Do you ever have doubts about God’s love for you? Do you have doubts that he is truly just and looking out for your? This sermon based on Psalm 73 is from 2012, but I think its just as meaningful today as it was back then as we are all living life at the crossroads of faith and doubt".1
Structure of Psalm 73
In preparing to preach through Psalms 73, I discovered a beautiful chiastic structure embedded with many rich parallellisms. Take special note of the key word pairings used by the Psalmest that I have highlighted using different colors.
I noticed that almost every commentator sees v. 17 as the central turning point of the Psalm. However, I see v.16 and the Psalmists choice to meditate upon the Lord as the focus which is then reinforced by his action in v.17.
I am ultimately intrigued by the closing thought in v.27 which emphasizes the Missio Dei (mission of God) in the life of the Psalmist. I have yet to ready anybody who talked about this aspect of the Psalm, but I see it as the second focal point of the Chiasmus.
Read through Psalm 73 and let me know what you think.
Theme of Psalm 73
The theme of struggle against the world and turning to the one reliable foundation for faith is a strong theme in Psalm 73. It reminds me a lot of the lyrics to “If I Ever Lose My Faith In You” by Sting (1993 album “Ten Summoner’s Tales“).
You could say I lost my faith in science and progressYou could say I lost my belief in the holy churchYou could say I lost my sense of directionYou could say all of this and worse but
If I ever lose my faith in youThere’d be nothing left for me to do
Some would say I was a lost man in a lost worldYou could say I lost my faith in the people on TVYou could say I’d lost my belief in our politiciansThey all seemed like game show hosts to me
If I ever lose my faith in youThere’d be nothing left for me to do
I could be lost inside their lies without a traceBut every time I close my eyes I see your face
I never saw no miracle of scienceThat didn’t go from a blessing to a curseI never saw no military solutionThat didn’t always end up as something worse butLet me say this first
If I ever lose my faith in youThere’d be nothing left for me to do
This sermon was recorded at Pathways Community Church in Santee CA on August 12, 2012.
At the Crossroads of Faith and Doubt