Portraits of Faithfulness - Asaph

1:01And this morning, we're going to work through Psalm 73, and we're going to look at one person from the Bible and one person not from the Bible that offer us different examples of faithfulness. Their circumstances are different, but the faithfulness that is produced is the same. So, to begin, I'd like you to look at this painting. This is Rembrandt's. Simeon's Song of Praise. Now I am no artist, but I love to look at art, especially Rembrandt. Rembrandt captures the stories of scripture on canvas in ways that help me just read the Bible better.

1:48We'll come back to Rembrandt later on, but I bring this up now because the Psalms are like art. They meet you where you're at. You'll look at them in different seasons of life or under different circumstances, and each time something different might stand out or take center stage. Now, please do not hear what I'm not saying. When you come to the Psalms, I am not advocating for a feel it, do it, interpret however you want approach. What I'm saying is that depending on your circumstances, the season of your life, different things might stick out to you in a Psalm.

2:33And Psalm 73 is one of those psalms that just hits different depending on your current circumstances. There are seasons in the Christian life when faith feels strong and clear and joyful. God seems near. Prayer feels natural. Obedience feels meaningful. And then there are seasons when faith is strong. Is fragile, when obedience feels costly, our prayers feel empty, and God seems so distant. And this Psalm, Psalm 73, gives voice to a question that many believers have, but are afraid to ask out loud.

3:24Is following God really worth it? Now, this psalm isn't written by some naive believer, some person who's immature in their faith. No, it's written by Asaph. We don't know a lot about Asaph, but we do see in 1 Chronicles 6 and 15 that Asaph was a Levite. He was appointed by King David to serve the house of the Lord as a chief musician. He wrote songs for God's people to memorize and to sing in worship. We have 12 Psalms of Asaph's recorded for us to read. And he is remembering a time when he was on the threshold of doubt, throwing his faith away.

4:08He was near apostasy. So, we're going to read through Psalm 73, and we're going to follow Asaph on his journey. And we're going to hear his confession. Asaph will show us his struggle, his reflection, and then we'll see his reorientation. And at the end, he will give us a renewed confession. And through all of this, I hope and pray that you see that God is good, God is near, and God is enough. So join me in verse 1.

4:45This is Asaph's confession, a psalm of Asaph. Truly, God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. And notice Asaph begins with a theological truth. Before he recounts his struggle, he states what he knows to be true: God is good. That word truly could be translated. Other translations have that as surely. Asaph is reminding himself of a foundational conviction. God's goodness is real, even when circumstances appear to contradict it. But we've heard the entire psalm. Notice this confession doesn't come from a place of emotional stability. It comes from a place of tension. Asaph is clinging to truth while his experience threatens to undermine it. This statement of truth is a confessional claim, but there's a subtle question baked into it.

5:47He says, truly, God is good to his people, right? This is how faith tends to work in our lives. We don't always feel God's goodness, but as Christians, We affirm it because we know God's character does not change with our circumstances. But there's that subtle question: He is good, right? So, starting in verse 2, Asaph recounts his struggle. He says, 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.

6:34Here, Asaph gives us his just brutal assessment of things. His faith wasn't just simply weak, it nearly failed. This isn't an oops, I fell, like where you're walking down the sidewalk and you trip and you stumble and you weigh and you're like, oh, no, I'm okay. This was Asaph looking around at what he sees, at the world around him, and it almost ruins him completely. This isn't an I almost fell. This is, I almost bit it hard and busted my teeth. I almost lost this thing completely. And what caused his near collapse?

7:15Verse 3. I was envious of the arrogant. It wasn't persecution. It wasn't a well-written article that provided compelling logical conclusions that your faith is silly. It was envy. He saw the prosperity of the wicked, and his heart responded with jealousy. Friends, this is a sobering reminder that the spiritual danger we experience often comes not from our outright rebellion, but from a quiet comparison to those around us. Envy is particularly dangerous because it disguises itself as fairness. We start to ask, why them and not me? Why did those who ignore God get ahead? Over time, these questions start to erode our trust in God's justice.

8:16So, what does Asaph see? Join me in verse 4. For they have no pangs until death. Their bodies are fat and sleek. They are not in trouble as others are. 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, their hearts overflow with follies, they scoff and speak with malice. Loftily they threaten oppression. They set their mouths against the heavens, their tongues strut through the earth.

