week seven.

for this week, a piece from c.h. spurgeon. a word of praise and hope.

'glory be to Him, who is able to keep us from falling.'

we have many foes who try to push us down. the road is rough and we are weak, but in addition to this, enemies lurk in ambush, who rush out when we least expect them and labour to trip us up, or hurl us down the nearest precipice.

only an Almighty arm can preserve us from these unseen foes who are seeking to destroy us. such an arm is engaged for our defense. He is faithful that has promised, and He is able to keep us from falling, so that with a deep sense of our utter weakness, we may cherish a firm belief in our perfect safety and say, with joyful confidence,

against me earth and hell combine,

but on my side is power divine;

Jesus is all, and He is mine!

when i read this passage i was astounded by how fitting it was for esther chapter 6, which gives a beautiful example of His work as our great Defender. unbeknownst to mordecai, haman was truly 'lurking in ambush', only hours away from having him hanged, when the Lord reached out and delivered him from danger. the king did not ask for his record books to be read that very same night out of mere coincidence and he did not decide that mordecai should be specially honored (and thereby saved from any plot to hang him) on a whim. no, the Almighty arm was at work here. preserving His child from an unseen foe.

and let us not forget that this promise is for us as well. remember, 'such an arm is engaged for our defense'! the One who saved mordecai is at work for you today. what more do we need? what greater cause have we to praise His name? His power has not grown weak since the days of king xerxes and queen esther. praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation. He is able to keep us from falling.