Psalms 73:12

Psa 73:12 Behold, these [are] the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase [in] riches.

Ver. 12. Behold, these are the ungodly] q.d. If God do take knowledge of things here below, and ordereth all events, how is it that the ungodly prosper, while better men suffer?

Who prosper in the world] An ill character, everything considered. See Psa 17:14. {See Trapp in "Psa 17:14"} Behold, these are the ungodly, the fortunate men of the world, so some render it. He that liveth in the height of the world’s blandishments is not far from destruction. Periculosa est summe bona corporis valetudo, saith Hippocrates, The height of health is nearest to sickness and death.

They increase in riches] They wallow in wealth; God pouring honey into their hives; but for a vengeance.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa_73:12-13

Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches.

Paganized Christianity

The trouble with us is that in our everyday life we do not make our faith vital enough. We bring the ways of the world into the Church, instead of taking the ways of the Church into the world. We find doubt, and temptation, and difficulty, and sin at the very threshold of our being, and we try to drive these foes out of our nature by the weapons which we find lying scattered around us in our mixed social life, instead of rising to the height of our privilege and our calling aa followers of Christ and children of our Father in heaven.

I. The common weapon of our moral life is duty--the sense of our moral obligation to a principle of right which is ruling us. It is a grand principle; it brings forth great moral results, but it is not the highest motive in the armoury of character. It is like the sure and faithful study of the primary school, which acts as a strong basis for the after education to rest upon. But the primary school can never be the university, and the mere sense of duty can never bring out of your nature the highest results of which you are capable A sense of duty is fine in a son and in a father, in a wife and in a husband; but there are higher motives in human nature than this primary motive of duty, and these higher motives bring about the higher results. A sense of duty is a fine element in an artist, in a poet, in a musician; but you know perfectly well that any genius, any nature with a soul and with a great executive capacity, will scorn this rudimentary germ of motive power. It is a primary motive; it is an clementary principle. It is like the ruled copy book to the child who is trying to write; it is like the transparent slate to the child who is learning to draw. You make use of it; you are trained and developed by it, and then you pass it by; it has done its formative work in the matter of your education.

II. The other motive is faith--grasp upon God--the privilege of service--the faculty of spiritual apprehension. We do our duty to believe in God: we believe in God, and as a result of this we do our duty. After all that we may say about it in the brisk and brilliant intellection of our younger days, a living God is better than an uncertain conscience; privilege is always a higher motive than duty, and the grasp of your nature upon divine things through the faculty of spiritual apprehension will be a surer and more intuitive guide than your hastily gathered deductions from the decalogue. Over our fears, over our failures, over our shortcomings and wrongdoings, the borrowed light of duty will at times be powerless to force its way. But the cry of the rejoicing prophet of old, as with a new belief in the God of their fathers the captives came back from the land of their exileship, will again and again be realized with us as we stand face to face with the hard problem put before us--Who art thou, O great mountain? etc. If you live for earth, for gain, for pleasure, or for self, you may gain your end, but you will lose your very soul. But if God is a reality, if the spiritual life has any meaning to you, if beneath all the rubbish of dogma and cant in religion, you get your feet once upon that rock which is the Rock of Ages--God above us--God in us--God in Christ--God in human life--God in immortality--then that instinct of the awakened soul, that hunger of the spiritual nature for the Being who created it, will generate its own motive power--a power fourfold greater than the mere sense of duty--and the problems of life which before had been too hard for you will be made easy when, like this far-off, honest doubter of our psalm to-day, you see the meaning of life as by a flash, when you stand in the presence, not of duty merely, but in the presence of God! (W. W. Newton.)

The prosperity of the wicked no argument against Gods providence

I. The prosperity of the ungodly, which the good man is grieved at seeing, is a mere illusion of fancy, when no such thing as happiness doth really attend them. The emptiness of worldly good, and its utter insufficiency to answer the endless cravings of our several desires, betray themselves in nothing more, than in that general imagination which seems to haunt all orders of men amongst us, that if they had somewhat which they have not, somewhat which they see others have, and fancy themselves to want, all would be well and easy with them; when yet those others are not more easy than themselves, but are teased with the same incurable imagination, the same dissatisfaction for want of somewhat which they have not, or for some unpleasing circumstance in what they have, which spoils their relish of all the entertainment they can find in life.