8:58Therefore, his people. Turn back to them and find no fault in them. And they say, How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High? Behold, these are the wicked. Always at ease, they increase in riches. What a description. Asaph looks and he sees evidence of little physical suffering in these people. They live free from common human troubles like he's experiencing. They wear pride like jewelry. They speak with arrogance and depression. They mock God openly. They increase in wealth and power. And from Asaph's perspective, the wicked appear untouchable.

9:44They live in comfort. They don't fear God. They don't need to fear God. And nothing bad happens to them. They're so proud, they flaunt their pride. They wear it for everybody to see. Now, if you read that, you might think that sounds a little weird. I thought it sounded a little weird. Why would I be envious of that? That doesn't sound good. This degeneracy spiral isn't appealing at all. I don't want to be a malicious type. That doesn't sound good at all.

10:21So why is he so impressed and envious of malicious oppressors who wear pride like a necklace? I think it's because a comfortable and wealthy life looks good. When you can do whatever you want, whenever you want, no matter how you get it, that looks good. It looks comfortable. And Asaph looks and he says, that's the good life, and I want that, whatever it takes. And this is where we meet Asaph's crisis. He says, if God is just, why does this world look so unjust from my perspective?

11:12And he continues in verse 13. All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning. Friends, this is the low point of the Psalm. The ESV doesn't translate it here, but other translations capture what's in the original. There is a second truly, a second surely. Feel free to go home and find that later this afternoon. This second truly, it could read truly in vain have I kept my heart clean.

11:58But unlike verse 1, There's this confessional statement and this subtle hint of a question. There is absolutely no hint here. Asaph says, Look at me, look at everything I've done for you. And what do I have to show for it? I've tried to do everything right, and my life is in shambles. I keep your laws, and my spouse and I fight all the time. I purify myself, and my kids are absolute hooligans. I do what you command, and I don't have money, I don't have stuff, I don't have prestige. What gives?

12:42This is a dangerous and deeply human moment. Remember what Asaph's problem was. He was full of envy because he saw how the wicked were living. And if we compare lives, theirs looks better than mine. And Asaph starts to question the point of holiness, the very root of his faith. He starts to wonder if his obedience is pointless. The wicked are comfortable and prosperous. I've pursued purity. I've resisted sin. I've trusted God. And yet he feels stricken and rebuked every morning. Asaph takes his experience and compares it to his personality. Of reality, and it makes him question his faith. And it's that unspoken question again: is God worth following?

13:44But he doesn't seem to sit here for that long. Here, he reminds us that this is a reflection. I used to think this. He's recounting a time of doubt. And we meet his reflection in verse 15. He says, If I had said, I will speak thus, I would have betrayed the generation of your children. Asaph does not pretend that his thoughts are harmless. It is okay to have doubts. Please hear me. You can have doubts. Look at Jude 22. Jude says, have mercy on those who doubt.

14:26You don't need to go dig into the original languages. You don't need to go to seminary to be able to interpret this verse correctly. Implication, there will be doubts. You will have them. When that happens, be merciful. It's very clear. People will have doubts. You will have doubts. Asaph has doubts. He's struggling. But he still shows a level of spiritual maturity, and he restrains himself. Asaph doesn't walk into life group and drop this doctrinal hand grenade and say, God isn't just. God isn't worth following. We should all just throw this away.

15:05Could you imagine if on a Sunday morning I got up here with my guitar, if one of the other pastors stood right here and said, We are about to worship our triune God. Later, we're going to sing goodness of God. We're going to sing Ancient of Days. We're going to sing about all of the things that God has ever done for us, and we are going to worship together. I don't believe any of that. It's worthless. We should all just go home, but please stand with us and sing together. It's just mind-boggling. That wouldn't happen. If I were to do that, there'd be a huddle over here. The pastors would get together, and we'd very quickly have somebody else leading worship, and they'd do some damage control.

15:46Asaph has his doubts, but he recognizes that voicing those doubts carelessly would be damaging to the people of God. So, application right here in the middle: have your doubts, but find a spiritually mature person to share those doubts with. Don't just throw them out willy-nilly. Share your doubts with a trusted, faithful brother or sister. Share them in life group. Use this psalm as a guide. Here's a script for you. Feel free to write it down. I know God is good, but I'm having a hard time believing that right now. I don't want to betray God or his people, but I'm. I'm struggling. I don't understand this.

