Deliverance
“And Noah builded an altar unto Jehovah, and took of every clean beast, and of every clean bird, and offered burnt-offerings on the altar. And Jehovah smelled the sweet savor; and Jehovah said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake, for that the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more everything living, as I have done. While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”
Genesis 8:20-22
Imagine you were lost at sea. The ship you were sailing on had sprung a leak and you found yourself adrift, clinging to whatever debris you could find as the daylight faded into dark. Then out of the dark lights appear and a helicopter belonging to the US Coast Guard and a man is lowered down and plucks you out of the waves to safety. You would be delivered. How would you react? I imagine you might hug your rescuer; you might thank them profusely. Gratitude would certainly be appropriate.
The deliverance of God is an overwhelming thought to all who have known it. Deliverance from the floodwaters must have caused an overwhelming emotion to come over Noah and the seven other souls that were saved through the flood. The immediate response was worship. After what was by all accounts a very traumatic experience, all glory was due to God. He delivered them to salvation through the waters; a sacrifice was made. Gratitude was appropriate here.
Do we respond with the praise God deserves in regard to our deliverance? We are delivered so masterfully from our sin if we put on Christ by obeying the Gospel. Our response should be continual praise that provides a sweet savor unto the Lord. Peter wrote in 1 Peter 3:20-21 that we are delivered in the same way. As Noah and 7 others were saved through the water, we, in the like figure, are saved through the waters of baptism. Once we have obeyed the Gospel, we are added to the Lord’s church (Acts 2:41-42,47) where we are called to remain faithful unto death (Mk 13:13; Rev 2:10). Part of faithful living is faithful attendance on each Lord's Day (Heb 10:24-25). This is the Divinely appointed day of each week that we assemble to worship the God of Heaven and Earth. Worship is the privilege of the saved. Today thank God for His deliverance as we gather to worship in Spirit and Truth as long as the Earth remains.
Grace and Peace.
R.D. Beavers
