- Deliver and Save
Psalm 37:40
And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them:
He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.
The Lord promises to deliver and save the righteous (the believers) upon the condition that they trust in Him. “Trust” is a basic conditional factor for deliverance and salvation: if you trust in me, then you will be delivered. “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.” (Mark 16:16).
Eternal salvation from sin and death and eternal deliverance from Evil and the Evil One is certainly included in the promise, but the context of the Psalm emphasizes deliverance from the wicked on earth in present time, “the wicked” signifying Sin and Evil all around us in the world generally and also evil entering and acting through some individual people in the world. The Sin and Evil in wicked people in a wicked world seek to kill and destroy. The promise of the Lord is that He will deliver us from the death and destruction caused by the Evil and Wickedness that surrounds us in the world and by the Sin and Wickedness that dwells in our flesh.
The Wicked we will always have with us, in and around us, intending us harm, but also with us, in and around us, is the Lord with His promises of deliverance from Evil; He is there to save us. We who believe in Jesus Christ for eternal salvation after death have the same promises of salvation from sin, death, and the devil during this life before death. Salvation is not only a future hope but also a present reality. We who are saved eternally are given access to present salvation through prayer: “Deliver us from evil,” once again, today.