Commentary on Psalms - Volume 3 - Bible Study Guides

Comm on Psalms (V3)John Calvin“Righteous art thou, O Lord! when I plead with thee; yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments:Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? Wherefore are all they happy that deal verytreacherously?” (Jeremiah 12:1)It appears from that passage that even the godly are tempted to doubt of the Providence of God,but at the same time that doubts on this subject do not go very deep into their hearts; for Jeremiahat the outset protests the contrary; and by doing so, puts, as it were, a bridle upon himself. Yet theydo not always so speedily anticipate the snares of Satan, as to avoid asking, under the influence ofa doubting spirit, how it can happen, if God really regards the world, that he does not remedy thegreat confusion which prevails in it? Of those who impiously prate against God by denying hisProvidence, there are two sorts. Some openly pour out their blasphemies, asserting that God,delighting in ease and pleasure, cares about nothing, but leaves the government of all things tochance. Others, although they keep their thoughts on this subject to themselves, and are silent beforemen, yet cease not secretly to fret against God, and to accuse him of injustice or of indolence, inconniving at wickedness, neglecting the godly, and allowing all things to be involved in confusion,and to go to wreck. But the people of God, before these perverse and detestable thoughts enter deepinto their hearts, disburden themselves into the bosom of God, 183 and their only desire is to acquiescein his secret judgments, the reason of which is hidden from them. The meaning of this passage,therefore, is, that not only the wicked, when they see things in the world so full of disorder, conceiveonly of a blind government, which they attribute to fortune or chance; but that even true believersthemselves are shaken, so as to doubt of the Providence of God; and that unless they werewonderfully preserved by his hand, they would be completely swallowed up in this abyss.12. Behold! these are the ungodly. The Psalmist here shows, as it were by a vivid pictorialrepresentation, the character of that envy which had well nigh overthrown him. Behold! says he,these are wicked men! and yet they happily enjoy their ease and pleasures undisturbed, and areexalted to power and influence; and that not merely for a few days, but their prosperity is of longduration, and has, as it were, an endless course. And is there anything which seems to our judgmentless reasonable than that persons whose wickedness is accounted infamous and detestable, even inthe eyes of men, should be treated with such liberality and indulgence by God? Some here take theHebrew word , olam, for the world, but improperly. It rather denotes in this passage an age; 184and what David complains of is, that the prosperity of the wicked is stable and of long duration,and that to see it last so long wears out the patience of the righteous. Upon seeing the wicked sotenderly cherished by God, he descends to the consideration of his own case; and as his consciencebore him testimony that he had walked sincerely and uprightly, he reasons with himself as to whatadvantage he had derived from studiously devoting himself to the practice of righteousness, sincehe was afflicted and harassed in a very unusual degree. He tells us that he was scourged daily, andthat as often as the sun rose, some affliction or other was prepared for him, so that there was noend to his calamities. In short the amount of his reasoning is this, “Truly I have labored in vain toobtain and preserve a pure heart and clean hands, seeing continued afflictions await me, and, so tospeak, are on the watch to meet me at break of day. Such a condition surely shows that there is noreward for innocence before God, else he would certainly deal somewhat more compassionatelytowards those who serve him.” As the true holiness for which the godly are distinguished consists183 “En la presence de Dieu.” — Fr. “In the presence of God.”184 “Plustost il signifie yci un siecle,” — Fr.83