Psalms 38:21

“Forsake me not, O LORD”

Psalms 38:21-22, “Forsake me not, O LORD: O my God, be not far from me. Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.” Psalms 38 is a Psalms which talks about how the enemies of the Bible will use the consequences of sin to slander a Christian and to attempt to stop the spread of the Word of God. The key point emphasized in Psalms 38 is that a Christian should not stop serving Christ regardless of his failures and regardless of the opposition of any in this world. Do the will of God. Pick up your cross daily and follow Christ. Do your part to help in the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ who died on the cross 2000 years ago for the sins of the world, was buried, and rose again the 3^rd day.

In the last two verses of Psalms 38 we are reminded of some of the most wonderful promises that God has given his children. Verse 21 says, “Forsake me not, O LORD: O my God, be not far from me.” This verse is one of the great promises in the Bible that a Christian should always remember. There are some other verses in the Bible which say the same thing. Jesus said in John chapter 10:28-29, “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.”

When Christ died on the cross, paying the penalty for my sins, He suffered the torment of eternal separation from God the Father. Salvation is a free gift based on the work of Christ and not based on my own sinful works. Man can no more obtain righteousness than he can move a mountain with his own strength. But faith can move a mountain, faith in Christ. And faith in Christ gives one the righteousness of Christ. When Psalms 38:21 says, “Forsake me not, O LORD: O my God, be not far from me,” it is teaching that eternal life is eternal and cannot be lost.

Verse 21 is also teaching that Jesus is always with you wherever you go. Jeremiah 23:24, “Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? Saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? Saith the LORD.” This verse is teaching the omni-presence of God. Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega. There is God the Son. There is God the Father. And there is God the Spirit. God is not limited by time or space. Knowing that God is everywhere and that Jesus will never leave you or forsake you is a very important truth for a believer in Christ to understand, especially in a situation such as described in Psalms 38.

If the consequences of your own sins discourage you from serving Christ and if the consequences of your own sins result in the people of this world slandering you or persecuting you more aggressively just remember the promise of Psalms 38:21, “Forsake me not, O LORD: O my God, be not far from me.” Other’s may forake you. You may even at times have forsaken God’s will for you or the work you should be doing for God. But Christ will never forsake you once you turn to him for salvation no one is able to pluck you out of his hands.

Psalms 38:21-22, “Forsake me not, O LORD: O my God, be not far from me. Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.” The next important promise mentioned in these last two verses of Psalms is in the phrase, “make haste.” To hear the phrase make haste used here in Psalms seems almost out of place considering that the book of Psalms talks so much about waiting on the LORD. It is a way of saying, “Hurry up God.” God is not a procrastinator. God is not a time waster. God’s timing is always perfect. However sometimes God will do something sooner than he would have otherwise if you pray to him and ask him. He certainly will save any from their sins the moment they ask him. There is no prayer to which God, “makes haste,” like the prayer of salvation. This has always been true. It shows the power of prayer and the zeal of God in his loving kindness towards sinful men.

The word “haste” that is used here is a word that means to come quickly, to be ready. When you hear the phrase come quickly what should come to mind are these verses in the book of Revelation 3:11-12 which says, “Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.” And the very last verses in the Bible say in Revelation 22:20-21, “He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen, Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”

A short work will the LORD make upon the earth. A day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as a day. I can wait on the LORD because I know that what Gods, He does with haste. God’s timing is perfect. God’s timing was perfect in sending Jesus to die on the cross for the sins of the world. And God’s timing will be perfect when Christ returns and rapture’s his children from the earth delivering them from the great persecutions of these last days and sparing them the horrible suffering and judgment that must be brought upon the nations of this world during the time of the great tribulation.

Psalms 38:21-22, “Forsake me not, O LORD: O my God, be not far from me. Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.” It is never good to sin. The consequences of going against the will of God and the ten commandments can result in a lot of suffering for a person. Some people spend the rest of their lives in jail because of bad choices they have made. Some people destroy their health and live much shorter lives than they would have otherwise because of bad choices. Some people face great shame because of their sinful choices. Some people experience great heart ache because of their sins. How wonderful it is to know that no matter how great your sins are Christ died for your sins and if you have turned to him then He will never forsake you. He will always be near you. He will always haste to help you when you pray to him in your hour of need.

Psalms 38:21-22, “Forsake me not, O LORD: O my God, be not far from me. Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.” It is very important to notice that in these verses 3 different names of God are used. The names of God teach us important doctrinal truths about the character of God.

The first name of God used here in verse 21 when it says “Forsake me not, O LORD” is the name Jehovah. Jehovah means the eternally existent one, the I am that I am. Of course Jesus taught that He is the I am when He said in John 8:58, “Before Abraham was I am.” The teaching of God being eternally existent is connected very closely with the idea that God will never leave or forsake you.

In thinking about this truth remember that Psalms 38:20 says, “They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is.” If you follow after that which is good, and good is the Word of the Lord, there are many people in this world who will forsake you. There are many things in this life that you may have to forsake to follow after the teachings of the Bible. The word forsake here means, ‘abandon.’ How wonderful it is to know that Christ the eternally existent one will never forsake those whom He has redeemed through His own blood.

The teachings of Christ being eternally existent as revealed in the name Jehovah and His promise to never forsake the Christian are two truths tied closely together. Christ has always and always will exist. Therefore His Word and His promises are also eternally existence. His prescence is always with you and so is his righteousness because his righteousness is a free gift by grace through faith. Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” God is holy. He does not change. His Word does not change. Therefore he will never forsake those that are His children.

If you have never turned from your sins and turned to Jesus do so today. Forsake your sins and turn to Jesus. Jesus will never forsake you. Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.”

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