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FOUR THINGS THAT WILL HELP YOU ENTER GOD’S PRESENCE (Psalm 73)

Today we begin a brand-new section of the book of Psalms. These are the Leviticus Psalms, and they begin with Psalm 73. These psalms immediately usher us into the presence of God.

The book of Leviticus is all about God’s holiness. It was centered on the Tabernacle, the meeting place where the people could be with God. Psalms 73-89 help bring us all into the “Holy of Holies” where we can be with Him.

Remember when the Lord told Moses in Exodus 3:5 to remove his shoes? It was because he stood on “holy ground.” We need to realize that, for the Christian, all ground is to be holy. Every part of life is to be sacred. Every relationship should be consecrated to God and every business dealing should be sanctified. Every day of your life and every difficulty you face should be given to God.

Psalm 73 immediately gives us that emphasis. We know that it is a psalm of Asaph, the first of 12 psalms written by him. We see in I Chronicles 16:4-5 that Asaph was the chief musician, one of a number of Levites appointed to significant positions to minister. This is instructive because I believe the first thing we learn in Psalm 73 is that it is praise that brings us into the presence of God.

Verse 1: “Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart.”

As you keep reading this psalm, you will see that he dealt with some bad things. At one point he confessed that he got distracted due to some bad people. We all do that from time to time. But this psalm begins with the goodness of God. How powerful this truth is.

Now is a good time for us to get our eyes off all of the bad things in the world around us and back on the goodness of God. As long as you keep His goodness in sight, you can face anything and endure anything. Just rest in the fact that God is good. It is the first thing the devil wants to question yet the first thing we are prone to forget. But it is also the first thing mentioned in this psalm that we need to remember if we are to go into His presence.

Living in God’s presence also requires living in purity. That is made clear at the end of verse 1.

Verses 2-3: “But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped. For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.”

The psalmist saw many unclean people doing wicked things, and he thought they were getting away with it. But if you are going to live in the holy presence of God, you must partake of His holiness, not their sin.

None of us are holy people. If there is any holy thing in any of us, it must be Jesus. I know there is nothing holy in me aside from Him. We are all sinners, but the Lord wants us to be clean.

The last two words of verse 1 are crucial: “clean heart.” Is your heart clean today? David wrote a great deal about having a clean heart, especially in Psalm 32 and Psalm 51. You cannot draw near to God and be distant from Him because of your sin. You cannot be full of God and full of sin.

Allow your problems to drive you into God’s presence. We all like to think of His presence as some quiet time in a secret place, peaceful and without being troubled by anything. God often uses the problems and problem people as instruments to prod us to Him.

This is at the heart of Psalm 73. The psalmist had become envious of the foolish and he saw the prosperity of the wicked. Verse 5: “They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men.” He thought he was doing the right thing and everything was going wrong, while the opposite was true of them.

His attitude changed in verses 16-17. “When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.” Just as with the people in the book of Leviticus, he was brought into God’s sanctuary in this first one of the Leviticus Psalms.

Let me remind you today that everything looks different from inside the throne room. When you get near to God, your perspective on everything and everyone else begins to change. Asaph acknowledged that he didn’t understand it at first, but once he got into the Lord’s presence it became very clear.

When you draw nigh to the eternal God, you start focusing on eternity. You stop thinking in terms of time and seeing only the material and physical. That is what Asaph had to do, and it is also what you and I have to do.

Do not let problems or problem people become a wedge between you and God. Let them be a prod to drive you toward Him. I see so many people go in the wrong direction, running from God when things become difficult - that is the very time they should be running to him!

Finally, prayer brings you into the presence of God. Verses 26-28: “My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever. For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works.”

Never rush into the presence of God; and when you get there, you do not want to rush out. Psalm 73 is the prayer of a heart communing with God. If you want to live in God’s presence, get alone with Him today. As James 4:8 puts it so clearly, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.”

This psalm opens with the words, “Truly God is good.” It closes with, “But it is good for me to draw near to God.” He is good and He is always with us, but you must choose to live consciously in His presence. May God help you to do that today.