XIX. JESUS THE KEEPER
`The Lord is Thy keeper: ... The Lord
shall keep thee from all evil; ... He shall keep thy soul.' -- Ps.
121:4,7
`I know Him whom I have believed, and I am
persuaded that He is able to guard that which I have committed unto Him against
that day.' -- 2 Tim. 1:12
For young disciples of Christ who are
still weak, there is no lesson that is more necessary than this, that the Lord
has not only received them, but that He will also keep them. (Gen. 28:15;
Deut. 7:9; 32:10; Ps. 27:8; 89:33,34; Rom. 12:2,29) The lovely name, `the
Lord Thy keeper,' must for this end be carried in the heart, until the
assurance of an Almighty keeping becomes as strong with us as it was with Paul,
when he spake that glorious word: `I know Him in whom I have believed, and I am
persuaded that He is able to guard that which I have committed unto Him against
that day.' Come and learn this lesson from him.
Learn from his to deposit your pledge with
Jesus. Paul had surrendered himself, body and soul, to the Lord Jesus:
that was His pledge which he had deposited with the Lord. You have also
surrendered yourselves to the Lord, but perhaps not with the clear
understanding that it is in order to be kept every day. Do this now
daily. Deposit your soul with Jesus as a costly pledge that He will keep
secure. Do this same thing with every part of your life. Is there something
that you cannot rightly hold -- your heart, because it is too worldly; (Ps.
31:6; Jer. 31:33) your tongue, because it is too idle; (Ps. 51:17; 141:3) your
temper, because it is too passionate; (Ps. 119:165; Jer. 26:3,4; John 14:27;
Phil. 4:6,7; 2 Thess. 3:16) your calling to confess the Lord, because you are
too weak? (Isa. 50:7; Jer. 1:9; Matt. 10:19,20; Luke 26:15) Learn, then, to
deposit it as a pledge for keeping with Jesus, in order that He may fulfil in
you the promise of God about it. You often pray and strive too much in vain
against a sin: it is because, although this is done with God's help, you would
be the person who would overcome. No: entrust the matter wholly to Jesus: `the
battle is not yours, but God's. (Ex. 14:14; Deut. 3:22; 20:4 2 Chron. 20:15)
Leave it in His hands: believe in Him to do it for you: `This is the victory
that hath overcome the world, even your faith.' (Matt. 9:23; 1 John 5:3,4)
But you must first place it wholly out of your hands in His.
Learn from Paul to set your confidence only
on the power of Jesus. I am persuaded that He is able to keep my
pledge. You have an almighty Jesus to keep you. Faith keeps itself occupied
only with His omnipotence. (Gen. 17:1; 18:14; Jer. 32:17,27; Matt. 8:27;
28:18; Luke 1:37,49; 18:27; Rom. 4:21; Heb. 11:18) Let your faith
especially be strengthened in what God is able to do for you. (Rom. 4:21; 14:4;
2 Cor. 9:8; 2 Tim. 1:12) Expect with certainty from Him that He will do for
you great and glorious things, entirely above your own strength. See in the
Holy Scriptures how constantly the power of God was the ground of the trust of
His people. Take these words and hide them in your heart. Let the power of
Jesus fill your soul. Ask only: `What is my Jesus able to do?' What you
really trust Him with, He is able to keep. (John 13:1; 1 Cor. 1:8,9)
And learn also from Paul where he obtained the
assurance that this power would keep his pledge: it was in his knowledge of
Jesus. `I know Him whom I have believed:' therefore I am assured. (John
10:14,28; Gal. 2:20; 2 Tim. 4:18; 1 John 2:13,14) You can trust the power
of Jesus, if you know that He is yours, if you hold converse with Him as
your friend. Then you can say: `I know whom I have believed: I know that he
holds my very dear: I know and am assured that He is able to keep my pledge.'
So runs the way to the full assurance of faith: Deposit your pledge with Jesus;
give yourselves wholly, give everything, into His hands; think much on His
might, and reckon upon Him; and live with Him so that you may always know who
He is in whom you have believed.
Young disciples of Christ, pray, receive this
word: `The Lord is thy keeper.' For every weakness, every temptation, learn to
deposit your soul with Him as a pledge. You can reckon upon it, you can shout
joyfully over it: `The Lord shall keep you from all evil. (Josh. 1:9; Ps.
23:4; Rom. 8:35,39)
Holy Jesus, I take Thee as my keeper. Let Thy name, `The Lord thy
keeper,' sound as a song in my heart the whole day. Teach me in every need to
deposit my case as a pledge with Thee, and to be assured that Thou art able to
keep it. Amen.
1. There was once a woman who
for years long, and with much prayer, had striven against her temper, but could
not obtain the victory. On a certain day she resolved not to come out of her
room until by earnest prayer she had the power to overcome. She went out in
the opinion that she should succeed. Scarcely had she been in the household,
when something gave her offense and caused her to be angry. She was deeply
ashamed, burst into tears, and hastened back to her room. A daughter, who
understood the way of faith better than she, went to her and said, `Mother, I
have observed your conflict: may I tell you what I think the hindrance is?'
`Yes, my child,' `Mother, you struggle against temper, and pray that the Lord
may help you to overcome. This is wrong. The Lord must do it alone.
You must give temper wholly into His hands: then He takes it wholly, and He
keeps you.' The mother could not at first understand this, but later it was
made plain to her. And she enjoyed the blessedness of the life in which Jesus
keeps us, and we by faith have the victory. Do you understand this?
2. `The Lord must help me to overcome sin:' the
expression is altogether outside of the New Testament. The grace of God in the
soul does not become a help to us. He will do everything: `The Spirit has made
me free from the law of sin.'
3. When you surrender anything to the Lord for
keeping, take heed to two things: that you give it wholly into His hands; and
that you have it there. Let Him have it wholly: He will carry out your case
gloriously.