Sermon Series: A SUMMER IN THE PSALMS
Psalm 73
Sermon Title: FAITH UNDER FIRE

"Truly God is good, to Israel, to such as are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped.
For I was envious of the boastful, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
For there are no pangs in their death, but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men, nor are they plagued like other men.
Therefore pride serves as their 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; they speak loftily. They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walks through the earth.
Therefore his people return here, and waters of a full cup are drained by them. And they say, "How does God know? And is there knowledge in the Most High?"
Behold, these are the ungodly, who are always at ease; they increase in riches. Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence. For all day long I have been plagued, and chastened every morning.
If I had said, "I will speak thus," behold I would have been untrue to the generation of Your children.
When I thought how to understand this, it was too painful to me--Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end.
Surely You set them in slippery places; you cast them down to destruction. Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment!
They are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream, when one awakes, So Lord, when You awake, you shall despise their image. Thus my heart was grieved, and I was vexed in my mind. I was so foolish and ignorant; I was like a beast before You. Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand. You will guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For indeed, those who are far from You shall perish; You have destroyed all these who desert

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You for harlotry. But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all Your works."

Message:
The great value of the Book of Psalms is that in it we have godly men stating their experience, and giving us an account of things that have happened to them in their spiritual life and warfare. Throughout history, the Book of Psalms has, therefore, been a book of great value for God's people. It is right to regard the experiences of these people as being exactly parallel with our own. The fact that they lived in the old dispensation makes no different...they were men and women just like us. History and times change, but man does not! The thing I want to mention especially is the very remarkable honesty with which these men do not hesitate to tell the truth about themselves. We have a great classic example of that here in the seventy-third Psalm. This man admits very freely that as for him his feet were almost gone, his steps had well-nigh slipped. And he goes on to say that he was like a beast before God, so foolish and so ignorant. What honesty!
I know of nothing in the spiritual life more discouraging than to meet the kind of person who seems to give the impression that he or she is always walking on the mountain top. That is certainly not true in the Bible! The Bible tells us that these men knew what it was to be cast down, and to be in sore and grievous trouble. Many a saint in his pilgrimage has thanked God for the honesty of the writers of the Psalms. To know that others have had similar experience as mine, yet lived through those experiences and came out triumphantly...this helps me in my journey!
BUT NOTICE SOMETHING VERY INTERESTING ABOUT THE WAY THIS PSALM BEGINS. He starts off with a great triumphant note, "Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of clean heart," as if to say, "Now I am going to tell you a story; I am going to tell you what has happened to me; but the thing I want to leave with you is just this--THE GOODNESS OF GOD." God never varies. Most of the Psalms start with a burst of praise and of thanksgiving...and there is something else to notice, THE PSALMS GENERALLY START WITH A CONCLUSION, then the remainder of the passage proves that conclusion.

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What the writer tells us in this Psalm is that he started from the proposition that God truly is a good God, then he went astray and departed from that premise, then he came back again. We all know something about the same kind of experience in our own lives. We start in the right place; then something goes wrong, and we seem somehow to be losing everything. The problem is how to get back again. What this man does is to show us how to arrive back at that place where the soul finds her true poise.
This man tells us all about a particular experience that he had passed through. He tells us that he was very badly shaken, and that he very nearly fell and was tempted to quit. WHAT IS THE CAUSE OF HIS TROUBLE? Simply that he did not quite understand the ways of God with respect to him. He had become aware of a painful fact. Here he was living a godly life, he was cleansing his heart, he tells us, and washing his hands in innocency. In other words, he was practicing the godly life...he was avoiding sin...he was meditating upon the things of God; he was spending his time in prayer to God; he was in the habit of examining his life, and whenever he found sin he confessed it to God with sorrow, and he sought forgiveness and renewal. Yet, although he was doing all this, he was having a great deal of trouble, 'all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning.' IN FACT, EVERYTHING SEEMED TO BE GOING WRONG AND NOTHING SEEMED TO BE GOING RIGHT. His faith was on the brink of collapsing! If he was trying to be good for God, why was God not giving him a good life? Now that was bad enough in itself, but that was not the thing that really troubled and distressed him. THE REAL TROUBLE WAS THAT WHEN HE LOOKED AT THE UNGODLY...HE SAW THEM PROSPERING AND INCREASING IN RICHES AND THEIR LIFE SEEMED TO BE FILLED WITH EVERYTHING THEY COULD WISH FOR.
Now this was what caused this man his pain and his trouble. He believed God to be holy and righteous and true, One who intervenes on behalf of His people and surrounds them with loving care and wonderful promises.
HIS PROBLEM WAS HOW TO RECONCILE ALL THIS WITH WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO HIMSELF, AND STILL MORE WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO THE UNGODLY.

