PSALM 73.

     THE EFFECT OF THE SANCTUARY.

   "Until I went into the Sanctuary of God, then understood I their end." 
(Vs.17)  This psalm was written by Asaph the seer, or prophet. All Israel 
used to sing songs written by him and David. Martin Luther said of this 
psalm, "It is a psalm that instructs us against that great offence and 
stumbling block concerning which all prophets have  complained, that is, the 
wicked flourish, they enjoy prosperity and increase in abundance, while the 
godly suffer cold and hunger and are afflicted and spat upon, being despised 
and condemned."
   This and the following sixteen psalms compose the third book of psalms. 
There are two aspect of this particular song. First; before going into the 
Sanctuary. Then; after going into the Sanctuary. Today, when people doubt the 
value of going into the sanctuary where God is worshipped, it is of great 
value to consider the comparisons made in this psalm. To those who say, "Why 
go to Church?", this psalm is a wonderful answer.
   Asaph had looked around, had seen what was happening to other people, and 
his feet had well nigh slipped. So often this happens to us. I is the effect 
of seeing others seemingly enjoying themselves whilst believers are going 
through the mill. Asaph had been through this experience where he felt, "What 
is the use of being good?" Everything in his life was going wrong.
   So he describes his condition before he went to the sanctuary. He says his 
steps were slipping. "My feet had almost gone and my steps had well nigh 
slipped!" He felt that there was no foundation in his faith. With the wicked 
around him, everything seemed to be so tangible, all was going well for them, 
and he had nothing to be happy about. Time and time again the enemy of our 
souls will come and whisper in our ear, "Is it worth while? You are getting 
nothing out of living right.  There's nothing in it for you. Look around you 
and see those who prosper!". Asaph confesses that he had almost lost his 
footing over that problem. His stumbling was caused by envy. He was envious 
of the wicked. Jealous of the Love God showed toward all men, which was 
proven by His goodness toward all men. Why should God bless the wicked?. Such 
a question corrodes the soul. Envy is a terrible thing. It is good to thank 
God for His goodness to us and to all men. He is good to all because He is 
the God of Love.
   Asaph specified the things he envied. They were, the prosperity of the 
wicked, and  the way the wicked died with ease. We are often grieved to see 
the children of God suffer for a long time and then die. We know we have a 
God who can heal diseases our diseases, or take us home very quickly. Asaph 
continues his complaint about the wicked, "They are not in trouble as other 
men are." This phrase 'as other men are' is quite deceptive. It begs the 
question. What OTHER men are meant?. That is the core of the argument.  Asaph 
felt that there was an invidious distinction. The wicked person's exemption 
from trouble seemed to last for a long time. He seemed so full of pride, and 
violence, fatness and loud speaking; always on the top. Then Asaph looked at 
his own situation in contrast to the wicked. "All day long I have been 
plagued. They never get into trouble like me. I am chastened every morning, 
The restraining hand is always there."  At one time during my ministry when I 
travelled frequently to the Continent from Britain, each time I went through 
Customs, I seemed to be the only person stopped and examined.  On no occasion 
was I breaking the rules. One dear man offered me consolation with these 
words,"Well I think it must be that you look very much like a villain." How 
encouraging; but not enlightening. Asaph continued to complain, "All day long 
I have been touched." He felt a hand upon him every morning and through the 
day. It is a cause for gratitude when we feel that constraining hand upon us. 
But Asaph goes on, "I feel I have cleansed my heart in vain and I have washed 
my hands in innocence without any purpose." In today's vernacular we would 
say, "What's the use of trying to be good, when the wicked get away with 
everything?"
   That is how Asaph kept on thinking until he went into the Sanctuary of 
God. What a lovely word Sanctuary is. It applies to all the Holy places of 
God. Your own room where you pray, or the Mighty Cathedral dedicated to His 
Worship. They are both the sanctuary; and many more places in between in 
which we meet God. We should GO IN to the Sanctuary as often as we GO IN to 
the world around us. God's Word is kept in the Sanctuary. There is Vision in 
the Sanctuary. Truth abides in the Sanctuary. Understanding is born in the 
Sanctuary.
   Asaph is positive that it was going into the Sanctuary that brought him an 
understanding of those things he had observed but had not understood. When he 
went to the place where the Word of God was kept he found understanding, not 
an excuse nor an explanation, but an answer from God. In days of old it was 
in the Sanctuary that God spoke by the Urim and Thumim. Most scholars think 
that those two words describe the flashing of a holy light upon the gems on 
High Priest's  Breastplate. Twelve jewels inset in his breastplate 
represented the twelve tribes before God. Those twelve jewels reflected the 
light of the Glory of God's Presence in a special way. The flashing light 
signalled a message intelligible to the High Priest. What it signified was 
that there was Vision in the Sanctuary; there lies the answer to many a 
problem. If we want to see things as they really are, we have to spend time 
in the presence of God. He will let you know what He can see.
   The last time I went to see my son in British Columbia, we went fishing 
with an Indian brother. The three of us were in a boat in the middle of a 
large lake. : Look at that fish!", shouted the other two, and I was left 
seeing nothing. I felt such an idiot. I stood up and gazed and could see 
nothing. My son grew angry but I still could see nothing. Then the Indian 
came and stood by my side, pointing to the water behind the boat. "I want you 
to see what I can see." he said, "Now look along my arm to that shadow in the 
water behind the boat. Can you see it?" I gazed in the direction he pointed, 
and told him I could see the shadow. "Now," he said, "Look beyond it!"
There is was; the biggest fish I had ever seen. For a moment, there, I saw 
what he saw.
   In the Sanctuary, God makes us see what He can see.  Maybe it is only the 
shadow of it; maybe only the promise of it; we cannot see the fullness of it, 
for e alone sees that. But there is Vision in the Sanctuary, and it is 
wonderful to come out of God's Presence saying, "I can see it now!" In the 
Sanctuary there is TRUTH. After 68 years of following the Lord I can affirm 
that whatever He has said has always been the Truth, the whole Truth, and 
nothing but the Truth. There have been times when it has seems to be 
unbelievable. Then, your heart cries, "It cannot be Lord!" Yet later you 
discover that it was just as the Lord had revealed.
   Asaph said, "Then understood I their end." After he had been in the 
Sanctuary he understood all those things which puzzled him so much before he 
went in. How true it is that we fail to find the answer to the world's 
problems in the worldly sphere. The answer is in the Sanctuary - in the 
Presence of God. When these vain shadows which puzzle us now have passed 
away, they will be of no consequence at all. What our critics cynically call, 
"Pie in the sky when we die!", will be a glorious revelation in the Presence 
of Almighty God. 



Copyright (c) 1996, Hedley Palmer. All rights reserved.




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