Charles Spurgeon Commentary Job 23:11

"My foot hath held fast to his steps; His way have I kept, and turned not aside." — Job 23:11 (ASV)

My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined.

Happy Job, to be able to say that, and to speak the truth; but there is a touch of self about it which we cannot quite commend.

Be holy; but do not claim to be holy. Be you steadfast before God, firm in your obedience to Him; but do not mention it; for your hope lies somewhere else.

Yet we cannot condemn Job for declaring that he had kept God's way. His friends were pleading against him, so he felt that he must defend himself.

My foot has held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined.

You cannot talk like that in the time of trouble if you have not led a sincere, and upright, and gracious life. Those battles into which men come in the Valley of Humiliation, are often brought about by their tripping when they are going down the hill. Our sins find us out eventually; but if God enables us to walk uprightly, then we feel very confident – not in our own uprightness, but in God's love and grace.

My foot has held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined.

It is a great thing to be able to say that, as Job truly could, for we have the witness of the Spirit of God that Job was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. It was not self-righteousness that made him speak as he did; he had the right to say it, and he did say it.