“The Lord preserveth all them that love him…”
(Psalm 145:20)
There is no promise more welcome to the weary heart than this: God preserves His own by His steadfast love. The believer is kept by the omnipotent power of the living God… a power that is personal, faithful, and unfailing. He preserves His own with intention, guards us with purpose, and loves us with an everlasting love.
Paul asks four questions in Romans 8, one of which is: “If God be for us, who can be against us?” And his responses are reassuring, comforting, and particularly useful in our struggles. For, as Paul affirms, no enemy, no trial, no death, no devil, no condemnation, no accusation—nothing in this world or beyond—can separate us from the love of God.
Such love includes the reality that Christ stands as Mediator, interceding every moment on behalf of His own. His wounds plead for His people, and His voice never ceases to speak for them before the throne of God.
The Christian’s security is not that life will be easy… but that nothing in life nor death can undo the work of God. We are not kept from trials; we are kept through them. We are not shielded from sorrow but carried in it. The Lord is near to all who call upon Him in truth. He does not cast aside the trembling soul. Instead He listens. He fulfills. He preserves. That is His promise, and He does not lie.
Every moment, even now, He preserves you. If you love Him, it is because He first loved you. And He who began His work in you will carry it on to completion. For Christ loses none of those the Father gives Him, promising to raise them up at the last day (John 6:39).
To love God is to rest in that with a confident, joyful assurance. The child of God may tremble, but he does not fall away. He may be sifted, but he will not be lost.
William Price rightly said that those who fear God and those who love Him are described together. They pray, and He hears. They desire, and He fulfills. “The actions of God’s mercies toward the Elect, and of his judgement toward the wicked, is that the Lord is holy in all his works.”[1] They cry, and He saves. He preserves them, not because they are mighty, but because He is merciful.
Contemplations:
- Comfort in holy fear. Lord, I know the terror of those outside Your grace, and I know the comfort of being under Your care. You are a consuming fire, yet for Your children, You are also our shelter. Let me stand in awe of Your majesty and rest in Your mercy. Let me fear You rightly and love You deeply.
- Falling into the right hands. David said, “Let us fall into the hand of the Lord,” and I echo that prayer. I would rather fall into Your hand in discipline than into any other for deliverance. For even in chastisement, You are faithful. You promise to put Your fear in my heart so I won’t depart. Lord, let me cling to You with Spirit-born affection, knowing that I am held by You, and nothing can cause You to let go.
- Content in being kept. Temptations come. Afflictions press. Sin grieves me. But still… nothing separates me from You. Nothing takes me outside Your love. I must ask: am I content in this? Do I live like I believe this promise? Lord, make me more settled in Your keeping, more joyful in Your faithfulness. Let me see every difficulty as another stage upon which Your preservation is proven.
- Seeking more of the Spirit. Do I truly love You, Lord? I want to. I want to love You more, trust You more, worship You more. Preserve me, Lord, in Jesus Christ. Let Your Spirit rest on me in greater measure, that I might walk uprightly in a crooked world. Hold me fast, and let me know peace in the strength of Your everlasting arms.
Prayer (thanksgiving):
O Lord, my Keeper and my God, I thank You. I am not alone. I am not at the mercy of this world. I am not hanging by my own strength because You preserve me. You preserve all those who love You, and I bless Your name for including me in that number.
You are the God who sees. You are the God who holds. You are the God who stays. You never slumber nor sleep. You do not leave me when I stumble. You do not forget me when I fall. I thank You for Your presence that is closer than the air I breathe, truer than my own heart. You are near to those who call upon You in truth. And so I call, and I thank You that You hear.
I am weak, but You are strong. I am fearful, but You are faithful. I am anxious, but You are patient. And still You preserve me. Still You forgive me. Still You love me. I thank You that my salvation does not hang on the strength of my grip, but on the strength of Yours. You hold me in Christ. You intercede for me in Christ. You keep me by Christ.
I thank You for the trials you send my way, Lord—not because they are pleasant, but because You use them to grow me closer to You. They show me that You are still at work. That You are shaping me. You bring beauty from sorrow, joy from mourning, and glory from weakness. You do not waste my suffering but preserve me through it.
I thank You for the fear of the Lord—the kind that humbles, the kind that draws me near. Your holiness causes me to tremble. It makes me bow but not hide, because I know that Christ has taken the wrath, and now I stand in grace.
I thank You that You put love in my heart for You. That love is evidence of Your keeping work. You planted it, and You water it daily. Let it grow, Lord. Let it deepen and bear fruit.
You are my refuge, my fortress, and my song. I bless You for every answered prayer, every quiet mercy, every preserved hour of faith. I thank You that Your Son will lose none of those given to Him. And I praise You that He ever lives to make intercession for me. He is at Your right hand—and so I stand.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Further references for Psalm 145:20:
Ps. 97:10, 31:23, 1:6, 91:14; Exod. 20:6; Matthew 25:41.
[1] Thomas Wilson, A Christian Dictionary (London: William Iaggard, 1612), 546.