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This Psalm is a classic statement of this particular problem--GOD'S WAYS WITH RESPECT TO MAN, AND ESPECIALLY GOD'S WAYS WITH RESPECT TO HIS OWN PEOPLE. We frequently forget that the Scriptures teach us that—"My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways." Half our trouble arises from the fact that we do not realize that this is the basic position from which we must start. The ways of God are inscrutable; His mind is infinite and eternal, and His purposes are so great that our sinful minds cannot understand. Therefore, when such a Being is dealing with us, it ought not to surprise us if, at times, things take place which are perplexing to us. And we must remember that perplexity in this matter is not only surprising, but it is also not a sin. The perplexity in and of itself is not sinful, for our minds are not only finite, they are also weakened by sin. We do not see things clearly; we do not know what is best for us; we cannot take the long view; so it is very natural that we should be perplexed.
Now although that is not sinful as far as it goes, we must hurry on to say that to be perplexed always opens the door to temptation. THAT IS THE REAL MESSAGE OF THIS PSALM. Temptation can be so powerful that not only does it shake the greatest and strongest saint; it does, indeed, get him down. "As for me," says the man of God, "as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had will nigh slipped." I WAS ON THE BRINK OF GIVING UP!
The Apostle Paul warns: "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." When we read this Psalm, we see that temptation came when this man was least expecting it. It came in as the result of what was happening to him, it came through the door that was opened by the trouble he was experiencing, and by the contrast between that and the successful, apparently happy life of the ungodly.
There is something else to note about this matter of temptation and it concerns its blinding effect. There is nothing more strange about temptation than the way in which, under its influence and power, we are made to do things and say thinks that in our normal condition would be quite unthinkable to us. After he has walked through his valley of despair and doubt, he had to seek God's forgiveness for the things he said and the way he acted!

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Here is the heart of the problem with the man in our Psalm. HE COULD NOT FOR THE LIFE OF HIM UNDERSTAND HOW AN INFINITE AND HOLY GOD COULD GOVERN THE WORLD IN THE MANNER IN WHICH HE FELT THAT THE WORLD OF HIS DAY WAS BEING GOVERNED.
He had been taught that the good always prosper and that the wicked always go the wall. That was the faith that was prevalent among all pious Jews at that time. For instance, when Job was overwhelmed by one crushing blow after another, there were three men who loved him well enough to undertake to share his sorrow with him. But they assumed at once that, in spite of all appearances to the contrary, Job was being punished for his sin. "It simply cannot be otherwise," they declared emphatically. "Who ever suffered being innocent? Such a thing is simply unthinkable in a God-ordered world. Prosperity is a sure indication of the smile of God; adversity is no less a sure indication of His displeasure and biting indignation."
It is interesting to find that this same logic was a part of thinking of the disciples of Jesus! One day, with their Master, they came upon a blind man. This man had been blind from his birth. They asked Jesus: "Who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" They could not conceive of any form of calamity, any sorrow, any suffering that was not born directly of the anger and displeasure of God. They believed that without exception the good are prosperous and happy, while the wicked always fail and are always wretched.
BUT THE MAN OF OUR PSALM TODAY DID NOT FIND LIFE THAT WAY! It was the wicked who seemed to get along best in life, and the righteous were always under the chastening hand of God! And strangely enough, we find ourselves reasoning the same way when life becomes difficult and our faith comes under fire. Here is what the man in our Psalm observed when he began to draw the contrasts between the righteous and the wicked.:
Verse 4..."For there are no bands in their death; but their strength is firm:" The Psalmist had observed that the careless person becomes case-hardened, and continue presumptuously secure, even to the last. Some are startled at the approach of judgment, but many more have received a strong delusion to believe a lie. What with surgeon's drugs and their own infidelity, or false peace,

