Psalms 73:17 - Exposition

Until I went into the sanctuary of God; literally, the sanctuaries (comp. Psalms 68:35 ; Psalms 84:1 ; Psalms 132:7 ). The three subdivisions of both the tabernacle and the first temple, viz. the court, the holy place, and the holy of holies, constituted three sanctuaries. The psalmist, in his perplexity, took his doubts into the sanctuary of God, and there, "in the calmness of the sacred court" (Kay), reconsidered the hard problem. Compare Hezekiah's action with the perplexing letter of Sennacherib ( 2 Kings 19:14 ). Then understood I their end. There came to him in the sanctuary the thought that, to judge aright of the happiness or misery of any man, it is necessary to await the end (comp. Herod; 1:32; Soph; ' OE d. Tyr.,' ad fin.; Eurip; 'Andromach.,' 50.100; Aristot; ' Eth. Nic.,' 1.10).