This psalm contains the thoughts of an old man on the apparent contradiction of the prosperity of the wicked and the afflictions of the righteous. "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread," verse 25. This is the long-term view which is abundantly more accurate than the view that sometimes we may be inclined to form in the midst of difficulties. Wicked men do flourish while righteous men do suffer afflictions and difficulties. This psalms say that this is so! However, it is a cure from that heartburn which may afflict the righteous when they perceive events that seem to suggest that the wicked and not the righteous are favoured by God. This it does, in part, by underscoring the element of time. Verse 2, 10. Things as they are today will not continue long, either for the righteous or the wicked. There is joy in that truth for the believer and a most solemn warning for the wicked!