Thought from today’s Bible reading from Psalm 111-118.
“From my distress I called upon the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me in a large place. The Lord is for me; I will not fear; what can man do to me? The Lord is for me among those who help me; therefore I will look with satisfaction on those who hate me.
“It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes” (Psalm 118:5-9).
David faced many dangerous times in his life. During these times we can see that he put his trust in God and relied upon Him for help and strength. He called upon God, and the Lord protected him from those who threatened.
David mentions two things we must keep in their proper place when trouble comes: fear and trust.
- David said he would not fear man. Why not? The Lord was for him. As long as the Lord was on his side, no one could defeat him. It is as the apostle Paul wrote, “If God is for us, who is against us?” (Romans 8:31). Even if one has the power and determination to kill us, we do not need to fear him (Matthew 10:28). Death is not defeat for those who are faithful to the Lord.
- David said he would not trust in man, but would rather trust in the Lord. Man is fallible and unreliable. Even one with a certain amount of power within government (“princes“) is not worthy of our trust over the Lord. Nations and governments rise and fall. The Lord remains constant forever (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8).
We should learn from David’s example. Fear God, not man. Trust in the Lord, not in man.
Tomorrow’s reading: 1 Kings 1-2; Psalm 37, 71, 94
[I’m using the Chronological reading plan on the Bible Gateway website if you’d like to follow along, too.]
Daily Notes & Observations contains all 365 articles from this series and is available in paperback from Gospel Armory.
