you can't see their heart and what's really going on. So, secondly, the joy of the wicked is short-lived.

[29:23] It's short-lived. Hebrews 11 says, they call sin the fleeting pleasures of sin. So, the joy they have temporarily is gone.

[29:36] Like, they may, they have to go back and back and back and back again to even get some satisfaction. They don't have Christ who is eternally satisfying. And so, those are the two reasons.

[29:48] It's not real and it's short-lived. Like, their prosperity and the joy that they have. And then, moving in, what else convinced him of this? He saw their judgment.

[29:59] He saw their end. Right? Look at that in verse 18. Truly you set them in slippery places. You make them all fall to ruin. How they are destroyed in a moment, that swept away utterly by terrors.

[30:13] So, they're boasting. They're arrogant about what they have. And he's saying that one day, God will blow on that and we'll be gone.

[30:25] And they'll be woken up as if waking up from a dream. It'll be terrorizing to them. It will scare them. Like nightmares, it kind of says.

[30:36] For he says in verse 27, all those who are far from you shall perish. So really, he just understood this idea that if they don't have God, they have nothing.

[30:48] And their apparent joy will be brought to ruin one day when God judges them. Scripture is very clear about this, guys. Hopefully, most of you in this room out of believe know Christ, but I know that there's so many of you out there who don't.

[31:06] And you're probably fooling yourself. You think that you can do certain things and God not know about it. Not okay. The day of judgment will come.

[31:19] Zephaniah, chapter 1, verse 14, is a prophecy about the final judgment and the return of Christ. It's called the day of the Lord a lot of the times in the Old Testament.

[31:33] And it very much parallels what we see in the New Testament from what Jesus said and from what John said in Revelation. The same kind of stuff. But I just want to read it.

[31:46] Just a few verses of it. Not to scare you. Well, maybe if that's what God's intent is. But wake up. If you're without Christ today, you have nothing.

[31:58] But Zephaniah, chapter 1, verse 14, it says, the great day of the Lord is near, near and hastening fast. A sound of the day of the Lord is bitter.

[32:11] The mighty man cries aloud. A day of wrath is that day. A day of distress and anguish. A day of ruin and devastation. Of darkness and gloom.

[32:22] A day of clouds and thick darkness. And this is what God says, I will bring distress on mankind so that they shall walk like the blind because they have sinned against the Lord.

[32:35] Their blood shall be poured out like dust and their flesh like dung. Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them. So your wealth will not save you from this day.

[32:48] Scary. The fire of his jealousy. All the earth shall be consumed for a full and sudden end he will make to all the inhabitants of the earth.

[33:02] That's what awaits the wicked. That's what awaits people who are think that they're doing very well right now but without Christ they possess nothing. And he understands that.

[33:13] They don't have anything. If they don't have Christ they don't have anything. So that he that clicks like he realizes that it's not real. So so that's his conclusion.

[33:24] He shifts he shifts his thought. And this goes on to our last question. What is the psalmist's conclusion? What is the psalmist's conclusion?

[33:37] See that? Verse 21 through 28. I won't read all of this right away but he says let's pick a few verses here.

[33:51] He says nevertheless I am continually with you. you hold my right hand you guide me with your counsel and afterwards you receive me to glory. Right? So what he does is he like repents of his jealous covetous attitude.

[34:07] Right? You see that in verse 15 or excuse me verse 21 he says I was angry I was bitter against you.

[34:19] I was like a brute before you. The term brute in the Hebrew here is pretty cool. It basically means like you're acting like someone who has never been touched by the grace of God.

[34:32] That's like what it reads. He's saying I was acting that way. I was envious. Jesus said in Luke 12 take care and be on your guard against all types of covetousness for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.

[34:52] Right? They don't have anything. So never judge God's love based on whether or not he grants you something you want. That's it. Don't judge God's love based on if he grants you something or he doesn't.

[35:07] So Spurgeon again he says if earthly goods were of much value then why does the Lord give such a large measure of them to those who hate him.

[35:20] True. It is a pitiful thing. Here's a man this is so convicting. He says it is a pitiful thing that an heir of heaven should ever have to confess I was envious.

[35:32] When we possess all in Christ there's no grounds for us to feel that way. So turn to this please hold your hand in Psalm 73 but look at Job 42.

[35:46] Job 42. An heir of heaven should never have to confess that they were envious. Job 42 verse 1.

[36:08] So after Job had been disciplined in a way by God God had answered him right and his answer is basically I'm God who are you to question me and after this encounter he is completely humbled and this is his response in a similar way that Asaph is responding in this Psalm.