II. Divers considerations, which may clear the providence of God from all reproach and misconstruction in it.

1. It is fit and reasonable that some room should he left for the operations of faith, for the trials of virtue, and for liberty of action; all which ends would be defeated if the punishment of sin did in every instance immediately attend it.

2. Without such an interposal from the hand of Providence, as, for the reasons just given, would be improper and inconvenient, the sinner must and will have his chances in the scramble of life, must and will secure to himself more than a common share in the felicities of fortune.

3. Our present state is designed not so much for retribution as for trial; and consequently what best answers to the latter purpose is the fittest portion for us. Now, the ends of trial may be consulted as effectually in a station of prosperity as in a post of adversity; since each hath its proper temptations cleaving to it, which, upon proof, may exemplify the firmness or weakness of our several virtues. And in all reason and decency it ought to be presumed that the great Searcher of hearts is the fittest judge which of the two conditions is most likely to approve them.

4. It follows, as a certain consequence from the promiscuous distribution of adversity and prosperity in this present life, that there must and will be a life beyond it, in which the righteousness of our holy Judge will perfectly clear up the honour of His government, and signalize His never-failing regard to His laws. (N. Marshall, D. D.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa 73:12. Behold, these are the ungodly who prosper in the world — This is their condition and behaviour in it. “The temptation is now stated in its full force. As if he had said, These worthless, ungodly, blasphemous wretches, whose characters I have been delineating, these are the men who prosper in the world, who succeed in every thing they undertake, and roll in riches! What are we to think of God, his providence, and his promises?”

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa 73:12. Lo, these are wicked (men), and (yet they are) secure for ever, they increase strength (or substance). These are, still the words of the perplexed believer, expressing his surprise at the prosperity of sinners. See, these are wicked men, and yet instead of being wretched, or prospering only for a little while, they are prosperers of eternity, perpetually prospered and at ease, secure from change. See above, on Psa 30:7. Instead of losing what they have, they still gain more, and go on adding to their wealth, and to the power which it gives them. See above, on Psa 60:12.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 12. These are the ungodly] The people still speak. It is the ungodly that prosper, the irreligious and profane.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

12. Behold! these are the ungodly. The Psalmist here shows, as it were by a vivid pictorial representation, 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 are exalted to power and influence; and that not merely for a few days, but their prosperity is of long duration, and has, as it were, an endless course. And is there anything which seems to our judgment less reasonable than that persons whose wickedness is accounted 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 to see it last so long wears out the patience of the righteous. Upon seeing the wicked so tenderly cherished by God, he descends to the consideration of his own case; and as his conscience bore him testimony that he had walked sincerely and uprightly, he reasons with himself as to what advantage he had derived from studiously devoting himself to the practice of righteousness, since he was afflicted and harassed in 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 the amount of his reasoning is this, “Truly I have labored in vain to obtain and preserve a pure heart and clean hands, seeing 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, else he would certainly deal somewhat more compassionately towards those who serve him.” As the true holiness for which the godly are distinguished consists of two parts, first, of purity of heart, and, secondly, of righteousness in the 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.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

12. Behold, such are the wicked!

And being always at ease they have gotten much substance.

At ease is a favourite word in Job: e.g. Job_3:26; Psa_12:6 (A.V. prosper); Job_16:12; Job_20:20; Job_21:23; cp. Jer_12:1.

12–14. The Psalmist’s temptation as he contemplated the scene. Some commentators regard these verses as the continuation of the speech in Psa_73:11, giving the thoughts of the followers of the wicked, the speaker in Psa_73:13-14 being any individual among them. But it is preferable to regard them as the words of the Psalmist himself, expressing the thoughts which he had been tempted to indulge. (1) The form of the sentence, Behold, such &c., points to a summing up (cp. Job_5:27; Job_8:19-20; Job_18:21); (2) ‘the wicked’ is a more natural designation for the Psalmist than for their own followers to use; (3) there is nothing to shew that the speaker in Psa_73:15 is another than the speaker in Psa_73:13-14; (4) the LXX (followed by the P.B.V.) inserts And I said at the beginning of Psa_73:13.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Behold, these are the ungodly,.... Who say and do as before declared; such as these must be without the knowledge of God, the fear, love, and worship of him: who prosper in the world; in worldly and temporal things, in their bodies and outward estates, but not in their souls and spiritual things: "in this world", as the Targum is; all their prosperity is here; their good things are in this life, their evil things will be in that to come; though ungodly, they prosper in the world, and as long as they are in it; or they are at peace and in case, and are quiet; they have nothing to disturb them, they are not in outward trouble, and their sins do not distress them, and they have no concern about another world:

