The petition that has risen this day is but an echo of the eternal decree: "Deliver him from going down to the Pit!" There is no scheme of Satan, no hidden snare, no roaring lion’s charge that can stand against the blood-bought child of God when the Lord Himself utters that word from the Throne. For this very purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Not merely frustrate them for a season, nor muzzle them awhile, but destroy them utterly, root and branch, till sin in every shape and form is consumed from off the face of the earth forever. He has delivered us from the power of darkness; He has broken the fascinations that once held us captive, and He will deliver us all the way through. If He has done this great thing, what will He not do?
The arrow of the Lord’s deliverance is even now flying through the air. Joash must take the bow, yet it is the Lord’s hand upon the hand of His servant that gives the arrow its force. Christ has taken the bow, and the hands of the Eternal are upon His hands. The arrow speeds, an arrow of complete silence to the accuser, a shaft of total paralysis to the destroyer. The devil’s mouth is stopped; his plans are halted, whether direct, indirect, or wrapped in a thousand disguises. He is the strong man armed, but a stronger than he has overcome him, and his armor wherein he trusted is taken away. The works of the devil, those subtle temptations, those assaults that seem to spring from the very dust, are not outside the dominion of our Redeemer. Troubles do not spring out of the dust; the Lord Himself kindles the furnace and sits as a Refiner, and the enemy’s power is permitted only so far as it serves the purposes of Heavenly love to drive the soul nearer to the Cross.
It is a gladsome fact that the believer’s deliverance is signed and sealed from eternity. Look that old foe in the face, have not his darts often seemed tipped with fire? Has he not whispered that the heavens have become like brass, that Ichabod is written on your closet? But bethink you, Christian, this is the devil’s own child, this doubt of your Father’s faithfulness. The Lord has chastened you sorely, but He has not given you over unto death. The noise of archers in the places of drawing water shall be silenced. Those wells of salvation, cleared from the foe, shall be places of peace where you draw water with joy. The governor of the world’s feast may bring forth his spurious wine, but Christ has kept the best wine until the last. When the earthly props fall and ceremonies prove a broken bridge, the believer stands upon the Rock of Ages.
I hear the cry from the excellent Glory: "Deliver him! Deliver him! Deliver him from going down to the Pit!" And Infinite Mercy drags off every evil habit, snaps every band, and sets the prisoner free. The works of the devil are destroyed, not by might nor by power, but by the Spirit of the Lord. You shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord. What wonders you shall tell on the other side of the flood! For they that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters, these see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep. The last enemy, even death itself, shall be destroyed; and till that trumpet sounds, the very gates of hell cannot prevail. The mouth of the lion is shut; the paw of the bear is broken. The Lord has sworn, and He will not repent: complete deliverance, full and final, is the portion of all who hide themselves under the shadow of His wings. So shall it be, in Jesus’s name. Amen.