Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.
The promise belongs to the good person who loves God, follows Him, and trusts Him, whose steps the Lord orders and directs and in whose way He delights. The path the Lord marks out for such a person is safe and clear, so His people need not grope uncertainly among dangerous ways. It grows clearer and brighter as they advance toward the perfect day, even though their feet will sometimes slip.
Though he fall, stumble, or slip with feet nearly sliding, he shall not be utterly cast down into a final fall beyond recovery, nor be utterly overcome. He is not left to fall beyond recovery because the Lord upholds and sustains him with His hand. That upholding hand is almighty and compassionate. It is personal in Christ as the hand nailed to the cross, with infinite humanity that pities people.
It is not cold law and force, which have no pity and never hear the cry for help, but a warm hand to clasp and a heart full of love and tenderness to trust. Believers must look to Him for guidance and hold fast by keeping the hand in the hand of Jesus. Christ will hold their hand more firmly than they can possibly hold His, and that hand can hold them up so that their feet shall not slide.
This upholding belongs with the assurance that the Lord loves judgment and does not forsake His saints but preserves them forever. It belongs also with the promise that those who trust in God will be helped, delivered from the wicked, and saved because the Lord is their strength in trouble. Applied to the wanderer who needs help, fellowship with Christ through this sustaining hand enables him to overcome his lower nature. Upheld by this hand, God's people can go on without fear and without pitying self. And one whose feet have nearly slipped, when the Lord reaches out and saves him, can tell others of the Saviour's help and draw trembling souls to Christ.
The promise belongs to the good person who loves God, follows Him, and trusts Him, whose steps the Lord orders and directs and in whose way He delights. The path the Lord marks out for such a person is safe and clear, so His people need not grope uncertainly among dangerous ways. It grows clearer and brighter as they advance toward the perfect day, even though their feet will sometimes slip.
Though he fall, stumble, or slip with feet nearly sliding, he shall not be utterly cast down into a final fall beyond recovery, nor be utterly overcome. He is not left to fall beyond recovery because the Lord upholds and sustains him with His hand. That upholding hand is almighty and compassionate. It is personal in Christ as the hand nailed to the cross, with infinite humanity that pities people.
It is not cold law and force, which have no pity and never hear the cry for help, but a warm hand to clasp and a heart full of love and tenderness to trust. Believers must look to Him for guidance and hold fast by keeping the hand in the hand of Jesus. Christ will hold their hand more firmly than they can possibly hold His, and that hand can hold them up so that their feet shall not slide.
This upholding belongs with the assurance that the Lord loves judgment and does not forsake His saints but preserves them forever. It belongs also with the promise that those who trust in God will be helped, delivered from the wicked, and saved because the Lord is their strength in trouble. Applied to the wanderer who needs help, fellowship with Christ through this sustaining hand enables him to overcome his lower nature. Upheld by this hand, God's people can go on without fear and without pitying self. And one whose feet have nearly slipped, when the Lord reaches out and saves him, can tell others of the Saviour's help and draw trembling souls to Christ.