“I have been young and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread. He is ever merciful and lends; and his descendants are blessed.”
Psalm 37:25-26
King David wrote Psalm 37 in his old age and in these verses he is encouraging us that he has seen the truths contained in it actually played out in his own life. His life experiences are evidence, proof that everything contained in this Psalm is absolutely true and trustworthy. We can believe it.
First, he says he has never seen the righteous forsaken. This is so important to understand, especially in time when the wicked are gaining the upper hand. Just because the wicked are prospering at the moment does not mean God has forsaken His people. Hebrews 13:5 says, “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we may boldly say: The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” Amen! Jesus is Immanuel, God with us, and He does not tell His disciples in vain, “Lo I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” So again, the fact that the wicked are prospering does not mean God has forsaken us.
Next, David says that he has never seen the descendants of the righteous begging bread. At first glance this may seem a hyperbole. After all, David himself begged for bread while running from Saul for his life. But what David is expressing is the same truth above, that the righteous are never forsaken. God may call His disciples to suffer for a time, but they are never out of His perfect, loving hands. Some may be called to be John the Baptist who, once the Messiah arrived, was beheaded. But Jesus says John was the greatest man ever born and John is enjoying his perfect reward in paradise. To John, Jesus most certainly said, “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord!” While David experienced a time of begging for bread God did not leave forsake in and leave him in that state. Of course God continued to provide for David until he was eventually made King over all Israel.
So, “Never seen his descendants begging for bread” is a way of expressing that God always provides what we need. Our hope is sure. It’s a way of understanding how God views His people and in Psalm 37, it’s a statement of how God views His servants in the context of suffering while the wicked thrive. In Romans 8:18 it says, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which will be revealed in us.” And in Romans 8:35, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” The answering is a resounding, “No!” Nothing can separate the servants of the Lord from Him. This is the same glorious truth taught here in Psalm 37.
The fact that we are never forsaken means, according to Psalm 37:26, that we do not have to panic when the wicked thrive. We can still be faithful and do the right thing. We can be merciful and generous. Those who follow David’s counsel in Psalm 37 are blessed and so are their children. We are blessed by the Lord and there is nothing the wicked can do about that!
Glory to the Lord of hosts!
His mercy endures forever!
Pastor Flynn
