He Does Deliver

“Return, O LORD, deliver my soul: oh save me for thy mercies’ sake.” (Ps 6:4 AV)

 

The context is that which gives the above verse its depth of meaning.  The entire psalm regards David’s struggle over sin.  Some of it is brought on by the influence of others.  However, not all.  He weeps over his sin.  He asks the LORD not to be angry with him.  Verses two and three are David’s confession at the severity of the consequences of his sin.  At least as it pertains to the inner man.  His bones and soul are vexed.  He hates what he is and wants more than anything to be rid of himself.  So, the deliverance he seeks in verse four is the deliverance every child of God should seek.  That deliverance is deliverance from the old man of sin.  The encouraging truth in this psalm is because David weeps over, and chastens his soul, God hears him!  What a grand thought!

My thoughts go back to Chris, again.   He was an alcoholic who trusted Christ as his Savior.  He lived in his uncle’s house as kind of a caretaker.  But his mother and uncle repeatedly gave him money.  He didn’t work for a living and he took that money to buy alcohol for his habit.  He would rather drink than eat.  I worked with him for about two to three years.  Constantly at his house, we did bible studies together.  We cleaned out his house of all the booze more than once.  However, he could never gain a complete victory over this monster.  Cancer of the liver finally took him.  He died a horrible death because his sin was stronger than he.  What did he miss?  I believe he didn’t realize just how vexed he was which didn’t allow him to weep over his sin.  If he would have taken time away from the easy access to booze that was in his neighborhood and dry out for a time, perhaps he could have seen how horrible his life truly was.  He was held captive to something he could not control because he never came to the end of himself.  There is some good news though.

David’s prayer of brokenness was effective.  He was never perfect.  We know this because of several serious mistakes in his life.  Bathsheba would come a year later.  However, in this psalm, David testifies God did hear him and God did deliver him.  What a hope this is.  The child of God who strives to walk with God knows just how much sin plays a part in his failure.  He is tormented with his own guilt.  The Holy Spirit convicts him of his sin.  He deals with the consequences of that sin and struggles to get his head above water.  He cries out for forgiveness.  Often, he must confront his own lack of sincerity, for he knows as soon as his prayer of contrite confession is over, the old man will rear up again.  He is on a merry-go-round of sin and confession and he just wants to get off that ride.  Well, this psalm is a psalm of good news.  God does and will deliver.  When we weep over our sin and express a sincere and deep desire to overcome it, God will deliver.  Perhaps the reason we have not been delivered as yet is that we lack sincerity.  Maybe God is waiting until we are sick enough of our sin that when He does deliver, we stay that way!  God will answer.  The bible promises.  So, let us weep over our sin that we might be rid of it!