When God Seems Distant

Order of Service

• Scripture Reading — Psalm 73
• Sermon

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Sermon Title: When God Seems Distant

Scripture: Psalm 73

I. A View of Life When God Is Distant (Psalm 73:1–15)

A. Verse 1 is the thematic conclusion placed at the beginning — God is good to Israel, to the pure in heart

1. What follows in verses 2–15 leads back to this conclusion
2. Asaph recounts the time his foot nearly slipped

B. Asaph's near fall begins with what he sees (Psalm 73:2–3)

1. He becomes envious of the arrogant when he sees the prosperity of the wicked
2. Seeing is a consistent portal to sin throughout Scripture — Eve and the fruit, David and Bathsheba, Genesis 6 and the sons of God
3. Contrast: Israel was a hearing people — at Sinai they heard the word, they did not see; God's word is a hearing medium that instructs rather than entertains

C. The character of the wicked (Psalm 73:4–12)

1. Verse 4–5: No pains until death; they die fat, sleek, and at peace, never stricken like others
2. Verse 6: Their peaceful prosperity breeds pride and violence
3. Verse 7: Eyes swollen with fatness — a Hebrew idiom for prosperity — yet their hearts are full of folly; they are fools, yet they prosper
4. Verse 8–9: Their mouths deride and oppress mankind and blaspheme God
5. Verse 10: God's people turn back toward the wicked and drink in their success, pulled toward wickedness by its visible practical benefits
6. Verse 11: They conclude that God neither sees nor knows
7. Verse 12: Summary — the wicked are always at ease and increase in riches

D. Asaph turns to look at himself (Psalm 73:13–14)

1. Verse 13: All in vain have I kept my heart clean — what is the point?
2. Verse 14: Unlike the wicked who are never stricken, Asaph is stricken and rebuked every morning

E. The root of Asaph's problem

1. He is allowing the world and its circumstances to define him and shape his identity
2. His view of God is too small — God is glued to his circumstances rather than transcending them
3. The problem is not the wicked around us but our outlook on life; whether things are good or bad, we must not let the world dictate our view

F. What keeps Asaph from fully slipping (Psalm 73:15)

1. He will not voice his doubts in a way that would betray the generation of God's children
2. Beholding the people of God — the assembly and family of God — is an anchor to the soul
3. Modern evangelicalism is often too individualistic and neglects a proper doctrine of the church as a means of grace in times of doubt
4. Paul's final words in 2 Timothy 4:9 — Do your best to come to me soon — show that even the apostle needed a godly brother near him; we should cherish one another as instruments of God's grace

II. A View of Life When God Is Near (Psalm 73:16–28)

A. The turning point: entering the sanctuary of God (Psalm 73:16–17)

1. Verse 16: On his own, Asaph cannot understand why the wicked prosper — the burden is too great for finite minds
2. Verse 17: He enters the house of the Lord in worship and the blinders come off — he can see clearly
3. Corporate worship is a crystallizing experience that opens the eyes to see the world rightly from God's perspective
4. Sabbath rest — coming into worship pauses the stresses, burdens, and anxieties of daily life as one stands in the presence of God and hears his word

B. In the sanctuary Asaph receives a clear picture of God's control over evil (Psalm 73:18–20)

1. Verse 18: God has set the wicked on slippery places and makes them fall to ruin
2. Verse 20: When God rouses himself he despises them as phantoms
3. The path the godless have freely chosen is the very path God has set up for their destruction — worship gives the believer night-vision goggles to see truth in the darkness (2 Corinthians 4)

C. Asaph sees himself clearly (Psalm 73:21–22)

1. His soul was embittered; he was a beast toward God
2. Before worship he said his heart was pure and his hands clean (verse 13); now he sees he is a sinner
3. A vision of God always produces a true vision of oneself

D. The grace of God's constant presence (Psalm 73:23–26)

1. Verse 23: Nevertheless, I am continually with you — even when Asaph was a beast toward God, God never left him
2. Even when Asaph was distant from God, God was never distant from him
3. Verses 25–26: Doxology — Whom have I in heaven but you? God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever
4. Though a fool, a beast, a sinner — God will never let him go; he guides, directs, convicts, disciplines, and encourages all the way to glory

E. Asaph's renewed commitment (Psalm 73:27–28)

1. Verse 27: Those who are far from God shall perish; he puts an end to everyone unfaithful to him
2. Verse 28: But for me, it is good to be near God — I have made the Lord my refuge that I may tell of all his works
3. A true experience of God and his grace will always lead to faithfulness; grace produces an active pursuit of God, not a return to old ways