The Psalms, the Cross and the Definition of Deliverance

"At first glance, the Psalms seem to be little help. So many psalms speak with confidence about deliverance, but you feel it would be presumptuous to claim that deliverance as your own. This is a different era, after all. No longer does God bring glory to himself by a human kingdom that stands for his righteousness against the surrounding idolatry. Now he brings glory to himself by allowing the church to multiply, sometimes through the suffering of its people.

"When the Cross became the pivotal point in human history, the definition of deliverance changed. It had once meant temporal deliverance from neighboring marauders. Now it means that you could die for the cause of Christ but still be delivered from the worse or 'second' death."

~ Ed Welch, When I Am Afraid: A Step by Step Guide Away from Fear and Anxiety