Comfort In the God Who is Near - Psalm 119:145-152 (Psalms 119:145-152)

0:50And he told his wife, I'm reading an email that he gave to me ways back. He said, I told my wife he has a plan. And even though we don't know what it is and may not like it once we do, still we have to keep our faith and know that he will do what is best for Luke. And this morning, as I was preparing and coming here, I got this email. Sunday before last, I was with him, Luke, and he asked me to lay by him and play angry birds. He was trying to ask me something, and we all deferred to his mother. Who was the best at reading his lips? He asked if I would go back to the beach for him. So I said, sure. This was the last time he was fully coherent. On Tuesday, while getting ready to go to work, I had a really strong feeling that I should go see him. So I got my wife and the boys, and we went to spend the day with him. I called the girls and told them I thought they should come as well. And once everyone had arrived, his mother said to him, Luke, oh, Pa, and everybody is here. He squeezed her hand, took a really deep breath, and all his stats went to zero. All the alarms went off, and it was almost more than I could bear watching his heart rate, blood pressure, and everything else go to zero.

2:24This just this morning. I told my family, at least we know he is in a better place and is no longer suffering. I am taking everyone back to the beach where I took him last summer, this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I'm hoping this will help give everyone some closure. It's been an extremely difficult week. How do you comfort someone in such a difficult time? What words are there to say? Well, the answer is in our text this morning.

3:00And as we return to Psalm 119, we find our psalmist once again confronted with some very difficult circumstances that God had allowed to come into his life. Let me read these words to you: Psalm 119, verse 145. I cried with all my heart, answer me, O Lord. I will observe your statutes. I cried to you, save me, and I shall keep your testimonies. I rise before dawn and cry for help. I wait for your words. My eyes anticipate the night watches, that I may meditate on your word. Hear my voice according to your loving kindness. Revive me, O Lord, according to your ordinances. Those who follow after wickedness draw near. They are far from your law. You are near, O Lord, and all your commandments are truth. Of old I have known from your testimonies that you have founded them forever.

4:13The message this morning is entitled Comfort in the God Who is Near. Comfort in the God who is near. There is great comfort in knowing that God is near, that His Word is true, and that His Word is forever. There is comfort in this. And yet, I think it is also true that many of us deep down really don't believe that God is near to us. I think we see it in Scripture, and so our mind knows that.

4:48I think we see it in others, and we'd say that's true about others. But deep down, I think we struggle at this very basic level. Is God really near to me? Well, I want you to hear the cry of the psalmist this morning because it is this comfort in the God who is near that satisfied his cry. I want you to see his cry. First of all, I want you to see the intensity of his cry, the intensity of his cry. Look at verse 145 and 146. I cried with all my heart, answer me, O Lord, I will observe your statutes. I cried to you, save me, and I shall keep your testimonies. It says, I cried. That is, I called upon you. I invoked with great intensity, with all my heart, with the totality of my being, with everything that is within me, I reached out. I cried to you. I invoked your name.

5:55Answer me. It's the imperative plea, answer me. Respond favorably. Help me. Show me that you're there. And then he says in verse 146, save me. Another imperative plea. Literally, cause my deliverance. Hear me. Hear me. Answer me. I cried, answer me, save me. He says, answer me. And in verse 145, I will observe your statutes. I will keep them. In verse 146, I shall keep your testimonies. Like Adam took care of the garden, like David kept the sheep. The psalmist is saying, answer me and save me so that I can keep and that I can observe your testimonies.

6:50You see, his main desire is salvation. He's saying, save me so that I will observe. Say that I will keep. Give me the power to stay. It's what he's praying for. He's not coming to God saying, save me, and then I will do X, Y, and Z for you. You do this for me, and I'll do this for you. Kind of as a bargaining ship, that approach to God as a bargain, right? I think many of us know what that's like. God, if you will do X, Y, Z for me, I will do A, B, C for you, right? Well, that's not that. He is praying for salvation so that he. Can stay within God's words, testimonies, and statutes. It's a true desire. The psalmist sees no such thing as a salvation that allows him to continue in his sin or continue to abide in error or to continue to go his own way. There is no such kind of salvation to the psalmist.