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they glide into eternity without a struggle. We have seen godly men bound with doubt, and fettered with anxieties, which have arisen from their holy jealousy; but the godless know nothing of such bands; they care neither for God nor devil. "THEIR STRENGTH IS FIRM" What care they for death? Frequently they are brazen and insolent, and can vent defiant blasphemies even on their deathbed! Altamont the infidel, cried out his last words: "My principles have poisoned my friend, my extravagance has beggared my boy; my unkindness has murdered my wife. And is there another hell? Oh, thou blasphemed, yet most indulgent Lord God! Hell is a refuge if it hides me from thy frown."
Quoted in NEWSWEEK is Svetlana Stalin's description of her father's death. We quote: 'My father died a difficult and terrible death...God grants an easy death only to the just...At what seemed the very last moment he suddenly opened his eyes and cast a glance over everyone in the room. It was a terrible glance, insane or perhaps angry and full of fear of death...Then he lifted his left hand as though he were pointing to someone above and bringing down a curse on us all. The gesture was full of menace...The next moment...the spirit wrenched itself free of the flesh."
SOMEHOW THE MAN IN OUR PSALM MISSED THE PICTURE OF HOW WICKED MEN DIE! And in his blinded envy of the wicked, he lost the true perspective of what it is like to die without God! It is hell!
The Psalmist, lost in the fog of doubt and despair, makes another false assumption..."THEY ARE NOT IN TROUBLE AS OTHER MEN." The prosperous wicked escape the killing toils which afflict the mass of mankind; their bread comes to them without care, their wine without stint. They have no need to inquire, "Whence shall we get bread for our children, or raiment for our little ones? Ordinary domestic and personal troubles do not appear to molest them. "Neither are they plagued like other men." It seems like fierce trials do not arise to assail them; they smart not under the divine rod. While many saints are both poor and afflicted, the prosperous sinner is neither! It seems that his prosperity protects him from the stains and tensions of life.
As the result..."THEREFORE PRIDE COMPASSETH THEM ABOUT AS A CHAIN." No jeweler could sufficiently adore them; they wear their own pride as a better adornment than a

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gold chain! "VIOLENCE COVERETH THEM AS A GARMENT." In their boastful arrogance they array themselves. As soon as you see them, you perceive that room must be made for them, for, regardless of the feelings of others, they intend to have their way, and achieve their own ends. They brag and bully, bluster and browbeat, as if they had taken out a license to ride roughshod over all mankind!
THE MAN IN OUR PSALM SEES THE WICKED WHO HE BELIEVES GOD BLESSES WITH ABUNDANCE WHILE THE RIGHTEOUS GO IN WANT.
"Their eyes stand out in fatness." The face is here the index of the man: the man has more than suffices him; he is glutted and surfeited with wealth, and yet is one of the wicked whom God abhorreth. "They have more than heart could wish."
THEY ARE CORRUPT and THEY SPEAK WICKEDLY CONCERNING OPPRESSION. They choose oppression as their subject; and they not only defend it, but advocate it, glory in it, and would fain make it the general rule among all nations. There is no concern for justice! "THEY SET THEIR MOUTH AGAINST THE HEAVENS." Against God Himself they aim their blasphemies. There is no fear of God in their hearts. They defy the divine! "AND THEIR TONGUE WALKETH THROUGH THE EARTH."
Leisurely and habitually they traverse the whole world to find victims of their slander and abuse.
"THEREFORE HIS PEOPLE RETURN HITHER." God's people are driven to seek refuge at His throne. The saints come again, and again, to their Lord, laden with complaints on account of the persecutions which they endure from these proud and graceless men. For the sinner, there is no respect for righteousness and the righteous. "AND WATERS OF A FULL CUP ARE WRUNG OUT OF THEM." Though beloved of God, they have to drain the bitter cup; their sorrows are as full as the wicked man's prosperity! It grieves them greatly to see the enemies of God so high, and themselves so low, yet the Lord does not alter His dispensations, but continues still to chasten His children, and indulge His foes.
"AND THEY SAY, HOW DOTH GOD KNOW?" The wicked say by their actions..."If there be a God, is He not too much occupied with other matters to know what is going on upon this world? "BEHOLD, THESE ARE THE