16:34And you might say, Pastor John, that was very nice, but people don't talk that way. And that is true. So, if you are struggling, if you are a Christian with significant doubt, take a breath, pump the brakes, write down some of your thoughts, find someone who you trust to help you get a grip on your thoughts before you start blasting them out. Organize them just a little bit. Pour them out before the Lord. And if someone in your life group does, in fact, come in with a less polished, more hand grenade-style way of sharing doubt, please do what Jude said and be merciful. Be patient. Listen to what that person is saying. Listen for the heart of what they're saying. Ask them questions. Don't jump straight into doctrinal correction. That can come later. That should come later. But verses 16 and 17 of this Psalm seem to indicate that this isn't a quick fix. This isn't a one-life group. No, you're wrong. God is faithful. Don't do that. I've done that. It's not helpful. Be patient and kind. Let's read verses 16.

17:54He says, when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome. Task until I went into the sanctuary of God. Then I discerned their end. This is the hinge of the entire Psalm. Asaph's circumstances haven't changed, at least they don't seem to have changed, but his perspective changes. But notice his perspective didn't change because he reasons better, because he fixes his logic, or because he gathers more data and looks around and says, no, no, I miscounted. There are more righteous people than unrighteous people. There are fewer wicked people. I was wrong. Obviously, God is good. No, this isn't when life gets hard, you need to go to church. You do need to go to church. But this isn't pull yourself up by your bootstraps. When the going gets tough, think more logically. This isn't faith harder. This is a perspective change that happens when Asaph enters the sanctuary.

19:03Asaph goes to the very place of God's presence. And what happens in the sanctuary? In the sanctuary, we see God's word read. God's character is remembered. God's promises are proclaimed. Asaph probably walks in and sees and smells the sacrifices burning on the altar. He smells the incense, the very, very, very, very, very, very, very Specific conglomeration of spices that are the smell of God. He hears the prayers being prayed, he hears songs being sung, and like we said earlier, he's one of the Levites in charge of the music. It's very possible that Asaph walks in and he hears his own words being sung by the people of God.

19:56Asaph does not learn anything new about the wicked. He remembers something true about God. He gains an eternal perspective. He sees how the wicked live, but it's in the presence of God that he is reminded of the true end of the wicked. And this begins his reorientation. Verse 18. 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, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.

20:48Here Asaph gives us his third truly. Verse 1, we hear truly, God is good, write the statement of truth with a hint of a question. Verse 13, the word is there. ESV doesn't capture it, but it could read truly in vain. I have kept my heart clean, and there is absolutely no hint at a question. He's just blatantly asking, Was this worth my time? And in verse 18, he abandons the questions altogether and just makes doctrinal, faithful, true statements. God will judge the wicked. Asaph is not claiming that he sees this happen immediately or that it's going to happen tomorrow. Again, this is not a quick fix.

21:34What he sees is that the prosperity of the wicked is temporary and unstable. The wicked's prosperity is an illusion. In verse 2, Asaph says, I almost stumbled. Here, with a holy, eternal perspective, he realizes that the wicked are the ones that are truly on unstable ground. Their success is like a dream that vanishes when they wake up. And that's because without God, prosperity is not security, it is set up for destruction. And when God comes to judge, that judgment will be swift.

22:21And if you need to be convinced by this, if ASAP wasn't convincing to you from this, if you need a more full picture of what is guaranteed. To happen to the wicked, I encourage you this afternoon, take some time, go read the entire book of Revelation. Here at New Life, we have a subscription to dwell. Any of the pastors would be happy to help you set up a free account so that you can hear the Word of God read over you. It takes an hour and 18 minutes to listen to Revelation. You can speed it up if you want. And if you don't have that kind of time, if you don't have an hour and 18 minutes to listen to the entire book of Revelation and hear the wicked be judged, listen or listen to or read Revelation 18 through 20. And it is clear, friends, it is clear. The days of the wicked are numbered. God is coming for wickedness, and he will judge.

23:23Verse 21, Asaph's reorientation continues. When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was brutish and ignorant. I was like a beast toward you. Nevertheless, I am continually with you. You hold my right hand. I'd like you to look at what the New Living says here. They capture this really well. He says, I was so foolish and ignorant, I must have seemed Like a senseless animal to you. You hear what he's saying? In other words, he's saying, I lost all my God-given faculties because I was looking at the world as if there's only the world.

