Psalm 37:25-29 The Lord will not Forsake His Saints

Last week, I had the privilege of talking with a godly man and his wife. He is an evangelist, who devotes his days to sharing Christ with the lost. He has several children, all of whom are well-behaved and love the Lord. The more time I spent with this family, the more clear it became that God’s blessing was upon them. I wanted this blessing on my own family, so I began to look for clues as to how it came upon this man… and then I met his father.

The father of this evangelist was the speaker at the conference. He was a retired pastor whose love for the Lord overflowed. I was amazed when he would recite Scripture as he preached. I don’t mean he would say a memory verse. I mean, he would say, “I think it’s verse 14 or 15 of Ephesians 3,” and then he would start quoting chapter 3 of Ephesians from memory, beginning in verse 1, until he got to the verse he was thinking about! He did this over and over until I was convinced that this man had memorized most of the New Testament.

Then, he preached a lesson on prayer, and he shared with us “16 prayers to pray over your children.” When his children were young, he became convinced of the need to pray God’s blessing over them, so he did so faithfully—every day!

Now I understand why the son that I met was so blessed by the Lord! When a godly parent who loves the Lord prays faithfully for their children, God will bless them. At least, that’s the general principle taught in Psalm 37.

Please read Psalm 37:25-29.

It is true that David’s observations in this psalm are not absolute. Some have witnessed the children of good Christians in dire straights. But other commentators have shared their own experience, which directly correlates to David: they have never seen the children of parents who are sold out to God end up in the soup kitchen or in prison.

Parents who love the Lord, are devoted to His Word, and pray fervently for their children, will see them blessed by the Lord. This is generally true in this life; it is always true in the life to come. God pays back our faithfulness with interest in the next generation.

We may suffer for the Lord, but our suffering will leave a mark on our children. It will teach them that this life is not all there is; the life to come is far more important, and believing in Jesus Christ is the most important decision they will ever make. Seeing our children trust in Christ is worth whatever suffering we need to endure in this life.

Unfortunately, the evil parent cares more about the pleasures of this life than about the eternal destiny of their children. The pleasures of this world are short-lived, but the rewards of grace are eternal. How short-sighted must we be to be more devoted to our child’s soccer schedule than to faithful attendance in church? How short-sighted must we be to be more devoted to our work than to spending time with our family? How short-sighted must we be to buy that big house, vacation home, and new car, but fail to teach our children to selflessly give to God’s work?

When we faithfully follow God, our children will be blessed. “He will not forsake His saints.” This is said twice in these few verses. Perhaps that is because God wants this lesson to sink in: focus more on the eternal destiny of your children than on their temporal happiness in this life.

The wicked parent may see their children prosper, but rarely does the wealth of the wicked reach the third generation. Meanwhile, great preachers of the faith have seen their children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren follow them into the ministry. Even if your children do not go into vocational ministry, when they trust in Christ as their Savior, “they are preserved forever.”

May this be the goal of every parent. May we so hunger and thirst for righteousness that we devote ourselves to the Lord, to His Word, and to fervent prayer for our children! And may God grant us the privilege of witnessing the Lord's blessing on them, for the Lord will not forsake his saints.