God’s Grip of Me

Psalm 73

²³ Yet I am always with you;

you hold me by my right hand.

²⁴ You guide me with your counsel,

and afterwards you will take me into glory.

²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you?

And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

²⁶ My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart

and my portion for ever.

²⁷ Those who are far from you will perish;

you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.

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.

Good old Asaph – he understood the problem pretty well! He took a good look round at all the godless people and he saw what we see – that they often seem to prosper.

⁴ They have no struggles;

their bodies are healthy and strong.

⁵ They are free from the burdens common to man;

they are not plagued by human ills.

He took a good long look at his own life as well – and he saw how limited it seemed to be. In particular he considered how his godliness did not exempt him from trouble – but rather seemed to attract it:

¹³ Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure;

in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.

¹⁴ All day long I have been plagued;

I have been punished every morning.

But he enters God’s house (v17) and then he understands their final end.

In the end what matters is GOD’S GRIP OF ME.

²³ Yet I am always with you;

you hold me by my right hand.

²⁴ You guide me with your counsel,

and afterwards you will take me into glory.

²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you?

And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

²⁶ My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart

and my portion for ever.

²⁷ Those who are far from you will perish;

you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.

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.

A. It is the mark of an ENDURING RELATIONSHIP

²³ Yet I am always with you;

you hold me by my right hand.

It is so – because the initiative is God’s “YOU HOLD ME …” if the initiative had been ours it would be presumption – and always intermittent.

Left to ourselves we should soon loose our hold upon His hand – but HE HOLDS US – that is why it is a lasting relationship. It outlasts the ups and downs of life

B. It is a guarantee of PURPOSE AND DIRECTION

²⁴ You guide me with your counsel,

It is a leading BY THE HAND

Often unwillingly we go – but He takes us that way – the way of His counsel – because He does know best.

If only we could recognise His leading in this way when the path is hard and difficult … but then we are at best dragged unwillingly by the hand – pre-occupied with the present turmoil and difficulty – and oblivious to His wise counsel.

C. It has a GLORIOUS DESTINATION

²⁴ You guide me with your counsel,

and afterwards you will take me into glory.

AFTERWARDS …

Not immediately then. Other purposes must be worked out. The trials endured a while – but always in the light of that radiant promise

AFTERWARDS … GLORY

You will receive me into glory …

These words as translated more familiarly anticipate the coming of the Lord himself to receive His people.

The picture Asaph has – though not the one he began with – is of all life’s journey – and its ending is hand in hand with the LORD.

D. It UNITES HEAVEN AND EARTH

²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you?

And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

Asaph has climbed the heights in anticipation – hand in hand with the Lord.

(i) You are my everything

…but you

…but you

(ii) You are my heavenly representative

Anticipating the thought in Hebrews of Jesus … at the right hand of God.

(iii) You help me to realise the shallowness of earthly joy or possession

And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

E. It makes EVERYTHING RIGHT

²⁶ My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart

and my portion for ever.

Notice that Asaph is TOTALLY REALISTIC

He does not say “I will never fail”

But … “My flesh and my heart MAY fail …”

What a beautiful contrast with the way he was at the earlier part of the psalm!

Here is faith facing up to life as it is.

It is not pessimistic for “may fail” also includes the possibility of present victory!

The heart of Asaph has a renewed confidence – hand in hand with the Lord is his affirmation

but God is the strength of my heart

and my portion for ever.

Look back over this psalm -

Early on he is on slippery footing and his view of the world is pessimistic, he can find no evidence that it “pays” to be a believer.

His attitude reminds us of Peter in the Gospels

“Lord, what’s in it for us?” Mat 19 v 27

²⁷ Peter answered him, "We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?"

¹³ Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure;

in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.

What changed his view?

He went to the place of worship – and there he learned of the ultimate view of life

¹⁷ till I entered the sanctuary of God;

then I understood their final destiny.

He began to realise that the secret was not his grip of God – but God’s grip of him

²³ Yet I am always with you;

you hold me by my right hand.

It is all over to God - any strength His

Any hope His

Any righteousness His

YOU HOLD ME BY MY RIGHT HAND

ã An enduring relationship

ã A guarantee of purpose and direction

ã A glorious destination

ã A view that unites heaven and earth

ã Making everything right

Spurgeon’s College Motto >>

Et teneo et teneor

I hold and I am held