Psalm 37:25 is a psalm of David and says, “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” We read in verse 28, “For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints…”  Then, we read in verse 33, “The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.”  Three times in this chapter we are assured that the Lord will not forsake the righteous, He will not forsake His saints, and He will not leave us in the hands of the wicked.  This reminds of the promise the Lord made in Deuteronomy 31:6, “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”

How great is the promise and how faithful is the One who gave that promise…the Lord Himself.  Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 41:17, “When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.”  How precious it is to know the truth of God’s Word and then experience that truth as the years go by.  Of course, this does not mean there would never be a meal missed or that one might never have to go to bed hungry on a given day, but the promise of the Lord to never forsake us and to realize He will never leave us in our time of need, is indeed a promise to the Lord’s people. 

One way the Lord made sure that the righteous would never have to beg was by instructing His people to make provision for the poor.  Leviticus 19:9-10 says, “And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God.”  When God’s people obeyed God’s law, God’s people never would have to beg.  They could go to the various fields to glean from what was left over in the fields.  Food left for them on purpose so they might gather some of it and eat. We read of this provision granted to Ruth in Ruth 2:15-16, “And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not: And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not.”

What about today?  Would the Lord forsake His own today and leave them hungry and begging?  The Apostle Paul reminded the New Testament saints of God’s faithfulness in Hebrews 13:5 where he said, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”  He quoted Deuteronomy 31:6 to assure them of the same promise the Lord made to the Old Testament saints.  As He did in the Old Testament, has the Lord made provision for the poor in the New Testament?  Let’s consider the actions of the early church as they were led by the Holy Spirit:

  • 1 Corinthians 16:2-3, “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem.”
  • Romans 15:26, “For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.”
  • 2 Corinthians 8:2, “How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.”

The Lord was working in the hearts of His people to meet the needs of the poor.  Indeed, the Lord has made provision for the poor through His saints.  As led of the Lord, we should act to help take care of those who cannot care for themselves.  The Lord has appointed us to take care of the widows who have no one to help (1 Timothy 5:16).  We should also help take care of the fatherless (James 1:27).  Of course, there are those we should not help…such as those who refuse to help themselves (1 Timothy 5:8).

In conclusion, I would suggest that if we witness any of the Lord’s people going without food and finding it necessary to beg for their next meal, perhaps it’s not the Lord that has forsaken them, but we who know the Lord.  May we be sensitive to the Lord’s leading so that He might properly use us as His instruments to minister to the needs of others.  1 John 3:17, “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?”  (CC)  (728.6)