Psalm 23, Introduction to the Psalms (15) (Doctrine, 2)

g)    Rewards and Punishments. 

This is the issue found in Job: do the righteous have it easier?  There is evidence in the Psalms that, though it is wrong to judge the sufferer as a sinner and the prosperous as righteous, still as a general rule God rewards the good that is done and punishes the evil.  Our mistake is to make this general truth absolute or immediate.  Thus, the Psalms require that we keep two truths in mind:

i)      The general validity of the rule as such (16:9-11; 17, esp. v15; 39:6f).

ii)   The application of the principle in specific instances is God's prerogative alone (49,73,112).  In Psalm 73, the writer (Asaph) is at rest when he realizes that the seeming injustice he is experiencing will be totally resolved in time.

h)   The Afterlife. 

i)      Some passages indicate there is no remembrance of God in Sheol (6:5). Are the Psalms telling us that hope is dead ( 88:10; 30:9; 115:17)?

ii)   Several thoughts:

(1)                        Revelation of afterlife did not burn as bright in the OT as in the NT.

(2)                        In the above passages the writer was thinking only in terms of that dead body that was laid in the grave.   

(3)                        There are Psalms that clearly speak of a life beyond the grave (16:9-11; 23:6; 73:23-26).

i)    Dispensational setting (Gaebelein).  A. C. Gaebelein points out that the Psalms are consistent with a Dispensational view of the OT.  We are not wanting to debate “dispensationalism” so in this case, we mean to see it as recognizing a place for the nation of Israel in the future, and to recognize as well the distinctions between the OT and NT.  Thus, Gaebelein points out:

i)      The Psalms are Jewish.  The worship is Jewish.  The pilgrimage (e.g. Ps. 120-134) is to an earthly sanctuary.

ii)   Nowhere is God addressed as Father in the Psalms.  In Psalm 51 the prayer not to take the Holy Spirit would not be prayed by a Christian.  There are references to issues that require a second coming; but the rapture (Blessed Hope of Titus 2) is not mentioned.  That is NT truth.

iii)            The blessings are earthly.  By this, we mean the problems faced in the context relate to Israel, it’s Davidic king; in other words, it relates to God’s earthly people.  This does not deny the tremendous devotional value of the Psalms for the Church.

iv) In the light of a Dispensational view the difficulty of imprecatory prayers is easily solved.  The enemies are God’s enemies.  If their wickedness is full, then God must deal with them in judgment.  During the Tribulation Period the Jewish remnant will suffer and cry these prayers to the LORD.