Deliver Us From Evil

This post is a continuation of the series, “Meditations on the Lord’s Prayer.” You can find the whole series here.

“In conclusion, we pray in this petition that our Father in heaven would deliver us from every evil that threatens body and soul, property and reputation, and finally when our last hour comes, grant us a blessed end and graciously take us from this world of sorrow to himself in heaven.” (Luther’s Catechism, Northwestern Publishing House: Milwaukee, 2017, p. 285)

“Deliver us!”

So the Israelites cried out all those long years ago enslaved and suffering in Egypt. “Deliver us!” So too cried out the Israelites who once grumbled and complained in the desert, now sick and dying from snake bites. As did God’s people living in the times of the judges, oppressed by foreign nations, and those carried off into exile in a land that was not their own.

“Deliver us!”

That desperate, pleading cry resounds through the pages of Scripture. And what was God’s response every time? I will deliver you.

God sent Moses to lead his people out of slavery in Egypt. He had Moses fashion a bronze serpent upon a pole to which the snakebitten Israelites could look and live. God sent judges like Gideon, Deborah, Samson, and Samuel to rescue the Israelites and drive out their foreign oppressors. He brought his exiled people home, just as he promised he would through his prophets.

“Deliver us!”

That cry echoes in our own lives too. We feel it deep in our hearts. After all, we live in a sin-darkened world, full of sorrow and suffering. We’re familiar with pain in all of its varied forms—physical, psychological, and emotional. We experience terrible heartache, bitter disappointments, and overwhelming loss.

All of these things are to be expected. They’re the result of sin. Sometimes our experiences are the result of our sin. Other times they’re because of someone else’s sin. The ugly reality is that life itself is affected by sin. All creation groans under its oppressive curse.

“Deliver us!”

What is God’s response each time? Dear Christian, listen: I will deliver you.

God sent Jesus, the God-man familiar with sorrow and suffering. Jesus was tempted in every way you and I are tempted and yet was without sin, so his experiences were not due to his own sin. Rather, Jesus suffered for our sin as he hung on the cross so that God’s wrath against sin might be satisfied.

And on that cross, he cried out. Not “Deliver me!” but “It is finished!” He committed his spirit to his Father’s care and breathed his last. Then he rose, triumphant from the grave. In doing so, he crushed our foes—sin, death, and the devil.

Jesus rescued us from slavery to sin—we’re free. He crushed the serpent’s head and now death is dead. Because Jesus lives, we look to him—we live. Jesus delivers us from our oppressors time and time again throughout life—we’re his. We stagger through this world of sorrow and suffering, clinging to the unbreakable promise our Savior made:

My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. (John 14:2-3)

Jesus will lead us through this vale of tears until we see him face-to-face and know—we’re home.

God delivers us from some evils by keeping us from ever experiencing them. God delivers us from some evils by allowing us to experience such things but promises that he will use them for our spiritual good—perhaps to discipline us or lead us to repent if we’ve gone astray. Ultimately, God will deliver us from all evil by bringing us safely home to heaven. He strengthens and encourages us through his Word and sacraments that he is with us every step of the way.

Until then, dear Christian, we pray the Seventh Petition of the Lord’s Prayer and ask that God would fix our eyes on our Savior and what he has done for us.

“Deliver us!” He has. He does. He will.

Deliver us from evil.

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