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UNGODLY, WHO PROSPER IN THE WORLD." Look! See! Consider! Here is the standing enigma! The crux of Providence! HERE IS THE STUMBLING BLOCK OF FAITH.
And the man in our Psalm comes to this startling conclusion...
"VERILY I HAVE CLEANSED MY HEART IN VAIN." What is the value of holiness when its wages are paid in the coin of affliction? Is it worth trying to serve God when it seems that I do not have much value in His sight? Is truth always rewarded? Is honesty always the best policy? Have I washed my hands in innocency in vain? "FOR ALL THE DAY LONG HAVE I BEEN PLAGUED AND CHASTENED EVERY MORNING." This was a vivid contrast to the lot of the ungodly. There were crowns for the reprobates and crosses for the elect! Strange that the sinners sing and the saints sigh. Rest was given to the disturbers, and yet peace was denied to the peace-makers. THE AFFAIRS OF MANKIND APPEARED TO HIM TO BE IN A FEARFUL TANGLE; how could it be permitted by a just ruler that things should be so turned upside down, and the whole course of justice dislocated?
"It is not fair," he cried hotly into his tear-soaked pillows. "What is the good of my loyalty to my convictions? Surely in vain have I cleansed my heart and washed my hands in innocency. Goodness does not pay. How can we be sure there is a righteous God on the throne when all about us we see the good suffer and the wicked enjoying prosperity?
And if every one who has at times felt sympathy with the views of this psalmist were to say "AMEN" it would shake like an earthquake! There are some as indignant over God's amazing ordering of things as was this psalmist. You too, have tried to be right as God gave you to see the right. But there have been financial losses, sickness, and death. So many have been your reverses that at times you doubt the real worth of righteousness! You have chosen to play the game fairly, but have lost, while those who played unfairly are winners and are acclaimed for their victory!
NOW WE COME TO A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF THIS PSALM...because it answers the question...How did he keep from falling? What was it that steadied Him through this valley of despair and doubt when his faith was under fire?

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IF I SAY, I WILL SPEAK THUS: BEHOLD I SHOULD OFFEND AGAINST THE GENERATION OF THY CHILDREN. WHEN I THOUGHT TO KNOW THIS, IT WAS TOO PAINFUL FOR ME.
Here is an extremely important insight into this whole matter of doubt and despair!
It is not always wise to speak one's thoughts; if they remain within, they will only injure ourselves; but once uttered, their mischief is great. Nothing that a man does in this life is without its consequences. Every effect has a cause, and every cause produces an effect. What we say...how we react...and our response to life's perplexing times...always has its effect on those around who observe. How many parents have deeply affected the faith of their children when they have openly and thoughtlessly said things that diminished the trust and faith of their young hearts.
When you are uncertain and perplexed, the thing to do is to try to find something of which you are certain, and then take your stand on that! It may not be the central thing; that does not matter. Our speech must always be essentially positive...we should never be too ready to express our doubts and to proclaim our uncertainties. We may be deep in internal and mental turmoil about issues we do not understand, but let's keep those struggles within ourselves...or at least, find a mature person who understands and will not be affected negatively with our doubts and despair. WATCH OUT WHO YOU SPEAK WITH ABOUT YOUR SPIRITUAL SEARCHINGS...don't injure the fragile with your doubts!
The man in our Psalm said, "I will never say anything that is going to make my brethren unhappy. I do not care how much I fail to understand; one of my absolutes is this, I am never going to harm my brethren with my doubts. It was because the Psalmist found that small foothold and planted his feet in it, that he stopped slipping. And from that moment he began the wonderful process of climbing again until eventually he found himself able to rejoice once more in the knowledge of God and to understand even the problem that perplexed him.
WE ALL KNOW THIS...OFTEN, THE MORE YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR PROBLEM...IN YOUR MIND, THE WORSE IT BECOMES! And the enemy of our souls will keep magnifying the

