Sacrifice thank offerings to God,
Psalms 50:14-15 (NIV)
fulfill your vows to the Most High,
and call on me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you will honor me.
God encourages us by promising deliverance. But what kind of deliverance does God promises under the New Covenant? Under the Old Covenant God’s deliverance was usually a physical deliverance: from military enemies, from personal enemies, from misfortune etcetera. But under the New Covenant God has not promised political or economic prosperity or freedom from enemies and distress until Jesus returns. For now, he promises something even better: inner communion with him, a cleansed heart, and interior peace that surpasses understanding.
What does he ask of us? That we would trust him and thank him for who he is and what he has done – our thank offerings. That we would fulfill the commitments we have made to him – our vows to the Most High. And that we would depend on him as the ultimate Power and not ourselves – calling on him. Then he will give his New Covenant deliverance, which is more valuable than external prosperity. And even though he does not universally promise physical deliverance under the New Covenant, since he is our Father he often hears our prayers and changes our circumstances. In any case, if we keep the faith, we have his deliverance.
