SATISFIED
36
These men of Psalm 17 have their portion `in this life'. There is possibly a glance back here to the closing words
of Psalm 16, which speaks also of resurrection:
`Thou wilt show me the path of life: in Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for
evermore' (Psa. 16:11).
Here the word `fulness' is the same Hebrew word that is translated `satisfied' in Psalm 17, and `the path of life' is
contrasted with `this life'. Ecclesiastes glances at this when he says:
`... that is thy portion in this life ... there is no ... wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest' (Eccles. 9:9,10).
Both translators and interpreters alike have found some of the terms used in Psalm 17:14 somewhat difficult to
put into simple English, particularly the statement:
`... whose belly Thou fillest with Thy hid treasure'.
First, we note that `treasure' is in italics and can be dispensed with. It is but one of many guesses that have been
made. Secondly, the phrase `to fill the belly' is used in other places to indicate a low moral condition. Eliphaz the
Temanite links `vain knowledge' with `filling the belly with the east wind' (Job 15: 2). Zophar the Naamathite says
of the oppressor;
`When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of His wrath upon him' (Job 20:23).
The reader will probably note that in the preceding verse we read `fulness' and `sufficiency'. We remember the
plight of the Prodigal son who fain would have `filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat' (Luke 15:16),
and the charge made by the apostle that some `serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly' (Rom. 16:18),
and the warning of Philippians 3:19 concerning those `whose God is their belly'. Those whose belly is filled with
hid treasure therefore are not in the same class as the Psalmist who said in contrast `As for me'. We are still,
however, not yet aware of the intention in the words `Thy hid treasure', but we believe that a reference to
Ecclesiastes may help.
`He hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to
the end' (Eccles. 3:11).
Now the Hebrew word that is translated `world' is olam. We quote from Gesenius:
`What is hidden: specially hidden time, long; the beginning or end of which is either uncertain, or else not
defined'.
Referring to Ecclesiastes 3:11 Gesenius says:
`From the Chaldee and Rabbinic usage, like the Greek aion, hence the desire or pursuit of worldly things, more
fully called "the love of the world"`.
What the Psalmist seems to say, when put into English, and perceiving the figurative language employed, could
be paraphrased:
`Men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with the world, the age of
undefined limits, so that they see no further than the present, and feel no link with the great purpose of the ages'.
`They are full of children' (Psa. 17:14). Here the word translated `full' is the same in the original as the word
translated `satisfied', and is an intentional contrast. What does it mean `They are full of children' and they `leave
the rest of their substance to their babes'?
in contrast with the blessed personal hope of the believer.
IT MEANS A PROXY RESURRECTION
A reference to Psalm 49 will shed further light on this attitude of the worldly who cannot say with Job:
`Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another' (Job 19:27).
Psalm 49's message is addressed to: