Psalm 73:17 — Explanation
Psalm 73:17 (KJV):
> “Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.”
Psalm 73 is written by Asaph. The psalm describes his struggle with a difficult question: Why do wicked people sometimes prosper while faithful people suffer?
1. The context — Asaph was confused
Earlier, Asaph says:
> “But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped.” — Psalm 73:2
He looked at arrogant and wicked people and saw them apparently living comfortable, prosperous lives. Meanwhile, he felt that his own faithfulness was bringing him little visible benefit.
He even says:
> “For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning.” — Psalm 73:14
So Psalm 73 is partly about the crisis of perspective that occurs when we judge God's justice only by what we see happening in this present life.
2. “Until I went into the sanctuary of God”
This is the turning point.
The Hebrew word translated “sanctuary” is מִקְדְּשֵׁי (miqdĕshê), referring to the holy place/sanctuary of God.
The important point is not merely that Asaph physically entered a building. The sanctuary represented God's presence, worship, revelation and the proper perspective of God's covenant relationship with His people.
Asaph had been looking at life from the ground upward:
> “Why are wicked people prospering?”
But in God's sanctuary, he begins looking at life from God's perspective.
His circumstances may not have immediately changed.
His understanding changed.
3. “Then understood I their end”
This is the key.
Asaph had been focusing on their present prosperity.
God caused him to consider their ultimate destiny.
He continues in verses 18–19:
> “Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction.”
— Psalm 73:18
The apparent security of the wicked is temporary. Their prosperity cannot protect them from God's judgment.
So the comparison becomes:
Present appearance:
Wicked people may prosper.
Ultimate reality:
God remains just, and every person's life ultimately stands before Him.
4. The sanctuary corrected Asaph's perspective
Notice the progression:
Psalm 73:3 — “I was envious…”
Psalm 73:13 — “I have cleansed my heart in vain…”
Psalm 73:16 — “It was too painful for me”
Psalm 73:17 — “Until I went into the sanctuary of God”
Psalm 73:24 — “Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel”
Psalm 73:28 — “But it is good for me to draw near to God”
The sanctuary did not merely give Asaph information.
It reoriented his heart toward God.
5. There is also a warning here
Psalm 73 does not teach that every person who suffers is righteous or every person who prospers is wicked.
Nor does it teach that material prosperity necessarily means God's approval.
Instead, Asaph discovers that visible circumstances are an unreliable measure of God's justice.
Someone can appear extremely successful while being spiritually lost.
Someone can suffer greatly while remaining precious to God.
6. The connection to eternity
This becomes especially important when read alongside the New Testament.
Jesus taught:
> “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
— Mark 8:36
That is very close to the fundamental lesson Asaph learns in Psalm 73.
Temporary prosperity is not the same thing as ultimate blessing.
The sanctuary helped Asaph stop asking only:
> “What are they getting now?”
and start asking:
> “Where is this ultimately leading?”
7. The beautiful conclusion
Asaph eventually says:
> “Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.”
— Psalm 73:25
And:
> “But it is good for me to draw near to God.”
— Psalm 73:28
That is the ultimate transformation of Psalm 73.
He began by envying the wicked.
He ended by treasuring God.
So Psalm 73:17 is essentially the turning point from confusion to spiritual understanding:
> When Asaph entered God's sanctuary, he stopped judging reality solely by what was happening temporarily and began seeing life in light of God's presence, justice and the ultimate destiny of the wicked.
In short: the sanctuary changed his perspective before it changed his circumstances.
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