Psalms 37:19

Psa 37:19 They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

Ver. 19. They shall not be ashamed] They shall hold up their heads when others droop; neither shall they be without comfort in times of common calamity, as Noah was - media tranquillus in unda.

And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied] God will work wonders rather than they shall want anything that is good for them; as he fed the Israelites in the wilderness, Elijah by the ravens, Jeremiah by a special providence in the siege. As Rochelle was relieved by an extraordinary shoal of fish cast in upon them by Divine providence. And as Leyden, besieged by the Duke of Alva and forced for their sustenance to search and scrape dunghills, to boil old leather, &c., was rescued by the turning of the winds and swelling of the tide, which forced the duke to raise the siege and be gone.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

19. (Psa 37:19) They shall not be ashamed, disappointed, or deceived in their expectations. See above, on Ps. 6:11 (10), Psa 22:6 (5).—In an evil time, or, in a time of evil, i.e. of calamity or danger. See above, on Psa 9:10 (9), Psa 10:1. At such a time, their expectation of deliverance and safety shall not be frustrated.—And in days of famine, a specification of the general description, evil time, time of evil, not unlike that of the general term, suffering or afflicted, by the specific one, poor or needy, in ver 14 above.—They shall be satisfied, or filled, but only in a good sense, without any implication of satiety or surfeit. Compare Mat 5:6, Luk 6:21. The promise of this clause is not only specific but positive, whereas that of the first is both generic and negative. Compare Psa 33:19.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For God will give them contented minds: and that which shall be necessary.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 19. They shall not be ashamed] They have expressed strong confidence in the Lord; and he shall so work in their behalf that their enemies shall never be able to say, "Ye have trusted in your God, and yet your enemies have prevailed over you." No; for even in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

19 They shall not be ashamed in the season of adversity This verse also shows us, that the faithful have no right to expect such exemption as the flesh would desire from affliction and trial, but they are assured of deliverance in the end; which, though it be indeed obtained, yet it is of such a nature as can be realised only by faith. We must regard these two things as inseparably connected, namely, that as the faithful are mingled among the wicked in this world, so hunger and adversity are common to both. The only difference betwixt them is, that God stretches forth his hand towards his own people in the time of their need, while he abandons the ungodly, and takes no care of them. If it should be objected, that the wicked often fare sumptuously in the time of famine, and gratify all their desires, whilst the faithful are oppressed with poverty and want, I answer, that the fullness of which mention is here made consists chiefly in this, that the faithful, though they live sparingly, and often labor hard to acquire the means of subsistence, are nevertheless fed by God as truly as if they had a greater abundance of this world’s goods than the ungodly, who greedily devour the good things of this life in all their variety and abundance, and yet are never satisfied. Besides, as I have elsewhere said, these temporal blessings are not always seen flowing in one uniform course. The hand of God is indeed always open, but we are straitened and limited in our desires, so that our own unbelief is no small hinderance to his liberality. Moreover, as our corrupt nature would soon break forth into excess, God deals with us more sparingly; and lest he might corrupt us by too great indulgence, he trains us to frugality by bestowing with a sparing hand what he was ready otherwise to lavish upon us in full abundance. And, indeed, whoever shall consider how much addicted we are to sensuality and pleasure, will not be surprised that God should exercise his own people with poverty and want. But although God may not bestow upon us what is necessary for our gratification, yet, unless our own ingratitude prevent us, we shall experience, even in famine and want, that be nourishes us graciously and liberally.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

19. Cp. Job_5:19-20.

in the evil time] R.V. in the time of evil, i.e. calamity.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But the wicked shall perish,.... In a time of famine, in an evil day, and particularly at the day of judgment: for this is to be understood, not merely of being in bodily distress and want; nor of perishing by death, common to the righteous and the wicked; nor of being in a lost perishing condition, as all men by nature are, but of eternal perdition in hell;

and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs, they shall consume; that is, either they shall consume away as the fat of lambs burnt upon the altar, which evaporates, or as lambs fattened on purpose to be killed, and so prepared for the day of slaughter; in like manner the wicked, who have waxed fat and kicked, will be destroyed; they being the enemies of God, yea, enmity to him, to Father, Son, and Spirit, to the Gospel and ordinances of Christ, and to his people, and will be treated as such. Some render the word, "like the excellency of pastures" (s); the grass of the field, which is cut down and withers presently; see Psa 37:2;

into smoke shall they consume away, or "with" (t) it; that is, as it; see Psa 68:1; or "in smoke" (u); in the smoke of eternal torments, or hell, as the Targum.

(s) "sicut pretiosum pratorum", Muis; so some in Piscator; "vel gloria", Michaelis. (t) "cum fumo", Gejerus, Tigurine version; so Ainsworth. (u) "In fumo", Montanus, Musculus, Michaelis.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

They shall not be ashamed in the evil thee - In times of calamity and trouble. The word “ashamed” here refers to disappointment; as when one goes to a fountain or stream for water and finds it dried up. See Job 6:20, note; and Psa 25:2-3. The idea here is, that when thees of trouble and calamity come, in seasons of famine or want, they will find their expectations, arising from confidence in God, fully met. Their wants will be supplied, and they will find him to be their friend.

And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied - Their needs shall be supplied. God will provide for them. See Psa 37:25. This is in accordance with the general promises which are made in the Scriptures, that God will provide for the needs of those who trust in Him. See the notes at Psa 37:3.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

They shall not be ashamed, for the disappointment of their hopes, but their hopes and desires shall be satisfied, as it follows.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 19. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time. Calamities will come, but deliverances will come also. As the righteous never reckoned upon immunity from trouble, they will not be disappointed when they are called to take their share of it, but the rather they will cast themselves anew upon their God, and prove again his faithfulness and love. God is not a friend in the sunshine only, he is a friend indeed and a friend in need. And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. Their barrel of meal and cruse of oil shall last out the day of distress, and if ravens do not bring them bread and meat, the supply of their needs shall come in some other way, for their bread shall be given them. Our Lord stayed himself upon this when he hungered in the wilderness, and by faith he repelled the tempter; we too may be enabled not to fret ourselves in any wise to do evil by the same consideration. If God's providence is our inheritance, we need not worry about the price of wheat. Mildew, and smut, and bent, are all in the Lord's hands. Unbelief cannot save a single ear from being blasted, but faith, if it do not preserve the crop, can do what is better, namely, preserve our joy in the Lord.

None.

Ver. 19. Good words for hard times.

Psalms 37:20*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

They shall not be ashamed in the evil times. If they fall into adversity, it will not cause them to feel shame. They will know that they are not being punished for evil-doing, but that God is trying them and purifying them. (Job_36:8-11) And in the days of famine they shall he satisfied. (comp. Psa_33:19)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.