John Calvin Commentary Psalms 73:12

"Behold, these are the wicked; And, being alway at ease, they increase in riches." — Psalms 73:12 (ASV)

Behold! these are the ungodly. The Psalmist here shows, as it were, by a vivid pictorial representation, the character of that envy which had almost overthrown him. Behold! he says, these are wicked men! Yet they happily enjoy their ease and pleasures undisturbed, and are exalted to power and influence. This is not merely for a few days; their prosperity is of long duration and has, as it were, an endless course.

And is there anything that seems less reasonable to our judgment than that people whose wickedness is considered infamous and detestable, even in the eyes of men, should be treated with such liberality and indulgence by God? Some here take the Hebrew word עולם, olam, for the world, but improperly.

It rather denotes in this passage an age; and what David complains of is that the prosperity of the wicked is stable and of long duration, and that seeing it last so long wears out the patience of the righteous.

Upon seeing the wicked so tenderly cherished by God, David then considers his own case. Since his conscience testified to him that he had walked sincerely and uprightly, he reasons with himself about what advantage he had gained from diligently devoting himself to practicing righteousness, as he was afflicted and harassed to a very unusual degree.

He tells us that he was scourged daily, and that as often as the sun rose, some affliction or other was prepared for him, so that there was no end to his calamities. In short, his reasoning amounts to this: “Truly I have labored in vain to obtain and preserve a pure heart and clean hands, since continued afflictions await me and, so to speak, are on the watch to meet me at break of day. Such a condition surely shows that there is no reward for innocence before God; otherwise, He would certainly deal somewhat more compassionately with those who serve Him.”

True holiness, by which the godly are distinguished, consists of two parts: first, purity of heart, and second, righteousness in outward conduct. David attributes both to himself. Let us learn from his example to join them together. Let us, in the first place, begin with purity of heart, and then let us give evidence of this before men by uprightness and integrity in our conduct.