HEBREW WORD STUDY – DELIVERED – NATSAL נצל Nun Sade Lamed

Psalms 34:17: “The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.”

When I was twelve years old Billy Graham held a two week crusade in Chicago. My family and I attended every one of the meetings. That was almost a half century ago and at the age of 12 there are very few things about these crusades that I still remember, but what I do remember had a very  significant impact on my life this very day. 

For instance, Cliff Barrows introduced a new song that was sung by George Beverly Shea and the 5,000 voice choir.  It was called: “He’s The Christ of Every Crisis.”  Something about that song really struck me.  I liked the melody and when I found I could request a copy of the sheet music from the Billy Graham association, I immediately sent for it. I was still taking piano lessons at this time and I was very anxious to learn to play it on the piano. 

When song arrived, I set it up on my piano and found that on the back was the story behind the song. After Billy Graham left for another crusade, I never heard this song again until just this past week.  At that time I recall sensing in my spirit that the Lord wanted me to remember this song.  And, after all these years I do recall the song.  I could find very little about this song on the internet.  Apparently it went into obscurity after Billy Graham used it and it seems very few Christian recording artists recorded it, so the song died the death of many songs that were just a flash in the pan. I did, however, find on You Tube two recordings listed, one is by the Blackwood Brothers and the other, surprise! the Billy Graham Crusade Choir with George Beverly Shea singing.  As I listened to this song that I had not heard in almost half a century the memory of the story on the back of the sheet music came back to me.  

I could not find the name of the writer on the internet but the story was fresh in my mind as if I had just read it. The writer was a business man whose business was about to go bankrupt. He faced losing everything he worked so hard for and he was just overwhelmed with this crisis.  How would he provide for his family, how would he be able to face his relatives and friends having failed so miserably in business?

In complete and utter despair he pulled his car over to the side of the road and just wept, crying out to God to help him through the crisis.  Suddenly he heard coming over his radio a song.  Only the radio was not on.  In fact, it was not coming from the radio all or even outside of his car, it was as if there were speakers in his car. He heard a beautiful choir, an angelic choir singing: “He’s the Christ of every crisis, He is just the same today, He will solve your every problem, if you only let Him have His way.”  He fumbled through his glove box for a pen and paper and wrote those words down and then on the rest of the way home he continued to pray. Only the words that came from his lips were the words to the verses of this song.

As I said, even at the age of 12 I sensed God speaking to my spirit saying: “Remember this song, for one day you will find comfort in it.”   Now almost a half century later I faced a crisis. It was a crisis that had me so perplexed that I could not pray, I could not even open my Bible to study or prepare for my classes.  I spent the entire weekend in a mechanical exercise of proof reading my manuscript for my next book that I sent off the publisher.  I could not even find comfort in my own words.  Doctor heal thyself.  Then today I was in such despair that when my disability bus was empty, I pulled it over to the side of the road and wept before God in total despair crying out to God to help me through this crisis. 

Suddenly those words I had not heard in almost half a century came to me: “He’s the Christ of Every Crisis.”  I immediately open my I Pad and began to search for the song. I found the exact recording of the song sung by George Beverly Shea and the 5,000 voice choir. I played it and it was exactly as I remembered it.  Then, like that businessman a half century ago, I told the Lord to have “His way.” Like this song writer there was a peace that just flooded my soul and my tears of despair turned to tears of joy.   

David assures us of this result by saying that when the righteous cry out to God He hears them and delivers them out of their troubles.  That word for troubles in Hebrew is tsarah which covers a wide swath of emotions. Just to name a few:  adversity, affliction, anguish, distress, tribulation, trouble and yes a crisis.  Rabbi Samson Hirsch defines tsarah as being squeezed.  That is what it feels like in the midst of a crisis, like your life and very soul is being squeezed out of you. 

The promise is that he will deliver us. The word deliver is natsal which means to strip away, plunder, snatch away and to deliver. Rabbi Hirsch gives a more clearer understanding of natsal – deliver.  It is to be freed from something that controls you.  That is exactly what happened to the writer of this song and to me today, God freed me from a crisis that was controlling me.  It no longer has control over me, for my dearest Friend snatched it away.

He did it a half a century ago for a failed businessman and He did again for me. He is just the same today, if you will only let Him have His way.

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