Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 37:21
The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous showeth mercy, and giveth.
21. At first sight it may seem that the Psalmist intends to contrast the dishonesty of the wicked with the liberality of the righteous. But Psa 37:22 makes it clear that this is not the meaning. Looking forward, he foresees the future which awaits them. He sees the wicked man falling into debt and forced to contract loans which he cannot repay, while the righteous man has enough and to spare, and makes a bountiful use of his wealth. The promise to Israel as a nation finds its analogy within the nation (Deu 15:6; Deu 28:12; Deu 28:44).
sheweth mercy ] Better as R.V., dealeth graciously. Cp. Psa 37:26.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
21, 22. Stanza of Lamed. The wicked are impoverished, while the righteous are enriched. Cp. Pro 3:33.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
21 31. God’s care for the righteous.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again – This is probably intended here, not so much to describe the character as the condition of the wicked. The idea is, that he will be in such a condition of want that he will be under a necessity of borrowing, but will not have the means of repaying what he has borrowed, while the righteous will not only have enough for himself, but will have the means of showing mercy to others, and of giving to them what they need. The ability to lend to others is referred to as a part of the promise of God to his people, and as marking their condition as a prosperous one, in Deu 15:6 : And thou shalt lend unto many nations, and shalt not borrow. Compare Deu 28:12, Deu 28:44. It is true, however, as a characteristic of a wicked man, that he will often be disposed to borrow and not pay again; that he will be reckless about borrowing and careless about paying; and that it is a characteristic of a good or upright man that he will not borrow when he can avoid it, and that he will be punctual and conscientious in paying what he has borrowed.
But the righteous showeth mercy, and giveth – That is, in this connection, he is not under the necessity of borrowing of others for the supply of his wants. He has not only enough for himself, but he has the means of aiding others, and has the disposition to do it. It is his character to show favors, and he has the means of gratifying this desire.
And giveth – Imparts to others. He has enough for himself, and has also that which he can give to others. Of course all this is designed to be general. It does not mean that this will universaly be the case, but that the tendency of a life of piety is to make a man prosperous in his worldly affairs; to give him what he needs for himself, and to furnish him with the means, as he has the disposition, to do good to others. Other things being equal, the honest, temperate, pure, pious man will be the most prosperous in the world: for honesty, temperance, purity, and piety produce the industry, economy, and prudence on which prosperity depends.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 37:21-26
The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous showeth mercy, and giveth.
The superiority of the righteous to the wicked
I. In relation to society.
1. The righteous man here is put in social contrast to the wicked, which borroweth and doth not pay. David means to say that the wicked are often in society needy and dishonest.
2. In contrast with this, look at the righteous, The righteous showeth mercy and giveth.
(1) He has the means of helping. Moral goodness is favourable to secular prosperity. As a rule the genuinely religious are not too indigent to render some help to their fellow-men.
(2) He has always the disposition to help. The righteous showeth mercy and giveth. The instinct of generous communication is the law of his life. Why should such a man, then, envy the wicked?
II. In relation to God.
1. He blesses the righteous, but not the wicked. Such as be blessed of Him.
2. He establishes the righteous, but not the wicked. The steps of a good man, etc. As God has put every planet into its separate orbit, and each to move around the sun, so He has put every good man in his particular course of life, and on that course he pursues his way with a vigour and a wisdom derived from heaven.
3. He is pleased with the righteous, but not with the wicked. He delighteth in his way.
III. In relation to the world.
1. They will be kept from utter destitution. Though he fall he shall not be utterly cast down. Moral goodness, though highly favourable to secular prosperity, is not an infallible guarantee against reverses in fortune and adversity. Albeit, they are not utterly cast down. The Lord upholdeth him with His hand. They may be persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.
2. Neither they nor their children shall be utterly neglected. I have been young, etc. (Homilist.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 21. The wicked borroweth] Is often reduced to penury, and is obliged to become debtor to those whom he before despised.
And payeth not again] May refuse to do it, because he is a wicked man; or be unable to do it, because he is reduced to beggary.
