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There was once a very good clergyman who was extremely fond of this text, and he often repeated it to himself. As he was very clever and wise, he feared lest he should become proud and so offend God. So he obtained a wine-glass without a foot, and round the rim had these words written, "Hold Thou me up, and I shall be safe." Then this singular glass was placed on his writing-table, where he could see it continually. Thus it was a kind of picture of himself, to remind him that without God he could do nothing good. The wine-glass, if held in its master's hand, would hold what was placed within it, and so become useful. But if ever it tried to stand on its own account, it would fall over, spill its contents, and perhaps be injured.

I. A LITTLE SLIP MAY CAUSE A GREAT FALL. An express train in the west of England suddenly stopped all at once because a tiny pin had slipped out of its place. Be careful of little temptations and small sins. All the falls recorded in the Holy Scriptures came from trifling acts. Eve only ate a fruit, but she was expelled from the Garden of Eden. Moses only spoke a few angry words, and yet for them he was shut out of Canaan. A blunder committed in a moment may cause a great deal of mischief, as men learned to their sorrow when the great warship "Victoria" went down. The brave admiral somehow forgot himself and gave a wrong order, but it caused the loss of a great ship, and also of a great many valuable lives. When we have overcome a sin or temptation, or performed a good action; when we are in company with those who are evil or thoughtless, and when we feel impatience or petulance rising up within us, we should utter this prayer, for we are then most assuredly in peril.

II. Then never let us forget that we have A GREAT GOD TO TRUST IN. Mr. Wesley once heard a woman lamenting because she had broken her china crucifix. "Now," she sobbed out, "now I have no one but the great God to trust in." "But what a blessing she had the great God to trust in," said Mr. Wesley. Now, if you will look at your Bible, you will see a little word at the head of this section. Above the 113th verse is the word Samech. That word means a prop or pillar, and teaches us that God is the upholder of His people: He supports and sustains them. "I found it sweet and comfortable to lean on God," said Brainerd; and many others have felt the same.

(N. Wiseman.)

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KJV: Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe: and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually.

WEB: Hold me up, and I will be safe, and will have respect for your statutes continually.