Psalm 17:14
14 From men [math] which are thy
hand, [yad] O LORD, [Yahovah] from men [math] of the
world, [cheled] which have their portion [cheleq] in this life, [chay] and
whose belly [beten] thou fillest [male'] with thy hid [tsaphiyn]
treasure: they are full [saba`] of children, [ben] and leave [yanach] the rest
[yether] of their substance to their babes. [`owlel] KJV-Interlinear
14 From
men with Thy hand, O Lord, From men of the world, whose portion is in this
life; And whose belly Thou dost fill with Thy treasure; They are satisfied with
children, And leave their abundance to their babes. NASB
From the previous verse, God
is called to help the righteous and to protect him from the unrighteous.
This thought continues by
defining the unrighteous and their priorities and purpose in life.
Thy hand, makes the
picture clear that God controls history, not man. God uses everyone and everything for His own
good purpose. God controls history in
three ways – directly, indirectly, and by His permission. God allows evil
mankind to have their way, but only up to a certain point.
On his own, humanity would
destroy himself and would have destroyed himself many times over throughout
history. But God prevents this from
happening by intervening in various ways in order to allow human history and
future generations to occur. Without
that intervention, then humanity would have ended long ago.
Which are thy hand, is an
expression that addresses Gods control over history.
From men of this world,
identifies people who pursue their lives in accordance with the many patterns
and plans of humanity. Man has many
plans. God has but one plan. Man has many devices, designs, objectives,
and no wherewithal to accomplish them.
And yet humanity will pursue their lives in this world in accordance
with their own efforts, rejecting the fact that it is God who allows their
pursuits and successes. God even made
provision for all that each person does or accomplishes in their respective
lives.
God restored the world in
six days and in that time frame, made provision for all of the resources that
humanity would need for the entirety of human history. Man provided for none of these things, but man
misuses them constantly, especially by rejecting Gods role in history and its
provisions.
Hid treasure, indicates
all of Gods provision, but it also describes mans hoarding of the worldly
resources that they pursue. Hid, ‘tsaphiyn,’
means hoard, hide, secret, guarded, and refers to the action of man in keeping for
himself, that which God has provided.
Mans belly, is the
pursuit of satisfaction that man seeks in the things of this world. This is a satisfaction that never gets
satisfied. Mans appetite is insatiable
and as far as this world is concerned, man will never be satisfied. That which is temporary, can never fulfill
the permanent.
Full of children, and their
babies, are two expressions that indicate that result of mans obsession with
worldly things, does not go beyond their descendants. What you have or obtain from this world,
stays behind. Your family of descendants
may be left wealth from the efforts of your work, but that wealth or whatever
it is, is still of this world and is still temporary.
You cannot take with you
into the next life, anything that is of this world. Even your children cannot take it with them. No one can.
And whatever satisfaction
you had, will never be exceeded by your offspring, because the world cannot satisfy,
even if continued into future generations.
You cannot extend your life through inheritances. You cannot improve your eternity through
earthly wealth.
Only doctrine can
accomplish those things. And Bible
doctrine is not material, but information that requires a spiritual mechanism
in order to possess it.
The plea to God is, that
we need protection from people of this world, and from the enticements of this
world which would lead us to destruction.
Not that worldly things
per se are bad, for they are not, but when God is eliminated and replaced with
things or worldly pursuits, then their use leads one to self-destruction.
E-Books, E-Book Reader
Your Comments
Daily Bible Study Quick Links
Subscription Options