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issue as long as we continue to dwell upon it and talk about it.
"WHEN I THOUGHT TO KNOW THIS, IT WAS TOO PAINFUL FOR ME." The thought of scandalizing the family of God he could not bear, and yet his inward thoughts seethed and fermented, and caused an intolerable anguish within. To speak might have relieved one sorrow, but, as it would have created another, he forbore so dangerous a remedy; yet this did not remove the first pangs, which grew even more worse and worse, and threatened utterly to overwhelm him. The triumph of conscience which compels us to keep the wolf hidden beneath our own garments, does not forbid its gnawing at our vitals.
BUT NOW, THINGS ARE READY TO CHANGE FOR THE MAN IN OUR PSALM!
"Until I went into the sanctuary of God." His mind entered the eternity where God dwells as in a holy place, he left the things of sense for the things invisible, his heart gazed within the veil, he stood where the thrice holy God stands! Thus he shifted his point of view, and apparent disorder resolved itself into harmony. WHAT DID THE PSALMIST DO? The answer to some will seem perfectly childish. HE WENT TO CHURCH!
I have found over my many years of ministry that often when people are going through difficult times, struggling with their faith and ready to give up...they stay home and away from the House of God. DON'T DO THAT. It is in the isolation from God's House and His people that the fire of my faith goes out...and it is in this place of isolation, Satan really pressures us into more unbelief! WE STOP THINKING SPIRITUALLY AND BEGIN TO USE RATIONAL THINKING AND LOGIC. We revert to a kind of thinking that has nothing to do with Christianity at all! The difference between them is that rational thinking is on ground-level only; spiritual thinking is equally rational, but it takes in a higher level as well as the lower level. It takes in all the facts instead of merely some of them. It focuses our reasoning from God's perspective, and not just man's. When we start thinking spiritually, miracles are no longer a problem, the issues of life fade into insignificance in the light of the eternal. And the truth that GOD IS GOOD is not effected by my circumstances.

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For instance, when something happens to you that you do not understand, the moment you begin to feel a sense of grudge against God you may be sure that you have already dropped back to that rational level. When you complain that what is happening to you does not seem fair, you are at once bringing God down to your own level of understanding!
Remember Isaiah 55:8! "FOR MY THOUGHTS ARE NOT YOUR THOUGHTS, NEITHER ARE YOUR WAYS MY WAYS, SAITH THE LORD " This is the ultimate answer. The first thing you have to realize, God says to us, is that when you come to consider Me and My ways, you must not do so on that low level to which you have been accustomed, because My thoughts are higher than your thoughts and My ways are higher than your ways.
Ah! In God's House my thoughts and doubts begin to clear. WHAT A WONDERFUL PLACE GOD'S HOUSE IS. Often you will find deliverance by merely coming into it. Many a time I have thanked God for the sanctuary...where my soul finds a peace amidst all my storms! The House of God has delivered me from ‘the mumps and measles of the soul’ a thousand times and more--merely to enter. its doors! In His presence, there is fullness of joy...at His right hand, there are pleasures forever more.
"One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: "That I may dwell in the House of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple, For in the time of trouble, He shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret place of His tabernacle he shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock." (Psalm 27:4-5)
"I love the house where you live, 0 Lord, the place where your glory dwells." (Psalm 26:8)
"Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the House of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked."
Psalm 84:10
And Psalm 122:1 says: "I rejoiced with those who said to me, "Let us go to the House of the Lord."
THE MAN OF OUR PSALM FOUND THAT WHEN HE WENT TO THE HOUSE OF GOD AND BEGAN TO SEE THINGS AS GOD SEES THEM, THEN TRUE UNDERSTANDING FILLED HIS MIND AND HEART!
Oh! to see the wicked from the eyes of God.
"SURELY THOU DIDST SET THEM IN SLIPPERY PLACES, THOU CASTEDST THEM DOWN INTO DESTRUCTION." Life here is short when compared to the length of eternity!

