Psalm 145.17-20
I have been working through Knowing God by J. I. Packer. It has been both fascinating and challenging. (I recommend it to you all. It's very down to earth and not some abstract theology book.) That a book on this topic should be so engaging is not surprising. We were created to know God. It's the reason we exist. But don't think of that as some duty we are obligated to fulfill. It really is a joy. For one thing, it is as we get to know God better that we get to know ourselves better. It is helpful to remember that sin does not just separate us from the Father. Sin also separates us from ourselves. We really don't understand ourselves nearly as well as we think. Have you never said to yourself, 'Now why did I go and do that?!?' It is by getting to know the God who has created us and is in the process of redeeming us that we begin to understand ourselves. And as we get to understand ourselves better we are better able to fulfill our purpose, to draw attention to Jesus. Life then makes sense. Life becomes filled with joy. So, this morning's sermon will be about getting to know God better. And to that end I was guided to this bit of a Psalm. Let's take it apart and see what we find.
Let's begin with verse 18 and the idea of nearness that we find there. 'The Lord is near to all who call on him...' Being near is actually a physical idea. It's about the geographic distance between two objects. But we use it in other senses. From time to time Todd goes on business trips that last several days. I'm guessing that when he is away he and Debby will talk on the phone. They'll talk about what happened during the day, maybe including some items that need a decision and things like that. They could have the very same conversation after dinner some evening sitting on the sofa. But when it takes place with Debby at home and Todd in Florida, it feels different. And it's not that it's a conversation on the phone. A phone conversation with Debby at home and Todd downtown in his office is still very different from that conversation with Todd in Florida. It feels different. Being near is more than just a physical idea. It's an idea with emotional overtones. In fact, to look at the flip side, you can have two people in the same bed, and yet, they might be light years apart. Being near an emotional thing. The claim of our Psalm is that our God is near. And it's a nearness that isn't about miles. It's an emotional thing.
It's helpful to consider how this was conveyed to the Church in the Old Testament. If you were to ask an Israelite back then, 'Where is your God?', he'd reply, 'He is near to us. And I know that because He's right over there in that tent.' And he'd point to where the Ark of the Covenant was. The promise of God's nearness was assured to the Old Testament saints by His sacramental presence associated with that golden box. The same is true today for you. If someone were to ask you, 'Where is your God?', you could also reply, 'He is near to us. He is with us wherever we go.' The promise of God's nearness is assured to the New Testament saints by His sacramental presence associated with the Lord's Supper. And this nearness makes a difference. A child is awakened in the middle of the night by the fright of a nightmare and begins to cry. What comforts her? A few words will do. 'Don't be afraid. Daddy's here', or 'Mommy's here.' A few words along with a hug. These communicate a single thought: nearness.
Our God is near to us. And if you ever feel alone, frightened by the evil of this world, if it ever seems that He is not near, all you need do is cry out. 'The Lord is near to all who call on him...' The Father offers to all of His children great comfort in this promise. I sincerely hope that it is a comfort that you are enjoying.
Let's move on to another verse. 'He fulfills the desire of those who fear him...' We have desires. That's just a fact. Now, if you were a Hindu or a Buddhist, that's bad. A primary goal of these religions is to get rid of desire. It is, they say, the source of much evil. But the truth is that we have been created by God with desires, good desires. There are things that we long to enjoy. We desire the pleasures of what is good, what is beautiful, what is true. We desire to love and to be loved. We have desires. And the Creator has made us that way. Sadly, sin twists desires and complicates things. But it is still good to have these desires and to have them satisfied. And that , according to our Psalm, is what our heavenly Father intends to do. He promises to fulfill our desires. He did not create us like this to frustrate us. He wants to see us flourish and enjoy Him and His creation. Though sin complicates that, He is not daunted. He still intends to see our desires fulfilled.
