I Will Never Leave You or Abandon You

I Will Never Leave You or Abandon You

Psalm 119:145-152

Main Idea: Those who are far from the Lord will persecute God’s people, but God is near to his people and hears them.

When Paul was imprisoned for the second time and faced imminent execution, he wrote a deeply personal letter to his young “son” in the ministry. That letter is 2 Timothy. At the end of the letter, the aged apostle speaks honestly about both his sorrow and his comfort. He writes in 2 Timothy 4:16-17,

At my first defense, no one stood by me, but everyone deserted me. May it not be counted against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that I might fully preach the word and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.

All deserted him, but not the Lord. The Father stood with him and strengthened him. He kept the promise we find in Hebrews 13:5: “I will never leave you or abandon you” (cf. Deut 31:6,8; Josh 1:5).

Stanza Qoph (?), Psalm 119:145-152, resonates with Paul’s confidence and hope. When our enemies draw near, we can rest assured that our Lord is even nearer. He knows where we are, and he knows what we are going through. As Psalm 46:1 promises, “God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble.” Three movements guide us through this song of blessed assurance.

Call on the Lord in Prayer in Full Confidence that He Will Answer You

Psalm 119:145-149

This stanza begins with the psalmist sharing his prayer habits coupled with a prayer request. He is surrounded by enemies who would ruin him if they could, but the promises and presence of his Lord are all the assurance he needs to persevere and prevail. As he discusses his prayer pattern, he highlights five characteristics of his prayer life—characteristics that should be true of our prayer life as well.

Call on the Lord with Your Whole Heart (119:145)

Fervent, passionate prayer should be evident in our prayer life. The psalmist declares, “I call with all my heart.” With all that he is, with every fiber of his being, he asks his Lord to “answer.” The genuineness and earnestness of his prayer are affirmed in his pledge: “I will obey your statutes.” James Boice writes, “Prayer should be deeply earnest. The psalmist’s prayers were, and it is this that drove him to God’s Word” (Living, 138). A passion for prayer and a passion for the Word of God should always go together. They should be inseparable twins in our life.

Call on the Lord to Deliver You (119:146)

A prayer for salvation from his enemies follows the psalmist’s cry for answered prayer: “I call to you; save me, and I will keep your decrees.” Verse 146 restates and reinforces verse 145. Willem VanGemeren helpfully puts the two verses together: “[The psalmist] feverishly presents his lament before the Lord so that God may ‘answer’ (v. 145; cf. v. 26) him by delivering him from adversity (‘save me’)” (Psalms, 885). Again, his request has warrant. “I will obey your statutes. . . . And I will keep your decrees.” Trust and obedience, prayer and obedience, are a God-honoring combination for receiving answers to our prayers.

Call on the Lord Early in the Morning (119:147-148)

Verse 145 speaks to the passion for prayer. Verses 147-148 reveal the psalmist’s pattern of prayer: “I rise before dawn and cry out for help. . . . I am awake through each watch of the night.” He prays early in the morning. When he awakens throughout the night, he turns to his Lord in prayer. First thing in the morning, even before the sun rises, he cries out to him in prayer. He cries for help because of the evil men who are after him (v. 150). He cries out in “hope,” and he “meditate[s] on your promise.” Early prayers and early meditations on the Word are another powerful prayer combination.

Call on the Lord Knowing He Loves You (119:149a)

The psalmist will pray and obey. He will pray early and meditate throughout the night on God’s Word. He will also pray confidently because of the Lord’s chesed, his “faithful love.” The psalmist’s request, “Hear my voice,” in verse 149 complements the request, “Answer me,” in verse 145. He prays audibly. The confidence of his cry is founded on the Lord’s loyal love, the Lord’s faithful covenant love for those who belong to him. We can come to our Lord anytime and anywhere, confident he hears us. Why? Because we know he loves us as a father loves his children. His love is a true, tender, genuine, and affectionate love that we do not have to doubt. He has told us he loves us. He always keeps his word. Nothing more needs to be said.

Call on the Lord because He Is Just and Gives Us Life (119:149b)

The prayer of verse 149 anticipates the dire situation of verse 150. Evil persecutors are closing in around the psalmist. Their intentions are evil and unjust. He appeals to the Lord (“give me life”) on the basis of God’s justice. He needs his God to deliver him from his enemies because he cannot deliver himself. They are too numerous and powerful for him, but they are not too many or too strong for the Lord. “Lord” (vv. 145,149,151), he cries, “give me life, or I die. Draw near to me, or I perish. I know you love me. I know you will not fail me. You are near, just, and loving. You are all I need.”

Remember that Evil People Disregard the Word of God and Will Come after You

Psalm 119:150

The psalmist cries for help in verse 147. He asks God to preserve his life in verse 149. Verse 150 now provides the reason for his requests. Once again, he is being tracked down by oppressors (vv. 121,122,134) and foes (v. 139), whom he now describes as “those who pursue evil plans,” those “who persecute me with evil purpose” (ESV).