24:14Asaph confesses not an intellectual failure, but a myopic perspective that has been distorted by bitterness and envy. It is a short-sighted, world-only perspective. He went looking for answers in a world that can only raise questions and never provide answers to the questions that it raises. And it's through this humble realization that we come to one of the most tender moments in the Psalm, and I think maybe even in all of Scripture. He says, verse 23, Nevertheless, I am continually with you. You hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward, you will receive me to glory.

25:10Again, the new living. He says, yet still I belong to you. In a moment of humble clarity, after comparing himself to an unthinking animal, ignorant with little to no comprehension, with no sense of relational connection. Asaph says, I belong to you. It's almost self-critical. He says, I am with you, God, and you are with me. I should have known better. I shouldn't have doubted your goodness. Nevertheless, through that, we're still here together. I didn't wander off because you had a hold of me.

26:05This is a centering and rooting statement. This is covenantal language and a reminder of the relationship that we have with God, that God Himself established. The covenantal relationship that we have with God is one of those things that I struggle to understand and pack into words, but I think this example is one of the more helpful things for me to explain it. Spring semesters are teaching semesters for Brianna, and before she hands back exams or assignments, before the students get to look at their grade, she has them stop and she says, Say after me, my worth is not in my performance. Her students love it. Later in the semester, if she forgets to say it, it will be like, Dr. Wyatt, are we going to say the thing? We need to say the thing. My worth is not in my performance.

27:06Sister or brother, listen to me carefully. Your worth before God does not depend on your performance. It does not depend on your work or the amount of faith that you have. It depends on Jesus. And if you have placed your faith in Jesus, you belong to him. Through the darkness, through the confusion, through a crisis of faith, when you've lost all your God-given faculties and you are acting like a senseless animal, you can still say, if you have put your faith in Jesus, God, I am with you.

27:55Why? Because God holds your right hand. God established this relationship between us and Him. And your doubts can't break that relationship. God will guide you through the darkness. This is what Paul was saying in Romans chapter 8. There is no condemnation for you who are in Christ because you have trusted in what Christ has done. And nothing can separate you from the love of Christ. This afternoon, I encourage you, go read Romans chapter 8. I know I've given you a long reading list. Read all of Revelation. Read Romans 8. Friends, there is nothing that you can do this afternoon that is better than saturating your mind with the truth of Scripture to see what is true about the end of the wicked, to see how God wins in the end and is winning right now. To remind yourself of Romans 8, that the covenantal God who has established this relationship will not, has not, and cannot let you go. It is established forever.

29:16Our relationship with God exists because he chose to set his affection on us. And if you receive that love through faith in Jesus and you trust that he lived a perfect life, that he was crucified, died, and was buried, that on the third day he rose again, that he has ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God, and that he will one day come back to judge the living and the dead, please hear me. You belong to God, and there is nothing that can change that.

29:52God takes his people by the hand and he guides them into a future glory. And it's from this understanding. Understanding that Asaph in verse 25 says, Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. This is the climax of the Psalm. And while the Psalms are full of hyperbole and metaphor, I don't think that this statement is poetic exaggeration.

30:43This is hard-won faith that comes from being in the presence of God Himself. Asaph doubles down on God's covenantal relationship. He didn't renew his own heart or strengthen himself. Again, this is not bootstrapped theology. He didn't find rest in his own stability. Asaph is reminded that God is the believer's true reward, not prosperity, not comfort, not justice in this life. Asaph reminds us of the heart of biblical faith. God is not the means to a better life. God Himself is the good life.

31:30He is not a means to an end. God is the end. The wicked get riches and they get comfort for a season. The righteous have God for eternity. And Asaph begins, or ends like he begins, with a confession. But this time it's a renewed confession. He says, verse 27: Behold, those who are far from you shall perish. You 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.

32:24Remember, the Psalms meet us in our circumstances. And through Psalm 73, Asaph gives an example of how a faithful person moves from doubt through uncertainty back into a resting, abiding faith. You may be a Christian, and things are going great in your life. You may hear all of this, and you identify with Asaph, and you might say, Everything is good. I have no doubts or struggles. You might have come through your doubts or struggles, and you are saying, truly, God is good to Israel.

33:09And if that's you, praise God for you. I would ask that you do exactly what verse 28 says. Tell of God's works. Maybe at lunch today, at coffee and conversation, in life group, I would encourage you to tell people of the faithfulness of God, how he has brought you through whatever it is that you've gone through. People need to hear that. I need to hear that. We need to be reminded of everything that is good that God has done, because it is very bleak a lot of the time. And you don't know what person around you is struggling to believe that God is good. They need to hear how a faithful brother or sister has come through their doubt, how God led them through that and brought them to a resting faith on the other side.

