Commentary - Psalm 73:17-20

Bird's-eye view

In this pivotal section of Psalm 73, Asaph’s spiritual crisis comes to a head and finds its resolution. After teetering on the brink of apostasy, consumed with envy at the prosperity of the wicked (vv. 2-14), he finds his footing again. The turning point is not a logical argument that finally clicks, but rather an encounter with God in His sanctuary. This is not about escaping the world's problems, but about seeing them from the right vantage point. From the perspective of worship, the wicked, who seemed so secure, are revealed to be in the most precarious position imaginable. Their glorious life is nothing more than a dream, a fleeting illusion that will vanish when God arises. This passage is a profound meditation on the difference between temporal appearances and ultimate reality, a reality that can only be grasped in the presence of God.

The structure is straightforward. Asaph states the turning point: his entrance into the sanctuary (v. 17a). This leads to a profound understanding of the final destiny of the wicked (v. 17b). He then describes this destiny with three powerful images: they are on slippery ground, set up for a fall (v. 18); their destruction will be sudden and terrifying (v. 19); and their entire existence is as insubstantial as a dream that God will despise upon waking (v. 20). The solution to Asaph’s envy is not that he gets what the wicked have, but that he finally sees what they have for what it truly is: nothing.

Outline

Context In Psalms

Psalm 73 is the first of a collection of psalms attributed to Asaph (Psalms 73-83). Asaph was a chief musician appointed by David, a man tasked with leading Israel in worship. This context is crucial. The man struggling with the apparent injustice of the world is not a casual observer but a leader of God's people in corporate worship. His crisis is not merely personal; it has implications for the entire congregation. This psalm is a wisdom psalm, grappling with the age-old problem of theodicy: why do the wicked prosper while the righteous suffer? Asaph’s journey from near-apostasy to robust faith provides a pastoral guide for all believers who face the same temptation. The solution, significantly, is found not in private philosophical speculation but in corporate worship, "the sanctuary of God." This highlights a central theme in the Psalter: true perspective on life's gravest problems is found in the presence of God with His people.

Key Issues

Verse by Verse Commentary

17 Until I came into the sanctuary of God; Then I understood their end.

This verse is the hinge upon which the entire psalm turns. Asaph has been wrestling in his own mind, trying to reconcile the goodness of God with the prosperity of the wicked, and the effort has been wearisome, a "toil" in his eyes (v. 16). The problem was not with his intellect, but with his location. He was trying to solve a spiritual problem with earthly logic. The breakthrough comes when he changes his venue. He goes "into the sanctuary of God." This is not just about going to a building. It is about entering into the presence of the living God through corporate worship, where God's Word is proclaimed and God's perspective is declared. It is there, in the place where God is rightly honored, that the world is rightly seen. Faith grasps the truth, not as a faint hope, but as a solid reality. It is in worship that he "understood their end." The word for "end" here is acharit, which refers to their final destiny, their ultimate outcome. He did not understand their quarterly earnings report or their current political influence; he understood their end. And that changed everything.

18 Surely You set them in slippery places; You cause them to fall to destruction.

The first thing Asaph understands in the sanctuary is the utter precariousness of the wicked. Their prosperity, which looked like a mighty fortress from the outside, is actually a sheet of ice on a steep slope. And who put them there? "Surely You set them." God is sovereign over their rise, and He has placed them in this high, but treacherous, position. Their success is the very instrument of their downfall. It is a divine setup. They are not just in slippery places by accident; they are placed there. And the end of this slippery slope is not a soft landing. God causes them to "fall to destruction." The language is active. God is not a passive observer of their eventual demise; He is the one who casts them down. This is a terrifying thought, and it is meant to be. The ease and comfort of the wicked are a divine judgment in disguise, fattening them for the day of slaughter.

19 How they become desolate in a moment! They are completely swept away by terrors!

The second aspect of their end is its suddenness and terror. The psalmist is astonished at the speed of it. "How they become desolate in a moment!" Their ruin does not come by slow degrees. It is a flash flood, a sudden collapse. One moment they are strutting in their pride, their eyes bulging with fatness (v. 7), and the next they are gone. This is not a peaceful retirement. They are "completely swept away by terrors." The same men who terrorized others with their arrogance and violence are themselves consumed by a greater terror. The judgment of God is not something they can negotiate with or intimidate. It comes upon them with overwhelming force, and all their earthly power is shown to be a pathetic joke. The security they built for themselves was a house of cards in a hurricane.

20 Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when aroused, You will despise their form.

The final image is perhaps the most devastating. Their entire life, all their accomplishments, all their wealth and power, is like a dream. When a man awakes, the vivid reality of his dream, the riches he held, the battles he won, vanishes into nothing. He cannot take any of it with him into the waking world. So it is with the wicked. Their life is an illusion, a phantasm. And when God "awakes," when He arises to judge, He will "despise their form." The word "form" here can mean image or phantom. God looks upon their proud image, the very thing they spent their lives cultivating, and He scorns it. It is worthless, empty, contemptible. The devil bribes his fools with dream-gold, and they spend their lives hoarding it, only to wake up with empty hands in the presence of a holy God. This is the ultimate reality check, and it is the cure for the believer's envy.

Key Words

Miqdash, "Sanctuary"

Miqdash refers to a holy place, a sacred space set apart for the worship of God. In the context of the Old Testament, this would most immediately refer to the Tabernacle or the Temple in Jerusalem. However, its significance is more than architectural. The sanctuary is the place where heaven and earth meet, where God has promised to make His presence known to His people. For Asaph, entering the sanctuary meant reorienting his entire worldview around the reality of God's presence and God's promises, which is why it was the place of true understanding.

Acharit, "Their End"

The Hebrew word acharit means latter part, outcome, or final destiny. It is a word that forces a long-term perspective. Asaph was stuck looking at the "now" of the wicked, their present prosperity. In the sanctuary, God gave him the grace to see their acharit, their ultimate end. This is a key principle of biblical wisdom: we are to evaluate all things not by their present appearance, but by their final state in light of God's coming judgment.

Application

The central application for us is plain. When we find ourselves, like Asaph, stumbling over the apparent success of God's enemies, the solution is not to think harder in our own study. The solution is to go to church. We must get ourselves into the sanctuary, into the assembly of the saints, where the Word is preached, the songs are sung, and the sacraments are administered. It is in corporate worship that our spiritual vision is corrected. We are reminded that the swaggering lords of this age are standing on greased skids, and their end is rushing toward them.

This passage teaches us to view worldly success with a sanctified suspicion. The man who is getting away with it, the corrupt politician, the leering celebrity, the godless CEO, God has set them in slippery places. Their prosperity is not a sign of God's favor but of His wrath. We are not to envy them; we are to pity them and pray for their repentance. Who envies the turkey being fattened for Thanksgiving?

Finally, we must apply the dream analogy to our own lives. We are tempted to chase after the phantoms of this world, wealth, recognition, comfort. This psalm calls us to wake up. The only reality that will endure is our relationship with God. When God arises, the only thing that will matter is whether we are found in Christ. He is the true sanctuary, the one who passed through judgment for us, so that when we stand before the aroused Lord, we will not be despised, but welcomed as sons and daughters. Our lives are not a dream that vanishes, but the beginning of a reality that will last forever.