Psalm 34:18
18 The LORD [Yahovah] is nigh [qarowb] unto them that are of a broken [shabar] heart [leb]; and saveth [yasha`] such as be of a contrite [dakka'] spirit [ruwach]. KJV-Interlinear
18
The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. ESV
The phrase, broken heart,
refers to the mind or the soul, or the thoughts of the individual. The phrase
refers to the heavy condition of the burdens of life that fall upon the
thoughts of the person, that is crushed with grief or buried under the heavy
weight of sorrow, or overwhelmed with the burdens of responsibility or just of
life itself.
Crushed in spirit, refers
to crushing of ones drive or motivation, or desire to continue on.
In other words, when life
has just fallen all over you and there seems to be no way around your
situation.
It is the Lord, who is
Jesus Christ, who is near.
Of course God is
omnipresent and as such is everywhere simultaneously. He is not confined or defined by time or
space. He is within it and outside of it.
Time and space are one of
our many confinements and limitations.
But near, refers to the
proximity of one who is able to help, giving us a frame of reference to a Lord
who is always within hearing as well as within helping distance.
No matter where you are,
Christ is there.
