I Will Not Forsake Them

I Will Not Forsake Them

Psalm 130:1-8

Isaiah 41:17

Two Truths that are magnified in our lessons for today. One... God will never abandon the faithful.

Two... the faithful wait upon the Lord.

“The afflicted and needy are seeking water, but there is none. And their tongue is parched with thirst; I, the Lord, will answer them Myself, as the God of Israel, I will not forsake them.”

God speaks these words to His covenant people in a time of tremendous upheaval and great despair. They were facing exile; being forcibly removed from their land (the Promised Land, Jerusalem, and the Temple) by the Babylonians as a punishment from God, because of their refusal to repent.

They’d worshiped false God, and idols, violating the First and Second commandments. And in their unfaithfulness, they’d broken the Sabbath, failing to keep it holy, and set-apart unto the Lord.

In their personal relationships with one another, they’d oppressed the poor, perverted justice, and shed innocent blood; even sacrificing children to a false god.

God’s list of grievances was long, and it was justified. Which reminds me that we don’t want God’s justice... (God’s justice demands that we get exactly what we deserve). We want (and desperately need) God’s mercy.

I think we all know, and would admit, that very often, our despair is the product of our own hands. We rebel against the Sovereignty of God, demanding our own way... breaking God’s law... violating His Will... and the consequences are ours. Like the people of God before the exile; we follow our own appetites, listen to false teachers, and try to create God in our own image.

God forgives our failings... but that does not mean He removes the consequences of our actions.

Of course, there are certainly times when we’ve committed NO wrong... and yet, still we suffer. The story of Job is a powerful example of this from God’s Word. He lost everything, his family, his wealth, all his earthly possessions: even his health. Not because he’s rebelled against God, but because he lived in a world that’s filled with evil. In fact, Job refused to blame God... Job knew that God would never forsake or abandon him. And Job proved faithful despite his pain and suffering, because he continued to “wait upon the Lord.” It’s why we speak of someone who has endured great difficult, hardship... as “having the patience of Job.”

Sometimes life doles out more than we can bear. So we cry our for mercy. And as the Psalmist in Psalm 130 puts it, “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.”

Of course, our Second Lesson for today is a scene where the afflicted (the poor) and needy are parched, desperately seeking refreshment but finding none.

Yet the Lord sees, He hears, He knows the depths of their despair. And the God who brings both blessings and curses; both drought and rain... steps in with a promise: a covenant promise, “I… will not forsake them.”

To be forsaken is to be abandoned... to turn your back on another... or to walk away when someone is at their weakest. We’ve all been there, right? Times when friends failed. When family failed. When the church failed. When everything in life failed us. Times when our prayers seemed to fall on deaf ears.

People may forsake us when our needs are inconvenient or when our weakness becomes too heavy for them to help us carry.

But God is not like that. God’s faithfulness and loving-kindness never fails. His covenant faithfulness binds Him to His people with a grace that outlasts circumstances, feelings, and failures - and even exile.

And that’s because, the promises of God are anchored in who HE is — “I, the God of Israel.” He is the One who brought His people out of Egypt, who split the sea, who provide manna from Heaven, gave water from a rock, and who never broke His word. If He did not forsake them then, He will not forsake us now.

John Calvin (Commentary on Isaiah) said, “God not only makes promises, but He seals them with His own name, to shew that the certainty of our salvation rests entirely on His fidelity. Thus, when we see nothing but death before us, we ought to lift our eyes to His promises, and rest upon them.”

As believers, followers of Christ, this covenant love of our God reaches its fullest expression in Jesus, who promised, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). The cross is the ultimate proof that He will not forsake His own - in fact, Christ was forsaken in our place so that you and I would never be abandoned.

When you feel spiritually dry, when your soul thirsts for hope, cling to this: You are never abandoned.

The God who calls you His own will supply what you need, in His time and His way. Which takes me back to Psalm 130: “I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits. And in His word I put my hope.”

To “wait” is to persevere... not in our own strength. But in the Covenant Promises of God, revealed in His Word and through Christ. In fact, the greatest theological statement of our faith, the Westminster Confession, reminds us, that our perseverance is never dependent on our will... but rather on “the immutability of the decree of election… and the nature of the covenant of grace.”

Put your hope in the Lord. Wait on the Lord. Rely on His word, trust in the Grace of Jesus. For when we are afflicted, and in need of refreshment for our parched soul... God hath said, “I, the Lord, will answer them Myself, as the God of Israel, I will not forsake them.”

That’s a covenant promise you can take to the bank!

Prayer

Lord, You are faithful when I am faithless. Thank You for the promise that You will never forsake me. When my heart feels dry and my strength is gone, remind me that You are near and You will provide. Help me rest in Your unchanging love today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.