Now, some doubt this. And why? They take stock of their situations. So many of their desires are not satisfied, not fulfilled. They see this and react. It's helpful, though, to see that we're all in the same boat. None of us have had our desires fulfilled. There is a gap, and we all sense it. We are not satisfied. It's not surprising that this is the case. It's what sin does. But the key to dealing with this is deciding whether to react to this situation or to respond to it. There is a way to respond to this that yields blessing. This is where that first verse of our text comes in. 'The Lord is righteous in all his ways...' 'Righteous' is such a church word. We really do need to translate it. When we do, it comes out simply as 'does what is right'. The Father does what is right – in all that He does. That's what the verse is saying. So, when you feel the gap, when you feel the pain that comes when those good desires that God created in you are not being fulfilled, when you wonder what in the world is God doing with your life, just tell yourself that whatever He is doing, it's the right thing. 'The Lord is righteous in all his ways...' He knows what He is doing with your life, and as crazy – and painful – as it might seem, He's doing the right thing.
Now, even that doesn't completely work for some folk. For whatever reason, God seems distant and cold to them. So, while they are reluctant to label God as harsh, but they might think of Him as uncaring as He pursues this 'righteousness'. And that's why the rest of this verse is so helpful. 'The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works.' The Father is kind in His dealings with us. He is thoughtful and considers how His actions affect us. He is gentle toward us. And this is true even when He leaves a gap between our good desires and their fulfillment. He pursues what is right, very aware of how that pursuit will affect you. That means that if there were a better way to achieve His goals for your life, a way that is kinder to you, He would have done it that way. We are all disappointed and dissatisfied with something. We all experience the gap. But our Father promises to satisfy our desires – and He always keeps His promises. Even His delay in closing that gap is an expression of His kindness toward us.
I have spent some time thinking about this in terms of Jesus' life. He had desires too. And one of them was to be married. I can say that because of this statement in Genesis. 'It is not good that the man should be alone.' That applies to Him as much as to the rest of us. Imagine, a healthy young man who never married. As a result, He was alone. I think that He must have been very lonely, especially at times. He experienced the gap. And yet, His Father was doing what was right for His life – with kindness. And Jesus accepted that. He knew that all of His desires would be satisfied. The Father always keeps His promises. I'm guessing that as Jesus experienced His unfulfilled desires He said what we all need to say. 'I trust you, Father. You know what you're doing with my life. One day you will keep your promise to Me.' Your Father does what is right for you, and He does it in kindness. He will keep His promise to you.
That leaves us the last verse. 'The Lord preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.' We find the same theme here as throughout the Psalms. Everyone is either one of the righteous or one of the wicked. There is no third category. We're back to Psalm 1. 'The Lord knows the way of the righteous but the way of the wicked will perish.' God has an attitude when it comes to the wicked. He intends to destroy them. The word translated 'destroy' is quite strong. Think 'exterminate'. Our God will exterminate the wicked. And that also is a promise.
Let's try a thought experiment. Imagine yourself as you are. You're the same person with the same opinions, the same attitudes, the same habits. You're diligent when it comes to doing your work. You love your family. You go to church on Sundays, say your prayers and read your Bible. Everything is the same about you except this. Jesus isn't your savior. There are no other changes. It's just that one difference. And it's that one difference that makes you one of the wicked.
All those things about us that separate us from the evil people – well, they don't. A prostitute and a moral, middle class soccer mom both qualify for the label 'wicked'. And God promises to exterminate both of them – unless they have a savior, the only Savior, Jesus. So, if the prostitute finally finds that Savior, she immediately qualifies for the label 'righteous', and if the soccer mom doesn't find Jesus, she remains one of the wicked and will be exterminated, forever. So, if you were to be without Jesus then you would be standing next to that soccer mom. '... all the wicked He will destroy.' The only reason you are not destroyed is that you have a Savior. Jesus, the Righteous, was labeled Wicked by the Father as He hung on that cross for you. The Father destroyed Him instead of you. The gracious promises of this Psalm are yours but only because of Jesus.
Let me suggest something. Take a little time and imagine yourself as you are but without Jesus. Then put yourself in the picture as you read again, '... all the wicked He will destroy.' Let that percolate in your soul a bit. And then, tell yourself this, 'But I have been given a Savior who suffered my destruction so that I might enjoy these promises.' As the two sides of that coin become clearer to you, you will get to know your God better. You will get to know yourself better. And as all of that develops in your soul, you will find that you will be able to fulfill your purpose better, and you'll do that with great joy.
