Do Not Trust in People, But Trust in God.
[Psalm 146]
Have you ever been betrayed? Have you ever felt the sting of betrayal from someone you trusted deeply and loved? Have you ever thought about the possibility that you might betray God? Yesterday, during the early morning prayer service, we meditated on Jeremiah 11:15: "My beloved has done many abominations; the holy flesh has departed from him; what is he doing in my house? He is doing evil and rejoicing." The people of Judah had greatly sinned by worshiping idols and committing abominations. Despite their sinful actions, they tried to cover them up by offering sacrifices in God's house. To these people, God said: "What are you doing in my house?" As I meditated on God's words, I asked myself: “What am I doing in God’s house? What is my family doing? What is our spiritual family, the Victory Presbyterian Church, doing in God's house?" Am I like the people of Judah, praising God with my lips but having my heart far from Him, worshiping idols in spiritual adultery while bringing offerings to worship on Sundays? God's voice asks, "What are you doing in my house?"
In Jeremiah 11:9, God refers to the idolatry of Judah as "rebellion." When I reflected on this, I began to think, from God's perspective, that He must have felt betrayed by the people of Judah. When the Israelites turned their backs on God and sought idols, committing spiritual adultery, surely God must have felt a deep sense of betrayal. During this meditation, the thought arose: "Can we trust humans? Are humans trustworthy?" And furthermore, "Am I a trustworthy person?" I personally feel that I am not trustworthy, and I wonder if any of us can truly trust ourselves. What do you think?
Today, Psalm 146 is the first of the "Hallelujah Psalms" (146, 147, 148, 149, 150) (Park Yoon-seon). And so, the psalmist begins by saying: "Hallelujah! Praise the Lord, O my soul. I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being." (v. 1-2). The psalmist tells us to "Hallelujah," which means "Praise the Lord." He emphasizes that we should praise God together and as long as we live. Why? Why should we praise God all our lives? The reason is that, although people are not trustworthy, God is forever trustworthy (Park Yoon-seon).
In verse 3, the psalmist advises us: "Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save." In other words, he is urging us not to trust in people. Specifically, he is advising us not to trust in "princes" or "powerful people" who may appear influential to the eyes of men. Why should we not trust in other people? The reason is that people do not have the power to help us (v. 3). And so, the psalmist says about those who are powerless to help: "When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish" (v. 4). We are weak and when we die, we return to the dust, and all our plans will come to nothing. How then can we trust in such people? Dr. Park Yoon-seon said about trusting in humans: "Trusting in humans is an evil thought that blocks the way to trusting in God. Therefore, the psalmist first forbids the sin of trusting in humans, so that people may move toward the act of trusting in God."
Trusting in people who have no power to help us prevents us from truly trusting in God, our true Helper. Therefore, we must, like the psalmist advises, stop trusting in humans who are powerless to help. We must cease the practice of relying on people.
The psalmist gives us this advice: “Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God” (v. 5). Yes, those who put their hope in God are blessed. Those who make God their help are blessed. Therefore, we should not make people who lack the power to help us our source of assistance, but we should make God our help. Those who do so are truly blessed. So why does the psalmist encourage us to make God our help and put our hope in Him? What is the reason?
First, the reason is that God is the true and almighty Creator of heaven and earth.
Look at the first half of Psalm 146:6: "The Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them..." When a person relies on another creature, and when they rely on the Creator God, who should we rely on? We already know the answer. Although we know that we should rely on God, it is difficult to understand why we often rely on people rather than on God. We should rely on the Creator God. Why? The reason is that our Creator God is the true and almighty God who created the heavens and the earth. Only the Almighty God can help you and me in the day of trouble. The lives that come from dust and return to dust do not have the power to help us. Therefore, we must rely on the true and almighty Creator God.
Second, the reason we should make God our help is because God is truthful.
Look at the second half of Psalm 146:6: “… who keeps truth forever.” The people we often rely on are not always truthful. We human beings can be deceitful. We lie. But God is a truthful God. He is truthful, and He is eternally truthful in keeping the covenant He has made with His people. Even though we may be unfaithful in our relationship with God, God remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself. Therefore, we must rely on the truthful God.
Third, the reason we should make God our help is because He is compassionate.
Look at Psalm 146:8: “The Lord opens the eyes of the blind, the Lord raises those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous.” Because God loves us, we should make God our help. How does God love you and me? God shows us justice (v. 7). Our God is a righteous God. Therefore, when we are under oppression, He judges with justice and punishes the wicked (v. 9), thus saving us (v. 7). Therefore, we must rely on the just God. Also, our God provides for our daily needs. That is, the God of love provides what we need (v. 7). The loving God gives food to the hungry and supports the orphan and widow (v. 7, 9). In other words, our God is the one who supports the orphan and the widow. Therefore, we must rely on the God who supports and upholds us. Also, the loving God is the God who heals us (v. 8). The “blind” refers to those who are physically blind, but there are also those who are spiritually blind. Therefore, when the Bible says that God opens the eyes of the blind, it means that He heals not only our physical blindness but also the blindness of our souls. Therefore, we must rely on the God who heals us. The loving God is the one who lifts up the humble (v. 8). The “humble” refers to those who have fallen into lowliness (Park Yun-seon). That is, our God is the one who lifts up the lowly. The loving God raises those who have been brought low. Therefore, we must rely on the God who lifts us up when we are brought low. The loving God protects the stranger (v. 9). Even as we live like strangers in this world, our God protects you and me. Therefore, having received His protection, we must rely on God.
We should not rely on people who have no power to help us. If we keep trying to rely on people, in a certain sense, we need to be betrayed by them. This way, we will no longer rely on people. In today’s passage, the psalmist says to rely only on God. He tells us to put our hope only in God. That is the blessing. Why should we rely on God? The reason is that God is the true and Almighty Creator of heaven and earth. Also, the reason we should make God our help is that God is faithful. Our God is compassionate, so we must make God our help.
Relying on the God who is my help,
Pastor James Kim
[“I ask for Your help, O Lord, I beseech You, Lord Jesus…” (Hymn 349, Verse 1)]