“Salvation”

Psalm 119:41-42  Let Your mercies come also to me, O LORD—Your salvation according to Your word.

So shall I have an answer for him who reproaches me, for I trust in Your word.

The primary object of this prayer was providential deliverance.  The Psalmist was afflicted, God had promised deliverance.  He trusted in that promise, yet salvation stayed.  He prayed for salvation that he might give the enemy to see the stability of “the confidence wherein he trusted.”

In verse 41 we are confronted by the words: Let your mercies come also to me.  This reminds us that we are lost and ruined without divine assistance.  We must always remember that salvation is not a human effort, but truly a divine visitation.  It is altogether an act of God upon the sinner, and which does not involve a co-operation between us and God.

When you have a major operation, do you assist or advise the doctor?  Would you really want to find out that you are supposed to help God in procuring your salvation?