“Preserve Me, O God . . .”

“. . . for in You I put my trust.” Ps. 16:1.

This is what we cried out as we surrendered ourselves to God. This cry must also preserve us until the end. We must continue to be preserved, even after we have put off the old man, that which is conscious. Paul says: “For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord.” 1 Cor. 4:4. We must never become so self-assured that we think the Lord has nothing to judge in us.

We must not forget we were cleansed from our old sins, as Peter writes in 2 Pet. 1:9. If we do that, we cannot be preserved. Then we stop praying to be preserved! I must be preserved from everything that hinders my fellowship with God and with the saints. “O my soul, you have said to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord, my goodness is nothing apart from You.’ As for the saints who are on the earth, ‘They are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.’” Ps. 16:2-3. We must be preserved in this wholehearted relationship with God and the saints.

“Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” Heb. 12:14. That pursuit preserves us; we must be preserved from a bitter root, from immorality and worldliness, so that the good, pure spirit, happiness, and joy—indeed, the anointing—may be preserved. Then I will be preserved within the brotherhood, and I will be preserved from rebelling against God and His saints. “Looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright.” V. 15-16.

Many people begin well, but are not preserved as time passes by. It is a very great thing when a person is preserved in that first love throughout their entire life, in that need and acknowledgment where they take refuge in God and are preserved as a happy brother or sister within the brotherhood. It is only when a “good beginning” also results in a “good ending,” that I will be with Jesus when He comes to fetch His own. Then I will not have squandered the grace of God.