A Word in Season: In the Sanctuary (Psalm 73:17)

In Psalm 73, a man of God called Asaph is deeply confused and concerned.

When he looks around him, he sees a world full of wickedness and transgression, and those who are wicked and transgressing just seem to have an easy life.

Everything seems to go well for them, even, he says, their death seems to be peaceful.

What's going on, he's asking, what's happening in a world that seems so disordered and unjust?

He almost reaches the point of saying, what's the point of following after God? Surely I've cleansed my heart in vain and washed my hands in innocence, for all day long

I have been plagued and chastened every morning. And you and I may have similar questions, both about wickedness in the world and the state of things more generally.

We may look out with concern and confusion. What is taking place? Why is it all going like this?

Why do the wicked seem to be in the ascendancy? Why is there so much grief and sorrow?

Why does the cause of Christ not seem to prosper? What's actually going on here?

Well, Asaph's psalm at this point, Psalm 73, turns on the hinge of verse 17.

I went into the sanctuary of God. Then I understood their end.

Asaph continued to be confused and concerned until he went into the sanctuary of God.

He went to worship. He went to worship the holy one of Israel. And it was that reality that recalibrated his perspectives, recalibrated his whole soul.

His outlook changed when he had a view of God. And that's good for us, not just with regard to what we see of the wickedness in the world, but what we see of the world as a whole.

We will look around us and there will be things that concern us. There are things that confuse us.

But we need to remember that God is on his throne. We need to go to worship him.

We need to bow before him. We need to remind ourselves of his holiness, of his justice, of his power, of his goodness, of his mercy.

We need to remind ourselves that he is the God of the covenant, who has bound himself to his people, who has revealed himself through Jesus Christ.

We need to remind ourselves of the promises that he has made, both with regard to his people and the course of the world, and not least the judgment that he brings upon wickedness.

And when we go into the sanctuary, then we begin to understand the end. We begin to understand the judgment that God will bring upon wickedness, that though it may not always come to pass in this life, yet there is a judgment which is to come.

We begin to accept and embrace the purposes of God as they work out in this fallen world.

And we'll be at peace, more at peace at least, with regard to the things that we see going on around us.

And we'll also understand that even though it may seem that righteousness is despised and that there may appear to be little point in following after God, that actually it is when we see and know

God as he is, that we will appreciate the blessings and the glories which follow on for those who truly know the

Lord. And that's where Asaph ultimately comes. He's no longer vexed.

He's no longer grieved. He recognizes that God is in his heaven and that God is his

God, that this is the God whom he desires above all, both in heaven and on earth.

He says, my flesh and my heart fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

So you may have many concerns. You may have much confusion. You may not know what is going on or why it is going on.

Very human. But go to worship God. Go to his sanctuary.

Enter into his presence. Draw near to him through Jesus Christ. Consider him as he is, as he has made himself known to us.

Bow before him. Understand his promises. Embrace his dealings. Grasp his way, both with the wicked and with the righteous, and look forward in faith to what

God has promised that he will yet accomplish. And then your heart will be at peace.

You will understand the end of the wicked. You'll understand the end of the righteous.

And you'll be able to bow before God and go on with your life, knowing that you have no other in heaven, no other on earth that you desire.