Psalm 37:23,24; Psalm 71:17,18; 1 Kings 2:1-6
The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.
O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.
Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying, I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man; And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself: That the LORD may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.
Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet. Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace.
THOMAS SCOTT (1747-1821): It is probable, that Psalm 37 was written towards the close of David’s life, as the result of his long experience and observation, for the instruction and encouragement of others, who might be called to pass through such trying scenes, as he had been conversant with.
MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): 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, and 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. 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.
JOHN GILL (1697-1771): Though he fall into temptation, and by it into sins, and these very great ones; from a lively and comfortable exercise of grace, and a degree of steadfastness in the doctrine of grace: “he shall not be utterly cast down;” because he is in the arms of everlasting love, and in the hands of Christ Jesus—is on Him as the sure foundation, and is kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, and so shall not perish, but have everlasting life; “for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand;” with the right hand of His righteousness, and keeps him from falling finally and totally.
CHARLES SIMEON (1759-1836): Notwithstanding the grace given unto them, they are yet weak and frail, so that “still in many things they offend,” James 3:2; and, if left to themselves, they would eternally perish.
JOHN CALVIN (1509-1564): Even the slightest fall would be enough to destroy us utterly, did not God uphold us by His hand. The miseries of the godly are so tempered with God’s fatherly mercy, that they fail not under their burden, and even when they fall, sink not into destruction…Solomon speaks still more expressly when he says, “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again,” Proverbs 24:16—the godly are not only subjected to frequent afflictions in this life, but they are visited with daily trials, and yet are never forsaken of the Lord.
CHARLES SIMEON: Under a sense of their great infirmities, many fear that, notwithstanding all that God has spoken for their encouragement, they shall come short at last. But if only you really desire to please and serve God, see how full and suitable are the promises of God to you: “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee: yea, I will help thee: yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness,” Isaiah 41:10. Are you weak? God says, “I will strengthen you.” Are you apprehensive that nothing less than Omnipotence can administer sufficient aid? God adds, “I will help you.” Are you still alarmed because there is something yet left for you to do? God adds, I will take the whole matter into My own hands, and altogether “uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.” “Be strong, then, in faith, giving glory to God;” and “you shall not be ashamed or confounded, world without end.”
C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): Grace catches us up when sin would throw us down.
MATTHEW HENRY: God will direct and dispose of our actions and affairs so as may be most for His glory. 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.
C. H. SPURGEON: Oh, what comfort there is in this blessed assurance! Sometimes we know not which way to move, but we need not lack divine guidance, for there is a special providence which watches over every step of a gracious man. When we are right with God, everything is right with us. If our heart’s desire is that we may walk in God’s way, then God will take care that the way of His providence shall be made plain to us, and shall be full of love to us…What a beautiful expression that is, “the steps of a good man”—the very steps, the little things, the daily actions, the ordinary progress of a good man.
THE EDITOR: Whenever David neglected consulting God, he made many mistakes, and fell often, yet the Lord ordered his steps and chastised him to restore His beloved child to Himself, and to seek His counsel again, and He always answered David’s inquiries for His guidance. Contrast that with king Saul. After Saul had reigned seven years, he built his first altar unto the Lord and sought God’s counsel; but his inquiry was a pretense, because Saul had already determined what he would do, and God “answered him not that day,” 1 Samuel 14:35-38. The only other time Saul ever inquired of God was before he went to battle against the Philistines near the end of his reign; and again, “the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets,” 1 Samuel 28:6. So, Saul consulted the witch of Endor, where he received an answer announcing his own doom from a demonic spirit impersonating the prophet Samuel, 1 Samuel 28:7-20.
C. H. SPURGEON: Hypocrites are like the swine; when they fall, they wallow in the mire.
THOMAS SCOTT: A good man may fall through temptation, as David had done in a most deplorable manner: but he shall not be cast down to rise no more, as hypocrites are, or be a castaway, one finally rejected by God; because God Himself upholds him by His mighty power.
CHARLES SIMEON: In this the righteous differ from the wicked, that, notwithstanding they fall, yea, and “fall seven times, they rise again;” whilst the wicked, in their falls, are left to perish, Proverbs 24:16. The Lord Jesus Christ has engaged for them that “none shall ever pluck them out of His hands,”John 10:28,29. And this is fulfilled to every one of them, insomuch, that of those whom the Father in his everlasting covenant gave unto his Son, not one ever was, or shall be, lost. They all, in their respective generations, are “kept by the power of God through faith unto everlasting salvation,” 1 Peter 1:5.
