MEMORY VERSE: "Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had nearly slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills. Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence. From their callous hearts come iniquity; the evil conceits of their minds know no limits. They scoff, and speak with malice; in their arrogance they threaten oppression. Their mouths lay claim to heaven and their tongues take possession of the earth. Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance. They say, "How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge?" This is what the wicked are like--always carefree, they increase in wealth. Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure, in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been plagued, I have been punished every morning. If I had said, "I will speak thus," I would have betrayed your children. When I tried to understand this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them into ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! As a dream when one awakes, so will you arise, O Lord, you will despise them as fantasies." Psalm 73:1-20
NOTES:1 We have heard with our ears, O God;
our fathers have told us
what you did in their days,
in days long ago.
2 With your hand you drove out the nations
and planted our fathers;
you crushed the peoples
and made our fathers flourish.
3 It was not by their sword that they won the land,
nor did their arm bring them victory;
it was your right hand, your arm,
and the light of your face, for you loved them.
what you did in their days,
in days long ago.
2 With your hand you drove out the nations
and planted our fathers;
you crushed the peoples
and made our fathers flourish.
3 It was not by their sword that they won the land,
nor did their arm bring them victory;
it was your right hand, your arm,
and the light of your face, for you loved them.
4 You are my King and my God,
who decrees[b] victories for Jacob.
5 Through you we push back our enemies;
through your name we trample our foes.
6 I do not trust in my bow,
my sword does not bring me victory;
7 but you give us victory over our enemies,
you put our adversaries to shame.
8 In God we make our boast all day long,
and we will praise your name forever.
Selah
who decrees[b] victories for Jacob.
5 Through you we push back our enemies;
through your name we trample our foes.
6 I do not trust in my bow,
my sword does not bring me victory;
7 but you give us victory over our enemies,
you put our adversaries to shame.
8 In God we make our boast all day long,
and we will praise your name forever.
Selah
9 But now you have rejected and humbled us;
you no longer go out with our armies.
10 You made us retreat before the enemy,
and our adversaries have plundered us.
11 You gave us up to be devoured like sheep
and have scattered us among the nations.
12 You sold your people for a pittance,
gaining nothing from their sale.
you no longer go out with our armies.
10 You made us retreat before the enemy,
and our adversaries have plundered us.
11 You gave us up to be devoured like sheep
and have scattered us among the nations.
12 You sold your people for a pittance,
gaining nothing from their sale.
13 You have made us a reproach to our neighbors,
the scorn and derision of those around us.
14 You have made us a byword among the nations;
the peoples shake their heads at us.
15 My disgrace is before me all day long,
and my face is covered with shame
16 at the taunts of those who reproach and revile me,
because of the enemy, who is bent on revenge.
the scorn and derision of those around us.
14 You have made us a byword among the nations;
the peoples shake their heads at us.
15 My disgrace is before me all day long,
and my face is covered with shame
16 at the taunts of those who reproach and revile me,
because of the enemy, who is bent on revenge.
17 All this happened to us,
though we had not forgotten you
or been false to your covenant.
18 Our hearts had not turned back;
our feet had not strayed from your path.
19 But you crushed us and made us a haunt for jackals
and covered us over with deep darkness.
though we had not forgotten you
or been false to your covenant.
18 Our hearts had not turned back;
our feet had not strayed from your path.
19 But you crushed us and made us a haunt for jackals
and covered us over with deep darkness.
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
or spread out our hands to a foreign god,
21 would not God have discovered it,
since he knows the secrets of the heart?
22 Yet for your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
or spread out our hands to a foreign god,
21 would not God have discovered it,
since he knows the secrets of the heart?
22 Yet for your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
23 Awake, O Lord! Why do you sleep?
Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever.
24 Why do you hide your face
and forget our misery and oppression?
Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever.
24 Why do you hide your face
and forget our misery and oppression?
25 We are brought down to the dust;
our bodies cling to the ground.
26 Rise up and help us;
redeem us because of your unfailing love.
This passage seemed to apply to a whole bunch of things that I've been learning/listening to. When I read this yesterday, I had just finished watching a sermon by Francis Chan (search: "Radical Christianity is Normal by Francis Chan"), in which one of his points was that it's important to act upon what you learn in Scripture and Biblical preaching (referring to Rev. 3, the church in Sardis and the church in Laodicea). Often, we don't act because we are fixated on what our own abilities are rather than what the word of God says.our bodies cling to the ground.
26 Rise up and help us;
redeem us because of your unfailing love.
Yet, starting in v.9 the passage takes a turn as it starts to emphasize the suffering induced in following Jesus. It reminded me of a sermon that I listened to a few days ago by John Piper (search: "You Will Suffer by John Piper"). He stated that it is through the love of Christ prevailing through our suffering that people will be saved. Specifically, he mentioned the prosperity gospel and how promising "the good life" isn't going to draw people to the love of Christ.
ACT OF LOVE: Today, I decided to bring snacks to school instead of buying them to save money. I brought a bag of chips, an almond pastry, and one of the tiramisu cake pastries that you get at the Korean Market. When my friend saw that I had the tiramisu pastry, he got really excited because that was one of his favorite snacks, so gave it to him instead! He was kind of surprised at first, but I knew that he liked it more than I did.
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