When he says, Preserve me, he
means his members, his mystical body, himself and all in him. But while we
rejoice in the fact that the Lord Jesus used this prayer for his members, we
must not forget that he employed it most surely for himself; he had so emptied
himself, and so truly taken upon him the form of a servant, that as man he
needed divine keeping just as we do, and often cried to the strong for
strength. If Jesus looked out of himself for protection, how much more must we,
his erring followers, do so! O God. The Hebrew word for God used here is
El, by which
name the Lord Jesus, when under a sense of great weakness, as for instance when
upon the cross, would address the Mighty God, the Omnipotent Helper of his
people. We, too, may turn to El, the
Omnipotent One, in all hours of peril, with the confidence that he who heard the
strong cryings and tears of our faithful High Priest is both able and willing
to bless us in him. For in thee do I put my trust. Or, “I have taken
shelter in thee.” As
chickens run beneath the hen, so do I come to thee. This is a potent argument
in pleading, and our Lord knew not only how to use it with God, but how to
yield to its power when wielded by others upon himself. “According to
thy faith be it done unto thee” is a great rule of heaven in dispensing favor, and
when we can sincerely declare that we exercise faith in the Mighty God with
regard to the mercy which we seek, we may rest assured that our plea will
prevail.
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