Asaph, perhaps a young to middle-aged man learning the Levitical priesthood, was in the middle of a crisis of faith in the Lord his God. He kept his burden to himself, not wanting to trouble the religion of his family (15). He had kept a pure life, expecting to be rewarded by God with a prosperous life. Yet, he believed that his piety and obedience to the covenant of the Lord God brought only punishment from the Lord, morning after morning (14). Then, he learned that the religiously wealthy were actually wicked hypocrites and that everything only made them even more prosperous. They were the same as the religious leaders whom Jesus spoke woes to in Matthew 23.
Asaph tried to use human reason to find a solution to his religious problem. He found none, and it was oppressive to him (16). Then, one day, probably serving out his religious duties as a Levitical musician in the temple holy place, that is, the sanctuary of God, the Holy Spirit came upon him, and he was given a new perspective and understanding. Asaph could not understand because he believed that proper religion guaranteed prosperity and easy living. That misconception was part of his false conclusions.
First, God has placed the wicked religious on slippery ground that will cast them down to ruin on the day of judgment (18-19). When Jesus arises from his throne in heaven, he will come to judge a person for the decisions of the heart. Those who reject God and pretend to be religious, but then have a callous heart toward God, and others will be completely swept away by terrors (19).
Second, when Asaph learned of the judgment to come, he realized that when his heart was grieved, and his spirit was embittered, he was senseless and ignorant. He was no more than a beast to God. He did not see the eternal. He only saw the here and now. Consider the hand of God that guides us now the help us as we patiently wait for the eternal glory that we will endure with being with Jesus forever. Nothing compares with being with Jesus. Nothing.