Evil People Will Pursue Us and Try to Take Us Down (119:150a)

The Message describes the evil men of verse 150 as “those out to get me.” Enemies of the songwriter have appeared throughout Psalm 119, and now they are closing in on him with nothing but evil intentions. One gets the sense that they are determined and relentless. They will not stop until they have captured and destroyed this man (or woman) of God. Christians have endured persecution throughout redemptive history. We should never forget that our Lord Jesus experienced persecution too. We should not be surprised when it is our experience as well (John 15:20; 1 Pet 4:12-13)

Evil People Care Nothing for the Instruction of God (119:150b)

The psalmist says those who pursue evil plans against him “are far from your instruction.” In other words, they hate him because they hate God and his Word. Hate for God’s people and hate for God always go together. Jesus addressed this reality at some length in John 15:18-25. The entire section is worth our reflection and meditation in the context of this stanza. There Jesus says,

If the world hates you, understand that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you. Remember the word I spoke to you: “A servant is not greater than his master.” If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they don’t know the one who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now they have no excuse for their sin. The one who hates me also hates my Father. If I had not done the works among them that no one else has done, they would not be guilty of sin. Now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. But this happened so that the statement written in their law might be fulfilled: They hated me for no reason.

Never Forget that the Lord Is Always Near and His Word Endures Forever

Psalm 119:151-152

In Revelation 21–22 John gives a glorious vision of eternity and the final home for God’s children. In Revelation 21:3 a wonderful promise thunders forth from the throne of heaven, from which our God declares, “God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God” (emphasis added). The promised eternal presence of God is indeed a future hope and reality. But it is a present hope and reality as well. Romans 8:38-39 says it so well:

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The final verses of stanza Qoph reaffirm this blessed truth as well.

The Lord Is Always with Us (119:151a)

The persecutors with evil intentions have come near to the psalmist. If he is not careful, their presence can blind him to a far greater presence that is even nearer. He will not allow that to happen, and neither should we. In bold faith we declare no matter what our circumstances may be, “You are near, Lord.” Our covenant-keeping God is with us wherever we are and in whatever we are going through. Our enemies may come after us and get very close. They may even persecute us and inflict great evil on us. But do not be distressed or grow fainthearted. The Lord is near, and he is in you by his Spirit! Recall 1 John 4:4: “The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”

The Lord’s Word Is True (119:151b)

How do we know the Lord is with us and that he will never leave us or abandon us? We know because God always keeps his word. The songwriter confidently declares, “All your commands are true.” All your words are true. Spurgeon puts it like this:

God neither commands a lie, nor lies in his commands. . . . If all God’s commands are truth, then the true man will be glad to keep near to them, and therein he will find the true God near him. . . . God is near and God is true, therefore his people are safe. (Treasury, 403)

The Lord’s Word Will Last Forever (119:152)

Allen Ross says,

The testimonies of God may be ancient, founded long ago, but they are not obsolete. . . . [T]he assurance of God’s presence with the believer and all that implies is an eternally valid promise. (Psalms, 579)

The psalmist closes this stanza with another word of assurance and confidence in the Lord grounded in experience. “Long ago I learned.” Your faithfulness is not new news to me. “Long ago I learned from your decrees that you have established them forever.” What God said long ago is still true today, and it will be true tomorrow and forever! The hymn “How Firm a Foundation” wonderfully declares, “The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose; I will not, I will not desert to his foes.”

Conclusion

The Christian band Third Day recorded a song titled “Cry Out to Jesus” in 2005 that beautifully complements the hope and promise of stanza Qoph in Psalm 119. At every time of day, everywhere you are, and in every circumstance of life, cry out to your Savior. He will listen and be near to you.

Reflect and Discuss

1. Why should Christians be confident when they pray? What passages of Scripture talk about Christians’ confidence before God?
2. What does praying “in full confidence” look like?
3. What in the psalmist’s prayer is similar to or different from how you normally pray? How do the differences challenge you to pray?
4. After the psalmist asks God to answer his prayer, he says he will obey God. Are you committed to obeying God no matter how he answers your prayers?
5. Why does the psalmist mention the time of his prayer (“before dawn”)? Does the time when we pray matter? Why or why not?
6. How does sin affect your prayer life? What does the gospel teach about God’s love that should shape how we view prayer when we sin?
7. Should a Christian pray every day? Why or why not? What often prevents you from praying daily?
8. Do you find yourself praying more when life is comfortable or when life is difficult? Why?
9. The psalmist sings that God is near him. Why is this important for him?
10. What role does the nearness of God play in the redemptive story line of Scripture (creation, fall, redemption, restoration)?