…Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain—Proverbs 30:8, 9

Agur asks the Lord for food that will be convenient for him. What does that mean?

An answer to this question is possible, provided we are willing to be led by God’s evaluation of things and relationships. And certainly this is not unseemly, if we remember that this God is our GOD, who created us. Therefore He is the only absolutely competent one to judge of our convenience.

Generally speaking it must be evident to all that our convenience is that state where all our needs are fulfilled. This would give the general idea. Man is a creature and, hence, dependent. From this dependency spring his needs. Are these fulfilled, then a state of tranquility, of convenience is born.

However, the text does not speak of this general idea but is narrowed down considerably by the word “food.” From this word “food” we note that Agur is seeking the state of convenience for the body. Because oftentimes this word food or bread is mentioned for all the needs of the body. We all know that were the Lord to fulfill our prayer literally when we say, “Give us this day our daily bread,” we would die of thirst, exposure, and general misery. Our body needs more than bread if we are to be convenient. But bread, meat or food is questioned as the more important of the species that is mentioned as the representative need for all the wants of the body.

Now, according to God’s ordinances of creation, there is a certain, determined need for every creature: man, animal, herb, and tree, yea, even of all the inanimate creation. And for man we might broadly speaking say that his body needs sustenance, raiment, and shelter. They are his needs without which he cannot be convenient. To go without them entirely or in part means poverty and, hence, suffering for man.

Let us emphasize, however, that our needs are determined according to the law of our life that God Himself has set. It is also here the law of God. Not our law. Were we to attempt to determine the law of the needs of our life, we always would make these needs very great. And therefore, let us remember that evidently radios, automobiles, pianos, pastries, beautiful and many changes of raiment, costly and large houses, etc., do not belong to our needs. Neither does life insurance or “a penny for a rainy day.” No, for they are riches.

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Oh, we will admit that many of the above-cited things are given to us, and we also admit that most of the time our heavenly Father gives a hundred-fold more than our needs, but that does not alter the fact that they are very determinedly not our needs.

Ah! when only we see the true relationships that God made, how humble we become! Then our needs dwindle down to the really fundamental and every crumb and luxury above them heightens our song of praise to our bountiful Father above.

The song of sweet meekness toward God our provider.

Therefore, let us note also that Agur says, “Feed me!”

Remember, dear people of God, that this feed me belongs to the part that is convenient for me. It is a very integral part of the food convenient for me.

The words “feed me” remind us of the bird in the cage that received its convenient food: a little cup of water and a little box with seed. That is all. Does the bird know whether or not it will receive many more cups of water and many more boxes with seed? No, beloved, but listen. It is fed for today and listen again: its warbling song is condemnation of either our anxiety for the morrow or our murmurings of today, where we undervaluate God’s gifts or overvaluate our needs.

Ah, let us learn the lesson of childlike trust and confidence from the feathered singers and say, “Father, Thou knowest my needs, for Thou art my Creator. Fulfill them today, for I say unto Thee: Feed me! I am helpless without Thee; I acknowledge Thee as the mainspring also of my daily bread and of all my wants for today. Feed me and clothe me and take care of me, for I am utterly dependent on Thee. And I trust Thee, for Thou hast given me Thy wonderful promise that my bread and water shall be sure. With Thee and Thy care for me as my provider I shall sing my lifelong day! Hallelujah, praise the Lord!”

Does this mean, beloved that we may sit and rest and let work be hanged? Of course not. It belongs to the food and the phrase: Feed me! It also includes that I work for my daily bread and that I plan for my daily bread. It includes that the Lord would graciously strengthen me and give me all the necessary means for my daily task. But even here it requires of us that we walk with God the lifelong day in the consciousness of utter dependency on our Creator. That is the life that counts and that is also the only life that brings true convenience, true tranquility.

One more observance must be added, however. For it is possible that the Lord wants me to suffer. When I ask that neither riches nor poverty be given me, it does not mean that I will force my will upon the Lord. Neither does it mean that I have a right to my convenient food. And lastly, neither is this always the way toward the coming of God’s kingdom.

Therefore this must be added. When I have finished with my prayer for food convenient for me, I must say also, “Not my will but Thy will be done. If it is necessary, Lord, that I must lie at the rich man’s door, full of sores and destitute of clothing and food, then give me grace to bear it for Thy name’s sake.”

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Therefore we learn in the first place that this petition is an utterance of childlike trust and confidence.

In the second place, the message of our text tells us that if we have seen the Lord and have been taught wisdom, we also are aware of our own weakness. The man who is truly wise does not say, “Let things come as they may! I do not care! I will praise God anyhow!” For that is not only foolish, but also very decidedly superficial.

No, beloved, when heavenly wisdom has shined in our hearts, we have seen our sins and our weaknesses. Then we know how treacherous we are by nature. There are depths of sin and weakness in the heart of man that are positively staggering. It reminds us of the lament of Jeremiah when he said, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jer. 17:9). Also David, when the light of God’s law had shined in his heart, beheld hidden corners of which he became suspicious, corners where sin lurked, so that it caused his outcry: “Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults!” (Ps. 19:12).

