John Calvin Commentary Psalms 37:28

"For Jehovah loveth justice, And forsaketh not his saints; They are preserved for ever: But the seed of the wicked shall be cut off." — Psalms 37:28 (ASV)

For Jehovah loveth judgement. This, it should be observed, is a confirmation of the doctrine contained in the preceding sentence; and it here rests upon a higher principle, namely, that God takes pleasure in righteousness and truth. The argument indeed appears to be incomplete; but as David takes for granted—what should be deeply fixed in the hearts of all the faithful—that the world is directed by the providence of God, his conclusion is admirable.

Then, two points must be admitted:

1. The condition of the human race is not under the direction of chance, but of the providence of God, and the world is conducted and governed by His counsel, so that He regulates according to His pleasure the outcome of all things and controls them by His power.
2. To this must be added what David here states: that righteousness and truth are pleasing to God.

Hence it follows that all who lead an upright and blameless life among men will be happy because, enjoying the favor of God, everything must eventually have a happy and successful result for them.

But let us bear in mind that the promise spoken of in this verse is to be understood in this sense: while God has undertaken the preservation of the godly, it is not to cherish them continually in retirement and ease, but, after He has exercised them for a time under the cross, to eventually come to their help. For the language used here, Jehovah forsaketh not his meek ones, is implicitly very emphatic.

Those, therefore, who separate the exercise of patience from the favor God bestows upon the godly in this life misinterpret this psalm. On the contrary, lest anyone should hastily and rashly pronounce judgment, the prophet entreats the faithful to suspend their judgment until God manifests His displeasure after the death of the wicked by inflicting punishment upon their posterity: The seed of the wicked shall be cut off.

This has the same meaning as if he had again asserted that although the judgments of God are not immediately executed upon the wicked and ungodly, they are not any better off on that account, since the punishment justly due to them will extend to their children. If then the curse of God is not immediately inflicted upon them, it should not surprise us if He delays for a time to manifest the favor He bears towards the faithful.