7:56Next, I want you to see the frequency of his cry. You've seen the intensity of his cry. Now let's look at the frequency. Verse 147. I rise before the dawn and cry for help. I wait for your words. My eyes anticipate the night watches that I may meditate on your word. Speaking about the divisions of the night, those periods, those night watches. He is up. In verse 148, and 147, he rises before the dawn and his cry for help goes up. Get the picture of a continual plea, yet punctuated with distinct bursts of intensity and prayer and crying out, praying through the night.

8:43I wait for your words, that I may meditate on your word. So look at the intensity of his cry, the frequency of his cry. Now I want you to see the specifics of his cry. Verse 149. Hear my voice according to your loving kindness. Revive me. O Lord, according to your ordinances. Hear. You see that word, hear, beginning 145. That's the imperative plea. Hear. Just like he said in verse 145, answer me. I'm crying to you with all of my heart. Hear my voice.

9:19Hear it with favor. Hear according to your loving kindness. What's that word, loving-kindness? Loyalty, right? That word for loving-kindness is loyal love. And so he's crying out to God, hear my voice according to your loyal love, according to your covenant loyalty. You remember Hosea 6, where God says, I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. This is what God desires: covenant loyalty, a relationship of loyalty. And so the psalmist is calling upon God, hear my cry, hear my voice according to your loyal love. You know, God hears the cries of his people. In Isaiah 30, 19, we read these words, O people in Zion, inhabitant in Jerusalem, you will weep no longer. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. When he hears it, he will answer. You. I believe it's very possible that the psalmist knew these words. Hear my voice. Second part of his cry: look at this. Revive me, O Lord, according to your ordinances. Revive me. Again, another imperative plea: cause me to live. Cause me to live. Look back in the Daleth section in verse 25.

11:02You remember he cried out for revival, that God would revive him. He said, My soul cleaves to the dust. Revive me according to your word. And he gives us this picture of what revival is. Here he is in verse 25. He is on his face in the dust, as though his whole being was one with the dust, going to the grave. And he cries, revive me. And in verse 32, we see the result of that reviving, and I shall run in the way of your commandments, for you will enlarge my heart. What does revival look like? Revival looks like a changed disposition to your circumstances. Revival is not merely God changing your circumstances, but changing your disposition toward your circumstances. Going from being totally knocked down and wiped out because of your circumstances to running in the way that God has for you through your circumstances.

12:13That's what he's praying for. A change, a change of heart. Don't just remove my burden, but infuse me with the vitality to overwhelm my burden. That is what is a revival. So look back. Verse 149: Revive me, O Lord, according to your ordinances. That is, the psalmist is expecting God to help him. And he's expecting God to help him based upon his promises, his ordinances, the promises and precedents that are in the Bible. That is what he is. Revive me, Lord, according to your ordinances. You know what God has done for others, he'll do for you.

13:19It's important to understand this. What you see, God's testimonies and ordinances of faithfulness to his people in the past, he has not changed. His relationship with you as his people is no closer than those of the past. God has drawn near to us in his grace, and what he's done for others, he will do for his people. So, based upon God's promises and upon the precedents we see in the Bible, this psalmist can pray for revival. Lord, don't just change my circumstances, but Father, give me the grace and the vitality to overwhelm my circumstances.

14:10But notice this connection between God's favor and revival. Hear my voice according to your loving kindness and revive me. I think often we have forgotten how to pray. Oftentimes we pray that God would change our circumstances, don't we? Isn't our vitality largely impacted by our circumstances? If we're having a good day, we're up. If we're having a bad day, usually we get down, don't we? I think to a large degree that defines our Christian journey. We're far more circumstantial than we might want to admit.

14:50And yet it is revival that we need. That's what we need in our lives, in our country. Politically, we want, oftentimes, our prayers are directed to changing the political circumstances or changing us or changing our circumstances around us individually. However, it is revival that we need. That God would revive His church, that He would give us the grace to bear witness through the difficult circumstances, to run in the way that He has given us. That is what we need.

