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When the Wicked Prosper: Finding Strength in God's Presence
July 24, 2026 · 15 min
Psalm 73-74: turning envy into insight in the sanctuary; God is the strength and our portion forever.
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Psalm 73: The Turning Point and Eternal Perspective 0:10 Good morning, and welcome to our oasis of praise as we continue our journey through the book of Psalms today. Psalm 73 and 74 verse 26 of chapter 73.0:21 My flesh and my heart fail, but god is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Now Psalm, 73 is a Psalm by Esauf. It's0:33 about struggling with and then finding the answer to the age old question, why do the wicked prosper? In Psalm 74, we have a cry to God for help that was written after the destruction0:45 of the temple sometime after 5 86 BC. It's identified as a contemplation of Esauf, but it is, either a descendant or a namesake0:57 of Esauf as it is written long after, he died because he was a contemporary of David. Verse 1, chapter 73. Truly, god is good to Israel to1:09 such as are pure in heart. Now notice there's a condition provided here to experiencing the goodness of god, pure in heart. Jesus said in Matthew chapter 5 verse 8,1:21 blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see god. Verse 2, but as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the1:32 boastful when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. Now here's the heart of the Psalm. He struggled with the prosperity of the wicked. Now Esauf was not the1:44 1st nor the last to struggle with this. He goes on to describe their situation, that everything was good or so it seemed. Verse1:56 4, for there are no pangs in their death, for their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men, nor are they plagued like other men. Therefore, pride serves as their2:08 necklace. Violence covers them like a garment. Their eyes bulge with abundance. They have more than heart could wish. They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression.2:20 They speak loftily. They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walks through the earth. Now he was not alone. The the pride and the prosperity of the2:32 wicked along with their mockery of God tempted others to question whether God did hear, whether he did see, and whether he did care. And, again, this has2:43 been an age old question. Verse 10. Therefore, his people return here, and waters of a full cup are drained by them. And they say, how does god know?2:55 And is there knowledge of the most high? Behold, these are the ungodly who are always at ease. They increase in their riches. Surely, I have cleansed3:07 my heart in vain and washed my hands in innocence. For all day long, I have been plagued and chastened every morning. I mean, he's essentially saying, why do3:19 I bother? I obey and I follow god for what? Alright. Hold on. Here comes the turning point. Verse 15. If I had said I3:31 will thus speak, behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of your children. When I thought how to understand this, it was too painful for me. Notice, he didn't say everything3:43 he was thinking. He said, if I had said what I thought to be true and what I wanted to say, I would have been leading people astray. This is important. We don't always have to say everything that we think3:55 or feel. What we see with our eyes is not the full picture. Look at verse 17. Until I went into the sanctuary4:07 of God, then I understood their end. When did he come to the proper understanding of the wicked? It's when he came into the sanctuary, into the presence of4:19 God, when he came into an understanding of the temporal in light of the eternal. It is so important that we have an eternal perspective of this life. It it's it's it's4:31 all in our perspective. In the book, in his book of Plymouth Plantation, governor William Bradford wrote of the motivation of the pilgrims that enabled them to endure4:42 unbelievable hardships. I mean, if you know the history of the pilgrims in their 1st winter, nearly 0.5 of them died. Their entire life was hardship and4:54 struggle. But this is what Bradford wrote in his book. He said and this was kind of a a journal of their experience. Quote, lastly, and which was not least, a great hope5:06 and inward zeal they had of laying some good foundation or at least to make some way there onto for the propagating and advancing the gospel of the kingdom of Christ in those5:18 remote parts of the world. Yay, though they should be even as stepping stones unto others for the performing of so great a work. You see, they saw their difficulty5:30 in light of their eternal purpose. Even if they were just to be stepping stones to advance that purpose, We must view all things with an eternal5:41 perspective, or we'll be at risk of losing heart and becoming discouraged. Here's what god showed him about the wicked in verse 18. Surely, you have set them in slippery places. You have cast them down5:53 to destruction. Oh, how they are brought to desolation as in a moment. They are utterly consumed with terrors as a dream when 1 awakes. So, lord, when you awake, you shall despise their6:05 image. It all ends for the wicked in a heartbeat. In a heartbeat, it's all gone, and they are utterly consumed by terror, by hell. Now Esauf kicks6:16 himself for for being literally so stupid. Alright? Verse 21. Thus, my heart was grieved, and I was vexed in my mind. I was so foolish and ignorant. I was like a6:28 beast before you. Nevertheless, I am continually with you. You hold me by my right hand. You will guide me with your counsel, and afterwards, receive me to glory.6:40 How could I have missed this? He asked. How could I have ever doubted your justice and your care for those who trust in you. Again, we need to see life in lightPsalm 74: Lament Over Destruction 6:52 of eternity and of god's character. That helps us deal with the inequities of this life and frankly keeps us from being robbed of our joy here and now. Verse 25,7:04 whom I have I in heaven but you, and there is none upon the earth that I desire beside you. My flesh and my heart fail, but god is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For indeed, those who7:15 are far from you shall perish. You have destroyed all those who desert you for harlotry. But it is good for me to draw near to God.7:27 I have put my trust in the Lord God that I may declare all your works. See, reject God and his truth, and he ultimately rejects you. Draw near toPsalm 74: Recounting God's Power and Prayer 7:39 him and trust him, and he will give you a story to tell. Psalm 74 is mentioned in the beginnings and appeal to God after the destruction of Jerusalem in the temple, which occurred7:51 in 5 86 BC. Oh god, why have you cast us off forever? Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture? Wow.8:03 Why have you cast us off forever? You know, our present situation and and and, I mean, they were standing there looking at the ruins and they were in captivity. And, I mean, it often looks and feels8:15 like it's permanent, but it's not. And there's a term for this mental state in psychology, catastrophizing, and it is, it's it's, you know, it's it's8:26 like saying everyone is against me. It's like there's no way I can survive this. There's just no way out. And and and it's an emotional and a spiritual tunnel8:38 vision that narrows our focus to to the present crisis that we cannot see beyond. And and and, again, as we were just talking about in the other Psalm, it it helps to have an eternal8:50 perspective. And and to be fair, in the context of this Psalm, for some individuals, their entire life would be spent during this 70 years of captivity. But for the nation, it9:02 was passing. And and and that's important because the same is true for the church. If I drew my encouragement from what I see in DC today, I would not9:14 be encouraged. You know, a couple of things we must always keep in mind. 1st, we are a part of a bigger narrative that god is writing in the church. I mean, think over the the 2000 year9:26 history of the church, those who who have have spent their lives under oppression, but they've been faithful to god and they've been a part of advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ.9:38 They fulfilled their purpose even though they were in the times of difficulty. And the other thing we gotta keep in mind, not only are we a part of God's unfolding plan, we don't know where we are in his timeline of9:50 writing that history, But secondly, you don't sow and reap in the same season. So we may not we may not see the fruit of our labor. I I think of10:02 some of the you know, I I I like to write to read biographies. And and oftentimes in fact, a lot of these biographies are not written until someone is gone10:13 because the significance of their life and the contribution that they made was not realized until after their lives had been lived. Because you don't sow and reap in the same season.10:25 Verse 3, lift up your feet to the perpetual desolations. The enemy has damaged everything in the sanctuary. Your enemies roar in the midst of your meeting place. They set up their banners for signs.10:37 In verses 3 through 8, he speaks of the spiritual desolation. He describes the state of the temple. We do not see our signs. There is no longer any prophet nor is there any among us10:49 who knows how long. Oh, god. How long will the adversary reproach? Will the enemy blaspheme your name forever? No 1 is hearing a word from god, and the enemy freely11:01 blasphemes the name of God. There was desolation. There was discouragement. Then in verses 12 through 15, he reminds God, or more likely, he's reminding himself and those who were singing this Psalm11:13 of their history with God and what he had done for them. He recounts all the mighty works that God did for them when he established the nation, bringing them out of Egypt. In these moments, and we all11:25 have them. We all have them. If you don't, I'd certainly like to know how you avoid having these moments of discouragement because I I have them. When we don't hear god, when we don't see him at work, and the11:37 future is uncertain, and we wonder what is this all about. We need to stir up our faith by recounting what god has done in our lives. Because what god has11:49 done, he can do again. Verse 12. For god is my king from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. Finally, and we've talked about this several times, but I do want you to see12:01 it again because I think it's important. Look how this Psalm closes with an appeal to god for help. Remember this, that the enemy has reproach, oh lord, and that a foolish people has blasphemed your name.12:13 Oh, do not deliver the life of your turtledove to the wild beast. Do not forget the life of your poor forever. Have respect to the covenant for the dark places of the earth are full of the12:25 haunts of cruelty. Arise, oh god, plead your own calls. Remember how the foolish man reproaches you daily. Do not forget the voice of your enemies. TheClosing Prayer 12:37 tumult of those who rise up against you increases continually. So here it is. Number 1, god's name, god's compassion, god's covenant, god's calls,12:49 and God's reputation. It's about God. It's not about us, and that's how we need to pray. Father, we thank you. We thank you, Lord, for the for for what13:01 you are unfolding even now as you write history, as you work through the church, the redemptive message of the cross. And, Lord, it's coming to13:13 culmination to the fulfillment with the return of Jesus Christ. Lord, we don't know where we are in that timeline. We can have a pretty good idea. I think we're reaching toward the end.13:25 But, Lord, your call to us is to be faithful, and I pray, father, you would encourage us as we look back on what you have done, what you are doing with the confidence of what you will do.13:37 Lord, encourage us today. Strengthen us. And, lord, help us to see our present situation even as individuals, as families, as13:48 communities, and even as a nation. And what you've called us to help us to see it in light of eternity. Lord, may we not lose heart, but may we stand firm in your truth, proclaiming to the14:00 nations, proclaiming to those around us your faithfulness. For we pray and ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. Thanks for joining me this morning. And until next time, keep standing14:13 on the word.14:16 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you14:28 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 Psalm 73: The Turning Point and Eternal Perspective6:50 Psalm 74: Lament Over Destruction7:33 Psalm 74: Recounting God's Power and Prayer12:30 Closing PrayerComments No comments yet. Start the conversation.
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