JESUS, OUR DELIVERER
Psalm 34:4 (Amplified Bible)
I sought the LORD [on the authority of His word], and He answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
Delivered: nutual naw-teal (Heb) – to snatch away (defend, escape,
part, pluck, preserve, recover, rescue, save, spoil, strip, take out)
Psalm 18:2 (KJV)
“The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my
strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my
salvation, and my high tower.”
Deliverer: palat (Heb) – to slip out, escape, carry away safe
Daniel 6:27 (Amplified Bible)
“He rescues and saves and performs signs and wonders
In heaven and on earth – He who has rescued Daniel from the power of
the lions.”
Psalm 107:2 (Amplified Bible)
Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom He has redeemed from the
hand of the adversary
Revelation 7:9,10 (Amplified Bible)
I looked, and this is what I saw: a vast multitude which no one could
count, [gathered] from every nation and from all the tribes and peoples
and languages [of the earth], standing before the throne and before the
Lamb (Christ), dressed in white robes, with [d]palm branches in their
hands; 10 and in a loud voice they cried out, saying,2
“Salvation [belongs] to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the
Lamb [our salvation is the Trinity’s to give, and to God the Trinity we
owe our deliverance].”
II
You might think David could have had some confusion about the role
God played and the role he (David) played in these many instances of
deliverance:
1. That David was, at least in part, able to bring about his own
deliverance
1 Samuel 17:37 (Amplified Bible)
David said, “The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion
and from the paw of the bear, He will rescue me from the hand of
this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and may
the LORD be with you.”
Haven’t we said that, one way or another, at one time or
another?
But David purposefully used the Hebrew word naw-teal,
meaning to snatch away (defend, escape, part, pluck,
preserve, recover, rescue, save, spoil, strip, take out)
2. That David “praised his way” into his deliverance
Psalm 18:3 (Amplified Bible)
I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; and I am saved
from my enemies.
An inference that his praise brought about his deliverance
The KJV makes it sound even more like that:3
“I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so
shall I be saved from mine enemies.”
But the Message translation provides a better proof of the
passage’s true meaning:
“I sing to God, the Praise-Lofty, and find myself safe and
saved.”
3. That David’s own “good conduct” brought him his deliverance
2 Samuel 22:21-25 (Amplified Bible)
“The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands He has rewarded me.
22 “For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not acted
wickedly against my God. 23 “For all His judgments (legal
decisions) were before me, and from His statutes I did not turn
aside. 24 “I was also blameless before Him, and kept myself from
wrongdoing. 25 “Therefore the LORD has rewarded me according to
my righteousness, according to my cleanness in His sight.
Rather, it was righteousness by faith:
Hebrews 11:1 (Amplified Bible)
Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things
hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not
seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact
what cannot be experienced by the physical senses]. 2 For by this
[kind of] faith the [a]men of old gained [divine] approval.
Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab
are all examples of people whose faith translated into
righteousness, even before the promise of salvation through the
Messiah had been fulfilled.4
Hebrews 11:32-34 (Amplified Bible)
And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon,
Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the
prophets, 33 who by faith [that is, with an enduring trust in God and
His promises] subdued kingdoms, administered justice, obtained
promised blessings, closed the mouths of lions, 34 extinguished the
power of [raging] fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of
weakness were made strong, became mighty and unbeatable in
battle, putting enemy forces to flight.
III
So let’s take a close look at the dynamics of just how David’s
deliverances came to him:
2 Samuel 22:2 (Amplified Bible)
David spoke the words of this song to the LORD when the LORD rescued
him from the hands of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. 2 He
said: “The LORD is my rock and my fortress [on the mountain] and my
rescuer; 3 My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the
horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, My Savior—You
save me from violence. 4 “I call on the LORD, who is worthy to be
praised, And I am saved from my enemies. 5 “For the waves of death
encompassed me; The torrents of destruction overwhelmed and terrified
me. 6 “The cords of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death
confronted me. 7 “In my distress I called upon the LORD;
I cried out to my God, And from His temple [in the heavens] He heard
my voice; My cry for help came into His ears. 8 “Then the earth shook
and quaked, the foundations of the heavens trembled and were shaken,
because He was angry. 9 “Smoke went up out of His nostrils, and
devouring fire from His mouth; coals were kindled by it. 10 “He bowed
the heavens also, and came down with thick darkness under His feet.
11 “He rode on a cherub and flew; He appeared upon the wings of the
wind. 12 “He made darkness [c]canopies around Him, a mass of waters,5
thick clouds of the skies. 13 “Out of the brightness before Him coals of
fire were set aflame. 14 “The LORD thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered His voice. 15 “He sent out arrows and
scattered them; lightning, and confused them. 16 “The channels of the sea
appeared, the foundations of the world were uncovered at the rebuke of
the LORD, at the blast of the breath of His nostrils. 17 “He sent from
above, He took me; He drew me out of great waters. 18 “He rescued me
from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too
mighty for me. 19 “They came upon me in the day of my calamity,
but the LORD was my support. 20 “He also brought me out to an open
place; He rescued me because He delighted in me.
That’s the how. Here’s the why:
Deliver –
: to set free
: to take and hand over to or leave for another
: to send, provide, or make accessible
: to give birth to
: to send (something aimed or guided) to an intended target or
destination
: to bring
: to come through with
: to produce the promised, desired, or expected results
Acts 5:31-32 (Amplified Bible)
God exalted Him to His right hand as Prince and Savior and Deliverer,
in order to grant repentance to Israel, and [to grant] forgiveness of
sins. 32 And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit,
whom God has bestowed on those who obey Him.”
Psalm 56:13 (Amplified Bible)
For You have delivered my life from death, yes, and my feet from
falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life and the living.6
Luke 4:18 (Amplified Bible)
“THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME (the Messiah),
BECAUSE HE HAS ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOOD NEWS TO THE
POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO ANNOUNCE RELEASE (pardon,
forgiveness) TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND,
TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED (downtrodden, bruised,
crushed by tragedy)
John 3:16 (KJV)
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.