John Calvin Commentary Psalms 145:18

"Jehovah is nigh unto all them that call upon him, To all that call upon him in truth." — Psalms 145:18 (ASV)

Jehovah is near to all that call upon him. This truth is primarily applicable to believers, whom God, by a unique privilege, invites to draw near to Him, promising that He will be favorable to their prayers. Faith, undoubtedly, lies idle and even dead without prayer, in which the Spirit of adoption shows and exercises itself, and by which we demonstrate that we consider all His promises to be stable and sure.

In short, the inestimable grace of God toward believers appears in this: He reveals Himself to them as a Father. Since many doubts creep in when we pray to God, and we either approach Him with trembling or falter by becoming discouraged and lifeless, David declares it to be true without exception that God hears all who call upon Him.

At the same time, since most people pervert and profane the way of calling upon God through their own inventions, the right way to pray is set forth in the next part of the verse: that we should pray in truth. Although people turn to God coldly, or even argue with Him in their prayers, while their hearts are filled with pride or anger, they still complain that they are not heard, as if there were no difference between praying and quarreling, or between exercising faith and hypocrisy.

Most people, caught up in unbelief, scarcely believe there is a God in heaven at all; others would banish Him from it if they could; others would confine Him to their own views and wishes, while some seek superficial and inadequate ways to be reconciled to Him, so that the common way of praying is merely an idle and empty ceremony.

And although nearly all people without exception turn to God in their time of need, very few indeed bring even the smallest measure of faith or repentance. It would be better for the name of God to be buried in oblivion than to be exposed to such insults. Therefore, there is good reason why truth is said to be necessary in our prayers—that they come from a sincere heart.

The falsehood that is the opposite of this sincerity takes various forms; indeed, it would be difficult to list them all—unbelief, wavering, impatience, murmuring, pretended humility—in short, there are as many kinds of it as there are sinful dispositions. Since this truth is of no small importance, David again confirms and expands on it in the next verse.

The repetition deserves our particular attention, for our tendency to unbelief is so strong that few who call upon God do not consider their prayers fruitless. Hence the perverse way in which people's wandering minds are tossed here and there, as in the Papacy they invented countless patrons, considering it almost of no importance to embrace with unwavering faith the promises by which God invites us to Himself.

To open the door even wider, the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of David, tells us that God will accommodate himself to the desires of all who fear him. This is a way of speaking whose power to impress our minds is difficult to overstate. Who is man, that God should show deference to his will, when it is rather our place to look up to His exalted greatness and humbly submit to His authority? Yet He voluntarily condescends to these terms, to comply with our desires.

At the same time, this liberty must be checked, and we do not have a license for universal desire, as if His people might boldly clamor for whatever their corrupt desires wished. But before God says that He will hear their prayers, He imposes the law of moderation and submission upon their affections, as we learn from John:

We know that he will deny us nothing,
if we seek it according to his will (1 John 5:14).

For the same reason, Christ dictated that form of prayer, Thy will be done, setting limits around us, so that we should not absurdly prefer our desires to God's, nor ask without deliberation whatever first comes into our mouths. David, in making express mention of them that fear God, enjoins fear, reverence, and obedience upon them before offering God's favorable indulgence, so that they might not think themselves authorized to ask for more than His word grants and approves.

When he speaks of their cry, this is a kind of qualification of what he had said. For God’s willingness to grant our prayers is not always so apparent that He answers them at the very moment they are made. Therefore, we need perseverance in this trial of our faith, and our desires must be strengthened by crying out. The last clause—he will save them—is also added by way of correction, to make us aware of the extent to which, and the purpose for which, God answers the prayers of His people: namely, to demonstrate in a practical way that He is the faithful guardian of their welfare.