Feeling Lonely?

“The LORD is near to the brokenhearted; He saves the contrite in spirit.”

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted, and saveth such as are of a contrite spirit. The psalm was written by someone who had been in real danger, and it does not say the broken heart is repaired quickly — it says God is near it.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. The words open the Sermon on the Mount and address grief directly rather than treating it as a problem to be corrected. The comfort promised is future, which is why the verse does not demand that a mourner feel better now.

“Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or terrified of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.””

Moses speaks to a whole nation about to enter the land without him: be strong and courageous, he will never leave you nor forsake you. The assurance is given to people facing an absence, which is often the shape of loneliness.

“Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle by the farthest sea, even there Your hand will guide me; Your right hand will hold me fast.”

The psalmist asks where he could go from God's presence and answers that even the far side of the sea would find God there. The passage is about being unable to escape God rather than about feeling close to him, and that is its comfort.

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. The invitation follows Jesus' prayer of thanksgiving and is addressed to the burdened without asking first why they are burdened.

“As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He is mindful that we are dust.”

The psalm compares God's care to a father's and gives the reason: he knoweth our frame, He is mindful that we are dust. The verse is about failure and limitation, and its argument is that God takes the material into account.