‘I Was Envious of the Arrogant…’: Calvin on Psalm 73

I Was Envious of the Arrogant Until I Went into the Sanctuary

Beginning by extolling God, the author of this psalm contends against the judgment of carnal sense and reason. He confesses that when he compared the prosperity and indulgence of the wicked with the cares and sorrows of the righteous, he was tempted to wonder if God sat in heaven idle and unconcerned; he even questioned whether godliness was worthwhile. But then he reproves his own rash judgment and shows how the saints must be patient so that their faith should not fail under such troubles. He concludes that as God fulfils his secret purposes and his providence takes its course, it will become clear that the wicked do not escape judgment nor do the righteous lose their reward.

A PSALM OF ASAPH: David was probably the author of this psalm, but it may have Asaph’s name attached to it because he was in charge of the temple singing. There is much benefit to be derived from meditating on this psalm, for experience tells us that we can have similar difficulties in keeping our footing on the same slippery ground as the author. We all profess to believe in divine providence, but when temptations challenge us, we discover our convictions are not as strong as we thought.

Besides, Satan dazzles our eyes and bewilders our minds with innumerable deceitful tricks which hide in a mist the divine governance of this world. Meanwhile, the ungodly live as if there will be no final reckoning, while the righteous groan and sigh as they are harassed and reproached by ruthless men. Who then can deny that the saints are not tempted to question whether mere chance determines what happens. As Solomon has observed, men are full of contempt for God because they cannot understand how he can rule the world when there is so much confusion and disorder (Eccles. 9:2 f.).

Even the pagans had the same problem. For example Brutus, who belonged to the Stoic sect, often highly commended divine providence, but when he was defeated by Anthony, he took back all he had said and declared that world events were in the hands of Lady Luck. It is evident, then, that the sentiments of the ungodly fluctuate with every wind of change. We learn therefore that even God’s people have special need of grace lest they be shaken by the same temptations—as David here admits his feet had almost slipped.

73:1. Truly God is good to Israel. The word truly should be understood adversatively as ‘Notwithstanding’, for as a valiant champion the author had been immersed in painful struggle until he at last broke through to the conclusion that, ‘Notwithstanding, God is gracious to his servants.’ Thus these words contain an implied contrast between the evil insinuations of Satan and the Psalmist’s hard-fought testimony to the providence of God, as he passionately proclaims he had obtained the victory. In the psalm, the author opens his heart to us to show how indeed God cares for his people as a father lovingly provides for his family. The God who governs the world is pleased to pay particular attention to the church, defending and maintaining her. The reason why the prophet says God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart is to distinguish those whose circumcision is truly of the heart from others who claim to be members of the church but whose circumcision is only an outward rite. This verse, therefore, corresponds to the words spoken to Nathaniel, ‘Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit’ (John 1:47), for Christ there discriminates the true children of Abraham from the hypocrites.

73:2–3. As for me. Assuming David to be the author, he now encourages the common people by citing himself as an example of one who had been trained more than others in the Lord’s school of discipleship, yet was exposed to a frontal assault upon the honour of God. Thus we learn that no one is safe from the danger of falling, unless upheld by his hand. Verse 3 warns us of the danger of quarrelling with God for not setting the world to rights, and the consequent temptation to assume a man can sin with impunity. Because prosperity, even of the wicked, can be wrongly taken as a sign of divine approval, David’s heart was wounded by the temptation to join their company. The word arrogant can also be translated ‘the foolish’; their folly is not that they are deluded, rather that they have no fear of God which is the beginning of wisdom.

73:4. For they have no pangs. Some understand the verse to be saying that evil men are free from illness until the day they die in peace. I prefer to read the verse as simply saying the wicked enjoy good health and are not dragged off to death like prisoners.

73:5. They are not in trouble. Considering how many hardships most people face, it is a sore temptation for the righteous to see the ungodly enjoying ease and pleasure as if they had special privileges providing them with a personal comfort zone where they are exempt from trouble.

73:6. Therefore pride is their necklace. Evil men abuse the kind forbearance of God, wearing their wickedness as if it were both jewellery and rich apparel. Because pride is the mother of all violence, the Psalmist properly puts it first; in their arrogance, the ungodly consider themselves above others whose possessions they shamelessly plunder.

73:7. Their eyes swell out. In the first clause, David is expressing metaphorically the pride with which the ungodly are inflated on account of their wealth. The second clause can be explained in two ways. First, in their wild and extravagant plans, the godless attempt to rise above the clouds, wishing God would create new worlds for them. Alternatively, the meaning could be that the prosperity of the wicked exceeds all they ever hoped for in their wildest dreams.

73:8. They scoff and speak with malice. Having for some time prospered with impunity, the wicked now shamelessly boast of their wickedness. They brag, ‘Is it not in my power to deprive you of your possessions, and even cut your throat?’ Robbers can do the same thing, but they then hide for fear! But these inhuman monsters, forgetting their own mortality, act as if there were no distinction between good and evil. However, some interpreters understand the verse as saying that the wicked intimidate the simple by boasting of the outrages they can inflict on them. In the second clause, David represents them as speaking loftily or ‘from on high’ as if they are little gods who are above other people.

