John Calvin Commentary Psalms 37:21

"The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again; But the righteous dealeth graciously, and giveth." — Psalms 37:21 (ASV)

The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again. Those are mistaken who suppose that the wicked are here blamed for their treachery in carrying off the goods of others by fraud and deception, and that, on the other hand, the children of God are commended for their kindness in being always ready to relieve the wants of their poorer brothers.

The prophet rather extols, on the one hand, the blessing of God toward the godly, and declares, on the other, that the ungodly never have enough. The meaning therefore is, that God deals bountifully with His own people, so that they may be able to aid others; but that the ungodly are always in want, so that their poverty leads them to resort to fraud and plunder.

And if we were not blinded by callousness and indifference, we could not fail to perceive the many proofs of this which are daily presented to our view. However great the abundance of the ungodly, yet their covetousness is so insatiable that, like robbers, they plunder right and left, and yet are never able to pay; while God bestows upon His own people a sufficiency not only to supply their own ordinary wants, but also to enable them to aid others.

Indeed, I do not deny that the wicked are reproved for wasteful extravagance, by which they defraud their creditors of what is their due, and also that the righteous are praised for applying God's bounty to its proper use; but the prophet's design is to show the high value of the divine blessing.

This is confirmed by the following verse, in which he illustrates the difference resulting from the blessing and the curse of God. Then it is asked, how are the children of God able to relieve the wants of the needy and to exercise generosity toward them? And why are the ungodly continually contracting debts from which they are never able to extricate themselves?

David answers that the former are blessed by the Lord, and that the latter are brought to utter ruin by His curse. Some expound the word מברכיו, meborakayv, actively, as if it were, Those who bless the righteous shall possess, etc.; but this is forced and absurd. The meaning is simply this: whatever we need to preserve and maintain life, and to practice kindness toward others, comes to us neither from heaven nor from earth, but only from the favor and blessing of God; and that if He once withdraws His grace, the abundance of the whole world would not satisfy us.