15:35Our worth, our value, our joy doesn't come from circumstances, but from the God who we are in union with. We pray for the grace that He would allow us to see that. So there's the intensity of His cry, there's the frequency of His cry, and we've looked at the specifics of His cry. Now I want you to see the reason of His cry. Verse 150: Those who follow after wickedness draw near, they are far from your law. So now there's a situation going on in His life. These adversaries that have shown up throughout the Psalm are now approaching Him, drawing near, and they are far from God's law. Interesting language. They follow those who follow after, it's a participle, those who are pursuing after wickedness, those who are discipled by evil. Intent or are following out their evil plans. They have drawn near. They have surrounded. They have surrounded me. They have drawn near. They're encroaching. They're coming in on me.

16:45You know, an earthly reality is that there are going to be tares surrounding the wheat. There are going to be the canes surrounding the ables. They are far from your law, have no regard to the truth, no regard for justice, no regard to God's internal restraints that He's placed in man. They have no regard for them. And so there are these that are drawing near with evil intent, and they have no boundaries on what they will do. Frightening situation. And yet, this is exactly where our psalmist is. This is a difficult circumstance that God has allowed him to be in.

17:30You know, it's silly for us to expect that those who are far from God's law would love us as the law requires, right? They're far from God's law. So don't be surprised if those who are far from God's law don't love you as God's law demands. They are like unparalleled lines going into affinity. They get farther and farther away from God's law. The psalmist is saying, these. These people, they are near to me, and they are far from your law. And this is the reason he cries out for fear: God, hear me, God, answer me, God, save me, God, revive me.

18:16And then something happens in the next two verses. The next two verses reveal the psalmist's comfort. Next two verses. So that was my introduction. So now we're ready to jump into the message. Three realities that comforted our psalmist that will also be a source of comfort to you if you will believe them. Three realities that comfort our psalmist that will comfort you if you believe them. First, God is near. Look at verse 151. You are near, O Lord.

18:59You are near. God is near. He is near in time. That is, he's there in the moment. He is near in space. That is, he is not far from us. Physically, he is there with us, spirit and in truth. He is near in degree, not only time and space, but he is near in degree. That is, all of him is there. All capacity, all strength, all wisdom of God. He is there. Not just part of him is there.

19:30He is near in relationship. By adoption, we are his children. He is with us. He's one who, as our own father. And he is near in cognition. That is, he is near in our circumstances. He is mindful of our situation. He is mindful of us, always mindful of us. He is near in time, space, relationship, degree. And he is mindful of our circumstances. Isaiah 49, 15 says, Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb? We all know, absolutely not. But he says, Even if these may forget, I will not forget you. Behold, I've inscribed you on the palms of my hand, and your walls are continually before me.

20:25And what was true of the city of Jerusalem is also true of his people. God is near. Yahweh is near. Near to help. The covenant-keeping God is near to all who call upon him. God is near. And this nearness is what comforts him in light of what is said in verse 150: Those who follow after wickedness draw near. They are far from your law. You are near, O Lord, verse 51. 151. They are near, but what you are also near. They draw near, but you are also near. The one scary fact is actually put into perspective by a bigger fact, isn't it? Yeah, they draw near, but you are near. And there is comfort in that. You remember in Elisha? You remember that moment when the king of Aram was enraged over Elisha because he seemed to just be one step ahead of the king. And so he cried out and said, Who is for the king of Israel? Who is a traitor? And one of his servants said, No, my lord, O king, but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.

22:00So he said, Go and see where he is, that I may send and take him. And it was told of him. Behold, he is in Dothan. So he sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city. Now, when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servants said to him, Alas, my master, what shall we do?

