April 8, 2005

THEN I ENTERED THE SANCTUARY

Psalm 73

There are a couple expressions or sayings that are very familiar to me. I am not sure if they are unique to American speech or common to all English speakers. One is the phrase: “I almost lost it.” When the expression is used, “it” is never precisely defined, but usually it has something to do with one’s mental or emotional stability or control.

The other saying is: “I need to get my head together.” This expression usually indicates that something has become confusing, we have lost our mental or emotional equilibrium, things don’t make sense, and we need a place or time of calm and quiet to sort out our thoughts and feelings.

Today, we are going to look at a psalm in which the psalmist admits: “I almost lost it.” Then we are going to find out where he went to “get his head together.”

Turn with me to Psalm 73. In this psalm, the writer starts with his conclusion. Verse 1 is a ringing affirmation of the goodness and faithfulness of God: Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. This is a clear statement of the trusting, believing heart. It is a truth that is echoed many times in Scripture. But what the writer of the psalm is saying to us is: “I know this now. This is the conclusion I have come to, but there was a time when I wasn’t so sure.”

Look at verse 2: But as for me, my foot had almost slipped. I had nearly lost my foothold. The psalmist admits: “I almost lost it.” Lost what? His grip on reality. His spiritual and emotional equilibrium. His certainty of the truth he’s just stated in verse 1 about the goodness and faithfulness of God to all who are pure in heart.

So what exactly was it that caused him to almost “lose it”? He tells us in the next verse: For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. The word used here for prosperity is the Hebrew word shalom. Commonly translated “peace”, it is an all-inclusive word for well-being, prosperity, contentment, good health, and happiness. It bothered him, when he looked around and saw the wicked, who had no time for God, and ignored God’s ways and God’s will in their lives, and their lives seemed to run perfectly smoothly. They seemed to enjoy “shalom.”

He expands on his observations in the next stanza of poetry. Read verses 4-12.

Now, for the psalmist, this throws him into a very personal crisis. Look at the conclusion he flirts with in verse 13: Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure, in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. It’s not worth it to serve God! It’s not worth it to live the way God wants me to live! Because there is another line of evidence that is troubling him. Not only are the wicked prospering, but he is not! He states this in verse 14: All day long I have been plagued: I have been punished every morning.

“The wicked ignore God and live as they please, and their life is easy. I have tried to serve God and do what is right, and my life is difficult and painful. What’s going on God? This isn’t the way it was supposed to be.” And so the psalmist wrestles with this question, not just theoretically, but very personally. Is it worth it to serve God? Or is it all for nothing?

He knows in his heart what is at stake. Look at his words in verse 15: If I had said, “I will speak thus,” I would have betrayed your children. He knows that if he were to voice these thoughts it would be an act of betrayal to all God’s children who are seeking to walk in his ways and serve him with a pure heart. But he just can’t seem to make sense of it all. Verse 16: When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me. It was heavy, painful, confusing.

 “Is it worth it to serve God? Have I kept my heart pure for nothing?” And as he wrestled with that question, he tells us, “I almost slipped. I almost lost it.”

Is it worth it to live for God? Have you ever wrestled with that question as a Christian? Maybe it’s the easy, fun, apparently trouble free life of your colleagues at work that seems to lure you into envy. Or possibly it’s some painful trial or struggle in your Christian life that you are forced to endure. But when you lay the two lines of evidence side by side (your own struggles and the apparent “shalom” of the godless), you’re tempted to say: “It’s not worth it. I’m going to choose the easy way.”

The psalmist says, “I nearly lost it.” What saved him? What happened to help him “get his head together”?

The next phrase provides the hinge on which the entire psalm turns in verse 17: Till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood…

As we were discussing this psalm in our class on Sunday night, it was Peter Campbell who asked the key question: “What happened in the sanctuary?”

Let’s unpack that question a little bit. First of all, what was in the psalmist’s mind when he used the word “sanctuary?” To answer that question, we need to place ourselves within the world view and life experience of the psalmist. We are told that this psalm was written by a man named Asaph. Asaph is credited with writing 12 of the psalms. Asaph was one of the chief worship leaders and musicians under the reign of King David. For him, then, the sanctuary was an actual physical place. It referred to the tabernacle; the tent of worship that is described in detail in Exodus. It was the place of God’s dwelling that the Israelites carried with them for 40 years in the wilderness, and that was then set up as a permanent place of worship when the arrived in they Promised Land. Under King David it was moved to Jerusalem itself. This was Asaph’s context, his life, his ministry. It was his task to write psalms, prepare music and lead the congregation in worship.

So when we ask: “What happened in the sanctuary?” we can first of all answer generically. In the sanctuary, the priests offered the sacrifices. As the people gathered, the smoke of the sacrifices would be rising into the air, the priests would be performing their duties before the Holy of Holies, the place in which the visible presence of God dwelt. The people would be bowing in worship and prayer. Asaph and the other musicians would be playing and singing praise to God. It is not exactly clear if Scripture was actually read as a regular part of the worship. But we do know that many of the worship songs they sang are included in the Psalms which are part of the Scriptures.

We might ask more specifically: “What happened to Asaph in the sanctuary on this particular occasion?” We are not exactly sure of the details. We don’t know if it was some phrase of a psalm, some word of a priest, some private thought or meditation of Asaph himself. We don’t know the means God used, but we do know the outcome. Asaph “got his head together.” He was able to solve the riddle. As he says in verse 17: then I understood.

As we look at the remainder of the psalm, I would like to point out three things that happened to Asaph in the sanctuary.

First 1. He reconnected with God. Look at his words in verse 23-24: Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel…

The picture that comes to my mind as I read that verse is that of a little boy who is crossing a busy street. Suddenly he is overwhelmed by all the cars and trucks whizzing by in every direction. But just when he is about to panic and run, he feels the reassuring squeeze of his father’s hand. And he realizes his father has been there all along. He knows that with his father’s help, he is able to cross the street safely.

The interesting thing is the phrase: I am always with you. Asaph recognized that God had never left him. He had just lost sight of his presence for a time. I think this is important. The sanctuary is not a place to go to find God, as though he is present there and nowhere else. The believer is always with God. God is always holding us by the hand. But sometimes we lost sight of that. We forget his presence. One of the things that happens in the sanctuary is that we are able to reconnect with God. To be reminded that he has never left us. That he has been at our side all along.

Second, 2. He glimpsed life from God’s perspective. And the thing about God’s perspective is that it is an eternal perspective. This was at the heart of Asaph’s problem. He had lost his perspective. When he entered the sanctuary, what he heard and experienced there helped him see things more clearly.

The first thing he was able to do was to see the wicked from God’s perspective and the perspective of eternity. Let’s look back at verse 17: then I understood their final destiny. He goes in the next two verses: Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! As a dream when one awakes, so when you arise, O Lord, you will despise them as fantasies.

He adds to this in verse 27: Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.

Asaph had been caught up in a very short term assessment of the “shalom” of the ungodly. When he saw them from God’s perspective, his envy disappeared. From God’s perspective, the good fortune of the wicked has about as much substance and duration as that last dream before awaking. It may seem real, but as soon as the dreamer (in this image, God) awakes, the dream evaporates in the light of day and of reality. That’s how God sees them. And when he entered the sanctuary, Asaph was able to view the ungodly from God’s eternal perspective.

I am reminded of a story I once heard about two farmers who lived on neighboring farms. One was a faithful Christian who sought to live his life by faith and by obedience to God’s principles. The other farmer had no time for God, and went out of his way to mock the Christian for his faith. One particular year, the two men both worked hard on their farms. But one disaster after another seemed to strike the Christian farmer. His equipment broke down. One field flooded, another was attacked by a debilitating pest invasion. Meanwhile, the unbeliever’s crops flourished. At harvest time he had a bumper harvest to take to market, while the Christian farmer wasn’t sure if he’d have enough to see his family through the winter. They met as they walked out of the farm co-op together with the checks they had received for the sale of their crops. The ungodly farmer couldn’t resist rubbing it in. “I haven’t been to church once all year. I live the way I please. I thumb my nose at God and religion every chance I get. Meanwhile, you’ve never missed church, you pray, you talk about trusting God. So how come my check is twice the size of yours? How do you explain that?” The Christian farmer smiled a bit sadly and replied simply. “Remember, God doesn’t settle all of his accounts in October.”

That was the lesson Asaph learned when he saw the ungodly from God’s perspective. God doesn’t settle all of his accounts in October.