73:9. They set their mouths. As well as deriding their fellow men, they shamelessly defy God, as if they were lords of earth and heaven. There is apparently no obstacle to repress their pride as their tongue struts through the earth. We all know from experience the truth of what David says in this striking hyperbole.

73:10. Therefore his people turn back. Putting these words into the wider context of what has already been said, the verse means that many who had been regarded as belonging to the people of God fall for this temptation (verse 2f.), and are shipwrecked and swallowed up by it. The godly are not referred to, rather counterfeit Israelites who at one time occupied a place in the church. However, even some of the chosen may for a time be overwhelmed and fail firmly to persevere in the right path.

73:11. And they say, ‘How can God know?’ Temptation now presses hard upon those believers who are temporarily dazzled by the prosperity of the ungodly. It is well known that pagan writers admit that adversity can cause men to forget all knowledge of God. Even Jeremiah remonstrates with God over this same problem, though at the outset he puts, as it were, a bridle on himself (Jer. 12:1f.). It is all too easy to fail to recognize the snares of Satan, and so to protest to God that he is not remedying the moral confusion in society. It is not that believers blaspheme, asserting that everything depends on luck; rather do the godly secretly fret before God, asking why he turns a blind eye to wickedness and permits such disorder among men. Yet as they thus unburden their hearts before him, they long to understand his secret judgments and why they are unfathomable. Thus, upheld by God’s hand, they are preserved from falling into the same abyss of blasphemy as the wicked.

73:12–14. Behold, these are the wicked. Can there be anything which seems to our judgment less reasonable than that persons, whose wickedness is universally acknowledged to be detestable, should be treated by God with indulgence? Indeed, their prosperity seems unstoppable—always at ease, they increase in riches. Therefore David wonders what advantage he had derived from upright living when he has been afflicted all the day long; as often as the sun rose, a new calamity was waiting for him. He reasons this shows innocence goes unrewarded by God, else he would be kinder towards his servants. Note the order in verse 13: first purity of heart, then righteous living.

73:15. If I had said. David now puts a bridle on himself and reproves his sinful inconstancy in entertaining such doubts. The Hebrew of the second clause is difficult. I expound it in this way: ‘To approve such wicked doubts would be transgression, for there are still righteous on earth since you always preserve a people for yourself.’ Assuredly, it is nothing less than a divine miracle that the church, which is so furiously assaulted by Satan and innumerable enemies, continues safe.

73:16–17. But when I thought how to understand this. The verb thought means ‘to consider’ or ‘to weigh’: he applied his mind to understand that part of divine providence referred to; yet by all his reasoning he remained baffled how God continued to govern such a confused world. There is no doubt that he goes on to set the sanctuary of God in opposition to carnal reasoning. The book of the law—the declaration of God’s will—was laid up in the sanctuary, therefore true wisdom can only be found in submission to the teaching of God’s Word. Notice that, speaking of himself and not the rebellious, the Psalmist confesses his efforts were wearisome, that is, unprofitable or lost labour, for it is absolutely necessary to seek illumination from above. In effect, he says, ‘Until God becomes my teacher, I will understand nothing.’ The end of the wicked does not mean their exit from this world, but the judgments of God, for he only delays their just punishment until the appropriate time. There are occasions when he executes justice in this life, but that by no means excludes the final verdict on the last day; let us therefore suspend our own judgments as long as we remain in this world. In short, with the Psalmist, we must first ask God to open our eyes and then assign to his Word the authority due to it.

73:18. Truly you set them in slippery places. Having become like a new man, David now calmly views from a high watchtower the secrets previously hidden from him (Hab. 2:1). Everything in this world is slippery—uncertain and changeable; yet this seems to be the lot of the righteous as well as the wicked. But we who are believers rest on the firm foundation of God’s power, in spite of the uncertainty of our present condition; even when we stumble, the Lord raises us up. In contrast, the uncertainty of the condition of the ungodly is that they admire their own greatness, even though they are walking on thin ice; thus by their arrogant presumption, they are preparing themselves for a headlong fall. Life is not a wheel of fortune; God’s secret providence does govern this world.

73:19. How they are destroyed. The Psalmist’s exclamation suggests the sudden judgment of the ungodly is to us incredible, yet he is saying that if only our eyes are opened, we will have real cause for astonishment. However such surprise arises from our own dullness, for if only we looked in faith to the future, we would recognize that divine justice is moving inexorably nearer. The meaning of swept away by terrors is that the unexpected thundering of God upon the ungodly strikes them with dismay. For in order to correct our slowness to understand, God at times may choose suddenly to pursue the wicked with tokens of his wrath.

