John Calvin Commentary Psalms 37:25

"I have been young, and now am old; Yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his seed begging bread." — Psalms 37:25 (ASV)

I have been young, I am also become old. The meaning of these words is not in the least doubtful: namely, that David, even when he had become an old man, had not seen any of the righteous, or any of their children, begging for their bread. But here a question of some difficulty arises regarding the fact stated, for it is certain that many righteous men have been reduced to begging.

And what David here declares as the result of his own experience pertains to all ages. Besides, he refers in this verse to the writings of Moses, for in Deuteronomy 15:4, begging is counted among the curses of God; and the law, in that place, expressly exempts from it those who fear and serve God.

How then does the consistency of this statement appear—that none of the righteous ever begged for bread—since Christ placed Lazarus among the most abject of them? (Luke 16:20). I answer that we must bear in mind what I have said before on this subject: that regarding the temporal blessings God confers upon His people, no certain or uniform rule can be established.

There are various reasons why God does not manifest His favor equally to all the godly in this world. He chastises some, while He spares others; He heals the secret ailments of some, and passes by others, because they have no need of a similar remedy; He exercises the patience of some, according to the spirit of fortitude He has given them; and, finally, He sets others forth as an example.

But in general, He humbles all of them by the signs of His anger, so that by secret warnings they may be brought to repentance. Besides, He leads them, by a variety of afflictions, to fix their thoughts in meditation on the heavenly life. And yet it is not a vain or imaginary thing that, as is set forth in the Law, God grants earthly blessings to His servants as proofs of His favor toward them.

I confess, I say, that it is not in vain, or for nothing, that an abundance of earthly blessings, sufficient to supply all their needs, is promised to the godly.

This, however, is always to be understood with this limitation: that God will bestow these blessings only insofar as He considers it expedient. Accordingly, it may happen that the blessing of God may be manifested in the lives of people in general, and yet some of the godly are pinched with poverty, because it is for their good.

But if it happens that any of the faithful are reduced to begging, they should lift up their minds on high to that blessed state in which God will largely recompense them for all that is now lacking in the blessings of this transitory life.

We must also keep in mind that if God sometimes subjects the faithful to the same punishments by which He takes vengeance on the ungodly—seeing them, for example, affected with the same diseases—there is no inconsistency in His doing so.

For although they do not go so far as to despise God, nor are devoted to wickedness, nor even act according to their own inclination, nor yield themselves wholly to the influence of sin like the wicked, yet they are not free from all blame. Therefore, it should not surprise us if they are sometimes subjected to temporal punishments.

We are, however, certain of this: that God makes such provision for His own people that, being content with their lot, they are never in need, because by living sparingly, they always have enough, as Paul says (Philippians 6:12):

I am instructed both to abound and to suffer need.