Trust is an interesting thing. Trust is the key ingredient to any relationship that a person has. Without trust, no relationship cannot survive in a healthy state. One can only fully receive the gift Jesus offers by trusting Him to be who He claims to be.
A little girl once went out with her dad on the Tennessee River in north Alabama. They were enjoying a day together fishing. After a little time passed, the girl gazed over the side of the boat and began to wonder. She asked her dad, “Are there sharks in this water?” The father knew there were no sharks in that river but was curious to see her response and said, “There sure are.” The little girl immediately made her way into her daddy’s lap and kept a watchful eye on the water.
We hear that story and chuckle, but it is a good picture of trust. Trust is something that is earned over time. Trust happens when a person completely rests in something or someone else. It does not come easy.
Today, I want to look at Psalm 146 and ask the question, “In Whom Do You Trust?” There are over 8 billion people on the planet today. You may not have a relationship with each of them, but you do have a relationship with some of them. Those relationships come in different shapes and sizes: family, friends, employers/employees, neighbors, celebrities, government leaders, etc.
As we look at Psalm 146, we will see that our ultimate trust can only rest in one place.
1 Hallelujah! My soul, praise the Lord. 2 I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing to my God as long as I live. 3 Do not trust in nobles, in a son of man, who cannot save. 4 When his breath leaves him, he returns to the ground; on that day his plans die. 5 Happy is the one whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, 6 the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them. He remains faithful forever, 7 executing justice for the exploited and giving food to the hungry. The Lord frees prisoners. 8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord raises up those who are oppressed. The Lord loves the righteous. 9 The Lord protects resident aliens and helps the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. 10 The Lord reigns forever; Zion, your God reigns for all generations. Hallelujah!
Psalm 146 CSB
This is a psalm/song that was used in worship among God’s people for many years. We do not know who wrote this psalm, though tradition has attributed it to the Old Testament prophets, Haggai and/or Zechariah. Though we aren’t sure who wrote it, its message is crystal clear: there is One who is worthy of our trust.
We are to praise the LORD forever
The Psalms were songs to be used by God’s people in worship. Like the songs we use in our worship services, they are not selected for our entertainment. They are meant to be teaching tools and ways to express our hearts to the LORD. In verses 1-2, the psalmist wastes no time directing their audience to the LORD.
The psalmist begins this song by declaring that I am to praise the LORD with all that I am for all time. The psalmist says, “I will praise the LORD all my life.” We may hear that phrase and think it means all of our time here on earth. But anyone who has trusted in the LORD knows that this life here on earth is only the beginning.
Through every period of my life, Thy goodness I’ll pursue; and after death, in distant worlds, the glorious theme renew. Through all eternity to Thee a joyful song I’ll raise; But, oh! Eternity’s too short to utter all Thy praise.
Joseph Addison
Do not place your trust just anywhere
In verses 3-4, the psalmist shares that our trust is a precious treasure that should be guarded against imposters. While every relationship calls for trust on some level, the trust we are talking about is what you are hanging your entire life upon (life-trust).
The psalmist warns about not placing this type of trust in man. He uses the phrases “nobles” and “a son of man” to refer to human beings. The idea is, though there may be some among us that are in powerful positions and who do great things, they are just people.
In verse 4, the psalmist reminds us of the fragility of man. There will come a day when every man/woman will cease to breathe. They are creations that have to answer to God just like we do. In our culture, we see people putting a lot of faith/trust in certain people: celebrities, government leaders or parties, or even spiritual leaders. We also have seen many times when these people have fallen or proven unworthy of that kind of trust that it becomes the end of the world for those trusting in them.
Everyone is born with a sinful nature and capable of giving in to that nature. While there is nothing wrong with honoring people leading in different ways, we need to be careful not to turn them into our Savior. People make terrible gods. There is One God who has always been perfect and completely capable of handling the position.
The LORD alone is trustworthy
The psalmist moves from unworthy candidates to the only worthy candidate of the complete trust in our lives: the LORD. In verse 5, the psalmist shares that the person who trusts the LORD will be blessed and have hope.
Verses 6-9 serve as a concise resume for the LORD telling about why He alone is worthy of us trusting our lives to.
He is the Creator of all things (v 6a)
16 For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through him and for him.
Colossians 1:16 CSB
Why settle for creation when you can trust in the Creator Himself?
He is continuously faithful (v 6b)
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Hebrews 13:8 CSB
He is just (v 7a, 9)
- Psalm 146:7a = justice for the exploited
- Psalm 146:9 = protection for resident aliens and help for orphans and widows.
The LORD is One who is always just and deeply concerned about bringing justice for those mistreated or taken advantage of.
26 God presented him to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so that he would be just and justify the one who has faith in Jesus.
Romans 3:26 CSB
He provides needs (v 7b)
19 And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19 CSB
He delivers (v 7c – 8b)
1 The Spirit of the Lord God is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners;
Isaiah 61:1 CSB
He loves us (v 8c)
1 See what great love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children—and we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it didn’t know him.
1 John 3:1 CSB
It becomes easy to trust the One who loves you even when you are unlovable.
Give the LORD what is due Him
The psalmist ends this song with another declaration of praise for the LORD. He reminds his audience that the LORD will reign forever and is available to every generation.
Many will seek our life-trust. They may tell us they have the answers to the problems of our lives, and we need to follow them. We need to remember that only One is worthy of our life-trust.
We may be tempted to look to others to be what only the LORD can be in our lives. That is not fair to them. They may not even be asking for that position. We do a great injustice to them when we ask them to play God in our lives.
There is One God revealed to us; we know Him as the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. It is to Him that we should hang the trust of our lives. He will direct us on how to honor and follow those He has appointed for times.
The greatest way we can praise the LORD is by giving Him His rightful spot in our lives — the One to whom we look and depend… the One in whom we trust.
If you were to closely examine your heart today, in whom would you say you’ve put your life-trust? Is it in the Lord Jesus or someone/something else? Make sure that your life-trust is placed on the solid rock of Jesus so that when storms come, it isn’t blown away.
0 comments:
Post a Comment