Psalms 14:5

There were they in great fear,.... This, shows that they had some knowledge of God, and consciousness of guilt, which they endeavoured to banish out of their minds by their fears of punishment; and

There were they in great fear: for God is in the generation of the righteous. There - in the very place of their sin, their punishment overtakes them. He points to them as though present.

There, i.e. in the place, or upon the spot, where they practised these insolences, God struck them with a panic fear. Or, then, i.e. in the height of their tyranny and prosperous impiety, when they seemed to have no cause for it. An adverb of place for an adverb of time, of which there want not examples in Scripture and other authors, as hath been noted before. Or, thence, as this particle is rendered, 49:24 ; i.e. from that time; or for that cause, as some take it, and it may be taken, , i.e. for this their contempt of God and manifest injury to men. In great fear, from their own guilty consciences, and the just expectation of Divine vengeance. Heb. they feared with fear, i.e. vehemently, where there was no cause of fear, as is here implied, (for they are now supposed to be in a state of power and tyranny,) as is expressed in the parallel place, . Or, they shall be greatly afraid, the past tense being put for the future prophetically. For; for they remembered what a potent adversary they had, and therefore had cause enough to fear. Or, but, as this particle is taken, 6:2. So he describes the contrary and safe condition of the righteous. Or, when, as it oft signifies, and so it answers to the then in the beginning of the verse, when God shall once appear for his people, a dreadful horror shall seize upon their wicked enemies. In the generation of the righteous, i.e. among them, with his gracious and powerful presence to defend them, and to fight against their enemies. Or, God is for, &c., as the Hebrew beth oft signifies, that is, God is on their side, and therefore their enemies have great cause to tremble.

Psalms 14:5 There were they in great fear: for God [is] in the generation of the righteous.Ver. 5. There were they in great fear] There? and they? and in great fear? where? and who? and what kind of fear was it they were in? For answer: There, that is, in the generation of the righteous, in the assemblies of the saints, according to that, Psalms 76:3, "There brake he the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and battle. Selah." There, that is, in Salem, where is God’ s tabernacle; and in Zion, where is his dwelling place, Psalms 14:2, in the congregation, where the saints were praying. Or, there, that is, in the very place where they oppressed and devoured the poor, they were surprised with a sudden horror, In loco ubi opprimunt (R. David), even there where they had said, Peace and safety, &c., and where no fear was, Psalms 53:5, no apparent cause of such an amazement, Isaiah 13:8. A panic terror fell upon them; they feared a fear, as the Hebrew hath it, but could not tell why; the hornet within stings them, and they have many a secret twinge that the world is never aware off Saul was afraid of David, and Catiline trembled upon the least noise made. For God is in the generation of the righteous] And natural conscience cannot but do homage to the image of God, stamped upon the natures and works of the godly. See it in the carriage of Nebuchadnezzar and Darius toward Daniel, sticking stoutly to his principles. The piety, patience, mercy, goodness, expressed by the righteous when oppressed, makes the hearts of wicked men ache within them; and they are sore afraid of the name of God called upon by them, Deuteronomy 28:10. Or, God is in the generation of the righteous, sc. Ad iuvandum eum, saith Aben Ezra, to support and succour them; and that strangely many times, the enemies themselves being judges, to their great astonishment.

(5) There were they.—Literally, there they feared a fear, i.e., terror overtook them. Psalms 53 adds, “which was no fear.” The local “there” brings the scene before us as in a picture. We see them there before us, these wicked men; there in the midst of their intrigues, or their exactions, or their pleasures, the hand of God seizes them, and lo! they are struck with fear. We evidently have not here any indication by which to fasten on a particular event. Whether the addition in Psalms 53 gives any is discussed there. For God is.—For the singular variation in Psalms 53 consult Note on Psalms 14:5 of that psalm. The uneasy sense that, after all, the good have God on their side—this general truth is implied in the phrase “generations of the righteous,” even if first employed of faithful Israel—is always a cause of fear to the wicked.

Verse 5. There were they in great fear] This is a manifest allusion to the history of the Canaanitish nations; they were struck with terror at the sight of the Israelites, and by this allusion the psalmist shows that a destruction similar to that which fell upon them, should fall on the Babylonians. Several of the versions add, from Psalms 53:5, "Where no fear was." They were struck with terror, where no real cause of terror existed. Their fears had magnified their danger. For God is in the generation] They feared the Israelites, because they knew that the Almighty God was among them.

5. This verse is commonly explained to refer to the future, the perfect tense expressing the certain assurance of the Psalmist that judgement will be executed. Cp. Psalms 36:12. But it is more natural to refer it to the past. ‘There’ points emphatically to some signal instance in which panic terror and overwhelming calamity overtook ‘the workers of iniquity.’ If Psalms 14:4 may be understood of the oppression of Israel in Egypt, Psalms 14:5 will refer to the overthrow of the Egyptians in the Red Sea (Exodus 14:24-25). Psalms 53:5 adds where no fear was, no natural cause for alarm. for God &c.] Present among them to defend them. ‘The generation’ (see on Psalms 12:7) ‘of the righteous’ is synonymous with ‘my people;’ either the nation, which might be so described in respect of its calling, and in contrast to its oppressors: or the godly part of it. Cp. Psalms 118:15.

There were they in great fear - Margin, as in Hebrew, “they feared a fear.” The idea is, that they were in great terror or consternation. They were not calm in their belief that there was no God. They endeavored to be.

5. There were they in great fear—Literally, afraid with fear. The form is intensive.