Introduction
The seventy-third psalm mirrors the life of faith for everyone who is honest enough to allow his or her faith to be pushed to the limit. It begins with a simple, Sunday School outlook which lifts up the clear virtue of a good God who is good to good people. We all like that sort of thing, and quickly say "Amen" to that.
It doesn't take long at all for the psalmist to "grow up" and realize that the simple theology of a good God smiling on good people doesn't hold much water. Just because that's what Mrs. Gray says in the primary Sunday school class doesn't mean that's the way it is in the real world. No wonder so many children barely make it through a junior high confirmation experience -- they're too smart to fall for the trite thinking we sometimes espouse in the name of religion. They know that sometimes good guys come in last. They know you've got to break the rules to get ahead, and sometimes you have to bend a few rules even to get by.
A This psalm is about faith that goes into crisis. We deceive ourselves if we think that faith is some kind of automatic protection from spiritual crisis. People with great measures of faith have faced agonizing periods in their lives when the most important things they believed and hoped for were denied. Having much faith only means that the crisis challenging that faith can be that much more overwhelming. Think of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.
What was the faith crisis of the psalmist? It is one common to many today. He presumed that his goodness and honesty would be the premiums that would regularly pay off nicely in the form of dividends that make life comfortable. But it didn't work out that way. He built his faith upon the notion that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. But it wasn't happening.
We don't know if this happened over a long period of time, or if he woke up one morning and it hit him. He looked around him and it sunk in that his neighbors were prosperous and satisfied and secure in their lives, and he wasn't. His wicked neighbors were getting along famously. They had the very things that this man lacked, and it made him angry. He was rightly angry for two reasons: HE should be living the good life, and THEY shouldn't!
Listen to his own words: "I was envious of the arrogant; I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they have no pain; their bodies are sound and sleek. They are not plagued like other people." And then, like a knife that is turned back onto oneself, he despairs, "All in vain I have kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence." With bitter resignation he concludes, "For all day long I have been plagued, and am punished every morning" (vv. 3-4, 5b, 13-14).
Christians have been attracted to the psalms for many centuries, and for good reason. They exhibit a stark honesty. Nobody tries to "pretty-up" their faith and make it sound like something that Madison Avenue has gotten hold of. The psalmists tell it like it is. When God has let them down, they say so. When they're getting what they don't deserve, and not getting what they do deserve, they speak up!
Woe to us when we come across those syrupy Christians for whom life is always just wonderful. "Spiritual exhibitionists," that's what they are. Their faith keeps them right up there on the mountaintop, and they never experience the deep valleys, the dark shadows of doubt and fear. They make us feel like we must have gotten our faith at WalMart.
Thank God that the psalmists weren't like that. In this case the faith of the psalmist has been severely trampled on. And he cannot hold back the pain and sadness that he feels.
B
The crisis of faith which we read about in the seventy-third psalm makes me think of an incident that we hear about from time to time. When there are speedboat races with high-powered and streamlined boats racing across the water at breakneck speeds, the drivers of those boats race them at great risk to themselves. For if there's even a little problem, it can become very big very quickly because of the extremely fast speeds.
Once in a while we hear about a speedboat racer who experiences some difficulty and is thrown from his boat -- maybe a wave hits the boat at a bad angle, maybe a turn was taken too sharply. The driver is ejected and hits the water with great force, propelling him deep below the surface.
In those quick, traumatic moments there is only one thing which the speedboat driver can do to save himself. If he fails to do this, he will surely die. When he has been thrown into the water, he must relax and make no effort to save himself. In that confusing moment, he won't know which way to swim to the surface of the water. He must remain calm and allow the life-saving quality of his life jacket to take over, gently lifting him to the surface and safety.
