‘Afterward’

‘Afterward’

‘…and afterward receive me to glory.’

Psalm 73:24b

The eye of the believer is ever toward the future.  As Asaph is coming to terms with the truths of his faith, he articulates his look toward the future.  He says, ‘Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.’  Here is the hope of the people of God.  We rest by faith upon what God has told us.  We have hope of Him receiving us ‘into glory.’  This hope does not rest upon our own merit, or our own righteousness.  If God will receive anyone ‘into glory,’ it will be solely upon the merits of Christ.  When David wrote the 23rd Psalm, He started with the fact that Christ was his Shepherd.  From that starting point, he could speak graphically about what Christ did for him.  When David came to speak of the harder circumstances of life, for example, walking through ‘the valley of the shadow of death,’ his comfort was that Christ would be with him.  When he came to speak of his eternal destiny, he declared ‘and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.’  David and Asaph had the same hope, which rested upon the same Person.  Their hope is our hope.  We rest all of our present and all of our future upon Christ.  He will receive us ‘into glory’ afterward, because He has done all that is necessary to bring us there.  We look forward to that day, because Christ holds us and all our future in His All-powerful Hands.

Our Gracious Master and our God,
we praise You that You have done all that is necessary
to bring us unto Your own great Self.
We rejoice that we have You in the present
and will be in Your presence ‘afterward.’

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning