The Lord Our Unfailing Deliverer
(Message delivered by Dr Jeffrey Khoo at the True Life Church 10.30 am Service, Jan 1, 06)
Text: Psalm 40
The psalmist says, “The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow” (Ps 90:10). We are living in a sin-cursed world, full of evil and wickedness, trials and temptations. We face many struggles and difficulties in life—in our places of work, and in our relationship with family, friends and colleagues. We find ourselves plagued by our own sins, with ill-health and sicknesses, and other human weaknesses. We share our sorrows, we shed our tears.
The world is a pressure cooker. We face many problems and troubles, trials and testings. We go through a whole lot of stress in the working world, in family life, in our spiritual struggles with sin and temptation. Walking away and astray from the Lord has led to many a valley experience of grief and pain. The world shouts, “money, money, money, make it big, go all the way!” The still small voice of God says, “Be still and know that I am God,” “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,” “Godliness with contentment is great gain.” So we are torn, and oftentimes the one that shouts louder gets the better of us, and we suffer for it.
Life is not easy—the strength of our days and years are “labour and sorrow.” Living the Christian life is harder. But as believers, we have a God in heaven, and we can cry out to Him for forgiveness and deliverance, for wisdom and strength to live our Christian lives faithfully.
Verse 1
The psalmist says in verse 1, “I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.” Why does the psalmist wait patiently for the Lord? It is because he knows God’s timing is perfect. It is because he knows that God is patient with us, even with our enemies: He “is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9).
But many a time we are impatient with the Lord. In times of hardships, difficulties, pressure and stress, we are quick to complain, and quick to quit. We want to run away from the trials and testings that we face in life. We think that running away is the solution to our problems. But the Lord does not allow it. We cannot run away from the place the Lord has put us in. The solution is not to run away from our problems but to run towards God—pray to Him, seek His face, seek His grace.
Know that our God is living and true—He is always ready to hear our prayers when we cry out to Him in sincerity and in truth. So we ought not to be impatient with God, nor with men. Wait on the Lord, and let Him act on our pleas in His own good time. He will surely deliver us from our troubles.
Neither can we run away from our sins and the consequences of our sins. The only solution is to confess our sins, beg the Lord for forgiveness, repent of our ways, and make right the wrong that we have done. The Lord can save us, no matter how deep a hole we have dug for ourselves.
Verse 2
Look at what verse 2 says, “He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.”
Many a time we find ourselves in the quicksand of sins and transgressions, but instead of crying out to the Lord for help, we use the wisdom of our sinful mind and methods of the wicked world to wriggle or slither our way out of the consequences of our sins. And the more we try to save ourselves from the mess we got ourselves into without confessing and repenting of our sins, the more we sink into the quicksand of the horrible mess we find ourselves in.
But the moment we cry out to the Lord in humility and repentance. The Lord forgives us. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Our God is a God of holiness, justice, goodness and truth. And we shall rejoice and praise His Name when we are forgiven, and are placed on the firm foundation of the solid Rock which is Christ our Righteousness.
Verse 3
“And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.”
When the Lord saves us fromsin and delivers us from trouble, we must not forget to praise Him and thank Him. We cannot help but to praise the Lord because we have a “new song” to sing, a “fresh testimony” to give. This we see in our prayer meetings and fellowship meetings when testimonies are shared and how God’s people rejoice over the fact that God is so real in their lives, and how the Lord has helped them out of many a difficult and dangerous situation.
The testimonies that we share, the new song that we sing, will cause many to fear the Lord, to trust in Him, and to draw close to Him. Testimonies are powerful witnesses to God’s truthfulness, faithfulness, and goodness in our lives. So if you have a thanksgiving to give or a testimony to share, please come to prayer meeting and offer to the Lord the fruit of your lips. Heb 13:15 says, “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.”
Verse 4
“Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.”
When we trust in the Lord, and seek His counsel and wisdom, we are blessed. But if we learn from the proud, who trust in the rich and the powerful, who boast of their wealth and their influence, who seek the help of the clever and the cunning, who use deceit and deception, who spin lies and tell tales, who conspire and cheat, we are cursed.
