Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

The opening sentence begins with the goodness of God and the transparency (purity) of Asaph’s heart. The question of the wicked prospering caused him to be severely perplexed. He nearly slipped from the path of faith and admitted to envying the proud. Envy is disastrous as it is an intense desire to be like someone else; it is an idolatrous replacement of our worship of Jesus and it breaks the 10th commandment given to Moses: “Do not covet…anything else your neighbor owns.” (Ex. 20:17)

The Characteristics of the Proud and Wicked Who Prosper

The wicked ignore God, the source of their blessing, and carry on with their lives in total ease and comfort. It is not prosperity that is being questioned; it is ‘why do wicked people prosper.’ There are sev- eral parallels between this psalm and the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:9-31. Riches are not evil and poverty is not a virtue but ignoring God’s laws for guiding our money leads to a total misdi- rection of life. Asaph observes the following characteristics of the proud: • A Painless Life- “They seem to live such a painless life;” (4) The rich man “lived each day in lux- ury.” (Lk. 16:19) • Perfect Health- “…their bodies are so healthy and strong.” (4) In contrast “At his door lay a dis- eased beggar named Lazarus.” (Lk. 16:20) • Problem Free- “They aren’t troubled like other people or plagued with problems like everyone else.” (5) Unlike the rich man Lazarus faced insurmountable problems: “…the dogs would come and lick his open sores.” (Lk. 16:21) • Prideful- “They wear pride like a jeweled necklace…” (6) • Cruel- “…and their clothing is woven of cruelty.” (6) The rich man was occupied with his elabo- rate clothing and was oblivious to the desperate need of Lazarus: “There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed…”(Lk. 16:19) • Plentiful abundance- “These fat cats have everything their hearts could ever wish for!” (7) By contrast the beggar had nothing: “As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table…” (Lk. 16:21) • Proud Speech- “They scoff and speak only evil;..” (8) • Proud Actions- “…in their pride they seek to crush others.” (8) • Boastful- “They boast against the very heavens, and their words strut throughout the earth.” (9) The once proud, rich man cries out in torment in Hades still thinking that his earthly financial status gave him superiority over Lazarus: “Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish in these flames.” (Lk. 16:24) • Power over People- “And so the people are dismayed and confused, drinking in all their words. ‘Does God realize what is going on?’ they ask. ‘Is the Most High even aware of what is happen- ing?’”(10,11) People ask; ‘ Why does God delay justice and allow them to continually defy his laws?’ • Arrogant- “Look at these arrogant people–“(12) • Pleasure- “…enjoying a life of ease…” (12) • Prosperity- “…while their riches multiply.” (12) The bible brings this all into eternal perspective: “But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish.’” (Lk. 16:25) This is not teaching that rich people go to hell and poor people go to heaven; only those who accept Christ’s salvation will live in eternity with God. It does teach us that wealth is a gift from God and it is to be used in a wise and generous way to benefit not only yourself but also others less fortunate. “Tell those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which will soon be gone. But their trust should be in the living God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and should give generously to those in need, al- ways being ready to share with others whatever God has given them. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may take hold of real life.” (1 Tim. 6:17- 19)

II DESTINY OF THE WICKED - 13-20

“Was it for nothing that I kept my heart pure and kept myself from doing wrong? All I get is trouble all day long; every morning brings me pain. If I had really spoken this way, I would have been a traitor to your people.” (13-15)

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