I have been young, and now am old, and I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed seeking bread
David speaks from a long life. From his youth to his old age he watched how God treats those who walk with Him. His verdict: the righteous are never abandoned, and their children are never left to beg. Commentators read this as a statement about how God governs the world. That raises two questions. Does it hold today? And what about believers who are poor?
This is not a theory. It is what one man saw over a lifetime: suffering, yes, but never abandonment.
The psalmist had not seen the righteous forsaken. That is a most happy statement. He had doubtless seen them tried and tested, persecuted and afflicted. But he had not seen them forsaken by their God, nor their children begging bread.
Another writer draws out how things finally end.
He watched people and circumstances, and he could say that he had never seen the righteous finally forsaken. Nor had he seen the wicked finally prosperous, though for a while such a man spreads himself like an evergreen (vv. 25, 35).
The psalm ties this promise to what the righteous man does with what he has. He is the one handing out, not holding out his hand.
The psalm again describes the righteous as one who shows grace and gives to others. A man has little righteousness if he can forget the claims of the needy when his own needs are so many. This the Lord delights to maintain: his children are not merely blessed, but "for blessing." Blessing others is his ministry, and it carries on in those who spring from him and learn his ways.
Psalm 37 promises the earth to those who wait for God. That open display is still ahead. The rule behind it has not lapsed.
The wicked may prosper. Jehovah has His own time, a time which is always right and sets all right… They that wait on Jehovah shall inherit the earth… This is Jewish, without doubt. But the government of God is still exercised, though not on public display. And when the soul has waited on Him in patience, it has its blessing even here. The last part of the psalm carefully declares this sure government of the earth. God will display it openly in connection with the Jews. For now He carries it on more secretly, in the time of heavenly grace. It is still very true.
Under the old order, wealth proved God's approval. That test no longer works, and the life of Christ shows why.
Earthly prosperity was the unfailing mark of God's favour to an Israelite. So the Psalmist testified: "I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread" (Ps. 37:25). It is not so now. The Lord Jesus Himself was here as a poor and dependent man. He had no possessions in this world. Certain women ministered to Him out of their means (Luke 8:2-3). And the word for us who now believe is, "if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content" (1 Tim. 6:8).
If wealth is no longer the sign, worry is still out of place. God fed His own Son.
Under an earthly testimony, the Jew found that obedience brought him wealth, not poverty. But it was not so with the Lord Jesus, and we are heirs with Him. He was poor, yet He did not want — never wanted. God would take care to feed His Son. Something monstrous comes into our minds when we worry anxiously about our needs. It is just as monstrous to think that we must be in want because we follow One who had nowhere to lay His head… God hiding from you the channels through which He will care for you is quite a different thing from His forgetting you.
God forsook one righteous Man, once. That is why He will never forsake anyone else.
Yes, there was — but that was when, in tenderest grace, He was under sin for us. In three hours of darkness He "identified Himself with God's judgment against sin," and bore its awful curse. Then, and then only, and necessarily, was He forsaken. Blessed Redeemer! … So, in the fullest sense, the saint, the righteous, is not forsaken. Paul could speak from his own experience. He was "persecuted," as he most certainly was, yet he was "not forsaken"!
- Observed — David reports what a lifetime showed him. He saw the righteous tried, persecuted and afflicted, yet never forsaken.
- Governed — God's rule over the earth will one day be open for all to see. For now it runs out of sight, but it runs.
- Provided — the righteous man gives to the needy, so begging is not his family's story. His children learn his ways.
- Reframed — wealth marked God's favour for Israel. It is not so now. Christ Himself lived poor and dependent.
- Guaranteed — one Righteous Man was forsaken, in the darkness, bearing judgment for sin. Because He was, no one belonging to Him ever is.
all the day he is gracious and lendeth, and his seed shall be a blessing.
This psalm speaks to people who watch wrongdoers thrive while the godly are pushed down. This verse answers with a picture: a man who keeps on giving, and children who carry the good forward.
This picture of the generous man is one half of a contrast that runs through the whole psalm.
Psalm 36 sets the wicked against God's character. Psalm 37 sets evildoers against the godly. The contrast has two sides. First, the present life, when the evildoers are the great majority and hold the upper hand. Second, the coming age, when God will remove the evildoers in judgment, and the godly will enter the liberty of glory.
The verse follows David's claim that he has never seen the righteous abandoned, or their children begging for bread.
Instead of begging, the righteous keep showing mercy. They lend, and they do not insist on being paid back! Such a character has lasting effects on his descendants, and they will have good reason for deep thankfulness (v. 26).
Being righteous here is not only about avoiding wrong. A man who forgets the poor, while his own needs are many, has little claim to the word.
The righteous man is again described as one who shows grace and serves. A man has little righteousness if he can forget the claims of the needy when his own needs are so many. And the Lord delights to keep this character going. His children are not merely blessed, but are "for blessing" — the blessing of others. His ministry carries on in those who come from him and learn his ways.
Another passage says how God views such kindness. He counts it as a loan made to Himself. The commentator quotes that passage from an older translation.
Man was to represent God, who loves a cheerful giver, in a world like a wilderness. Here God encourages man to pity those who have nothing. "He that pities," or is gracious to, "the poor lends to Jehovah," as He counts it; "and what he bestows He will pay him again." What security can match this? Think too of the honour of being creditor to Him!
The world can lend too, but on its own terms. The difference marks out whose sons we are.
The way of the world stands in contrast to this. The world can easily return love for love. It can do good to those who do good to it, and lend in the hope of getting back as much. But to love, do good, and lend with no hope of return — that is conduct fitting the sons of the Most High, because He is kind to the unthankful and the evil.
For an Israelite, visible prosperity marked God's favour. Christ Himself did not live that way.
Prosperity in this world was the sure mark of God's favour to an Israelite. The psalmist said as much: "I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread" (Ps. 37:25). It is not so now. The Lord Jesus Himself was here as a poor and dependent man. He had no possessions in this world... And the word for us who now believe is, "if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content" (1 Tim. 6:8).
- Contrast. The psalm sets evildoers against the godly. They thrive now, and judgment comes in the coming age. This verse shows what the godly look like while they wait.
- Character. The righteous man is not the beggar but the lender. He keeps showing mercy and does not demand his money back.
- Claim. A man who forgets the needy while his own needs are many has little righteousness. Showing grace is part of what the word means.
- Credit. God counts kindness to the poor as a loan made to Himself — unmatched security, and an honour.
- Continuation. The blessing does not stop with him. His children become a blessing to others, learning his ways and carrying his ministry on. Yet the terms have changed. Visible prosperity marked God's favour to an Israelite; the Lord Jesus owned nothing, and our word now is to be content with food and clothing.