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Love the LORD, all his faithful people! The LORD preserves those who are true to him, but the proud he pays back in full. Psalm 31:23
In today’s verse, the psalmist, King David, explains the benefit of faithfulness to the Lord: He preserves you.
But in what sense? Don’t bad things happen to faithful believers? Certainly, you know believers who have died in car accidents, suffered from cancer, or been victims of violence. While God does sometimes intervene in certain cases but not in others, the psalmist isn’t referring to the here and now as much as he is speaking of the eternal.
Bible commentator John Gill makes this observation in his Exposition of the Entire Bible: “(T)hese he not only preserves in a providential way, but he preserves them in a way of special grace; he keeps them…from the evil of sin; from a total and final falling away by it; from the evil of the world, so as not to be drawn off from Christ and his ways, either by its frowns or flatteries; and from the evil one, Satan, from being destroyed by him and his temptations; and these are preserved safe to the kingdom and glory of Christ…”
Spend some time this morning thanking God for preserving you, in spite of your unworthiness. And then set your mind and will on being faithful to Him.
In today’s verse, the psalmist, King David, explains the benefit of faithfulness to the Lord: He preserves you.
But in what sense? Don’t bad things happen to faithful believers? Certainly, you know believers who have died in car accidents, suffered from cancer, or been victims of violence. While God does sometimes intervene in certain cases but not in others, the psalmist isn’t referring to the here and now as much as he is speaking of the eternal.
Bible commentator John Gill makes this observation in his Exposition of the Entire Bible: “(T)hese he not only preserves in a providential way, but he preserves them in a way of special grace; he keeps them…from the evil of sin; from a total and final falling away by it; from the evil of the world, so as not to be drawn off from Christ and his ways, either by its frowns or flatteries; and from the evil one, Satan, from being destroyed by him and his temptations; and these are preserved safe to the kingdom and glory of Christ…”
Spend some time this morning thanking God for preserving you, in spite of your unworthiness. And then set your mind and will on being faithful to Him.