A truly wise man distrusts himself. Far be it from him therefore to say in arrogant boldness, “Let come what may; I shall always in piety praise God, be it in poverty or in prosperity.” He knows his weakness. Therefore Agur prays, “Father, give me neither poverty nor riches!”

Poverty is that condition where the Lord places His creature beneath and below the convenient part according to His own ordinances of creation. On the contrary, riches are the life that is above the standard of God’s ordinances. These ordinances never mean that I must have two houses in order to be happy. I really need only one. Riches are the dollar that we do not need. Poverty is the condition when we receive barely enough to live and really too much to die. When God lowers His own standard for our creaturely life, we experience poverty; when He heightens that standard, we are bathed in luxury and have riches. Here again it will be advisable to emphasize that poverty is not a lack in our budget. Poverty is not that we have to do without an auto, a radio, or piano. Poverty is not even that we have to do without work and must receive our sustenance through the deaconage. You have diligently sought for work and could not find it; you put your plight prayerfully before the deacons of Christ’s church and they provided your convenient food. You ate and were satisfied. Hence, you are not in poverty.

Poverty is when you shiver of the cold in threadbare garments. Poverty is when your cheeks become hollow from hunger and starvation; when your heart breaks when the children of your bosom cry for food and must go to bed hungry, for there is none. That is poverty. And that poverty Agur has in mind when he prays.

Is that not plain? Let us prove it from the text. Agur describes poverty as that state where you are in danger of stealing. He calls it the state where you are in danger of taking God’s Name in vain. The picture is clear. Poverty, beloved, is that state where you have exhausted all the means to acquire all you need for a bare existence and where all things failed you. Consequently you went and stole a loaf for crying children and, knowing that it is against God’s own law to steal, you said in the bitterness of your heart, “There is no knowledge with the Most High. He brought me into this miserable state. I now steal and do not care. It’s God’s fault.” And you are committing the double sin of taking what is not your own and abusing God’s holy Name.

And Agur knew the perfidy of his heart. He was aware of this weakness in his nature. He knew he was able to fall into these miserable, godless depths of despair where we do no longer reason with God’s commandments, but where we run riot and fall into the snares of the devil.

The same is true of the state of riches.

Agur knows that they are strong legs that can bear up prosperity. He knows beforehand that he will not be able to stand riches.

“Father,” he says, “I am afraid that when Thou givest riches to me, I may become so full, that I will deny Thee, the very source of them, and say, ‘Who is God anyhow? Am I not the one who built all this Babel?’”

Ah, beloved, is this not true of all of us? When we have everything our hearts desire, when want seems far from our dwelling, how the prayer of praise and adoration of God is stifled upon our frozen lips! How cool we grow to the Almighty, who is yet our Redeemer. We are so apt to then forget Him who gives all this riches. So easily we become proud and say that we were the source of our own prosperity. Then we say that our ingenuity and our wisdom by far surpasses the poor struggling of the brother: the stupid one. Why do not people imitate our wisdom and our striving and our industry? Then they also would be rich. Look me over! I am it. And where is God then? He is far from our thoughts. So false we are and weak.

And Agur knows it. He knows himself a brute and foolish. That is the appraisal of self when we have seen the Lord. And that is the reason why he also is afraid of riches. Allow me to remark at this stage that thanks to the Almighty we have not experienced poverty during our time. It is necessary to remind ourselves of this. No one has shivered of the cold or gone hungry. God provided our bread every day and gave riches of extra dainties besides, all through these many years. The horror of China’s terrible famines were absent from our shores, when thousands of little corpses of children lined the roadways.

No, we may say that the Lord has provided riches for us in the past. More than any country on earth is America the land of plenty. Let us remember this prayer of Agur.

Let us remember it especially now when prosperity is with us.

A childlike trust and confidence in Father bountiful and a knowledge of our own treacherous heart are comely in the child of God.

“Father, feed us with food convenient!”

He waters the hills with rain from the skies,
And plentiful grass and herbs He supplies,
Supplying the cattle, and blessing man’s toil
With bread in abundance, with wine and with oil.
The trees which the Lord has planted are fed,
And over the earth their branches are spread;
They keep in their shelter the birds of the air,
The life of each creature the Lord makes His care.
The Lord makes the night, when, leaving their lair,
The lions creep forth, God’s bounty to share;
The Lord makes the morning, when beasts steal away
And men are beginning the work of the day.
Thy creatures all look to Thee for their food;
Thy hand opens wide, they gather the good;
Thy face Thou concealest, in anguish they yearn; Their breath Thou withholdest, to dust they return

The Psalter, 2024 ed, Psalm 104b

You can access the Spanish version of this article, translated by Jorge Carbajal, by clicking the following link. PENSAMIENTOS PARA EL DÍA DE LA ORACIÓN