Men craft golden crowns for our heads and grant ourselves titles, but we can only exercise the authority God gives. That is why it is better to trust God.
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Better to Trust
Psalm 118:1-14
- We find comfort and hope in the Psalms when times are hard
- God provides His wisdom through Psalms
- He gives us reminders of who He is and what He does
- Today’s Psalm is no different
- In it we are reminded of God’s goodness and mercy
- We have evidence if His reliability in distress
- We are encouraged to trust Him rather than men
- Because He can strengthen and save us
- It is always “Better to Trust” God
- Which is our theme from Psalm 118:1-14
- This passage, like some other Psalms, can be quite repetitive
- God chooses to emphasize particular ideas in the repetition
- But there are also a number of different ideas about God our walk with Him here
- There are plenty of details to examine
- Let’s begin by reading the entire passage…
Psalm 118:1-14
1 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever.
2 Let Israel now say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
3 Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
4 Let them now that fear the LORD say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
5 I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place.
6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?
7 The LORD taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me.
8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
9 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.
10 All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD will I destroy them.
11 They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
12 They compassed me about like bees; they are quenched as the fire of thorns: for in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
13 Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might fall: but the LORD helped me.
14 The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.
- There are some quite familiar phrases in this chapter
- Refrains we have heard before in the Psalms and other places
- Things that are certainly worth a closer look
- We’ll take a look at each of them today…
Psalm 118:1
1 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever.
- Thanksgiving is a big part of the Psalms
- We should thank God, in this case, because He is good
- And because His mercy endures forever – it never ends
- We’ll hear this phrase about His mercy again and again
- Mercy is avoiding a punishment we deserve
- God, for Christ’s sake, spares us the condemnation our sin earned
- This mercy never wears off
- It has no expiration date
- It is permanent
- This is made more specific and emphasized in the next three verses…
Psalm 118:2-4
2 Let Israel now say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
3 Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
4 Let them now that fear the LORD say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
- The people of God, Israel, should speak up
- His unending mercy is worth proclaiming
- The priestly family of Aaron should endorse this assertion
- That God’s mercy never ends
- Indeed everyone who has a reverence for God should say it
- We have eternal life because His promises are kept
- When He says our sins are forgiven
- This is an eternal covenant
- Condemnation will never come to those who trust His son
- Just after we are done praising the Lord about this
- We can come to Him with requests…
Psalm 118:5
5 I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place.
- When the Psalmist (likely David) was in distress, He called upon God
- God answered
- And God set him free
- The Lord’s people come to Him first when there is trouble
- Because we know He is a listening God
- Who intervenes in the affairs of man
- While David may be the author – it’s not known for sure
- And we can apply its words to ourselves
- We also see the Messiah in this Psalm
- That becomes clearer as the passage continues…
Psalm 118:6
6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?
- For any of God’s people
- Those who are obedient and following His will
- We can be confident
- He is for us, with us, and at our side
- It becomes clear that no man can injure us without His permission
- The most they can do is take our lives
- But for those who have experienced His infinite mercy, we have eternal life
- They can only send us to Him
- And if He does not allow that, they are hopeless in their oppression
- He rules over all
- Jesus , the Messiah, was not touched by anyone until His time came
- Though many sought to kill Him
- Though many planned and schemed to do Him harm
- He was totally safe
- God saw to it
- There is more…
Psalm 118:7
7 The LORD taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me.
- This verse is restated in a helpful way in the ESV…
“The LORD is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.”
- Surely we see the Messiah in this sentence
- While the enemies of God experienced a moment of victory at His crucifixion
- He would always have the ultimate victory
- Death could not hold Him
- The grave had no grip on Him at all
- He was victorious over it
- God is our help too
- He is in charge of all that happens to us
- And has power over those who would do us harm
- If He steps in, we will see our enemies defeated
- Man as no such power…
Psalm 118:8-9
8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
9 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.
- We have confidence in God because He is all-powerful
- And all-knowing
- And all-seeing
- The superintendent of all things
- Man can boast none of this
- We have no reason to trust man over God
- We should know – being but human flesh ourselves – how fallible we are
- While we men craft crowns of gold for ourselves
- And give ourselves great-swelling titles
- We can only have the authority Almighty God grants
- And princes are only princes by His permission
- Therefore He is the One to trust
- He is the One to honor
- Our confidence can only be in Him
- Particularly when we are surrounded…
Psalm 118:10-12
10 All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD will I destroy them.
11 They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
12 They compassed me about like bees; they are quenched as the fire of thorns: for in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
- Whether it is Israel’s neighbors the Philistines, Syrians, Ammonites, and Moabites
- Who surrounded David
- Or all the forces of evil on earth that set themselves against our Savior
- The Father is well able to overcome them
- Though they be like a swarm of so many bees surrounding us
- If He chooses, He can burn them quickly like a dry bush
- No army stands against His power
- In God’s plan men who surrounded Jesus were allowed to kill and bury Him
- But He has the final victory
- Every knee shall bow before Him
- And the wicked will be thrown into the lake of fire
- The oppression of Jesus and His saints won’t last…
Psalm 118:13
13 Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might fall: but the LORD helped me.
14 The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.
- While the enemy attacks and almost destroys David, God steps in to help
- The serpent that bruised Jesus’ heel will be crushed
- Deliverance comes to all who have faith in God – if not now – always later
- He has ultimate strength and He provides it for us
- Because of this (and so much more) we sing about Him
- Praise for Him overflows from people who experience it
- He is our final deliverance
- Our rescuer
- The One who saves us when things are at their worst
- Can we not say with confidence, it is better to trust the Lord?