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'''JESUS THE KEEPER'''

JESUS THE KEEPER

'The Lord is Thy keeper: ... The Lord shall keep thee from all evil; ... He shall keep thy soul.' -- Ps. 121:4,7 'I know Him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to guard that which I have committed unto Him against that day.' -- 2 Tim. 1:12 </p>

For young disciples of Christ who are still weak, there is no lesson that is more necessary than this, that the Lord has not only received them, but that He will also keep them. (Gen. 28:15; Deut. 7:9; 32:10; Ps. 27:8; 89:33,34; Rom. 12:2,9)

  • Ge 28:15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

  • De 7:9 Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;

  • De 32:10 He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.

  • Ps 27:8 When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.

  • Ps 89:33 Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.
  • Ps 89:34 My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.

  • Ro 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
  • Ro 12:9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

The lovely name, 'the Lord Thy keeper,' must for this end be carried in the heart, until the assurance of an Almighty keeping becomes as strong with us as it was with Paul, when he spake that glorious word: 'I know Him in whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to guard that which I have committed unto Him against that day.' Come and learn this lesson from him.

Learn from his to deposit your pledge with Jesus. Paul had surrendered himself, body and soul, to the Lord Jesus: that was His pledge which he had deposited with the Lord. You have also surrendered yourselves to the Lord, but perhaps not with the clear understanding that it is in order to be kept every day. Do this now daily. Deposit your soul with Jesus as a costly pledge that He will keep secure. Do this same thing with every part of your life.

Is there something that you cannot rightly hold -- your heart, because it is too worldly; (Ps. 31:6; Jer. 31:33)

  • Ps 31:6 I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the LORD.

  • Jer 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

your tongue, because it is too idle; (Ps. 51:17; 141:3)

  • Ps 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

  • Ps 141:3 Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.

your temper, because it is too passionate; (Ps. 119:165; Jer. 26:3,4; John 14:27; Phil. 4:6,7; 2 Thess. 3:16)

  • Ps 119:165 Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.

  • Jer 26:3 If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings.
  • Jer 26:4 And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you,

  • Joh 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

  • Phil 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
  • Phil 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

  • 2Th 3:16 Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all.

your calling to confess the Lord, because you are too weak? (Isa. 50:7; Jer. 1:9; Matt. 10:19,20; Luke 24:53)

  • Isa 50:7 For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.

  • Jer 1:9 Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.

  • Mt 10:19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.
  • Mt 10:20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.

  • Lu 24:53 And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.

Learn, then, to deposit it as a pledge for keeping with Jesus, in order that He may fulfil in you the promise of God about it. You often pray and strive too much in vain against a sin: it is because, although this is done with God's help, you would be the person who would overcome. No: entrust the matter wholly to Jesus: 'the battle is not yours, but God's. (Ex. 14:14; Deut. 3:22; 20:4; 2 Chron. 20:15)

  • Ex 14:14 The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

  • De 3:22 Ye shall not fear them: for the LORD your God he shall fight for you.

  • De 20:4 For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.

  • 2Ch 20:15 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.

Leave it in His hands: believe in Him to do it for you : 'This is the victory that hath overcome the world, even your faith.' (Matt. 9:23; 1 John 5:3,4) ( WStS Note: Emboldened emphasis is ours.)

  • Mt 9:23 And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise,

  • 1Jo 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
  • 1Jo 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

But you must first place it wholly out of your hands in His. Learn from Paul to set your confidence only on the power of Jesus. I am persuaded that He is able to keep my pledge. You have an almighty Jesus to keep you. Faith keeps itself occupied only with His omnipotence. (Gen. 17:1; 18:14; Jer. 32:17,27; Matt. 8:27; 28:18; Luke 1:37,49; 18:27; Rom. 4:21; Heb. 11:18)

  • Ge 17:1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.

  • Ge 18:14 Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.

  • Jer 32:17 Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:
  • Jer 32:27 Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?

  • Mt 8:27 But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!

  • Mt 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

  • Lu 1:37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.
  • Lu 1:49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.

  • Lu 18:27 And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

  • Ro 4:21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

  • Heb 11:18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called

Let your faith especially be strengthened in what God is able to do for you. (Rom. 4:21; 14:4; 2 Cor. 9:8; 2 Tim. 1:12)

  • Ro 4:21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

  • Ro 14:4 Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.

  • 2Co 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

  • 2Ti 1:12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

Expect with certainty from Him that He will do for you great and glorious things, entirely above your own strength. See in the Holy Scriptures how constantly the power of God was the ground of the trust of His people. Take these words and hide them in your heart. Let the power of Jesus fill your soul. Ask only: 'What is my Jesus able to do?' What you really trust Him with, He is able to keep. (John 13:1; 1 Cor. 1:8,9)

  • Joh 13:1 Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.

  • 1Co 1:8 Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
  • 1Co 1:9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.


And learn also from Paul where he obtained the assurance that this power would keep his pledge: it was in his knowledge of Jesus. 'I know Him whom I have believed:' therefore I am assured. (John 10:14,28; Gal. 2:20; 2 Tim. 4:18; 1 John 2:13,14)

  • Joh 10:14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
  • Joh 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

  • Ga 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

  • 2Ti 4:18 And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

  • 1Jo 2:13 I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
  • 1Jo 2:14 I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.

You can trust the power of Jesus, if you know that He is yours, if you hold converse with Him as your friend. Then you can say: 'I know whom I have believed: I know that he holds my very dear: I know and am assured that He is able to keep my pledge.' So runs the way to the full assurance of faith: Deposit your pledge with Jesus; give yourselves wholly, give everything, into His hands; think much on His might, and reckon upon Him; and live with Him so that you may always know who He is in whom you have believed.

Young disciples of Christ, pray, receive this word: 'The Lord is thy keeper.' For every weakness, every temptation, learn to deposit your soul with Him as a pledge. You can reckon upon it, you can shout joyfully over it: 'The Lord shall keep you from all evil. (Josh. 1:9; Ps. 23:4; Rom. 8:35,39)

  • Jos 1:9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

  • Ps 23:4 Yea, 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.

  • Ro 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
  • Ro 8:39 Nor 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.


Holy Jesus, I take Thee as my keeper. Let Thy name, 'The Lord thy keeper,' sound as a song in my heart the whole day. Teach me in every need to deposit my case as a pledge with Thee, and to be assured that Thou art able to keep it. Amen.

1. There was once a woman who for years long, and with much prayer, had striven against her temper, but could not obtain the victory. On a certain day she resolved not to come out of her room until by earnest prayer she had the power to overcome. She went out in the opinion that she should succeed. Scarcely had she been in the household, when something gave her offense and caused her to be angry. She was deeply ashamed, burst into tears, and hastened back to her room. A daughter, who understood the way of faith better than she, went to her and said, 'Mother, I have observed your conflict: may I tell you what I think the hindrance is?' 'Yes, my child,' 'Mother, you struggle against temper, and pray that the Lord may help you to overcome. This is wrong. The Lord must do it alone. You must give temper wholly into His hands: then He takes it wholly, and He keeps you.' The mother could not at first understand this, but later it was made plain to her. And she enjoyed the blessedness of the life in which Jesus keeps us, and we by faith have the victory. Do you understand this?

2. 'The Lord must help me to overcome sin:' the expression is altogether outside of the New Testament. The grace of God in the soul does not become a help to us. He will do everything: 'The Spirit has made me free from the law of sin.'

3. When you surrender anything to the Lord for keeping, take heed to two things: that you give it wholly into His hands; and that you have it there. Let Him have it wholly: He will carry out your case gloriously.

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