5/6/07 

The Essence of Christ in the Psalms: His Deliverance

 Psalm 18:1-49  

And he said, "I love You, O Lord, my strength."  [2] The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.  [3] I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.   [4] The cords of death encompassed me, and the torrents of ungodliness terrified me.  [5] The cords of Sheol surrounded me; the snares of death confronted me.  [6] In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God for help; He heard my voice out of His temple, and my cry for help before Him came into His ears.   [7] Then the earth shook and quaked; and the foundations of the mountains were trembling and were shaken, because He was angry.  [8] Smoke went up out of His nostrils, and fire from His mouth devoured; coals were kindled by it.  [9] He bowed the heavens also, and came down with thick darkness under His feet.  [10] And He rode upon a cherub and flew; and He sped upon the wings of the wind.  [11] He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him, darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.  [12] From the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds, hailstones and coals of fire.  [13] The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered His voice, hailstones and coals of fire.  [14] He sent out His arrows, and scattered them, and lightning flashes in abundance, and routed them.  [15] Then the channels of water appeared, and the foundations of the world were laid bare.  At Your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.   [16] He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.  [17] He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.  [18] They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my stay.  [19] He brought me forth also into a broad place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me.   [20] The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.  [21] For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God.  [22] For all His ordinances were before me, and I did not put away His statutes from me.  [23] I was also blameless with Him, and I kept myself from my iniquity.  [24] Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His eyes.   [25] With the kind You  show Yourself kind; with the blameless You show Yourself blameless;  [26] With the pure You show Yourself pure; and with the crooked You show Yourself astute.  [27] For You save an afflicted people; but haughty eyes You abase.  [28] For You light my lamp; The Lord my God illumines my darkness.  [29] For by You I can run upon a troop; and by my God I can leap over a wall.   [30] As for God, His way is blameless; the word of the Lord is tried; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.  [31] For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God, [32] the God who girds me with strength, and makes my way blameless?  [33] He makes my feet like hinds' feet, and sets me upon my high places.  [34] He trains my hands for battle, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.  [35] You have also given me the shield of your salvation and Your right hand upholds me; and Your gentleness makes me great.  [36] You enlarge my steps under me and my feet have not slipped.  [37] I pursued my enemies and overtook them, and I did not turn back until they were consumed.  [38] I shattered them, so that they were not able to rise; they fell under my feet.  [39] For You have girded me with strength for battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.  [40] You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me, and I destroyed those who hated me.  [41] They cried for help, but there was none to save, even to the Lord, but He did not answer them.  [42] Then I beat them fine as the dust before the wind; I emptied them out as the mire of the streets.   [43] You have delivered me from the contentions of the people; You have placed me as head of the nations; a people whom I have not known serve me.  [44] As soon as they hear, they obey me; foreigners submit to me.  [45] Foreigners fade away, and come trembling out of their fortresses.   [46] The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock; and exalted be the God of my salvation,  [47] The God who executes vengeance for me, and subdues peoples under me.  [48] He delivers me from my enemies; surely You lift me above those who rise up against me; You rescue me from the violent man.  [49] Therefore, I will give thanks to You among the nations, O Lord, and I will sing praises to Your name.”

David’s Psalm was a song of deliverance that he experienced in his encounters with King Saul.  This might have been a song of deliverance from one particular battle or it could be in response to the overall plight of flight from King Saul.  In a general review of his life, near its close, he would naturally recall the dangers of that period of struggle and to God's gracious interventions on his behalf.   It would be only natural for God to bring to his remembrance all that He had done for him in those times producing in David a sense that His faithfulness deserved a special record of the events surrounding God’s deliverance.

Definition the word “deliverance”…

This is a beautiful word picture.  One of the meanings of this word is to “carry away to safety”.  I love this picture of Jesus carrying the lamb.  This is the meaning of the word.  He does not leave us alone.  He is aware of every one of our surroundings, always.  He is always present to deliver us.

Jesus calls us to see that His very nature is that of a Deliverer.  In fact, because that is the way the Messiah was viewed, the Jews could not accept the fact that a lowly carpenter’s son could possibly be God’s Anointed One to bring deliverance from their oppressors.  Their first idea of Messiah was not deliverance from our sinfulness, but to deliver them from the oppressive situation.

Over 50 of the Psalms refer to a deliverance.  This gives us a clear understanding that deliverance was seen as much of a reality, on-going, natural part of daily life, as it continues to be today for us.  There are enemies of the gospel of Christ and, therefore, those who are named by His name will encounter various and sundry onslaughts by those enemies.  Remember, Jesus said, “Remember the word that I said to you, 'A slave is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.” (John 15:20)

He does not deliver us out from the world, if it was His intention to remove us, we would not be here.  He has something of greater import to work in us through all that we encounter in the world.  He uses situations in order to cause us to be dependent upon Him and to conform us to the image of His Son.  The passage that the Pastor has been working for the past several Sundays has application here.  What about our personal suffering, whether it be a physical malady, chronic illness, insults by those closest to us, etc.?  Is there something that God is working?  Is there a deliverance beyond what we see or experience?

For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, [18] while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)

I perceive from Scripture that God is, foremost, eager to deliver us from the ruling nature of the flesh.  God had to show David that his deliverance was not just from his human foes, but that He was his deliverer from himself.  In 1 Samuel 26, we are given the account of Saul and his army pursuing David and his men.  One night, David and Abishai snuck down into Saul’s camp while they slept.  Abishai encouraged David to kill Saul, since God had obviously delivered Saul into David’s hand.  This narrative between the two men reveals that God’s deliverance of David’s heart from resentment, hurt, bitterness and hatred was the main focus of deliverance…not just the deliverance from the attack of an enemy.

Well, the last time I looked, I am not being pursued by a band of enemy soldiers or the like, but I am pursued daily by my own heart’s desire to rule my little kingdom.  We must remember that it is our heart’s that we have to first deal with.  Solomon’s warning in Proverbs 4:23 fits us well here: “Guard you heart with all diligence, for from it flow all the issues of life.”  That which rules my heart will determine all the attitudes, behaviors and longings of my life.  There may have been times in your lives when there has been an actual, physical deliverance from an enemy.  However, there may have been a time when you were not delivered from some situation in which you just knew that God would deliver you, but He chose not to.  The fact that you believed that He would, but He didn’t does not remove Him from His position of deliverer.  It simply means that He was about doing something greater in your heart.  The real disaster would have been if, in the failure of God to do what you thought He would do, you looked at God as a disappointment to you and you wrote Him off as true to His word of being a deliverer.  The real victory, on the other hand, would be that in the midst of what looked like a disaster, you understood that God was after a greater work in your heart than in your circumstances.

So, what is it that God really delivers us from?

 Fear:

            Of man:

 and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. (Philippians 1:14)

"But be on your guard; for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them. (Mark 13:9)

"If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. [18] "But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up." (Daniel 3:17-18)     

Destruction:

            Issues of Life:

Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; [15] and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. (Hebrews 2:14-15)

But the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me, in order that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was delivered out of the lion's mouth. [18] The Lord will deliver me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (2 Timothy 4:17-18)

Despair and hopelessness

For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; [9] indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves in order that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; [10] who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, (2 Corinthians 1:8-10)

“For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. [8] "But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. [9] "Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations on account of My name. [10] "And at that time many will fall away and will deliver up one another and hate one another. [11] "And many false prophets will arise, and will mislead many. [12] "And because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold. [13] "But the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved. [14] "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come. (Matthew 24:7-14)

Ourselves:

            Sinful behaviors

 who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us out of this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, (Galatians 1:4)

Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. (2 Corinthians 7:1)