Psalms 145:18–20

Holiness and righteousness are always the way God works (verse 17), and Messiah's kingdom, ruled by His presence and power, will prove this in glory. Verses 18-20 describe the moral order of that rule. The One who is higher than the highest will not then be what He is now: a patient onlooker, watching human folly and misrule from a distance (Ecc. 5:8). He will be a present Saviour, and a swift avenger for all who cry to Him under unjust suffering. The Christian is appointed for now to be like a sheep led to the slaughter. He lives on these words as promises, and waits for the righteous judge to be revealed.

He is also the Moral Governor of moral beings: righteous and full of loving-kindness. Righteous in all His ways, He can still yield to the needs and weakness of His creatures. For this He is near to all who call on Him — who call on Him in truth. We cannot avoid the reminder of how much hollowness and insincerity have gone with this. But where people fear Him, He fulfils their desire; though here too, their cry so often rises out of the evil that sin has plunged them into. Yet that evil is under the restraint of His hand, and out of it He saves.

So our prayers lack power and effect. So we get the formality, the routine, yes, even the positive hypocrisy. The Psalmist says, "If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened." How solemn this is! Our God will have reality; He desires truth in the inward parts. He, blessed be His name, is real with us, and He will have us real with Him. He will have us coming before Him as we really are, and with what we really want.

The calling spoken of here is not the vague cry of an uneasy conscience. It is the cry of faith… Faith takes firm hold of the person of Christ, consciously depending on Him alone. It knows there is no hope of help or safety anywhere, inside or outside, except in Him. Sadly, we are solemnly warned: the cry "Lord, Lord" may come from lips whose sound never came from a believing heart. But the mark of true faith is that its aim is God. Its misery is distance from Him.

What is required of men in order that they might be saved? Simply to "call" upon the name of the Lord. This was all Israel could do while they suffered in Egypt. To shake off Pharaoh was impossible; to get rid of the taskmasters was out of the question; but they could cry to God. In the same way today, he who calls upon the name of the Lord, acknowledging Him as his only hope, will be saved. To all such He is "rich."

The features of the godly remnant are clearly marked in these verses. They wait upon the Lord, they call upon Him in truth, they fear Him, and they love Him, and they have confidence in His care for them and in His salvation.

His ear too is open to the cry of those who seek Him — He fulfils the desire of those who fear Him. He preserves those that love Him. In this way He is interested in every need, and takes notice of all our ways. So the exercises of our hearts will have caused us to know Him.

The psalmist celebrates the glory and blessedness of the kingdom of the Lord. The kingdoms of men pass away, and while they last they are marked by earthly pride and power used as the ruler pleases. This kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, marked by the grace of the Lord that stoops down. He lifts up the fallen. He raises the crushed. He provides for the need of every living thing. He listens to the cry of all who call on Him. He fulfils the desire of those who fear Him, and preserves all who love Him, but deals in judgment with those who oppose Him.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick. In the same way, enjoying what you wanted is pleasant — but only if the fear of God governs the desire. Without His will, nothing is wise, good, or sweet.

But where His fear is, desire is fulfilled. Yet here, too, the cry so often rises out of the evil into which sin has plunged them. But it is under the restraint of His hand, and out of it He saves. And indeed He preserves all that love Him; while the wicked meet their necessary doom.

We also receive all that we ask for, when we walk in love before Him, doing what is pleasing in His sight. Walking in His presence with confidence, the heart and its desires answer to this blessed influence. They are formed by the enjoyment of communion with Him in the light of His face... And He lends His power to the fulfilment of these desires. He is their source, and He forms them in the heart by the revelation of Himself.

God will not compromise righteousness when He meets His creatures' needs, even though they do not deserve such care. For the cross of Christ has established His righteousness as joined to the grace of His great heart. Of course, Israel knew nothing about the cross when this was written, but God did. So He is fully justified in fulfilling the desire of those who fear Him (v. 19), hearing their cry and saving them. And so He will preserve all who love Him for the blessing of the thousand years of peace.

He has committed Himself to answer the prayers of His people, and to fulfil the desires of those who fear Him (Ps. 145:19). But sometimes it proves a long voyage before the praying saint sees a return on his venture. There is often a long and sharp winter between the sowing time of prayer and the reaping. He hears us as soon as we pray, but we often do not hear from Him so soon. Prayers are not long on their journey to heaven, but long in coming back with a full answer. No faithful prayer was ever lost at sea. No merchant trades with such certainty as the praying saint. Some prayers have a longer voyage than others, but then they come back with the richer cargo at last.

His ear too is open to the cry of those who seek Him — He fulfils the desire of those who fear Him. He preserves those that love Him. He is interested in every want, and takes notice of all our ways. So the exercises of our hearts will have caused us to know Him.

The psalmist celebrates the glory and blessedness of the Lord's kingdom. The kingdoms of men pass away, and while they last they are marked by earthly pride and arbitrary power. This kingdom lasts for ever, and it is marked by the grace of a Lord who stoops down. He lifts up the fallen, raises the crushed, and provides for the need of every living thing. He listens to the cry of all who call upon Him. He fulfills the desire of those who fear Him, and preserves all those who love Him, but He deals in judgment with those who oppose Him.

The fourth section begins in Ps. 145:13 by proclaiming that the Lord's kingdom "is an everlasting kingdom." It takes us down to verse 20, where the psalmist speaks of the Lord preserving those who love Him and destroying the wicked. He will indeed do this before He brings in His kingdom of a thousand years. The Lord's dominion will never give place to another, for "Your dominion endures throughout all generations."

Because Messiah was rejected, Israel will have to pass through a time of suffering like no other, the "time of Jacob's trouble." But the Lord will bring the remnant through it all… While the divine judgments are poured out, "The Lord preserves all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy."

Ps. 1 shows two classes, the godly and the ungodly, living side by side. The ungodly, who will have been as thorns in the sides of the righteous, will pass away, while the true saints will remain… The psalms speak often of the future of the godly, whose proper hope is to be kept alive on earth (Ps. 1:3; 37:29; 56:13 … 145:20) — a picture how different from the one we have been accustomed to!

God will not compromise righteousness in meeting His creatures' needs this way, even though they do not deserve such care. The cross of Christ has wonderfully established His righteousness as joined to the grace of His great heart… So He is perfectly justified in fulfilling the desire of those who fear Him (v. 19), hearing their cry and saving them. He will preserve all who love Him for the blessing of the thousand years of peace. Then grace will no longer be offered to the wicked; instead, He will justly measure out destruction (v. 20).

Those who truly love God do so by trusting His own love to them. So their love is no doubtful or uncertain feeling… Love is of God first, and then to God. This love back to Him is the first affection of a soul made alive, and its comfort is knowing that He knows it and does not despise it.

Verses 18-20 refer directly to the moral order of that rule. He who is higher than the highest will not then be what He is now: a distant onlooker who bears long with human folly and misrule (Ecc. 5:8). He will be a present Saviour and a swift avenger of all who cry to Him under unjust suffering. The Christian, whose present lot is to be as a sheep for the slaughter, lives on these words as words of promise, as one saved by hope, and waits patiently for the appearing of the righteous judge.