I Understood Their End

I Understood Their End

‘…Until I went into the sanctuary of God; Then I understood their end.’

Psalm 73:17

Asaph was struggling with justice. The context of our text for today is His declaration, in print, of his turbulent thoughts regarding the undisturbed success of the wicked. He contrasts his own situation with the feeling that he has been virtuous to no profit. He considers that, ‘surely I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence.’ By the time he arrives at our text, he has gained what is, in a de facto way, the Lord’s perspective. Christ is the Judge of the living and the dead. He will ultimately divide the righteous from the unrighteous. He will not fail to render justice to those who have profited in their evil-doing. It is only by drawing near to Christ, by entering ‘into the sanctuary’ that we begin to comprehend this. It is only in this way that we can ‘understand their end.’ True spiritual understanding is seeing things from God’s perspective. The same Christ Who saves, is the Christ Who will not fail to bring to justice those who profit, and prosper while they continue in their wickedness. Understanding this truth from Christ’s perspective will prevent us from becoming bitter because of the apparent temporal inequity. As the old divine preached, ‘their foot shall slide in due time.’ In the meantime, we may draw near to Christ, knowing that He will draw near to us, and that He will make all things right at the last.

O, Judge of all the earth,
we praise You, that You will do right, in every circumstance.
We rejoice, that You will render judgment and justice to every soul,
and get glory, for Your Own Great Self.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning