God's way is hidden in the sea, and His paths in the great waters with His footsteps are not known to men (v. 19), but His way is revealed in His sanctuary (v. 13). The thought here is similar to that in Psalm 73 where the psalmist, puzzled by the prosperity of the wicked and the suffering of the seeking saints, said, "When I considered this in order to understand it,/It was troublesome in my sight,/Until I went into the sanctuary of God;/Then I perceived their end" (vv. 16-17). In the sanctuary, the psalmist had a clear view of the situation.
Spiritually speaking, for us today God's sanctuary is our spirit and the church. Many Christians neglect the matter of the spirit. Some do not even realize that they have a human spirit. Likewise, many do not have a proper understanding concerning the church. Without paying attention to our spirit and to the church, we cannot know God's way, which is revealed in His sanctuary. I thank the Lord that we in the Lord's recovery know both the spirit and the church. When we were in Elden hall, we had a slogan: "In spirit, on the ground." In this slogan the word "spirit" refers to our regenerated human spirit, and the word "ground" denotes the ground of the church. Today we have a twofold sanctuary: a private sanctuary—the spirit—and a public sanctuary—the church.
Many of us can testify that certain secrets in the Bible were unknown to us until we went into this twofold sanctuary. When we exercise our spirit and live in the church, God's way becomes clear to us.
We may use the matter of marriage as an illustration of this. In the early years of my ministry, I would give many principles to those who consulted with me about whom they should marry. I discovered, however, that this did not work, and eventually I changed my practice regarding this. Now if young people ask me concerning marriage, I will not give them any principles; instead, I will encourage them to exercise their spirit and to attend the meetings of the church. If those who are concerned about marriage will enter into the sanctuary of God by exercising their spirit and living in the church, they will know what they should do. The main point in Psalm 77 is that God's way is revealed in His sanctuary.