Bible Truth #407 - Psalm 145:18-20

Psalm 145:18-20

18  The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.

19  He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.

20  The LORD preserveth all that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.

The Lord is near to all who call upon Him.

I’m certain some will say that is another passage that proves lost men can, and are able to, call upon Jesus to be saved. We know there are no contradictions in the Bible so how does that understanding of the passage reconcile with passages like Romans 8:8 where Paul tells us that a lost man can not please God? Will the Arminian say that a lost man calling out to be saved is not pleasing to God? “Yes, of course a lost man calling out to God is pleasing to Him.” Well... If it is pleasing to God then a lost man can’t do it.

He is near to all who call upon Him in truth.

Jesus said He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). How can any man who doesn’t know Jesus know truth? Jesus also said God is spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). A man with a dead spirit can do nothing in the spirit, nor does he have the truth. All he has is the lie of the flesh. Again, a lost man won’t call upon Him at all, much less call upon Him in truth.

He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him.

Do the lost fear God? I’m sure some do but only in the superstitious way that certainly does not result in salvation. Nothing a lost man can do results in salvation (2 Timothy 1:9, Titus 3:5). This fear is a reverential fear of God that is a result of God quickening the dead spirit in a man and saving his soul from eternal damnation.

He also will hear their cry,

God does not hear the cry of a lost man, he does not hear a the prayer of a sinner. God has hidden His face from those who are not made righteous through the Blood of the Lamb. His hand is not so short that it cannot save, nor His ear so dull that it cannot hear. But man’s iniquities have made a separation between him and God, and his sins have hidden God’s face from him so that God does not hear. (Isaiah 59:1-2)

How does the aforementioned understanding of the passage reconcile with John 3:20 where Jesus Himself said the lost hate him and will not come unto Him? There are many passages of Scripture that say the same thing, that tell us what a lost man can’t do, or won’t do. There are no exceptions to any of them. The lost man can’t understand anything from the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:14) and won’t call out to God because he is dead (Ephesians 2:1, 2:5; Colossians 2:13).

and will save them.

This is not “save” in the context of salvation for a number of reasons. First and foremost is the Biblical principle that is found throughout the Bible that the lost man is incapable and unwilling to call upon Someone he hates and Someone he does not understand. Second is the meaning of the Hebrew word from which “save” is translated. Yasha, Strong’s Concordance #H3467, does not mean to be saved from eternal damnation for if it did, it would contradict the rest of the Bible. Yasha means to be liberated or delivered, to be saved in battle - victorious, to be saved from moral troubles.

He preserves all that love Him
Of course, because all that love Him are those whom He has quickened, those whom He chose in Christ before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4), and those whom He foreknew and predestined to be saved (Romans 8:29-30).

but all the wicked will he destroy.

This also is not surprising since He hates the wicked (Psalm 11:5). He works out everything for His own ends - even the wicked for a day of disaster (Proverbs 16:4).

So YES! The Lord IS near to all that call upon Him in truth, and WILL fulfill the desire of them that fear Him, and WILL hear their cry and save them - but these are all things of which the lost sinner is incapable, or because of his nature, is unwilling to do.