[36:29] Verse 1 it says Job answered the Lord and said I know that you can do all things and no purpose of yours can be thwarted who is this who hides counsel without knowledge therefore I have utterly uttered what I did not understand things too wonderful for me which I did not know so he's saying like I was speaking about stuff I had no idea about when I was questioning you I was clueless and it says hear and I will speak I will question you and you will make it known to me I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear but now my eyes see you therefore I despise myself and I repent in dust and ashes so that was his response like who am I I repent of this attitude I had towards you so a couple other things realize and believe that God is still good that he is still sovereign and even despite of our the sin that we have often of doubting him not trusting him when he has won our trust a thousand thousand times over we still doubt him all the time he still bears with us through that he knows what is good and he knows what's best for you so write this down if you're taking notes like this was probably like one of the most convicting things to me in my prayer life

[38:02] I remember doubting God's goodness to me because I was feeling very sick a relationship that I wanted at the time was not working out and I was doubting like his goodness in that moment this was a few years ago and this is what I really felt the spirit just impressed on me okay be careful with impressions Bible first alright but if you ever doubt God's goodness and love towards you look no further than the cross okay if you doubt that like God took care of your greatest need and sacrificed his own son to bring you eternal good in him that's enough that's greater than anything in this world he could give you he brought you back to himself through the death of Christ he reconciled you to himself and so for centuries ancient writers have called

[39:08] God son of which means like he is the chiefest of all goods the greatest of all goods even our English word our old Saxon word for God means the good because he is good Psalm 84 verse 11 this is so good for the Lord God is a sun!

[39:28] and! the Lord bestows favor and honor and hear this no good thing does he withhold from those who walk up rightly no good thing does he withhold from those who walk up rightly so as the as a man said a long time ago so if God withholds something from you then it wasn't good for you in that moment at least right so we can trust him trust him he's worthy to be trusted and so lastly under this realize and believe that God is enough all right not all this stuff that people have you don't need you think you do but you don't verse 25 and 26 in psalm 73 whom have I in heaven but you and there is nothing on the earth I desire besides you my flesh and my heart may fail but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever so though you possess little on this earth if you have

[40:34] God you have an abundance for all eternity forever so though you may struggle tempted to doubt that he is our portion see that in the verse it really just means the portion doesn't mean like a slice of something it means like that which completely satisfy you and fills you completely God is your portion!

[40:57] And he is the! the strength of your heart so so I like to pick on people occasionally just for my own pride I guess I guess that's what it is sometimes it's just all in good fun but I kind of watch as words come and go in college culture particularly it seemed like for three years one word hung on awkward this is awkward that is awkward you are awkward like everything was awkward!

[41:28] can you learn the English language a little better and not use that all the time because this isn't awkward but the one I hear lately though is the word literally literally this literally that literally this but this is going to be like literally true when I say this in the sense of the English word literally right you literally have nothing if you don't have Christ and you literally have everything if you do possess Christ and you need nothing else I tell guys that I'm sharing the gospel with you like anything you're living your life for that can be taken away from you is not worth living your life for sports relationships this is all going to go this great body and great!

[42:16] health you have it's not worth it so the last thing we're going to do turn to psalm 16 we'll end right here but I will throw out there that this psalm this conclusion that Asaph has it leads him to want to go and tell others about God okay so he doesn't just stop there and say I have God and I'm not going to give anybody else he explodes with this idea that I have to tell of his works in verse 28 I have made the Lord God my refuge that I may tell of all your works so pity those who are without Christ and go to them and give them the truth so psalm 16 this is David now verse 5 the Lord is my chosen portion and my cup you hold my lot the lions have fallen for me in pleasant places indeed

[43:22] I have a beautiful inheritance I bless the Lord who gives me counsel in the night also my heart also instructs me I have set the Lord always before me he is at my right hand and I shall not be shaken therefore my heart is glad and my whole being rejoices my flesh also dwells secure for listen to this for you will not abandon!

[43:48] my soul to shield or let your holy one see corruption here you make known to me the path of life and in your presence there is fullness of joy and at your right hand there are pleasures forever more amen brought this up here might as well use it so cleaning out my stuff because I'm getting ready to move it's like a nightmare moving so I found something that I wrote when I was 16 but like I got a job that was paying me pretty well at a warehouse and so all of a sudden I have money and I put things to buy with my money and it says listen to this it's a typical country boy wish list toolbox for my truck which I never got 3030 Winchester I got that 12 gauge shotgun

[44:48] I got that a male basset hound I got that his name was Fred he died a fishing pole got it four wheeler kind of got it 45 pistol I got a 40 not a 45 boots belt buckle a horse I put horse $2,000 I had really saved for that one I never got it but I rode my brother's horses so it worked so and like I really thought this stuff was going to do it like this stuff was going to do it and a few years ago if you had asked me what three things will satisfy your soul if you had three wishes what would satisfy it I would say better health I would say a job or a career I really love and I would say to be married and have a family like God has given me definitely two of those things I have better health

[45:49] I love what I do and then a week I'll have the third thing but if but if those other two things didn't satisfy me as great as she is right as thankful as I am that she'll be my wife soon she's not going to do it either and I'm not going to do it for her like Christ only will satisfy only will satisfy don't mean a word of prayer