Morning & Evening Devotional Reading–

 March 16– Evening

by C. H. Spurgeon, revised and edited by W. C. Neff

“[Lord,] keep back your servant also from willful sins.” 

—Psalm 19:13

This was the prayer of the “man after God’s own heart.” Did David, who had advanced in holiness, need to pray like this? If so, how much more should it be our prayer this evening! It is as if he said, “Keep me back, O Lord, or I will rush headlong over the precipice of sin.” Our evil nature, like an ill-tempered horse, is prone to run away. May the grace of God put a bridle upon it and control it so that it will not rush into mischief. What would even the best of us do if it were not for the checks which the Lord sets upon us in his providence and grace?

The psalmist’s prayer is directed against the worst form of sin: that which is done with deliberation and willfulness. Even the holiest among us need to be “kept back” from the vilest transgressions. It is a solemn thing to find the apostle Paul warning saints against the most loathsome sins. He says, “Put to death, therefore, your earthly self: sexual immorality, impurity, sinful passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” What! Do saints need warning against sins like these? Yes, they do. The cleanest robes, unless their purity is preserved by divine grace, will be defiled by the darkest spots.

Experienced Christian, do not boast in your experience. You will trip even now if you look away from him who is able to keep you from falling. You whose love is fervent, whose faith is constant, whose hopes are bright, do not say, “We are beyond sin,” but, rather, “[Lord,] don’t ever lead us into temptation.” There is enough tinder in the heart of the best of men to light a fire that will burn to the lowest regions of hell unless God quenches the sparks as they fall. Even righteous Lot, Abraham’s nephew, was found drunken and committing unclean actions. May infinite wisdom cure us of the madness of self-confidence. [M&E]