Those who are pure in heart (2)
[Psalms 73]
What did Asaph do in the midst of these difficulties? He came into the sanctuary of God (Ps. 73:17). Then he realized three things:
First, Asaph realized the end of the wicked.
Look at Psalms 73:17 – “Until I came into the sanctuary of God; Then I perceived their end.” What is the end of the wicked? It is “ruin” (v. 18), ‘destruction’ (v. 19), “completely swept away” (v. 19) and “despise” (v. 20). Look at verse 18-20: “Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! As a dream when one awakes, so when you arise, O Lord, you will despise them as fantasies.” The past prosperity of the wicked is brief. They aren’t far away from being cast down to ruin (v. 18). God endures their evil deeds for a long time as if He is sleeping, and when the time comes, He will punish them as a dream when one awakes (v. 20).
Second, Asaph realized the end of the righteous.
What’s the end of the righteous? Look at Psalms 73:24 – “You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.” In the end of the righteous, the Lord will take the righteous into glory. So the apostle Paul is telling us this message of hope: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Rom. 8:18).
Third, Asaph realized that he was senseless and ignorant.
Look at Psalms 73:22 – “I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.” Asaph, who envied the wicked when he saw their prosperity in the past, had his heart grieved and his spirit embittered (v. 21). But when he entered the sanctuary of God (v. 17), he understood how foolish he was, like a brute beast before God (v. 22), and repented his sins.
Asaph, who became aware of the end of the wicked and of who he is before God by entering the sanctuary of God, made three beautiful confessions in verses 23-28:
The first confession was “you hold me by my right hand.”
Look at Psalms 73:23 – “Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.” Seeing the prosperity and pride of the wicked, and the people who followed the wicked, Asaph almost stumbled. But in the midst of that, because the Lord held his right hand, he didn’t stumble, but was guided by the Lord's instruction (v. 24). We can see that the Lord gave Asaph not only the end of the wicked in the sanctuary, but the end of the righteous, that is, the glory in the life to come (v. 24).
The second confession was “But as for me, it is good to be near God.”
Look at Psalms 73:28 – “But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.” Asaph pledged to trust God forever, the strength of his portion forever (v. 26), no matter what suffering his body and heart faced.
The third confession was “And earth has nothing I desire besides you.”
Look at Psalms 73:25 – “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.” The pure-hearted believer who encountered God isn’t envious of the prosperity of the wicked in this earth, commits sin in pride, covets wealth, avoids suffering and pain, and doesn’t fill his stomach in greed. Rather, this saint knows the end of the wicked and the end of the righteous, and he doesn't want anything in this world, and he lives by longing for the Lord only. This reminds me the hymn “I’d Rather Have Jesus”:
- I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold; I'd rather be His than have riches untold;
I'd rather have Jesus than houses or lands. I'd rather be led by His nail pierced hand
Chorus:
Than to be the king of a vast domain Or be held in sin's dread sway.
I'd rather have Jesus than anything This world affords today.
- I'd rather have Jesus than men's applause; I'd rather be faithful to His dear cause;
I'd rather have Jesus than worldwide fame. I'd rather be true to His holy name.
- He's fairer than lilies of rarest bloom; He's sweeter than honey from out the comb;
He's all that my hungering spirit needs. I'd rather have Jesus and let Him lead.
Just as the pure-hearted Asaph almost stumbled, Satan is striving to make us stumble through the people who follow the wicked who are prosperous and arrogant. Then we must enter the sanctuary of God like Asaph. There we must realize the end of the wicked and the end of the righteous. And like Asaph, we must realize our foolishness and ignorance. Then, like Asaph, we will also be able to make beautiful confessions like “you hold me by my right right hand,” “But as for me, it is good to be near God” and “And earth has nothing I desire besides you.”
Wanting to have pure heart,
James Kim
(Confessing that Asaph's confession is my confession)