But the righteous showeth mercy] Because he has received mercy from God, therefore he shows mercy to men. And even to his enemies he showeth mercy, and giveth; his heart being disposed to it by the influence of Divine grace, and his hand being enabled to do it by the blessing of God’s providence.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again; either through covetousness and injustice; or rather, because of that great penury into which God shall bring him; whilst the righteous is not only provided sufficiently for himself, but hath abundance and to spare for others. For he is here comparing the wicked and the righteous, not so much in their virtues or moral qualities, as in their outward conditions, which also appears from the following verse, which gives the reason of this.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
21, 22. payeth notnot able;having grown poor (compare De 15:7).Ability of the one and inability of the other do not exclude moraldispositions. God’s blessing or cursing makes the difference.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again,…. While the wicked live, they are scandalous; they live by borrowing, which was always reckoned mean; see De 28:12; and what is worse, as they borrow, they do not design to repay; they take no care nor thought about that, but live upon what they borrow: for this either expresses their incapacity that they cannot pay; or the evil disposition of their mind, which rather seems to be the sense, that they will not pay;
but the righteous showeth mercy, and giveth; which not only argues capacity and ability, but a kind, merciful, and tender spirit to persons in distress, and is expressive of a generous action.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
It is the promise expressed in Deu 15:6; Deu 28:12, Deu 28:44, which is rendered in Psa 37:21 in the more universal, sententious form. signifies to be bound or under obligation to any one = to borrow and to owe ( nexum esse). The confirmation of Psa 37:22 is not inappropriate (as Hitzig considers it, who places Psa 37:22 after Psa 37:20): in that ever deeper downfall of the ungodly, and in that charitableness of the righteous, which becomes more and more easy to him by reason of his prosperity, the curse and blessing of God, which shall be revealed in the end of the earthly lot of both the righteous and the ungodly, are even now foretold. Whilst those who reject the blessing of God are cut off, the promise given to the patriarchs is fulfilled in the experience of those who are blessed of God, in all its fulness.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Exhortations and Promises. | |
21 The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous showeth mercy, and giveth. 22 For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off. 23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. 24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand. 25 I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. 26 He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed. 27 Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore. 28 For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. 29 The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever. 30 The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment. 31 The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide. 32 The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him. 33 The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.
These verses are much to the same purport with the foregoing verses of this psalm, for it is a subject worthy to be dwelt upon. Observe here,
I. What is required of us as the way to our happiness, which we may learn both from the characters here laid down and from the directions here given. If we would be blessed of God, 1. We must make conscience of giving every body his own; for the wicked borrows and pays not again, v. 21. It is the first thing which the Lord our God requires of us, that we do justly, and render to all their due. It is not only a shameful paltry thing, but a sinful wicked thing, not to repay what we have borrowed. Some make this an instance, not so much of the wickedness of the wicked as of the misery and poverty to which they are reduced by the just judgment of God, that they shall be necessitated to borrow for their supply and then be in no capacity to repay it again, and so lie at the mercy of their creditors. Whatever some men seem to think of it, as it is a great sin for those that are able to deny the payment of their just debts, so it is a great misery not to be able to pay them. 2. We must be ready to all acts of charity and beneficence; for, as it is an instance of God’s goodness to the righteous that he puts it into the power of his hand to be kind and to do good (and so some understand it, God’s blessing increases his little to such a degree that he has abundance to spare for the relief of others), so it is an instance of the goodness of the righteous man that he has a heart proportionable to his estate: He shows mercy, and gives, v. 21. He is ever merciful, or every day, or all the day, merciful, and lends, and sometimes there is as true charity in lending as in giving; and giving and lending are acceptable to God when they proceed from a merciful disposition in the heart, which, if it be sincere, will be constant, and will keep us from being weary of well-doing. he that is truly merciful will be ever merciful. 3. We must leave our sins, and engage in the practice of serious godliness (v. 27): Depart from evil and do good. Cease to do evil and abhor it; learn to do well and cleave to it; this is true religion. 4. We must abound in good discourse, and with our tongues must glorify God and edify others. It is part of the character of a righteous man (v. 30) that his mouth speaketh wisdom; not only he speaks wisely, but he speaks wisdom, like Solomon himself, for the instruction of those about him. His tongue talks not of things idle and impertinent, but of judgment, that is, of the word and providence of God and the rules of wisdom for the right ordering of the conversation. Out of the abundance of a good heart will the mouth speak that which is good and to the use of edifying. 5. We must have our wills brought into an entire subjection to the will and word of God (v. 31): The law of God, of his God, is in his heart; and in vain do we pretend that God is our God if we do not receive his law into our hearts and resign ourselves to the government of it. It is but a jest and a mockery to speak wisdom, and to talk of judgment (v. 30), unless we have the law in our hearts, and we think as we speak. The law of God must be a commanding ruling principle in the heart; it must be a light there, a spring there, and then the conversation will be regular and uniform: None of his steps will slide; it will effectually prevent backsliding into sin, and the uneasiness that follows from it.