22:31So he answered, Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. Then Elisha prayed and said, O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see. And the Lord opened the servant's eyes and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. Changes the perspective, doesn't it? You know, junior high is rough. Okay? I learned that. I know that in theory, and I know that by experience. Junior high is rough. You have all these kids trying to establish this pecking order, at least in the school that I was at. Bullies that had somehow had this inferiority complex or insecurity complex. And the way they made themselves feel better was to harass and pick on the younger ones, right? That was, and they got this evil joy out of intimidating others. Well, I remember in sixth grade, I had a big brother, still have him. He's just bigger now, but he was a senior in high school. And he was a big, strong guy. I mean, he bench pressed cars, and his reputation was this guy bench pressed cars. I mean, one year we painted him green, and he went out as the incredible. Incredible hulk, okay?

24:02And I can tell you, whenever I was around some of those who are accustomed to bullying, when I was with my brother, my stride was a little different. Proverbs 30, 29 says, This, there are three things which are stately in their march, even four which are stately when they walk. The lion, which is mighty among the beasts, and does not retreat before any. The strutting rooster, the male goat also, and a king when his army is with him. And I can add a fifth, a sixth-grader walking with his big brother.

24:48But that's the psalmist perspective. I mean, do you believe God is near you? Do you believe it? Faith in the reality of the Lord's presence is the soul's comfort. This is the triumph of faith. Knowing that God is near. That's the triumph of faith. That's the triumph of this psalmist as he sees those with evil intent surrounding him. Corey Ten Boom said it like this: if you look at the world, you will be distressed. If you look within, you will be depressed. But if you look within, Look at God, you'll be at rest.

25:34You see, the psalmist believed that God was bigger than his situation. What about you? Do you believe that God is bigger than your sin? Or do you think your sin is bigger than God? No, his grace, his sacrifice far exceeds the power of your sin. Do you believe that your issue, your situation, your addiction, or your current circumstances, or your trouble, or your burden, do you think that is bigger than God? You may know in your mind that God is bigger and that God is near.

26:16But let that become your reality in your day-to-day life. God is bigger. He is near to all who call upon him. So three realities that comforted our psalmists. First, God is near. The second, God's word is true. Look back at verse 151. You are near, O Lord, and all your commandments are truth. All your commandments are truth. Your word is truth. Word for truth means stable, is firm, it is reliable. And the word for God's word here is commandments. That is, Your authoritative directions for man. Your word, your commandments are stable. They are firm. They're not changing. I build my life upon them. I take them to be true and I live as if they're true.

27:15They are stable. They are reliable. And you're going to back them up. Not one of these commandments is an idle word. Every one of them will be enforced with the full capacity of your being. Punishment and reward. Your word is true. And this again, in light of verse 150, is a comfort by contrast. Those who follow after wickedness draw near. They are far from your law. They are far from your law. And you know what? To be far from God's law is to be close to his wrath.

27:57He says, they are far from your law, yet I am close. I am close. And this is evidenced by a number of things. He said, I want to observe your statutes, verse 145. I want to keep your testimonies, verse 146. I wait for your words, 147. I meditate on your words, 148. You are near, and I am near to you. He's saying, that's me. But they are far from your law. You are near, and you are true. Therefore, I am safe. You are near. Your words are true. I am safe. I am not afraid because I know how things are going to ultimately turn out.

28:41You see, God's rule is constant. And that's what the psalmist knew. God's rule is constant. If you don't know anything else about God, know this. His rule is constant. Know that. It doesn't change. Also, know that God always lives up to his word. He always lives up to his word. We shall find that God will exceed our perception of his promise so many times over. What he has promised, he will deliver on a degree that we can't even get our minds around. And likewise, his enemies are going to experience far more weight in his judgments than they ever perceived in his warnings.

29:35God is near. Three realities. God is near. God's word is true. Number three, God's Word is forever. These three realities comforted our psalmist. God is near. God's word is true. God's word is forever. Look at verse 152. Of old, I have known from your testimonies that you have founded them forever. Of old, that is, for a long time. From childhood, I have known. I have known from your testimonies that you have founded your testimonies forever. I have known from your testimonies that they are founded forever. Your sworn words, the word for word there is testimonies, bringing out that subtle nuance that God's word is his sworn testimony to reality.

