God: Our faithful deliverer

The Verse of the Day for June 24, 2014 reminds us of who God is and what He will do, as expressed in 2 Thessalonians 3:3:

But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.

Throughout the Bible we see that the faithfulness of God never fails to deliver those who serve him.

In the Old Testament some form of the verb palat, the Hebrew word for “deliver,” is translated “to pluck out of the hands of an oppressor or enemy; to preserve, recover, remove; to deliver from danger, evil, trouble; to be delivered, to escape.” Note how the term is used in Psalm 31:1-5

1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness.

2 Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defense to save me.

3 For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me.

4  Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me: for thou art my strength.

5  My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.

The phrase “my times are in thy hand” brings to mind the lyrics to this song:

My Times Are In Your Hand

There are times in life when I simply don’t understand,

When I cannot see the intricacy of your perfect plan,

When I’m tossed about and full of doubt,

When it seems I just can’t endure,

Your spirit comes beside me,

To comfort and to guide me,

To redirect and reassure,

To help me understand that my times are in your hand.

 

My times are in your hand.

My times are in your hand.

Your spirit comes beside me,

To comfort and to guide me,

To redirect and reassure,

To help me understand that my times are in your hand.

 

My times are in your hand.

My times are in your hand.

I submit every vision, each purpose and plan.

Though I may never fully understand,

I stand secure in knowing my times are in your hand.

 

It’s so comforting to know

My times are in your hand.

My times are in your hand.

 

In the New Testament the Greek verb ruomai is translated “to draw or snatch to one’s self from danger, to rescue, to deliver.”

In the poem “Why Don’t Somebody Help Me Praise the Lord, “my personal testimony expressed poetically, I make reference being rescued from of a horrible situation:

With lovin arms you reached way down

And snatched me from Satan’s outhouse,

Sought me and flat-out rescued me,

Fixed me up in my Father’s house.

Why don’t somebody help me praise the Lord!

The Verse of the Day uses the expression “keep from evil.” We recognize a similar phrase in the prayer that the Lord Jesus Christ spoke before his crucifixion:
John 17:15 (New Living Translation)

  I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one.

We are, of course, familiar with closing words of the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:13 from the King James Version:

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:

The New Living Translation renders the verse this way:

And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.

II Timothy 4:18 also reminds us

And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory forever and ever.

The poem “Protect me,” from a series of teachings entitled “A Five-fold Prayer,” reinforces the message that God is faithful and that He will deliver, just as He promised:

 

As a child runs to safety in his father’s arms,

So I, too, run to you, “my shelter from life’s storms.”

Lord, I long to dwell with you in the secret place,

My buckler, my shield, deliverer, my fortress,

Strong tower, defender, who responds to my prayer.

For Lord, you are faithful, who will establish me

And protect me and deliver me from evil.

 

Clint Brown provides a musical version of Psalm 18 which speaks of God as “my fortress and my deliverer.”