November 16th

The LORD Delivers

Psalm 34:17 The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
Psalm 34:18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

The Righteous

The righteous cry out for help, and the LORD hears their cry, and comes to their rescue. Who are the righteous? The Bible speaks much about righteousness and the righteous, in both Old and New Testaments. But the Bible tells us that, under the Old Covenant, no one was able to attain to righteousness, that the LORD looked down from heaven and declared that there was none righteous, no not one.

Under the New Covenant the righteous are those who have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and have received the free gift of righteousness in Him. The Bible says that God made Jesus to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. So, in reality, there were no righteous ones under the Old Covenant, though there were many who served God the best they knew how, and lived as righteously as they could, such as Noah, who was, according to the Bible, an heir of the righteousness of faith.

The Promises are to the Righteous

The point is that the promises of the Old Covenant made to the righteous were in fact made to those who have inherited the righteousness of faith through Jesus Christ. The righteous cry for help, and the LORD hears them, and saves them from their troubles.

He Saves the Down-Trodden

The LORD is near to those who are of a broken heart, and saves those who are of a crushed and overwhelmed spirit. He dwells with people in that condition so that He can deliver them, revive them, and restore them.

Call out to the LORD, if you need help today. His ears are attentive to our prayers, and His word promises that He will deliver us from troubles. Take it to heart, and let faith arise.