30:30And you have founded them, that you have fixed them. They are forever. They go into eternity. And that God's testimonies are going to stand the test of the ages. Will endure. And that God has destined man to know the certainty of his words. Know that. God has destined man to know and understand the certainty of God's word. They're forever. God is near. They are true. And they're never going to be superseded or changed. And this is comfort in contrast to verse 150: those who follow after wickedness draw near.

31:20Just looking at the psalmist's circumstances, his situations look pretty scary, pretty hopeless, and even frightening. But what the Psalmist is saying, Is regardless of my circumstances, your testimonies is a much better window into reality than my current circumstances. And many times we start looking at God through our circumstances, and that's when we come up with thoughts like, God, you're not fair. God, what are you doing? But the psalmist learned that if you look at God through his testimonies, it's a far greater lens into reality.

32:06Come with me in your mind to a Caribbean island, beautiful sands, beautiful shoreline, beautiful sky, blue waters, and a coral reef. From the surface, it looks like a big brown or black geological formation. Just a big mass out there. Very little definition. But you put on the scuba equipment or the snorkeling equipment and you go putz around that reef and you look underwater through those lenses or through that lens and you will see a universe of beauty that will stagger the imagination. The light, the color, the detail.

33:00Brilliant, awe-inspiring. That's what God's testimonies are like. That they give us a far better picture into reality than our present circumstances. God's testimonies are eternally valid. They are not uncertain, but they are founded so that we can trust them. And that's what God wants us to do: trust him. That's what life's journey is about in many ways, is learning to trust God. Psalm 22:4. In you our fathers trusted. They trusted and you delivered them. To you they cried out and were delivered. In you they trusted and were not disappointed.

33:49I think sometimes we forget the fact that God is a jealous God. Remember in Exodus 20, one of the very first things we learn about God is, it says, You shall not make for yourself an idol or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the water underneath. You shall not worship them or serve them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. I am zealous for my rightful place. Again, this truth is brought out in Exodus 34, 14.

34:32He says this: You shall not worship any God, for the Lord your God, whose name is jealous, is a jealous God. That is, God is zealous for his preeminent position in the life of his people. He will not allow us to trust in someone or something else. Understand that about God. God is jealous for our trust, he is jealous for everything that would take a position of him. And he will deal with us so that it will not be so for our own good and for his glory.

35:31Consider some of these testimonies of Scripture that you can live with. Believe. Psalm 34:18, the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and save those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 145, 18, the Lord is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth. Do you believe that? Have you called upon him? Philippians 4:5, the Lord is near. Be anxious. For nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

36:17Three truths that comforted our psalmist. God is near, God's Word is true, and God's Word is forever. And I think one of our biggest problems as Christians is that we do not really believe that God is near to us and that God's Word is true and that it's the final word. It's never going to change. Deep down, I think we want to believe, but we struggle. We doubt. And for you, I will say today, choose to believe. Just said it. Let it be an act of the will. Say, I choose.

36:59Help me, Lord. Help me stay. So, why does God allow difficult circumstances to come into our lives? I can't say that I have a comprehensive answer, but I do know that God is near, that God's Word is true, that God's Word is reality, God's Word is forever, and that these three realities comforted our psalmist in his difficult time, and they will certainly comfort. You, if you will believe these, take them to heart. And if you do not know Christ this morning, you can, according to his eternal testimonies, by calling upon the name of Jesus, by repenting of your sins, by turning away, confessing your sins, and asking him to come into your life. It's that simple of a turning.

37:56Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we do look into the life of this psalmist. Father, and we're able to understand, Father, many of the ups and downs that we face in our life. Father, knowing that in order to know you as Savior, Father, we must have consequences and circumstances that would demand that we be saved. Father, to know that you are the God of peace, we have to go through those times, those difficult times, Father, of turmoil. Father, and to know that you are the God who comforts. Father, we have to know what it's like to grieve. And Father, to know that you are the God who saves. Father, we also have to know that we need to be delivered.

38:49Father, we thank you that you will protect your people, that you are bigger than all adversaries, that you are bigger than all temptations. All Issues external to us and internal to us. Father, we know that you are bigger. And Father, we call upon you to insert yourself into our lives. We thank you in Jesus' name. Amen.