The psalmist discovered that this same thing works in the life of faith. In the time of crisis, when the old rules don't apply and things don't happen the way they're supposed to, the wrong thing to do is to run off in three directions with a burst of energy and greater determination to make it right. No, that would compound the crisis. The thing to do is to take a step back and re-examine the situation. The thing to do is to create the right context to begin to feel the gentle tug of God's hand directing you to the surface and to safety.
Listen once more to the psalmist, to the wisdom that he speaks in the middle of his crisis: "If I had said 'I will walk on this way,' I would have been untrue to the circle of your children. But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end" (vv. 15-17).
"... until I went into the sanctuary of God." Something happened in that experience of coming into the presence of God that turned everything around. Before this his thoughts were turned in on themselves. You know what it's like when your mind races and you argue with yourself about why things shouldn't be the way they are. The psalmist was becoming miserable because he couldn't get out of himself.
It was at that point that he did a very smart thing. He went into the sanctuary of the Lord, and something happened that made all the difference in the world. He experienced a renewal of mind and spirit that put him back on track once again.
I'm not sure that we typically appreciate the impact it can have on us when we enter into the temple of the Lord. Yes, I realize that our regularity at worship puts us at risk of falling into a routine habit that dulls us to the dynamism of stepping into the presence of God. On the surface of things, it seems innocent enough. We "go to church." We take our seat in the pew (probably the same one we've been sitting in for many years). We expect to see the same faces in the choir. The prayers of the minister sound familiar. The hymnbook we hold as we sing shows the same years of use that our faith has had. On the surface of things, we shouldn't expect much from going to worship.
But how wrong we can be! For in that moment, when faith has the opportunity to become the primary voice we hear, something can happen in our lives which is like stepping out of a dark room into a bright, sunny day. We can come in cross and disturbed, and leave feeling hopeful and inspired again. We probably can't explain what happened to us in the sanctuary, but we are living proof that something happened between God and his people that left a profound impact on some. Meaning has come back into their lives. The resolve is there to put energy into a faltering marriage. Forgiveness begins to bleed into a troubled relationship between a disappointed father and his angry son. It will be different for different people. But it's universally true that miracles happen when God meets his people in the sanctuary of the Lord.
At least two things happened to the psalmist that help us understand the change. When he went into the temple he began to realize once again that God is a just God. It seems that the wicked are getting away with murder. But that's not really the case. For God will exercise his just judgment on them, as he will on all of us. Their misdeeds will not go unrecognized and unpunished.
The psalmist also experiences a transformation because he has surrounded himself in a sea of faces of fellow pilgrims who bring their same questions and doubts. He knows he is in good company, for they too have had their faith tested and are needing to know that God can deal with them as well. He looks out on the faces of those who have come with him into the sanctuary of the Lord, and in their faces, he sees the tender face of God. Because they are there together, he sees God among them. And he can no longer be angry and distraught.
Conclusion
The psalmist made a life-changing discovery as he went into the temple that day. Others have made it before us, and we can make the same discovery. They have discovered that the only faith they can count on is not one that tries to unravel the mysteries of life with logical explanations, nor one that comes with pat answers to life's most difficult questions. They have discovered that the only faith they can count on is one which enables them to experience God unencumbered by the need to have logical explanations and pat answers.
We can't say why good people suffer and the wicked thrive. We can only testify that when God's faithful people come into his presence in the sanctuary of the Lord, the pressing need for an explanation doesn't seem to matter much any more.
BULLETIN MATERIAL
Notes of the Psalms of Disorientation
Although happiness is what we so much want, suffering and pain seem to be so much more common to many people. Deserved or not, their lives are racked with physical and emotional trauma which skews their ability to rejoice and be glad. Taunted by enemies to the point of death (42:10), like sheep blindly being led to the slaughter (44:11), the psalmist questions God's interest in his people. All too often it was difficult if not impossible to be optimistic about anything when the picture looked so dark.
