Sole Proprietor
And the salvation of the righteous is of YHWH; He is their strength in the time of trouble. Psalm 37:39
Of YHWH – Who owns your salvation? Not you! Salvation is me-YHWH. Many English translations render this “from the LORD,” as if the deliverance is ours but HE is the source. But the Hebrew expression isn’t quite so clear. It is ootshooat tsadkim me-YHWH. There is no verb in this expression (the “is” is implied). The literal reading merely equates rescue (salvation) with YHWH. Deliverance is of YHWH. What does this mean?
Perhaps we can start by noticing that the Lord is more than the source of salvation. He is the character of salvation. He is the essence, the nature, the substance, the reality of salvation. In other words, we don’t get a gate pass when salvation arrives. It isn’t something we put in our pocket for a rainy day. To experience rescue is to experience the presence of YHWH. Salvation is a relationship, not a possession.
Oh, but you might be distressed by all this. After all, if it is a relationship, then it is dynamic. It fluctuates. It flows. It’s like the tide or the water in a river. We all know that relationships change. If salvation is a relationship, is it subject to variation like every other relationship we experience? And the answer is: No. But the reason the answer is “no” has nothing to do with us. Salvation is of YHWH. It depends on His faithfulness, His constancy, His reliability. It does not depend on our wavering dynamic. Thank God! Now you know why me-YHWH is so important. The dynamic of this relationship is set in the character of YHWH. And He will not break His promise.
Does that mean we are eternally secure? Without engaging in the long theological debate, we should notice that this verse applies the dynamic relationship of salvation to the righteous. The righteous experience the presence of YHWH and the concomitant rescue. So the real question is not, “Are we eternally secure?” but rather, “Who are the righteous?” And the Bible has quite a bit to say about the righteous, including descriptions of the way they think and act. Notice that this is not a question about how someone becomes righteous. The psalmist is not interested in this passage about that issue. He is interested in the experience of the dynamic nature of salvation among those who are already righteous.
May I suggest this: If you are among the righteous, you are experiencing the dynamic relationship with YHWH that we call salvation, and you know it. If you are not experiencing this dynamic relationship, then you have a much more serious question to answer.
Topical Index: righteous, salvation, me-YHWH, Psalm 37:39
Skip,
Thanks for so consistently reaching out your hand to pull us all along on this incredible journey of growth as you teach us and challenge us to better know and understand “what doth the Lord require of thee.”
So the real question is not, “Are we eternally secure?” but rather, “Who are the righteous?”
John 14:21 He that has my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves me: and he that loves me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. And that’s the truth!
Extra Kudos for this one Skip.
Those who have already been declared ‘righteous’ by the Father, (through trusting in the Messiah’s atoning action), are now free to think and act in certain obedient ways. They are now free to obey the Father by the indwelling presence of the Spirit of Messiah; free to delight in being useful to Father in his purposes on earth now.
In that ‘dynamic relationship’ between Father and son/daughter is assurance of our eternal security and also present strength in difficulties.
Amen Wendy! When we get a grip on the reality- “it is relationship, not religion” our lives are radically re-directed and we are learning to say with our Master/Teacher, “I delight to do your will” or “I delight to do what pleases you.” Nothing pleases our heavenly Abba more than our obedience to His written word, just as nothing pleases an earthly father more than obedient loving children.