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Book III
The End of the Wicked contrasted with that of the Righteous.
A Psalm of Asaph. |
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1 Surely God is good to Israel,
Even to such as are pure in heart.
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2 But as for me, my feet were almost gone;
My steps had well nigh slipped.
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Well nigh slipped – In former ignorance and foolishness, until he held us up by the right hand (verse 23), and did not suffer us to fall. R1562:5
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3 For I was envious at the arrogant,
When I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
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I was envious – If justice be delayed it is only for the development of some greater good than could be accomplished by a speedy adjustment. R2025:5
Prosperity – The effect of Satan's reign on sinners. R492:3
Of the wicked – Who, in the present life, flourish more often than do the righteous. R1383:5
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4 For there are no pangs in their death;
But their strength is firm.
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5 They are not in trouble as other men;
Neither are they plagued like other men.
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They – The wicked class, the worldly. R1652:3
Not in trouble – All suffering is not the direct penal result of some personal sin. R1773:3
It is very seldom, indeed, that God visits punishment upon the world in the present time. R569:5
As other men – The saints. R1652:3
But we see the justified ones suffer and die just like other men. R1561:1
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6 Therefore pride is as a chain about their neck;
Violence covereth them as a garment.
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7 Their eyes stand out with fatness:
They have more than heart could wish.
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With fatness – Under the reign of the prince of darkness, evildoers often have great success. R5778:2; CR493:4
They seem to go unheeded in their wrong course. R4856:4
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8 They scoff, and in wickedness utter oppression:
They speak loftily.
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Wickedly concerning – In the wickedness of oppression. R1562:2
Loftily – From the chief places of power and control. R1562:2
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9 They have set their mouth in the heavens,
And their tongue walketh through the earth.
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Their tongue walketh – Their influence has free course. R1562:2
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10 Therefore his people return hither:
And waters of a full cup are drained by them.
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Therefore his people – God's people. R1562:3
Return hither --Turn into the wilderness condition of separation from the world. R1562:3
And a full cup – Of affliction and persecution. R1562:3
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11 And they say, How doth God know?
And is there knowledge in the Most High?
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And they say – The ungodly say. R1562:3
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12 Behold, these are the wicked;
And, being always at ease, they increase in riches.
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Prosper in the world – Occupying the chief places of control--political, financial and religious. R1562:4
Because, during this age, Satan is permitted to be the prince of this world--to rule as he will. R569:2, R5778:2
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13 Surly in vain have I cleansed my heart,
And washed my hands in innocency;
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14 For all the day long have I been plagued,
And chastened every morning.
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15 If I had said, I will speak thus;
Behold, I had dealt treacherously with the generation of thy children.
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16 When I thought how I might know this,
It seemed too painful for me;
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17 Until I went into the sanctuaries of God,
And considered their latter end.
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Into the sanctuary – The holy place of entire consecration to God, typified in the Holy of the Tabernacle. R1562:4
Their end – In the day of judgment they will get their lessons and have much more difficulty than those who learn the lessons now. R4856:4
"The Lord knoweth how to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished." (2 Pet. 2:9) R569:5
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18 Surely thou settest them in slippery places:
Thou castest them down to destruction.
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19 How are they become a desolation in a moment!
They are utterly consumed with terrors.
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20 As a dream when one awaketh,
So, O Jehovah, when thou awakest, thou wilt despise their image.
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21 For my soul was grieved,
And I was pricked in my kidneys:
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22 So brutish was I, and ignorant;
I was as a beast before thee.
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So foolish was I – In being envious of the prosperous wicked. R1562:5
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23 Nevertheless I am continually with thee:
Thou hast holden my right hand.
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24 Thou wilt guide me with thy counsel,
And afterward receive me to glory.
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Thou shalt guide me – Nothing indicates that God is pleased to guide his people by impressing his thoughts upon them in any other way than through his Word. R2240:6
If the heart desires guidance, divine light will be shed through the Word, under the illuminating power of the holy Spirit. R590:5*
One of life's most important lessons is our own insufficiency, our own lack of wisdom. R2240:2
He will not drive his sheep, but goeth before them to lead, that they may follow. R2672:3
We should not expect to be able always to comprehend the divine wisdom which is so much beyond our own, yet we can often see it afterward. R1562:2
With thy counsel – As contained in the Scriptures. R2240:5
Those who can be guided only by continual scourgings are not of the overcoming class. E234
Not only respecting the life to come, but also respecting the things of this present life. R2240:2
We believe in divine providences, but these do not supplant God's written Word. R2240:5
Even the best of earthly counsel is of value only as it has been directed by the divine counsel. R2240:3
As a natural man, Jesus had no need of the Father's special counsel, being perfect and able to guide his own way, but as a spirit-begotten individual he, like the members of his Body, needed the Father's counsel. R4246:6*
Afterward – If we give heed to the counsel. R2240:3
The present life, being preparatory, is a time for the schooling and discipline of the sons of God. R1561:2
"Afterwards it yieldeth the peaceable fruits of righteousness." (Heb. 12:11) R1562:2
Receive me to glory – The overcomers of the Gospel age to celestial glory and the overcomers of the Millennial age to terrestrial glory. R2242:5
Only those who seek diligently to know the most minute features of the Lord's counsel will afterward be received into glory. R4247:2*
Those of the Jewish age into the glory of the earthly phase of the Kingdom; those of the Gospel age into the glory of the heavenly phase. R1562:2
It was not the man Christ Jesus that was received into glory. R4247:1*
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25 Whom have I in heaven but thee?
And there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee.
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26 My flesh and my heart faileth;
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever.
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My heart faileth – The flesh is too weak and the heart is too faint to pursue the course marked out for the righteous in this evil time, except as strengthened and upheld by power from on high. R1562:5
Jesus realized that, as a human being, though perfect, his heart and flesh would fail unless reinforced by divine grace. R1807:2
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27 For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish:
Thou hast destroyed all them that play the harlot, departing from thee.
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28 But it is good for me to draw near unto God:
I have made the Lord Jehovah my refuge,
That I may tell of all thy works. |
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