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WHEN THE MAN IN OUR PSALM went to the House of the Lord, he discovered that he had greatly exaggerated the prosperity of the wicked! We constantly tend to think the lot of our neighbor better than our own, especially if we are in trouble. Distance does "lend enchantment to their view." During those dark days of famine in the city of Samaria there is little doubt that the people looked with envy upon the king as he passed by upon the wall. But one day they chanced to see through a rent in his royal garment, and lo, he wore sackcloth within his flesh. He had his own secret sorrow.
When this Psalmist looked with clearer and calmer eyes, his hot fever cooled somewhat, for he saw that his wicked neighbor was not so prosperous as be had supposed. He saw that though he was still prosperous in things, it was in things only. He had no inner wealth. He was not really joyous and care free, but was "utterly consumed with terrors." Therefore his seeming prosperity was only a hollow sham. "The ungodly are not so, they are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish." (Psalm 1:4-6)
"Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin." "Therefore their path will become slippery, they will be banished to darkness and there they will fall. I will bring disaster on them in the year they are punished." (Jeremiah 23:12)
The prizes for which we barter our lives slip from our clutching fingers almost as soon as we grasp them. In spite, therefore, of all appearances to the contrary, this world is builded upon a basis of righteousness, and the prosperity of evil is at once superficial and fleeting!
THE MAN IN OUR PSALM CAME TO REALIZE HIS OWN WEALTH AS HE CAME INTO POSSESSION OF CERTAIN BRACING CONVICTIONS ABOUT GOD. "Thus my heart was grieved, and I was vexed in my mind. I was so foolish and ignorant; I was like a beast before You."
The Psalmist reviews his inward struggle and awards himself censure for his folly. His pain had been intense...he said his heart was grieved. It was a deep-seated sorrow, and one which penetrated his inmost being! He realized that he had let his spirit become embittered...he had judged the ways of God wrongly.

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"THUS MY HEART WAS GRIEVED" Two similitudes are used, by which his grief and indignation or zeal are described. First, he says his heart boiled over like yeast. The passion which was stirred up in his thoughts he compares to yeast which inflates the whole mass, and causes it to swell or boil over·
The other simile is taken from the internal pains which sickness produce. He calls it...his REINS. When a man is suffering most deeply within, he is pricked in his KIDNEYS (REINS) As the omniscient and all-penetrating knower of the most secret hidden things of man, God is frequently called the Trier of the hearts and reins; and of the ungodly, it is said, that God is far from their reins, that is, that he, being withdrawn back into Himself, allows not Himself to be perceived by them.
OUR PSALMIST IS SAYING THAT BECAUSE OF HIS WRONG PERCEPTIONS OF THE WORLD AROUND AND THE GOD ABOVE HIM, HIS GRIEF BOILS OVER INSIDE HIM AND GOD SEEMS SO FAR AWAY! So foolish was I, I was like a beast before Him." I permitted my mind to be wholly occupied with sensible things, like the beasts that perish, and did not look into a future state, nor did I consider nor submit to the wise designs of an unerring providence.
It must be so...
our doubting and distrusting the ways of God must hurt His heart!
"I WAS A BEAST BEFORE THEE." The original has in it no word of comparison; it ought to be rather translated, "I was a very beast before thee," and we are told that the Hebrew word being in the plural number, gives it a peculiar emphasis, indicating some monstrous or astonishing beast! The Psalmist is saying that he was a very monster before God...not only a beast, but one of the most brutish of all beasts, one of the most stubborn and intractable of all beasts!
I am always amazed that God allows us to wander off in our human stupidity and make all kinds of accusations against Him...and still does not strike us dead! "He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those

