But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped.
But as for me, my feet were almost gone is the testimony of David when he nearly lost his footing in faith as he watched the wicked prosper while those who loved God met with difficulties and he himself was failing. His near fall came through envy at that contrast and through inability to understand it, which tempted him to doubt whether God's ways are equal and even whether God exists. To slip in this sense is to mistake temporary worldly prosperity for the favor of heaven, taking the riches and worldly honor that for a time attend those who turn from a plain Thus saith the Lord to follow a way of their own choosing as a token of divine approval, when it is no sign that God's prospering hand is with them. Solomon illustrates this slipping, for while he conformed to the customs of the world and yielded to evil until spiritual discernment was well-nigh destroyed, abundance of gold and silver still poured in and he could not see the spiritual losses to the nation. The same danger remains for those who esteem their own wisdom above the Lord's, whose work will not abide, because real prosperity comes not by outward display but only by conformity to God's will and purpose.
The cause of the temptation was not that God left him, but that he himself separated his soul from God, for God would never separate the soul from Himself. Entering God's sanctuary helped him see the end of the wicked and regain trust in God. In general the verse pictures believers standing in slippery places and coming close to losing spiritual footing and falling away. Without a life firmly founded on Christ and a living faith in Him as a personal Savior, professed believers may give way when temptation and trials test them and cannot draw sinners away from the current of unbelief while remaining spiritually secure. One who feels secure in his own strength is in danger of beginning to slide, for temptations may affect him so gradually that, unless divine power keeps him, he will be corrupted by the spirit of the world and fail to carry out God's purpose.
The same near slipping into unbelief happened when Satan gained power over a man until sickness arrested his course, and it applies to those whose faith in the message was slipping because they had lost sight of the shortness of time and their present danger, whose faith and courage to resist temptation and sin were renewed by meeting together. The danger is real because Satan makes skillful efforts to make the feet slide, yet the slipping is near but not yet final, and while in danger the person is still under God's watchful eye. The verse warns that a person is in spiritual peril when not abiding in God, and teaches that the human agent must abide in Christ and choose Him so that Christ will live in him, must place the will on the side of God's will, and must put the soul into God's keeping. God is not to be reproached for anyone's backsliding, for warnings and instructions to guard the soul from peril are given fully and abundantly in the Word. No one will be kept who does not thus entrust the soul, but the soul that feels dependence and trusts in One who is able to keep it will not perish.
The verse gives the testimony of one who almost slipped in the battle against evil but was upheld by the Lord, meaning that strength and victory after victory come by unreserved surrender to God, while trying in human strength ends in defeat and exhaustion. Victory is sure when self is surrendered, because the Lord is present, His way of coming in trial is best to help the one He wishes to help, He keeps His promise without slackness, He gives His angels charge over His children, and the church will see His salvation. The loving Saviour reaches out His hand to rescue from that danger and places the feet securely on the Rock of Ages, and sharing this experience of rescue with those in trouble draws trembling souls to Christ, helps them stand firm, and leads them to pass the truth on to others. Safety comes only by fighting bravely to the end, standing equipped with the whole armor of righteousness, and remaining in earnest prayer at the feet of Jesus as the only safe position. The person must never for a moment suppose he is in no danger, but must consider himself God's property under God's supervision, with strength found in learning Christ's meekness and lowliness of heart.
But as for me, my feet were almost gone is the testimony of David when he nearly lost his footing in faith as he watched the wicked prosper while those who loved God met with difficulties and he himself was failing. His near fall came through envy at that contrast and through inability to understand it, which tempted him to doubt whether God's ways are equal and even whether God exists. To slip in this sense is to mistake temporary worldly prosperity for the favor of heaven, taking the riches and worldly honor that for a time attend those who turn from a plain Thus saith the Lord to follow a way of their own choosing as a token of divine approval, when it is no sign that God's prospering hand is with them. Solomon illustrates this slipping, for while he conformed to the customs of the world and yielded to evil until spiritual discernment was well-nigh destroyed, abundance of gold and silver still poured in and he could not see the spiritual losses to the nation. The same danger remains for those who esteem their own wisdom above the Lord's, whose work will not abide, because real prosperity comes not by outward display but only by conformity to God's will and purpose.
The cause of the temptation was not that God left him, but that he himself separated his soul from God, for God would never separate the soul from Himself. Entering God's sanctuary helped him see the end of the wicked and regain trust in God. In general the verse pictures believers standing in slippery places and coming close to losing spiritual footing and falling away. Without a life firmly founded on Christ and a living faith in Him as a personal Savior, professed believers may give way when temptation and trials test them and cannot draw sinners away from the current of unbelief while remaining spiritually secure. One who feels secure in his own strength is in danger of beginning to slide, for temptations may affect him so gradually that, unless divine power keeps him, he will be corrupted by the spirit of the world and fail to carry out God's purpose.
The same near slipping into unbelief happened when Satan gained power over a man until sickness arrested his course, and it applies to those whose faith in the message was slipping because they had lost sight of the shortness of time and their present danger, whose faith and courage to resist temptation and sin were renewed by meeting together. The danger is real because Satan makes skillful efforts to make the feet slide, yet the slipping is near but not yet final, and while in danger the person is still under God's watchful eye. The verse warns that a person is in spiritual peril when not abiding in God, and teaches that the human agent must abide in Christ and choose Him so that Christ will live in him, must place the will on the side of God's will, and must put the soul into God's keeping. God is not to be reproached for anyone's backsliding, for warnings and instructions to guard the soul from peril are given fully and abundantly in the Word. No one will be kept who does not thus entrust the soul, but the soul that feels dependence and trusts in One who is able to keep it will not perish.
The verse gives the testimony of one who almost slipped in the battle against evil but was upheld by the Lord, meaning that strength and victory after victory come by unreserved surrender to God, while trying in human strength ends in defeat and exhaustion. Victory is sure when self is surrendered, because the Lord is present, His way of coming in trial is best to help the one He wishes to help, He keeps His promise without slackness, He gives His angels charge over His children, and the church will see His salvation. The loving Saviour reaches out His hand to rescue from that danger and places the feet securely on the Rock of Ages, and sharing this experience of rescue with those in trouble draws trembling souls to Christ, helps them stand firm, and leads them to pass the truth on to others. Safety comes only by fighting bravely to the end, standing equipped with the whole armor of righteousness, and remaining in earnest prayer at the feet of Jesus as the only safe position. The person must never for a moment suppose he is in no danger, but must consider himself God's property under God's supervision, with strength found in learning Christ's meekness and lowliness of heart.