II. What is assured to us, as instances of our happiness and comfort, upon these conditions.
1. That we shall have the blessing of God, and that blessing shall be the spring, and sweetness, and security of all our temporal comforts and enjoyments (v. 22): Such as are blessed of God, as all the righteous are, with a Father’s blessing, by virtue of that shall inherit the earth, or the land (for so the same word is translated, v. 29), the land of Canaan, that glory of all lands. Our creature-comforts are comforts indeed to us when we see them flowing from the blessing of God, we are sure not to want any thing that is good for us in this world. The earth shall yield us her increase if God, as our own God, give us his blessing, Ps. lxvii. 6. And as those whom God blesses are thus blessed indeed (for they shall inherit the land), so those whom he curses are cursed indeed; they shall be cut off and rooted out, and their extirpation by the divine curse will set off the establishment of the righteous by the divine blessing and be a foil to it.
2. That God will direct and dispose of our actions and affairs so as may be most for his glory (v. 23): The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. By his grace and Holy Spirit he directs the thoughts, affections, and designs of good men. He has all hearts in his hand, but theirs by their own consent. By his providence he overrules the events that concern them, so as to make their way plain before them, both what they should do and what they may expect. Observe, God orders the steps of a good man; not only his way in general, by his written word, but his particular steps, by the whispers of conscience, saying, This is the way, walk in it. He does not always show him his way at a distance, but leads him step by step, as children are led, and so keeps him in a continual dependence upon his guidance; and this, (1.) Because he delights in his way, and is well pleased with the paths of righteousness wherein he walks. The Lord knows the way of the righteous (Ps. i. 6), knows it with favour, and therefore directs it. (2.) That he may delight in his way. Because God orders his way according to his own will, therefore he delights in it; for, as he loves his own image upon us, so he is well pleased with what we do under his guidance.
3. That God will keep us from being ruined by our falls either into sin or into trouble (v. 24): Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down. (1.) A good man may be overtaken in a fault, but the grace of God shall recover him to repentance, so that he shall not be utterly cast down. Though he may, for a time, lose the joys of God’s salvation, yet they shall be restored to him; for God shall uphold him with his hand, uphold him with his free Spirit. The root shall be kept alive, though the leaf wither; and there will come a spring after the winter. (2.) A good man may be in distress, his affairs embarrassed, his spirits sunk, but he shall not be utterly cast down; God will be the strength of his heart when his flesh and heart fail, and will uphold him with his comforts, so that the spirit he has made shall not fail before him.
