"Hold me up--and I will be safe!" Psalm 119:117

Various authors

(You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)

Every true believer knows the danger of . . .
  their own deceitful heart,
  their tendency to wander,
  the pull of the flesh,
  and the constant assaults of the world.

Were it not for God's restraining grace, we would surely fall into flagrant sin. That is why the psalmist pleads, "Hold me up--and I will be safe!"

It is one thing to be saved by grace, but another to be kept by grace. Just as a child walking along a dangerous path needs the firm grip of his father's hand, so too do we need the steadying grasp of God's upholding grace to keep us from stumbling. We are prone to pride, self-reliance, and every other sin--but God, in His mercy, restrains us from going where our sinful nature would lead.

Consider Peter--how easily he fell when he boasted, "Even if everyone falls away, I will not!" (Mark 14:29). And left to himself, he denied his Savior three times. But when Jesus prayed for him (Luke 22:32), his faith did not ultimately fail. This is God's gracious, omnipotent, upholding hand--preventing His redeemed people from utterly falling away.

How often have we been spared from sin, not because of our own wisdom and strength, but because the Lord upheld us? Perhaps we were tempted by a sin that would have ruined us, but were providentially hindered by God's restraining grace.

Christian! We continually need God's upholding grace, as we have a heart that is able to commit every sin that was ever committed in Heaven, Earth or Hell! (Jeremiah 17:9)

Paul reminds us, "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!" (1 Corinthians 10:12). True safety lies not in our resolve, but in God's upholding power. Like a sheep that would stray without the shepherd's oversight, we constantly need the Lord's guidance, and loving interventions, to keep us safe.

We must daily pray as the psalmist did: "Hold me up--and I will be safe!" This is a humble acknowledgment that we cannot persevere by our own strength and wisdom. It is a confession that, apart from God's upholding hand, we would rush headlong into ruinous sin.

May we walk in daily dependence, not trusting in ourselves, but in the almighty hand of our sovereign God. His grace is not only sufficient to save us, but also to sustain us until we stand before Him in glory!

  "Father, I acknowledge my weakness and my need for Your restraining grace. Left to myself, I would stumble and fall. Hold me up, O Lord, and I will be safe. Keep me from sin, uphold me by Your mighty hand, and let my confidence rest in You alone. In Jesus' name, Amen."

"Unto Him who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy--to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now, and forevermore! Amen." Jude 24-25

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We have published John Kent's encouraging hymn, "Effectual Calling".