I have been working through Knowing God by J. I. Packer. It has been both fascinating and challenging. (I recommend it to you all. It's very down to earth and not some abstract theology book.) That a book on this topic should be so engaging is not surprising. We were created to know God. It's the reason we exist. But don't think of that as some duty we are obligated to fulfill. It really is a joy. For one thing, it is as we get to know God better that we get to know ourselves better. It is helpful to remember that sin does not just separate us from the Father. Sin also separates us from ourselves. We really don't understand ourselves nearly as well as we think. Have you never said to yourself, 'Now why did I go and do that?!?' It is by getting to know the God who has created us and is in the process of redeeming us that we begin to understand ourselves. And as we get to understand ourselves better we are better able to fulfill our purpose, to draw attention to Jesus. Life then makes sense. Life becomes filled with joy. So, this morning's sermon will be about getting to know God better. And to that end I was guided to this bit of a Psalm. Let's take it apart and see what we find.
Let's begin with verse 18 and the idea of nearness that we find there. 'The Lord is near to all who call on him...' Being near is actually a physical idea. It's about the geographic distance between two objects. But we use it in other senses. From time to time Todd goes on business trips that last several days. I'm guessing that when he is away he and Debby will talk on the phone. They'll talk about what happened during the day, maybe including some items that need a decision and things like that. They could have the very same conversation after dinner some evening sitting on the sofa. But when it takes place with Debby at home and Todd in Florida, it feels different. And it's not that it's a conversation on the phone. A phone conversation with Debby at home and Todd downtown in his office is still very different from that conversation with Todd in Florida. It feels different. Being near is more than just a physical idea. It's an idea with emotional overtones. In fact, to look at the flip side, you can have two people in the same bed, and yet, they might be light years apart. Being near an emotional thing. The claim of our Psalm is that our God is near. And it's a nearness that isn't about miles. It's an emotional thing.
It's helpful to consider how this was conveyed to the Church in the Old Testament. If you were to ask an Israelite back then, 'Where is your God?', he'd reply, 'He is near to us. And I know that because He's right over there in that tent.' And he'd point to where the Ark of the Covenant was. The promise of God's nearness was assured to the Old Testament saints by His sacramental presence associated with that golden box. The same is true today for you. If someone were to ask you, 'Where is your God?', you could also reply, 'He is near to us. He is with us wherever we go.' The promise of God's nearness is assured to the New Testament saints by His sacramental presence associated with the Lord's Supper. And this nearness makes a difference. A child is awakened in the middle of the night by the fright of a nightmare and begins to cry. What comforts her? A few words will do. 'Don't be afraid. Daddy's here', or 'Mommy's here.' A few words along with a hug. These communicate a single thought: nearness.
Our God is near to us. And if you ever feel alone, frightened by the evil of this world, if it ever seems that He is not near, all you need do is cry out. 'The Lord is near to all who call on him...' The Father offers to all of His children great comfort in this promise. I sincerely hope that it is a comfort that you are enjoying.
Let's move on to another verse. 'He fulfills the desire of those who fear him...' We have desires. That's just a fact. Now, if you were a Hindu or a Buddhist, that's bad. A primary goal of these religions is to get rid of desire. It is, they say, the source of much evil. But the truth is that we have been created by God with desires, good desires. There are things that we long to enjoy. We desire the pleasures of what is good, what is beautiful, what is true. We desire to love and to be loved. We have desires. And the Creator has made us that way. Sadly, sin twists desires and complicates things. But it is still good to have these desires and to have them satisfied. And that , according to our Psalm, is what our heavenly Father intends to do. He promises to fulfill our desires. He did not create us like this to frustrate us. He wants to see us flourish and enjoy Him and His creation. Though sin complicates that, He is not daunted. He still intends to see our desires fulfilled.