4. That we shall not want the necessary supports of this life (v. 25): “I have been young and now am old, and, among all the changes I have seen in men’s outward condition and the observations I have made upon them, I never saw the righteous forsaken of God and man, as I have sometimes seen wicked people abandoned both by heaven and earth; nor do I ever remember to have seen the seed of the righteous reduced to such an extremity as to beg their bread.” David had himself begged his bread of Abimelech the priest, but it was when Saul hunted him; and our Saviour has taught us to except the case of persecution for righteousness’ sake out of all the temporal promises (Mark x. 30), because that has such peculiar honours and comforts attending it as make it rather a gift (as the apostle reckons it, Phil. i. 29) than a loss or grievance. But there are very few instances of good men, or their families, that are reduced to such extreme poverty as many wicked people bring themselves to by their wickedness. He had not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging their bread. Forsaken (so some expound it); if they do want God will raise them up friends to supply them, without a scandalous exposing of themselves to the reproach of common beggars; or, if they go from door to door for meat, it shall not be with despair, as the wicked man that wanders abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? Job xv. 23. Nor shall he be denied, as the prodigal, that would fain have filled his belly, but no man gave unto him, Luke xv. 16. Nor shall he grudge if he be not satisfied, as David’s enemies, when they wandered up and down for meat, Ps. lix. 15. Some make this promise relate especially to those that are charitable and liberal to the poor, and to intimate that David never observed any that brought themselves to poverty by their charity. It is withholding more than is meet that tends to poverty, Prov. xi. 24.
5. That God will not desert us, but graciously protect us in our difficulties and straits (v. 28): The Lord loves judgment; he delights in doing justice himself and he delights in those that do justice; and therefore he forsakes not his saints in affliction when others make themselves strange to them and become shy of them, but he takes care that they be preserved for ever, that is, that the saint in every age be taken under his protection, that the succession be preserved to the end of time, and that particular saints be preserved from all the temptations and through all the trials of this present time, to that happiness which shall be for ever. He will preserve them to his heavenly kingdom; that is a preservation for ever, 2Ti 4:18; Psa 12:7.
6. That we shall have a comfortable settlement in this world, and in a better when we leave this. That we shall dwell for evermore (v. 27), and not be cut off as the seed of the wicked, v. 28. Those shall not be tossed that make God their rest and are at home in him. But on this earth there is no dwelling for ever, no continuing city; it is in heaven only, that city which has foundations, that the righteous shall dwell for ever; that will be their everlasting habitation.
7. That we shall not become a prey to our adversaries, who seek our ruin, Psa 37:32; Psa 37:33. There is an adversary that takes all opportunities to do us a mischief, a wicked one that watches the righteous (as a roaring lion watches his prey) and seeks to slay him. There are wicked men that do so, that are very subtle (they watch the righteous, that they may have an opportunity to do them a mischief effectually and may have a pretence wherewith to justify themselves in the doing of it), and very spiteful, for they seek to slay him. But it may very well be applied to the wicked one, the devil, that old serpent, who has his wiles to entrap the righteous, his devices which we should not be ignorant of,–that great red dragon, who seeks to slay them,–that roaring lion, who goes about continually, restless and raging, and seeking whom he may devour. But it is here promised that he shall not prevail, neither Satan nor his instruments. (1.) He shall not prevail as a field-adversary: The Lord will not leave him in his hand; he will not permit Satan to do what he would, nor will he withdraw his strength and grace from his people, but will enable them to resist and overcome him, and their faith shall not fail,Luk 22:31; Luk 22:32. A good man may fall into the hands of a messenger of Satan, and be sorely buffeted, but God will not leave him in his hands, 1 Cor. x. 13. (2.) He shall not prevail as a law-adversary: God will not condemn him when he is judged, though urged to do it by the accuser of the brethren, who accuses them before our God day and night. His false accusations will be thrown out, as those exhibited against Joshua (Zec 3:1; Zec 3:2), The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan! It is God that justifies, and then who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect?
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
21 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 brethren. The prophet rather extols, on the one hand, the blessing of God towards 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, that they may be able to aid others; but that the ungodly are always in want, so that their poverty leads them to have recourse to fraud and rapine. And were we not blinded by insensibility 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; (38) while God bestows upon his own people a sufficiency not only for the supply of their own ordinary wants, but also to enable them to aid others. I do not indeed 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 to a proper use the bounty of God; but the design of the prophet 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. It then it is asked, whence the children of God are able to relieve the wants of the needy, and to exercise liberality towards them? and why it is that the ungodly are continually contracting debts from which they are never able to extricate themselves? David answers, that the former are blessed of 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.; (39) but this is constrained and absurd. The meaning is simply this, that whatever we need for the preservation and maintenance of life, and for the exercise of humanity towards others, comes to us neither from the heavens nor from the earth, but only from the favor and blessing of God; and that if he once withdraw his grace, the abundance of the whole world would not satisfy us.
(38) “ Comme escumeurs de mer sans jamais avoir de quoy satisfaire.” — Fr. “Like pirates, without ever having any thing to pay.”
(39) “ Comme s’il y avoit, Ceux qui beniront les justes, possederont,” etc. — Fr.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
21. Wicked borroweth and payeth not again A description of abject poverty as a judgment of God. Deu 15:16; Deu 28:12; Deu 28:44. That this is poverty induced by vice and crime is seen from Psa 37:22
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 37:21-22. The wicked borroweth, &c. This description of the wicked and the righteous, is designed not to shew the dispositions of one and the other, as their abilities. “The wicked shall be so poor, as to be ever obliged to borrow, and incapable of paying; while the righteous shall have wherewithal to be generous and munificent.” This will continue on the sense of the three verses before, to those that follow, which otherwise will be wholly disjointed. “For they who are blessed of him, the Lord, (namely, the righteous, Psa 37:18-19.) shall inherit the earth; and they who are cursed of him, (namely, the wicked, Psa 37:20.) shall be cut off. The steps of the man, (Psa 37:23.) i.e. the righteous man, are firmly fixed, &c.” Mudge. Some render the 23rd verse, While the steps of a man are directed by the Lord, he shall accept his way. The Hebrew word geber, rendered a man, is said by Glassius, Onomat. p. 74 to be used emphatically as a type of Christ. See also Dr. Thomas Jackson’s Nazareth and Bethlehem, vol. 2: p. 401.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Psa 37:21 The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.
Ver. 21. The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again ] Either because he cannot, he is so unable; or because he cares not, he is so unconscionable, Non sunt reddendo. But in the midst of his wealth he is many times wanting; in the fulness of his sufficiency he is in straits; and to supply his necessities, sticketh long in the usurer’s furnace, which leaveth him at last neither metal nor matter.
But the righteous showeth mercy, and giveth
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
sheweth mercy = is gracious.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
borroweth: Deu 28:12, Deu 28:43, Deu 28:44, 2Ki 4:1-5, Neh 5:1-5, Pro 22:7
righteous: Psa 112:5, Psa 112:9, Deu 15:9-11, Job 31:16-20, Isa 32:8, Isa 58:7-10, Luk 6:30, Act 11:29, Act 20:35, 2Co 8:9, 2Co 9:6-15, Heb 6:10, Heb 13:16
Reciprocal: Exo 22:14 – borrow Deu 15:6 – thou shalt lend 2Ki 4:7 – pay 2Ki 6:5 – for it was borrowed Neh 5:18 – because the bondage Psa 37:26 – merciful Mic 7:8 – when I fall Mat 5:42 – General Mat 6:2 – when Rom 12:8 – with diligence
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 37:21-22. The wicked borroweth and payeth not again Either through covetousness, or injustice; or, rather, because of that great penury into which God brings him; while the righteous is not only provided for sufficiently for himself, but hath abundance and to spare for others. For the psalmist is here comparing the wicked and the righteous, not so much with respect to their virtues or moral qualities as their outward conditions. This also appears from the following verse, which gives the reason of this. For such as be blessed of him Of the Lord, as appears from Psa 37:20, where he is named, and from the nature of the thing, this being Gods prerogative to bless or to curse men. And this he mentions, both as the foundation and as the proof of the certainty of their future happiness.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
37:21 The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and {o} giveth.
(o) God so furnishes him with high blessings, that he is able to help others.