John Calvin Commentary Psalms 14:5

"There were they in great fear; For God is in the generation of the righteous." — Psalms 14:5 (ASV)

There did they tremble with fear, The prophet now encourages himself and all the faithful with the best of all consolations, namely, that God will not forsake His people even to the end, but will finally show Himself to be their defender. Some explain the adverb of place there, as meaning that God will take vengeance on the wicked in the presence of His saints, because they exercised their tyranny upon them.

But I am more inclined to think that by this word there, is expressed the certainty of their punishment, as if the Psalmist pointed to it with his finger. It may also suggest what we may gather from Psalm 53: that the judgment of God would come upon them suddenly, and when they were not thinking about it. For it is added there, where no fear is, or, where no fear was.

Expositors, I am aware, differ in their interpretation of these words. Some supply the word equal or like, and read, There is no fear equal to it. Others refer them to those secret alarms with which the ungodly are tormented, even when there may be no ground for apprehension.

God threatens the transgressors of His law with such mental torment that they shall flee when none pursueth them (Leviticus 26:17 and Proverbs 28:1), and that the sound of a shaking leaf shall chase them (Leviticus 26:36). Just as we see that they are themselves their own tormentors and are agitated with mental trouble even when there is no external cause to create it.

But I think the meaning of the prophet is different: that when their affairs are in a state of the greatest tranquility and prosperity, God will suddenly launch against them the bolts of His vengeance.

For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them (1 Thessalonians 5:3).

The prophet, therefore, encourages and supports the faithful with this prospect: that the ungodly, when they think themselves free from all danger and are securely celebrating their own triumphs, shall be overwhelmed with sudden destruction.

The reason for this is added in the last clause of the verse: because God is determined to defend the righteous and to take up their cause: For God is in the generation of the righteous. Now, in order to preserve them safe, He must necessarily thunder in His wrath from heaven against their enemies, who unjustly oppress and waste them by violence and extortion.

There is, however, some ambiguity in the word דור , dor, which we have translated generation. As this noun in Hebrew sometimes signifies an age, or the course of human life, the sentence might be explained as follows: Although God for a time may seem to take no notice of the wrongs inflicted upon His servants by the wicked, yet He is ever present with them and exercises His grace towards them during their whole life.

But it seems to me a more simple and natural exposition to interpret the clause this way: that God is on the side of the righteous and takes their part, as we say, so that דור , dor, will have the same meaning here which the word natio, (nation), sometimes has among the Latins.

In Psalm 53:5, the Psalmist adds a sentence which does not occur in this psalm: For God hath scattered the bones of him that besiegeth thee, thou shalt put them to shame; because God hath rejected them.

By these words, the prophet explains more clearly how God protects the righteous: by delivering them from the jaws of death, just as if one were to put to flight those who had laid siege to a town and were to set at liberty its inhabitants, who before were in great extremity and quite shut up.

From this it follows that we must patiently bear oppression if we desire to be protected and preserved by the hand of God at the time of our greatest danger.

The expression bones, is used metaphorically for strength or power. The prophet particularly speaks of their power; for if the wicked were not possessed of riches, ammunition, and troops, which render them formidable, it would not appear with sufficient evidence that it is the hand of God which finally crushes them.

The Psalmist next exhorts the faithful to a holy boasting and tells them to rest assured that an ignominious destruction hangs over the heads of the wicked. The reason for this is because God hath rejected them; and if He is opposed to them, all things must ultimately go ill with them.

As מאס, maäs, which we have translated to reject, sometimes means to despise, some render it this way: Because God hath despised them; but this, I think, does not suit the passage.

It would be more appropriate to read: He hath rendered them contemptible, or, subjected them to disgrace and ignominy. From this it follows that they only draw down upon themselves dishonor and infamy while they strive to elevate themselves, as it were, in defiance of God.