In part the sadness comes from the realization that God is indeed in charge of all things, but somehow his plans have become thwarted. The world as we experience it has broken down and God's will has not yet been fulfilled. But in this we experience a great frustration and anger, directed at a host of "enemies" who keep us from tasting the glorious banquet of God's rule.
Hymn No. 1
Psalm 22 (Tune: Ellacombe, "I Sing The Mighty Power Of God")
Amid the thronging worshipers The living Lord I bless;Before my people gathered here, God's name will I confess. Come sing with all who fear the Lord You children of God's grace;With reverence sound all glory forth And bow before God's face.
The burden of the sorrowful The Lord will not despise;God has not turned from those who mourn But listens to their cries.
Such goodness makes me join the throng Where saints this praise proclaim,And there will I fulfill my vows With those who fear God's name.
Before you, Lord, the proud shall bow, The haughty with their trust. They cannot keep themselves alive; They too return to dust.
But you, Lord, dwell beyond all time, Deliverance to proclaimTo generations yet unborn Who shall confess your name. Amen.
Hymn No. 2
Psalm 32 (Tune: Lancashire, "Lead On, O King Eternal")
How blest are those whose great sin Has freely been forgiven.Whose guilt is wholly covered Before the sight of heaven.Blest those to whom our Lord God Will not impute their sin,Whose guilt has been forgiven, Whose heart is true again.
While I kept guilty silence My strength was spent with grief. Your hand was heavy on me; My life found no relief. When then I made confession, And hid no sin from you, When I revealed my own guilt, You gave me life anew. Amen.
Hymn No. 3
Psalm 5 (Tune: Melita, "Eternal Father, Strong To Save")
As morning dawns, Lord, hear our cry,
O sovereign God, now hear our sigh.
As first light brings the sun's warm rays,
Accept our sacrifice of praise.
Before you, Lord, the wicked fall,
And none shall dwell within your hall.
The proud shall never gain a place,
Nor evil live to see your face.
Your steadfast love shall welcome all,
Who seek your house and on you call.
O lead us, Lord, in righteousness,
As through this day your name we bless.
Let all who seek you then rejoice
And sing to you with joyful voice.
Redeemed by God upon his throne,
Our grateful hearts your mercies own.
For you shall bless the righteous, Lord.
Forever be your name adored. Amen.
Call to Worship
Leader: Praise God with shouts of joy, all people! Sing to the glory of his name; offer him glorious praise!
People: Say to God, "How wonderful are the things you do! Your power is so great that your enemies bow down in fear before you. Everyone on earth worships you; they sing praises to your name."
Leader: Come and listen, all who honor God, and I will tell you what he has done for me. I cried to him for help. I praised him with songs. If I had ignored my sins the Lord would not have listened to me. But God has indeed heard me; he has listened to my prayer.
People: I praise God because he did not reject my prayer, or keep back his constant love from me. (Psalm 66:1-4, 16-20)
Call to Confession
If anyone sins we have someone who pleads with the Father on our behalf -- Jesus Christ, the righteous one. And Christ himself is the means by which our sins are forgiven; and not our sins only, but also the sins of everyone (1 John 2:1-2). Let us confess our sins before God and one another.
Prayer of Confession
(Unison) Merciful God, we confess that we have often failed to be an obedient church. We have not done your will; we have broken your law; we have rebelled against your love. We have not loved our neighbors, and have refused to hear the cry of the needy. Forgive us, we pray, and free us for joyful obedience; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Declaration of Pardon
The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Christ himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven! Since God has forgiven us in Christ, let us forgive one another. The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen and amen.
Hymn of Response
(Please sing after the organist plays the melody once)
Goodness and mercy all my life shall surely follow me; And in God's house forevermore my dwelling place shall be. Amen. (Note: The tune for this response is Evan, "The Lord's My Shepherd," Psalm 23)
[Bulletin Material (Notes, hymn texts, calls to worship, prayers, responses, etc.) may be copied for local church use by permission of CSS Publishing Co., Lima, Ohio.]