Verse 5
“Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.”
Have you ever tried counting all the blessings you have received from God? I believe you will find that there are so many you cannot even number them. We may even have forgotten some of the blessings we have received from the Lord for we are forgetful people and many a time we take the Lord for granted. Let us not take the Lord for granted, but keep on praising the Lord and speaking of His goodness in our lives. We can never stop praising Him.
Verses 6-8
“Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.”
God is not so interested in what we can give Him in terms of our church attendance, our church work, our tithes, or our offerings. He is more concerned about our heart—do we love Him or not, do we delight to do His will or not, do we hide His words in our heart or not. It is not our hands that interests Himbut our heart.
The psalmist says here, “I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.” The Lord is not just another important person to you, He is your everything, He is your all. The Bible to you is not just a book, it is your life. That is why the psalmist in another place says, “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb” (Ps 19:7-10).
Verses 9-10
“I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest. I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation.” When you love the Lord Jesus Christ, you will tell the whole world about it.
When I learned that the Bible is perfectly preserved and that I have every word of the Bible today, I was so happy I had to preach it, I had to teach it, I had to share it. I could not keep silent, I had to tell it. I had to “tell it on the mountain” as one Christmas carol has it. The members of a new B-P Church called Truth B-P Church which will hold its first worship service today believe the same. The conviction of the truth is so great that they have to stand for the truth no matter what the cost. So they have named their church Truth B-P Church and they are so happy in their most powerful Lord and in His perfectly preserved Word.
Verse 11-12
“Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O LORD: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me. For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me.”
Living the Christian life is not a bed of roses. We have enemies to contend with; enemies fromwithout and enemies fromwithin. We too are our own enemies because of our sins. We face many dangers. There are many temptations. There are many falsehoods. So we must constantly pray for God’s protection. What is comforting to know is that He will preserve us and we will never be lost (1 Cor 10:13).
The Lord encouraged Joshua with His Word and His presence, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” (Josh 1:8-9). Sometimes, our heart may fail us, but trust in the Lord and in His Word, they will never fail us.
Verses 13-15
“Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me: O LORD, make haste to help me. Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil. Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame that say unto me, Aha, aha.”
Who are those who seek to destroy our soul and our testimony? The devil is one. 1 Pet 5:8 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” The other are his agents—false prophets and false teachers, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matt 7:15). And then there are those fromwithin the church who are false brethren; Paul spoke of “false brethren” who have crept in unawares who seek to distract, distress, and destroy (Gal 2:3). They are false accusers who say “aha, aha.” Satan does it best when it comes to false accusation, telling lies—for he is the accuser of the brethren (Rev 12:10).
Those of us who believe in the present perfection of the Reformation Bible against the many modern and corrupt versions may be called “schismatics” and “heretics,” but we are in good company for in the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther preached the truth that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, based on Scripture alone. The pope pronounced him a “heretic” and decreed that he should be silenced and his books burned. Luther sang, “The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still.” The Bible stands! It is forever infallible and inerrant! We have a perfect Bible today!
In the New Year, there may be dangers ahead, trials and difficulties that we may have to face, many temptations that will try to cause us to backslide from God. How should we respond?
Verses 16-17
“Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The LORD be magnified. But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.”
Seek the Lord (study His Word, keep our daily devotions, pray constantly). Rejoice and be glad in Him (long for Him, desire to do His will, delight thyself in Him). Love His salvation (be grateful to Him for saving you from sin, trust Christ always and not any man). Magnify Him (put Him first in your life, glorify His name, live by faith).
This world is unpredictable. Things may look good now, but disaster may strike at any time. We cannot tell what will happen tomorrow. There could be another tsunami, a great earthquake, a flu pandemic, a war! The world could plunge into another economic crisis again.
Let us not think that we are so clever with our calculations, with our foresight and planning, nothing can go wrong. We must confess that we are “poor and needy.” We need our Lord desperately. Only He is our Help and our Deliverer. The psalmist tells the Lord not to wait but rescue Him quickly. We should pray the same prayer. Lord, come quickly. The Lord says, “Surely I come quickly” (Rev 22:20).