But Asaph didn’t just see the ungodly from God’s point of view. He also saw himself from God’s eternal perspective. In verse 24: You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Not only does God promise to hold us by the hand and guide us in this life, but he also promises to receive us into glory when this life is over.

Envy the wicked? Not when we see things from God’s perspective. And seeing things from God’s perspective is one of the things that happens in the sanctuary.

The final thing that I see happening for Asaph in the sanctuary is that 3. He reacquired his appetite for God. Look at his words in verse 25-26: Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. He continues in verse 28: But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.

The world around us constantly bombards us with its menu of gaudy play things and temporary thrills and pleasures. If we are not careful, we can lose our appetite for God, like a child that fills up on candy and has no hunger for the nutritious meal his mother has prepared. In that condition, we may cry and fuss, and envy the child next to us who has the bigger bag of sweets. The sanctuary is the place to flush the world’s sugar out of our systems, and reacquire our appetite for God, the only true soul food who really satisfies our essential hunger.

So what happened to Asaph in the sanctuary? He got his head back together. He reconnected with God. He glimpsed life from God’s perspective. He reacquired his appetite for God.

Life is tough. It gets frantic and confusing. Myriads of voices clamor for our attention. This has always been so. It is not a creation of modern life. Listen to the words of a saint from another century, a man by the name of Frederick William Faber who lived from 1814-1863: “There is hardly ever a complete silence in our soul. God is whispering to us well-nigh incessantly. Whenever the sounds of the world die out in the soul, or sink low, then we hear these whisperings of God. He is always whispering to us, only we do not always hear because of the noise, hurry and the distractions that life causes as it rushes on.”

Does that sound familiar? We all need to regularly enter the sanctuary. I am reminded of the Christian song that was popular many years ago: “There is a quiet place, Far from the rapid pace, Where God can heal the troubled soul.”

Let me ask you a question. Where is your sanctuary? Where can you go to get your head back together when you “almost lose it?” The essence of the sanctuary is that it was a place to draw near to God. This is what Asaph is communicating in verse 28, as he concludes his psalm and his experience in the sanctuary. But as for me, it is good to be near God. That’s what the sanctuary was for Asaph. That’s why Asaph is so specific. It isn’t just any sanctuary or calm and quiet place that will mend our souls. He says it very specifically in verse 17: I entered the sanctuary of God. Where can we go to draw near to God? Where can we go to hear the whisperings of God to our soul? Let me suggest three that are available to all of us.

First is the regular, corporate gathering of God’s people to worship. More an event than a place, this sanctuary best constitutes the elements that were there for Asaph when he went to the tabernacle. We don’t offer burnt offerings and sacrifices, but we do regularly remember the once for all sacrifice of the Lamb of God. We do offer the sacrifice of praise. We worship. We sing and praise God together. We listen to the words of God expounded. It’s a great place to get your head together. And I would suggest that if you start to make a practice of skipping the corporate worship of God’s people, it won’t be long before you start to lose your appetite for God. You’ll start to lose your divine perspective on life and what’s important. You’ll get caught up in the junk food of the world around you.

Secondly, there is a sanctuary in a small group or home fellowship, where you can share your spiritual journey with a few others who will become your traveling companions and your trusted spiritual family. If you’re not a part of a regular home fellowship or small group Bible study, we would love to help you plug in. Give us a call at the church office during the week and we’ll help connect you.

Finally, we all need our own individual quiet place: a regular time when we stop everything else we are doing, and spend time in individual prayer, worship and meditation on God’s truth. It’s become almost a cliché in Christian circles. “Have you had your Q.T. (or Quiet Time)?” we used to ask each other when we were in college. But just because it’s a cliché doesn’t mean it isn’t true. Serious Christians of every age have discovered that private, personal time with God is essential to their spiritual journey.

Whatever you are struggling with, whenever you come close to “losing it” and you need to “get your head together,” I would encourage you to do what Asaph did. Enter the sanctuary of God in any or all three of the ways I’ve suggested. Because there you will reconnect with God, you’ll glimpse life from God’s perspective, and you will reacquire your appetite for God.

Then we will be able, with our head and heart together to affirm with Asaph: Surely God is good to Israel, to all who are pure in heart.