73:20. Like a dream when one awakes (cf. Isa. 29:7). The pictures in our imaginations of the happiness and desirability of the condition of the wicked are like the illusions of a dream. But those who have been awakened by God’s Word, though they may be somewhat impressed by the splendour of evil men, are not dazzled by it; the light of Christ far outshines it in brilliance and attraction. The prophet therefore calls us to awake from our dreams! Why? Because God himself despises them as phantoms (Psa. 39:6). David uses the word phantom with the meaning of ‘an outward show’. Thus in showing us their true nature, God dispels our darkness and gladdens our minds with a friendly light, enabling us to see, as it were, some rays of the break of day. When he ‘rouses himself’, God will bring into contempt the transitory attraction of the ungodly, and his justice will be executed publicly and openly as something done in a public market place.

73:21. When my soul was embittered. When he had peevishly complained against God, his heart had been pierced with perverse envy. The Hebrew word translated heart refers to that part of the body which is the seat of our desires. Many of the worldly-wise who deny the providence of God, laugh off ethical problems as freaks of Lady Luck. On the other hand, true believers are pricked in heart when God does not quickly act as they believe he ultimately will.

73:22. I was brutish. David sternly rebukes himself in that he had been foolish, ignorant and had behaved no better than a beast; little wonder he had been so possessed by perverse envy! Whenever we are similarly dissatisfied with the way God is governing this world, let us learn to trace the cause to our fallen understanding. It is important to notice he adds the words towards you; he means, compared with your divine wisdom, in spite of my human reason being superior to that of animals, I became as one of them. When we bow before God, our foolish pride, which lulls us into a mental stupor, can have no place.

73:23. Nevertheless, I am continually with you. We are ‘with God’ in two ways. First, we may say we are with him, when we are aware of living in his presence and being constantly sustained by him. Second, we are also with him when he secretly restrains us, and prevents us from apostatizing. Therefore, though true believers may not be conscious of it, they still abide ‘with God’ as his secret grace continues with them; though they may turn their backs on him, his fatherly eye always watches over them. When he says you hold my right hand, he means God draws him back from that dark chasm into which the reprobate cast themselves. His preservation from uttering blasphemy and his pathway to repentance are due wholly to divine grace. Even slight temptations would overthrow us were we not upheld by his right hand. Indeed, his power is often perfected in our weakness. Thus we see how precious our salvation is in God’s sight. Nevertheless, this doctrine must not be perverted by making it an excuse for slothfulness.

73:24. You guide me with your counsel. The verbs (all future tense) have the sense that God will continue to guide him until he brings him into his glorious, eternal presence. Guidance by counsel is put first. We must ask God to govern us by the Spirit of counsel, for this is how he normally guides his people. Dependence on our own wisdom will invariably end in confusion and shame. Second, there is glory which should not be limited to eternity. Rather it includes a foretaste of what is to come, that is, our blessedness from the start of life with Christ to its consummation in heaven.

73:25. Whom have I in heaven but you? All other things which draw men’s hearts after them are without attraction for David; he desires God alone. Those who give their affection to creatures defraud the Creator of the honour due to him. By the words heaven and earth the Psalmist denotes every conceivable object. By implication he also rejects those deceitful illusions and devices of Satan with which foolish men attempt to fill the heavens. The only way of seeking God is to avoid the by-paths of superstition and pride, and go to him directly and exclusively: there is nothing on earth I desire beside you. However, to be satisfied with God alone, we must understand the multitude of blessings he freely offers us.

73:26. My flesh and my heart may fail. Here there is a contrast between the failing which David felt in himself and the strength with which he was divinely supplied. He is saying, ‘Separated from God I am nothing, but when I come to him there is an abundant supply of strength.’ Most people assume that they only need to come to God when they feel their own weakness. But in confessing his complete nothingness without God, David is saying far more than that, for the word portion in Scripture usually means all a person requires for complete contentment (Psa. 16:5); in God alone the perfection of our happiness consists. It follows therefore that if we fix our minds on some other source of satisfaction we are guilty of ingratitude.

73:27. For behold, those who are far from you. We must rest in God alone, for all who depart from him court destruction. The phrase far from you, which means scattering one’s hope among a variety of other helps, is similar in meaning to what the prophets call ‘spiritual adultery’. Thus the Psalmist is calling for the spiritual chastity of our minds which consists in faith in God, integrity of heart and obedience to the Word.

73:28. But for me it is good. Disdaining all the ever-changing errors and superstitions of the world, David will always seek to be near God. ‘Let others perish,’ he says, ‘if they cannot be prevented from pursuing the world’s deceits, but as for me I will ever seek to maintain communion with God.’ Nevertheless, we only rightly draw near to God when our confidence is exclusively in him as our refuge. Thus David will always have reason to praise God, since he never disappoints those who hope in him. Thus it follows that only those who wilfully shut their eyes to his providence murmur against the Lord.

The preceding excerpt is taken from Calvin’s Commentary on the Psalms: Abridged by David Searle (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2009), pp. 345–354.

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