34:09You may be a follower of Jesus. And right now, you find yourself with Asaph the doubter on this spectrum of doubt and disillusionment. You might see this tiny flicker of doubt in your mind. Maybe this isn't true. That first question, truly God is good to Israel. Right? That's true, I think. Maybe you're long past that and you're on the brink, and you are one phone call, you are one news story, you are one doctor's visit away from saying, I am done with this entire thing, and I'm going home, and I'm just going to do whatever I want.

34:57If that's you, I want you to know if you have put your faith in Jesus. Truly, God is good to His people. You are with Him, and He is with you. He holds your right hand, and He will guide you with His counsel. And if you are struggling, I implore you to pray. Pray by yourself, pray with people. If you don't have the faith to pray, find somebody that can pray with you and pray for you.

35:43But you need to pray. Read your Bible. Read your Bible by yourself. Read your Bible with a friend. Wash your mind in Scripture and let the Holy Spirit remind you. Remind you of truth. And then there's a third category. It's the wicked. And ASAP has given us now two definitions of wicked. Earlier is that degeneracy spiral, the ones whose tongues strut through the earth. But here, notice how it's changed. Did you hear it in verse 27?

36:26You put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you? It's a significantly lower bar than do whatever I want. This is different. Because I'm willing to bet that there isn't a person in this room that can't identify with unfaithful to God in some way, shape, or form. Friend, if you have never put your faith in Jesus, that naturally puts you in the wicked category. And I hope that you will hear and respect my candor. You are wicked, but you don't have to stay that way. And if you are a person who has put your faith in Jesus, but you are chasing the fleeting pleasures of this life because you don't think that God is enough, you don't have to stay there.

37:30God is faithful to his people, and he will never reject a person that throws themself on the mercy and grace of Jesus, because that is true. He will draw you to himself, and he will forgive you. And it's here that I'd like to pick up where we started with Rembrandt. These are Rembrandt's two Simeons. We already talked about the one on the left that he painted. That was very early in his career. He was about 25.

38:14And if Asaph and Rembrandt had been contemporaries, Asaph very likely would have been pointing his finger at Rembrandt, saying, the wicked, they do whatever they want and they get away with it. Why? The one on the right was found in Rembrandt's studio, unfinished, and I don't need to be an art critic to notice the differences. After a life of extravagant living, fraud, tax evasion, burying three children, burying a wife, what do you see that's different about this Simeon? In the first one, You see this opulent background. You see this crowd. You see Simeon holding Jesus, looking up, and this priest standing over them, blessing. You see Rembrandt. I don't know if you noticed that. He's a little arrogant. Put himself in there looking over Jesus. The guy with the little funny hat right above Simeon, that's Rembrandt.

39:24In the other one, what we see is an old man with his hands together, simply satisfied in Jesus. Looking at the promised Messiah and at peace, happy to just be with Jesus. We don't see Rembrandt because I think Rembrandt has painted himself in behind that Simeon. As an old man, he has lived this life and it has left him wanting. And now he is simply satisfied in Jesus. Friends, this is the answer for all of us: Christian and non-Christian alike.

40:18I beg you, look to Christ and be satisfied in him. Pastor Joshua's sermon. A few weeks ago with Simeon and Anna, I encourage you to go listen to that. We see Simeon being excited to hold the promised Messiah, to hold Jesus, who is the righteous one, who suffered while the wicked prospered. He was mocked and he was oppressed. He was crucified while a sinner walked free. And it is through Jesus' death on the cross that he secured true richness and freedom for all who put their faith in him.

41:09And because Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to the right hand of the Father, we know that our faith is never in vain. Our holiness and obedience to God is never wasted. And God is always worth trusting. So if you find yourself where Asaph was, slipping on the brink, remember Psalm 73. And remember that God is good. God is near. And God is enough. Pray with me. Oh, gracious God, we believe that you are true. Good to your people.

42:05But like ASAP, sometimes we have questions. Sometimes it's hard to see that you are good. God, thank you for giving us your word to remind us of your faithfulness. I ask that you would give us the faith to be able to say, Whom have I in heaven but you? That there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. God, help us find our rest in Jesus Christ. Lord, we trust that you are and you will come to judge the wicked, and you will bring your people and receive them into glory. These are all things that are true about you because you have promised them in your word.

43:03May we have the faith to believe that. Amen. Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.