Now, some doubt this. And why? They take stock of their situations. So many of their desires are not satisfied, not fulfilled. They see this and react. It's helpful, though, to see that we're all in the same boat. None of us have had our desires fulfilled. There is a gap, and we all sense it. We are not satisfied. It's not surprising that this is the case. It's what sin does. But the key to dealing with this is deciding whether to react to this situation or to respond to it. There is a way to respond to this that yields blessing. This is where that first verse of our text comes in. 'The Lord is righteous in all his ways...' 'Righteous' is such a church word. We really do need to translate it. When we do, it comes out simply as 'does what is right'. The Father does what is right – in all that He does. That's what the verse is saying. So, when you feel the gap, when you feel the pain that comes when those good desires that God created in you are not being fulfilled, when you wonder what in the world is God doing with your life, just tell yourself that whatever He is doing, it's the right thing. 'The Lord is righteous in all his ways...' He knows what He is doing with your life, and as crazy – and painful – as it might seem, He's doing the right thing.
Now, even that doesn't completely work for some folk. For whatever reason, God seems distant and cold to them. So, while they are reluctant to label God as harsh, but they might think of Him as uncaring as He pursues this 'righteousness'. And that's why the rest of this verse is so helpful. 'The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works.' The Father is kind in His dealings with us. He is thoughtful and considers how His actions affect us. He is gentle toward us. And this is true even when He leaves a gap between our good desires and their fulfillment. He pursues what is right, very aware of how that pursuit will affect you. That means that if there were a better way to achieve His goals for your life, a way that is kinder to you, He would have done it that way. We are all disappointed and dissatisfied with something. We all experience the gap. But our Father promises to satisfy our desires – and He always keeps His promises. Even His delay in closing that gap is an expression of His kindness toward us.
I have spent some time thinking about this in terms of Jesus' life. He had desires too. And one of them was to be married. I can say that because of this statement in Genesis. 'It is not good that the man should be alone.' That applies to Him as much as to the rest of us. Imagine, a healthy young man who never married. As a result, He was alone. I think that He must have been very lonely, especially at times. He experienced the gap. And yet, His Father was doing what was right for His life – with kindness. And Jesus accepted that. He knew that all of His desires would be satisfied. The Father always keeps His promises. I'm guessing that as Jesus experienced His unfulfilled desires He said what we all need to say. 'I trust you, Father. You know what you're doing with my life. One day you will keep your promise to Me.' Your Father does what is right for you, and He does it in kindness. He will keep His promise to you.
That leaves us the last verse. 'The Lord preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.' We find the same theme here as throughout the Psalms. Everyone is either one of the righteous or one of the wicked. There is no third category. We're back to Psalm 1. 'The Lord knows the way of the righteous but the way of the wicked will perish.' God has an attitude when it comes to the wicked. He intends to destroy them. The word translated 'destroy' is quite strong. Think 'exterminate'. Our God will exterminate the wicked. And that also is a promise.
Let's try a thought experiment. Imagine yourself as you are. You're the same person with the same opinions, the same attitudes, the same habits. You're diligent when it comes to doing your work. You love your family. You go to church on Sundays, say your prayers and read your Bible. Everything is the same about you except this. Jesus isn't your savior. There are no other changes. It's just that one difference. And it's that one difference that makes you one of the wicked.
All those things about us that separate us from the evil people – well, they don't. A prostitute and a moral, middle class soccer mom both qualify for the label 'wicked'. And God promises to exterminate both of them – unless they have a savior, the only Savior, Jesus. So, if the prostitute finally finds that Savior, she immediately qualifies for the label 'righteous', and if the soccer mom doesn't find Jesus, she remains one of the wicked and will be exterminated, forever. So, if you were to be without Jesus then you would be standing next to that soccer mom. '... all the wicked He will destroy.' The only reason you are not destroyed is that you have a Savior. Jesus, the Righteous, was labeled Wicked by the Father as He hung on that cross for you. The Father destroyed Him instead of you. The gracious promises of this Psalm are yours but only because of Jesus.
Let me suggest something. Take a little time and imagine yourself as you are but without Jesus. Then put yourself in the picture as you read again, '... all the wicked He will destroy.' Let that percolate in your soul a bit. And then, tell yourself this, 'But I have been given a Savior who suffered my destruction so that I might enjoy these promises.' As the two sides of that coin become clearer to you, you will get to know your God better. You will get to know yourself better. And as all of that develops in your soul, you will find that you will be able to fulfill your purpose better, and you'll do that with great joy.
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