March 31, 2019

 The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.  The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore (Ps. 121:7, 8).
 
    George MacDonald, in his book Robert Falconer, wrote: "This is a sane, wholesome, practical, working faith: First, that it is a man's business to do the will of God; second, that God takes on Himself the special care of that man; and third, that therefore that man ought never to be afraid of anything."
 
    Not afraid of anything!  That is just what today's promise means.  The Lord preserves from all evil--not only from without but from within, because "he shall preserve thy soul," is the promise.  He shall preserve our going out.  God guides us when we come in contact with the world--our business, our work, our pleasures; and in our coming in--back home again.  God preserves the inner life, and how we do need His preservation there!  We need His preservation in our intimate contacts with others, and especially in our personal life with ourselves.  This promise isn't for Sabbaths or weekends, but for every day, "even for evermore."
 
    The Pilgrims on the Mayflower began their famous Compact with the words "In the name of God, amen."  Daniel Webster called this the first clause of the American Constitution.  These adventurers in faith knew that the preservation of a new civilization in the New World depended upon God.
 
                                Lead us, heavenly Father, lead us
                                        O'er the world's tempestuous sea;
                                Guard us, guide us, keep us, feed us,
                                        For we have no help but Thee.
                                                                            __James Edmeston
 
 
MEDITATION PRAYER:  "Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust" (Ps. 16:1).