“Hold me up, that I may be safe
and have regard for your statutes continually!” Psalm 119.117
Renowned preacher Charles Spurgeon illustrated this verse with the imagery of a nurse and a newborn baby. The newborn, once born, needs the nurse’s ongoing care. Here, the poet shows his need for the ongoing grace of God. The Lord needs to hold him up or he will fall into danger.
This is certainly a helpful illustration for the Christian, as well. We are born by grace. In this we rejoice. Also, we are in need—like the newborn baby—of God’s ongoing grace to uphold us and protect our lives. Without his grace, we would be in peril.
Our sanctification, our ongoing growth and godliness, relies on God upholding us and caring for us. There is no regard for his statutes without his gracious work in our hearts. We cannot do it on our own. We desperately need grace.
How often do you rejoice in the grace God has shown you in your new birth, in bringing you to saving faith? How often do you rejoice in God’s ongoing grace in making you more like Christ, in allowing you to have regard for his statutes? In what ways have you seen God transform your life, according to his word? Take some time to praise the Lord.
Gracious Lord, we praise you for your overwhelming grace. Thank you, dear God, for saving our souls, for reconciling us to yourself. Thank you for your ongoing grace in our lives, for giving us a regard for your word. We praise you, our God and King. Amen.