“I have set the LORD always before me: because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved” (Psalm 16:8).
Having repented of our sins and received Christ as our Savior we do not suddenly become perfect. We all fail far more times than we should, and there is always a reason for it. Sometimes it is because we run ahead of the Lord. Other times we lag behind the Lord, or turn back from the Lord, we backslide. The prevention of this foolishness is found in our text. When we set the Lord before us we avoid failure and defeat. Spurgeon wrote:
“This is the way to live. With God always before us, we shall have the noblest companionship, the holiest example, the sweetest consolation, and the mightiest influence. This must be a resolute act of the mind. “I have set,” and it must be maintained as a set and settled thing. Always to have an eye to the LORD’s eye and an ear for the LORD’s voice–this is the right state for the godly man. His God is near him, filling the horizon of his vision, leading the way of his life, and furnishing the theme of his meditation. What vanities we should avoid, what sins we should overcome, what virtues we should exhibit, what joys we should experience if we did indeed set the LORD always before us! Why not? This is the way to be safe. The LORD being ever in our minds, we come to feel safety and certainty because of His being so near. He is at our right hand to guide and aid us; and hence we are not moved by fear, nor force, nor fraud, nor fickleness. When God stands at a man’s right hand, that man is himself sure to stand. Come on, then, ye foemen of the truth! Rush against me like a furious tempest, if ye will. God upholds me. God abides with me. Whom shall I fear?”
