(Through The Bible) – Book Of Psalms (Part 2): Zac Poonen (Transcript)

Full text of Zac Poonen’s teaching on ‘Book Of Psalms (Part 2)’ which is part of the popular series called Through The Bible.

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TRANSCRIPT:

Zac Poonen – Bible Teacher

We will continue our study in the book of Psalms.

We now move to the third book of the Psalms, which begins in Psalm 73.

PSALM 73, again I would just like to quickly go through some of the really good verses in the rest of the Psalms.

Psalm 73 deals with this big question: Why do the wicked prosper and why do the righteous people suffer? It is a question that many, many people have asked through the centuries. And Asaph, who wrote this Psalm, many of the Psalms in this section are written by Asaph, the song leader. And he is very honest and he says in verse 2, my feet almost slipped. There is an honesty in the Psalms, which is why the Psalms are so good to read. People are absolutely honest. There is no pretense there.

I almost slipped. I had questions. I was jealous of the prosperity verse 3 of the wicked. And he says, at one time I thought, what is the use, verse 13, keeping my heart clean. It is a waste of time living a holy life.

But, he says, I kept quiet about it. I kept these thoughts to myself. Verse 15, I didn’t tell anybody. If I had told anybody, then I would have offended a lot of other younger believers.

See, a lot of people, sometimes when they have doubts, they are so foolish. They go around airing it. And afterwards, maybe five years later, they get the answer to that. But in those five years, they have destroyed the faith of so many people with their doubts. If you have some doubts, keep it to yourself. Don’t stumble other people. There is an answer for it.

You know where the answer is? He says, I couldn’t understand it, verse 16, until I went into God’s presence. Then I understood. Some of those things that cause you doubt, there is an answer to it. You may not know it because you are so far away from God. The closer you come to God, the more you get an answer.

There are many things in my past life I never knew what the answer was. As I have come closer to the Lord, I have begun to understand the answer to many of those questions that plagued me. But when I had those doubts, I didn’t go around talking about it with weaker believers.

And he discovered that God has set these wicked people in slippery places, verse 18.

Now this beautiful verse in verse 25, this is one of the finest verses in all the Psalms and perhaps in the entire Bible…

Psalm 73:25, the psalmist says to the Lord at the end of it, Whom have I in heaven but Thee? There is no one and nothing on earth I desire beside Thee. If you can keep that before you all your days, I tell you, you’ll be a worshiper and you’ll be a most useful servant of God, man or woman, young or old.

If you can say, Lord, You’re the only person I desire on earth. I don’t desire anything or any person other than You.

My heart may fail, verse 26, but God is the strength of my heart. This is a good verse for those who have weak hearts or who have heart problems to say, God is the strength of my heart. My heart may fail. God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.