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who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust." (Psalm 103:11-14)
THE LIGHT OF GOD'S MERCY BEGINS TO BREAK IN UPON THE MIND AND HEART OF THE PSALMIST...
"Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand. You will guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory."
Oh! My heart wants to shout in doxology and thanksgiving to my wonderful God!
The Psalmist sees that his was not a God afar off who had no interest in the struggles, the sorrows, the heartaches of his children. He was a God at hand..."closer than breathing and nearer than hands and feet."
He was at his very side He was always there...in the sunshine and in the shadows...when his eyes were sparkling with joy or when they were filled with tears!
"I have found God," he tells us, "to be a present God. I am with Him continually."
Notice that the Psalmist reached the point where he said, "So foolish was I, and ignorant, I was as a beast before thee." That suddenly made him see it. The moment he said ‘before thee,' he said also, "Nevertheless I am continually before thee." In other words, "I am still in Thy presence." And everything changed! It was the delivering word. Having condemned himself because he had sulked like this, and had been so foolish in the presence of God, he now says, "But I am in the presence of God still—"Nevertheless I am continually with thee."
Now this is an astounding thing, and the Psalmist could not get over it! God had not blotted him out though he had been so foolish in His presence. Ah! the promise of His divine presence with us!
Genesis 28:15
"I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour." (Isa. 43)

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"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."(Psalm 34:18)
"YOU UPHOLD ME BY MY RIGHT HAND." Not only was God always present, but He was present to help. Sometime ago I was watching a mother with her little child. For a few steps, the child walked alone, but when there was a difficult step to be made, the child reached for the hand of mother!
"So it has been in my case," says the Psalmist. "When the way grew rugged and treacherous and I was in danger of losing my footing, I reached up my hand. And when I did so I did not clutch the thin air. Instead, there was One who seized my hand and held it fast, and who steadied me and gave me guidance.
THE PSALMIST REALIZED THAT GOD WAS NOT ONLY THERE, BUT ALWAYS READY TO UPHOLD HIM...AND TO GUIDE HIM WITH COUNSEL.
Spurgeon writes: "I have done with choosing my own way, and trying to pick a path amid the jungle of reason. He yielded not only the point in debate, but all intention of debating, and he puts his hand into that of the great Father, asking to be led, and agreeing to follow. Our former mistakes are a blessing, when they drive us to this. The end of own wisdom is the beginning of our being wise."
AND NOW THE BRIGHT LIGHTS OF ETERNITY BURST UPON HIS SOUL!
"And afterward receive me to glory." We can cheerfully put up with the present, when we foresee the future. What is around us just now is of small consequence, compared with eternity. The Psalmist says that the day with come when God shall conduct us to this matchless terminus...HIS GLORY!
"When all my labors and trials are over, And I am safe on that beautiful shore, Just to be near the dear Lord I adore, will through the ages be glory for me.
When by the gift of His infinite grace, I am accorded in heaven a place, Just to be there and to look on His face will through the ages be glory for me."
AND AFTERWARDS! We must keep eternity in view, if we are to endure with victory the journey here below.

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(Page Sixteen)

"WHOM HAVE I IN HEAVEN BUT THEE." Our Psalmist has turned away from the glitter which fascinated him to the true gold which was his real treasure. He felt that his God was better to him than all the wealth, health, honor, and peace, which he had so much envied in the worldling. He bade all things go, that he might be filled with God! "There is none upon earth that I desire beside thee." No longer should his wishes ramble, no other object should tempt them to stray...the Everlasting One should his all in all be!
MY FLESH AND MY HEART FAILETH." They had failed him already, and he had almost fallen; they would fail him in the hour of death, and, if he relied upon them, they would fail him at once...but God would not fail him, either as a protection or a joy. His heart would be kept by divine love.
We now come to our conclusion...Life at best will at times seem so hard to understand...and even as Christians, our faith will come under fire. We will reel to and fro and stagger like a drunken man...and sometimes the valley of doubt lasts for days, months and even years. But the truth still remains...God is good! And when the mist has rolled away, and we see clearly the ways of God in our life...we will agree with the Psalmist...GOD IS GOOD...ALL THE TIME!
WHAT DO WE DO WHEN WE ARE ABOUT READY TO THROW IN THE SPIRITUAL TOWEL AND QUIT?........Stop talking about our doubts, stop looking at the world and sinners around us...turn our footsteps toward the sanctuary of God, and begin to see the divine perspective of life through the eyes of faith fixed on the goodness and love and faithfulness of our God!
WHAT IS THE ALTERNATIVE? A life of misery and an eternity without God!