they increase in riches; which they are in the pursuit of, and overtake and enjoy in great abundance; whereby they become mighty and powerful, as the word (o) for "riches" signifies: these words are the observation of the psalmist, and which was the occasion of the following temptation he was led into.

(o) "vires", Junius & Tremellius; "potentiam", Piscator.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world - This is also to be understood as the language of the good man perplexed and embarrassed by the fact that the wicked are prosperous and happy. The meaning is, “Lo, these are wicked people - people of undoubted depravity; they are people who live regardless of God; and yet they are peaceful, tranquil, happy, prospered.” This was one of the facts which so much embarrassed the psalmist. If there had been any doubt about the character of those people, the case would have been different. But there was none. They were people whose character for wickedness was well known, and yet they were permitted to live in peace and prosperity, as if they were the favorites of heaven. The literal meaning of the words rendered “who prosper in the world” is, “tranquil (or secure) for the age;” that is, forever, or constantly. They know no changes; they see no reverses; they are the same through life. They are always tranquil, calm, happy, successful.

They increase in riches - literally, “They become great in substance.” They make constant accumulations in wealth, until they become great.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

These are the ungodly; this is their condition and carriage in it. These seem to be the words of the psalmist, summing up the matter, and preparing his passage to the other part of the Psalm.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 12. Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world. Look! See! Consider! Here is the standing enigma! The crux of Providence! The stumblingblock of faith! Here are the unjust rewarded and indulged, and that not for a day or an hour, but in perpetuity. From their youth up these men, who deserve perdition, revel in prosperity. They deserve to be hung in chains, and chains are hung about their necks; they are worthy to be chased from the world, and yet the world becomes all their own. Poor purblind sense cries, Behold this! Wonder, and be amazed, and make this square with providential justice, if you can.

They increase in riches; or, strength. Both wealth and health are their dowry. No bad debts and bankruptcies weigh them down, but robbery and usury pile up their substance. Money runs to money, gold pieces fly in flocks; the rich grow richer, the proud grow prouder. Lord, how is this? Thy poor servants, who become yet poorer, and groan under their burdens, are made to wonder at thy mysterious ways.

Ver. 12. This verse suggests solemn enquiries for persons who are growing rich.

Psalms 73:13*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

12. Behold, these are the ungodly—The psalmist speaks and “describes the impression made upon him, the representative of real and living piety, by this contradiction between sight and faith, between the reality and the idea.”—Hengstenberg. These prosperous are “the ungodly.”

Who prosper in the world—Who are the prosperous ones of the age. The word עולם, (‘olam,) here denotes continuance, not the habitable globe.

They increase in riches—An important element of prosperity, considering the relation of wealth to the supply of human wants and the gratification of the natural desires. The unequal distribution of property has always been a great stumblingblock to weak faith and a worldly mind.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; rather, and they prosper always. They increase in riches. This is the impression which the psalmist has received from the general course of human affairs in his day. It is closely allied to the view taken by Job. (Job_21:7-15)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Behold - These seem to be the words of the psalmist, summing up the matter.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Behold these are wicked They [are wicked] and transgress His Torah; yet they are tranquil in the world and increase power and wealth.

they are tranquil in the world An expression of tranquility.

have increased Heb. השגו, have increased. Menachem (p. 72) explains: יָשוּב עַמוֹ הֲלוֹם, the wicked will return to crush (להלם) the people of the Holy One, blessed be He. The first interpretation I learned from the words of Rabbi Meir the son of Isaac, the cantor, may the memory of the righteous be for a blessing.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.