Psalms 31:1
Psalms 31:1 says, In
thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy
righteousness. Oh what a wonderful thing is righteousness; not
self-righteousness but the righteousness which is of grace through faith in Jesus
Christ. Consider these words in the Bible which are found in verses in
connection with righteousness: fine linen, clean and white,
lovingkindness, mercy, truth, and peace. Psalms
31:1 is as clear a Gospel message as any verse in the New Testament. The name
LORD is Jehovah. Jehovah is the Old Testament name for Jesus. Trusting in Jesus
results in righteousness because Christ is righteous. Salvation is by grace
through faith and not of works.
There is nothing more precious than the righteousness
of God which comes through faith in Jesus Christ. This righteousness is the
righteousness of the law. But it is not obtained through your own efforts
because all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The righteousness
of God is obtained through Jesus Christ who fulfilled the law, died on the
cross for the sins of the world, was buried, and rose again the 3rd
day.
Psalms 36:10 says, O
continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to
the upright in heart. Psalms 85:10 says, Mercy
and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
Second Timothy 4:8 says, Henceforth there is laid
up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall
give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his
appearing. Titus 3:5-6 says, Not by works
of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by
the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on
us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Revelation 19:7-8 says,
Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to
him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself
ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean
and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. Jesus
said in Matthew 5:6, Blessed are they who hunger
and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled. How wonderful heaven will be. How wonderful it
will be to receive the full promise of redemption in Christ Jesus when those
who have trusted in him have glorified bodies: bodies without a sin nature;
souls untainted by sin; and minds filled only with pure thoughts of love and
praise for Christ. It will be a world of nothing but righteousness.
Psalms 31:2 says, Bow
down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house
of defense to save me. The
benefits of having the righteousness of Christ are too many to be counted. One
of the great benefits in this life of knowing Jesus as your Savior is prayer.
Anyone can pray to God. But those who are lost in sin need to pray to Jesus for
salvation more than they need to pray about anything else. James 4:8, Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse
your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded. There
is an eternal difference between being a joint-heir with Christ, a child of
God, and a child of wrath. The difference is the righteousness of Christ.
Deliverance from hell comes from the righteousness of Christ being freely given
to those who repent and trust in Him. For those who are the children of God;
God puts a special value on their prayers. You could almost say they are given
a special attention by God. This is what is meant in Psalms 31:2 bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily.
God is love. And God loves all men. He is not
willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. However
God is Holy. And sin does separate man from God. What a difference the
righteousness of Christ makes when we pray to the Almighty, Holy Lord of Hosts!
It is never wrong to pray to God or to ask him for anything or for any help.
But be sure that you pray to God the Father through Christ for forgiveness of
your sins. This is the first and most important thing that all men should
beseech God for: the salvation that is of grace through faith and not of works.
Deliver me speedily.
Sometimes it seems like God takes a long time to answer our prayers. But the
truth is God answers speedily. The word speedily can be translated soon or
quickly. One day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as
one day. Does God answer prayer? Yes. Does God answer prayer speedily? Yes.
God sent His Son Jesus to seek and to save that
which was lost: mankind who has turned away from Him and was not even seeking
Him. Jesus sought us when we turned away from him. If Christ died for all the
world, when all the world was dead in sins, certainly God through Christ is
going to answer the prayers of His children speedily. The sufferings and
persecutions and woes of this life, especially for the faithful in Christ
Jesus, can be tremendous at times. But as Revelation 22:20 says, He which testifeth these things saith, Surely I come quickly.
Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Deliver me speedily. LORD Jesus, come
quickly. A short work will the LORD make upon the earth. How precious are the
prayers of the saints of God to Christ. He wants us to pray to Him. He longs
for us to pray to Him. He desires to answer our prayers speedily that we might
see His grace and His love and the exceeding greatness of His power which He
has wrought through Christ when He raised Him from the dead and set Him at His
own right hand in the heavenly places.
Psalms 31:3 says, For
thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy names sake lead me, and
guide me. Verses 2 and 3 say that Jesus is a strong rock, a rock, and a
fortress. There are many dangers to face in life. The greatest dangers are
spiritual for the devil roameth about as a roaring lion seeking whom He may
devour. Thank God that Jesus is a strong rock. Once you turn from your sins to
Jesus, you are redeemed. A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing!
There is victory in Jesus because He is a rock and a fortress to all who look
to Him for forgiveness of their sins.
A rock is something that endures the test and wear
of time. Hebrews 13:8 says, Jesus Christ, the same
yesterday, and today, and forever. Jesus is the eternally existent one.
He does not change because He is Holy. Jesus is a rock. Those that trust in
Jesus Christ and His promises have a rock for their foundation and they too can
endure the test of time. To grow older and to live longer should thus mean an
increase in faith instead of becoming an old and shriveled up bitter person
because of the disappointments, sufferings, and persecutions that life can
bring. The righteousness of God does so much more for us than we will ever
understand.
Psalms 31:4, Pull me
out of the net that they have laid privily for me: for thou art my strength.
The last part of verse 3 says, For thy Names sake
lead me, and guide me. Everything that God does is done for the glory
of God. This is just and holy because God is the Almighty Lord of Hosts. One of
the very important things that God wants to do for his children and for all men
is to guide men and to lead them out of the nets of the wicked. Just by
trusting in Christ to guide you in life and to deliver you from evil men, glory
is brought to the name of God. How great is the difference a little faith in
Christ makes in this world because there are so few that have faith in
Jesus.
The word privily
has the idea of being done in secret. Men that do sinful things and that plot
against those who have faith in Christ do it secretly in their hearts and in
their doings. They are wolves in sheeps clothing, false prophets, and
anti-christs. Their goal is to destroy the faith of Gods children. But God is
more powerful than men and the evil forces. He can deliver you from the net
they have laid if Jesus is your strength.
Jesus overcame sin and death when He rose from the
grave. Psalms 31:5 says, Into thine hand I commit
my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth. In Psalms 31:5
we have what Jesus said when he died on the cross for the sins of the world.
Luke 23:46, And when Jesus had cried with a loud
voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said
thus, he gave up the ghost. Notice that in this verse in Psalms the
word redeem is also used. To be redeemed is to be bought with a price. The
price by which the souls of men can be redeemed is the blood of Jesus Christ
when they repent of their sins and trust in Him.
Jesus said in John 10:14-18, I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known
of mine, As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my
life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them
also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold,
and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life,
that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of
myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This
commandment have I received of my Father.
Jesus gave His life willingly. No man took it from
Him because Jesus is God. Jesus is the one with the power over life and death.
No one else is. Because we know that the power of the resurrection is in
Christ, we know that Christ has the strength to deliver us from the nets which
are laid privily for us. The great hope is the resurrection in Christ, and the
eternal life that comes through the shed blood of Jesus is our victory over
this world. First John 3:1-3 says, Behold, what
manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the
sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall
be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall
see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself,
even as he is pure. The resurrection, the rapture, the full redemption
at the return of Christ is our great hope. These are the last days. There is a
falling away from faith in the promises of God. But Christ is our strength.
Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world because the
righteousness of Christ is our strength.
If you have never turned from your sins and turned
to Jesus do so today and you too can be delivered from the nets of the wicked
that are cast secretly to snare your soul into the pits of hell. Trust in Jesus
and you can be delivered by the righteousness of Christ.
___________________________________________________
Copyright; 2012 by Charles
F. (Rick) Creech
All Rights Reserved