Finding Assurance in God's Promises of Deliverance
Psalm 31:1 In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness.
The Lord is righteous to deliver such as put their trust in Him! Moreover, The Lord would be unrighteous NOT to do so. For you see, His compensation for trust IS deliverance! How often has our Lord promised in His precious Word that those who put their trust in Him shall not be ashamed? Let us consider just a few by way of reinforcement. Proverbs 30:5 says, “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.” Psalm 2:12b says, “Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.” And then 1 Chron. 5:20 says, “And they were helped against them, and the Hagarites were delivered into their hand, and all that were with them: for they cried to God in the battle, and he was intreated of them; because they put their trust in him.” There are dozens if not hundreds more, but how many times does our Lord have to promise deliverance for those who put their trust in Him before we believe it? He need only say it once, but in His grace He repeats this principle over and over throughout the entire Bible. In fact, I’d dare say this is the overwhelming theme of redemption itself, and that’s what the Bible is ALL about!
Now, with that established, let me point out the mechanism by which He will deliver us. In our text, the Psalmist prays, “Deliver me IN THY RIGHTEOUSNESS!” (emphasis mine). You see, David knew that were the Lord to deliver him according to his (King David’s) own righteousness, it just wasn’t going to happen. He also knew enough to know that with God, faith is imputed (counted) for righteousness (see James 2:23). This means that even when we are guilty, if we will come to God with repentant faith, He will transfer His own righteousness to our account, and give us the deliverance that only He would or could deserve.
So, here is the good news; Child of God, quit pouting over your sins. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Quit just accepting your miserable state, assuming that God is and will continue to punish you because you deserve it. Do you realize that whatever trouble your sin has led you into, His righteousness can lead you out of? I cannot tell you HOW He does it, but I can assure you that He does, because He said so Himself! Lean on HIS righteousness to deliver you!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill
The Lord is righteous to deliver such as put their trust in Him! Moreover, The Lord would be unrighteous NOT to do so. For you see, His compensation for trust IS deliverance! How often has our Lord promised in His precious Word that those who put their trust in Him shall not be ashamed? Let us consider just a few by way of reinforcement. Proverbs 30:5 says, “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.” Psalm 2:12b says, “Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.” And then 1 Chron. 5:20 says, “And they were helped against them, and the Hagarites were delivered into their hand, and all that were with them: for they cried to God in the battle, and he was intreated of them; because they put their trust in him.” There are dozens if not hundreds more, but how many times does our Lord have to promise deliverance for those who put their trust in Him before we believe it? He need only say it once, but in His grace He repeats this principle over and over throughout the entire Bible. In fact, I’d dare say this is the overwhelming theme of redemption itself, and that’s what the Bible is ALL about!
Now, with that established, let me point out the mechanism by which He will deliver us. In our text, the Psalmist prays, “Deliver me IN THY RIGHTEOUSNESS!” (emphasis mine). You see, David knew that were the Lord to deliver him according to his (King David’s) own righteousness, it just wasn’t going to happen. He also knew enough to know that with God, faith is imputed (counted) for righteousness (see James 2:23). This means that even when we are guilty, if we will come to God with repentant faith, He will transfer His own righteousness to our account, and give us the deliverance that only He would or could deserve.
So, here is the good news; Child of God, quit pouting over your sins. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Quit just accepting your miserable state, assuming that God is and will continue to punish you because you deserve it. Do you realize that whatever trouble your sin has led you into, His righteousness can lead you out of? I cannot tell you HOW He does it, but I can assure you that He does, because He said so Himself! Lean on HIS righteousness to deliver you!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill