“But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well-nigh slipped. For I was envious of the foolish…” Psalm 73:2-3
One of the great truths of Scripture is that God is our Keeper. Perhaps the greatest example of His keeping is that of being hidden in Christ, in the Father’s hand, in union with Christ, and seated with Him in heavenly places. In Alexander Stewart’s great hymn, “Lord Jesus Christ, We Seek Thy Face,” he writes: “Shut in with Thee far, far above, The restless world that wars below. We seek to learn and prove Thy love, Thy wisdom and Thy grace to know.” Stewart captures the finality of God’s keeping IN CHRIST because of the perfect work of Christ on the Cross, but also, because He is the Sovereign Savior. Even David, in his well-known Psalm 23, wrote: “Yes, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me: Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.” (v.4) Christ is the Everlasting Keeper of the soul, but also, of our whole being. The Apostle Paul also would write of the keeping power of God in his second letter to Timothy: “For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him against that day.” ( 1:12) And lastly, as clear and certain as the freshness after a summer rain, Paul writes to the Romans: “No height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (8:39) Herein is the keeping power of God, His promise to do so, and His Almighty, Sovereign power to accomplish it.
In the book of Habakkuk, with the impending invasion by the Chaldeans on the horizon, Habakkuk realizes something of what this will mean in the suffering and death of so many, not only as a result of the carnage of war, but also, with regard to the inevitable suffering of famine which will follow. It is an overwhelming scenario, and certainty, for God, though He will be implored to remember mercy in wrath, has declared that the inevitable will come. So what is Habakkuk’s response? It is that of faith in God, and the entrusting to Him of all, to this Faithful and Sovereign Creator, who will have mercy upon the individual who will seek Him. Habakkuk writes: “Yet, I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” (3:18) Habakkuk has set his heart on things above, on Christ, who alone is his source of strength. Though the circumstances are anything but pleasant, and favorable, he has set himself to rejoice in the Lord, to joy in Him. It is then that he adds the following to his declaration of faith: “The Lord God is my strength, and He will make my feet like hind’s feet, and He will make me to walk upon mine high places.”(3:19) Habakkuk takes the Keeper of his soul, and the Provider of all needed strength, as the source of His stability, His keeping. He knows, and affirms, that this Sovereign God to whom he has committed all, will be his keeper, manifested by the security of his footing. God will make his feet to be sure, safe, and solidly resting upon the foundation of His faithfulness, His power to keep and protect. Habakkuk is certain that in the midst of the turmoil to come, as he has proved most certainly in the past, his God will enable him to walk securely upon his high places, “…above the wars that war below.”
In summation, the Psalmist declares very clearly: “The Lord is thy keeper.” (121:5) “The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: He shall preserve thy soul.” (v.7) He then concludes with a practical, specific application: “The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for ever-more.” (v.8)
Dear Father, Be our Sovereign Keeper Today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.