Preserve

"Preserve - To keep safe from harm or injury"

"Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You.

"Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for You."

"O love the Lord, all you His godly ones! The Lord preserves the faithful and fully recompenses the proud doer."

"You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance."

"The Lord loves justice and does not forsake His godly ones; they are preserved forever, but the descendants of the wicked will be cut off."

"Preserve my soul, for I am a godly man; O You my God, save your servant who trusts in You."

"Hate evil, you who love the Lord, who preserves the souls of His godly ones; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked."

"The Lord preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me."

"Guarding the paths of justice, and He preserves the way of His godly ones."

The power of observation:

Two basics principles found in these nine verses:

1.  God is actively saving His children from trouble and for eternity.

2. We can cry out to God for salvation, because it's what He does.

I found it interesting, the descriptors used of believers in these verses:

• godly - Christlike
• faithful - loyal, constant, steadfast
• simple - humble and unpretentious

And then the actions of the godly ones:

• take refuge - and action to claim shelter or safety
• wait - stay where one is or delay action until a particular time or until something else happens
• integrity - doing what is right when no one is looking
• uprightness - a strictly honorable or honest manner

And then, finally, God's actions:

• preserves - saves
• recompenses - repays
• surround - encompasses
• does not forsake - does not abandon
• cut off - to sever from
• save - preserve
• delivers - brings out from danger
• brings low - knocks down
• guarding  - protection

Conclusions:

1.  God is personally involved in my life.

2.  He's a busy God.

3.  He uses kind words to describe me (thank you, Jesus).

4.  He has high expectations for me, as seen in his descriptors.

5.  His salvation goes beyond hell fires, but daily is preserving me.

I think I may have to start using this word, preserve, in my prayers with the Lord...