John Calvin Commentary Psalms 17:14

"From men by thy hand, O Jehovah, From men of the world, whose portion is in [this] life, And whose belly thou fillest with thy treasure: They are satisfied with children, And leave the rest of their substance to their babes." — Psalms 17:14 (ASV)

From men by thy hand, O Jehovah, from men who are from an age. I connect these words this way: O Lord, deliver me by your hand, or by your heavenly aid, from men—I mean, from men whose tyranny has prevailed too long, and whom you have allowed to wallow too long in the filth and dregs of their prosperity.

This repetition is very emphatic. David’s voice, being stifled, as it were, with the indignation he felt at seeing such villainy continuing for so long a period, stops suddenly after uttering the first word, without proceeding further in the sentence he meant to express. Then, after having recovered his breath, he declares what it is that so greatly distressed him.

In the preceding verse he had spoken in the singular number, but now he leads us to understand that he had not only one enemy but many. He indicates that those who were set against him were strong and powerful, so that he saw no hope of deliverance remaining for him except in the aid of God.

These words, from world, or age, (for such is the exact literal rendering) are interpreted in different ways. Some understand them as meaning men who have their time, as if David intended to say that their prosperous condition would not be of long duration; but this does not appear to me to be the proper explanation.

Others suppose he means by this expression those who are wholly devoted to the world, and whose whole attention and thoughts are absorbed in the things of earth; and, according to their opinion, David compares his enemies to brute beasts. In the same sense they explain what follows immediately after, Their portion is in life, language they consider as applied to them because, being entirely destitute of the Spirit and clinging with their whole hearts to temporary good things, they think of nothing better than this world.

For that in which each man places his happiness is termed his portion. However, as the Hebrew word חלד (cheled) signifies an age, or the course of a man’s life, David, I doubt not, complains that his enemies had lived and enjoyed prosperity longer than the ordinary term allotted to human life.

The audacity and the outrages committed by wicked men might be tolerated for a short time, but when they grow insolent against God, it is very strange indeed to see them continuing stable in their prosperous condition.

That this is the sense appears from the preposition מן (min), which we have translated from, by which David expresses that they had not sprung up only a few days before or recently, but that their prosperity, which should have vanished in a moment, had lasted for a very long time.

Such, then, is the meaning of the Psalmist, unless, perhaps, we may understand him as calling them of the world, or age, because they hold the chief authority among men and are exalted in honors and riches, as if this world had been made for them alone.

When he says, Their portion is in life, I explain it as meaning that they are exempt from all troubles and abound in pleasures; in short, that they do not experience the common condition of other men. On the contrary, when a man is oppressed with adversities, it is said of him that his portion is in death. David therefore intimates that it is not a reasonable thing that the ungodly should be permitted to go about in joy and gaiety without any fear of death, and to claim for themselves, as if by hereditary right, a peaceful and happy life.

What he adds immediately after, Whose belly thou fillest with thy secret goods, is of the same meaning. We see these persons not only enjoying, in common with other men, light, breath, food, and all other comforts of life, but we also see God often treating them more delicately and more generously than others, as if he fed them on his lap, holding them tenderly like little babies, and fondling them more than all the rest of mankind.

Accordingly, by the secret goods of God, we are here to understand the rare and more exquisite delicacies which he bestows on them. Now, this is a severe temptation if a person estimates the love and favor of God by the measure of earthly prosperity which he bestows; and therefore, it is not surprising that David was greatly afflicted in contemplating the prosperous condition of ungodly men.

But let us remember that he makes this holy complaint to console himself and to mitigate his distress, not by murmuring against God and resisting his will. Let us remember this, I say, so that, following his example, we may also learn to direct our groanings to heaven.

Some give a more subtle interpretation of what is here called God’s secret goods, viewing it as meaning the good things that the ungodly devour without thinking of or regarding him who is their author. Or they suppose the good things of God to be called secret, because the reason why God pours them out so abundantly on the wicked is not apparent.

But the interpretation I have given, as it is both simple and natural, sufficiently refutes the others by itself. The last point in this description is that, by continuous succession, these persons pass on their riches to their children and their children’s children.

Since they are not among the number of God’s children, to whom this blessing is promised, it follows that when they are thus fattened, it is for the day of slaughter which he has appointed.

The object David therefore has in view in making this complaint is that God would hasten to execute vengeance, since they have so long abused his liberality and gentle treatment.