Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help. His spirit departs; he returns to his earth; in that very day his plans perish. Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps truth forever. (Psalm 146:3-6)

Man Or God?

The integrity of man is, at best, limited. If a man tries to be honest, he will only succeed a portion of the time. There is a tendency to stretch the truth without full disclosure. He will make promises that sometimes cannot be kept. There may be circumstances beyond his control that limit his ability to fulfill the promises. He does the best he can, but the best will not always be possible. Man is a fallen creature. Even if a man can make promises that he can keep, the reality is that men die and all their plans perish. Death ends the hopes and promises of life. Trusting in human wisdom is a fragile promise.

God is always faithful. It is impossible for God to lie. All of the promises the Divine Creator makes come to pass (whether good or bad). His word is truth because there is no variation in what He promises. The word of God is everlasting and unchanging, reserved in Heaven. Everything God has said is true without exception. It is difficult to grasp the completeness of God’s perfected word, but from time beginning, He has never failed to keep His promises. By His word, the universe was created. God promised to destroy the world in the days of Noah, and He did. He also promised to save Noah and his family, and He did. Abraham was told he would have a son in his old age, and Isaac was born when the great patriarch turned one hundred years old.

In the Garden of Eden, the Lord God promised to send a Seed to save the world. Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of that promise. Everything Jesus said was true because He was the Word. The Jews tried to trap Jesus in His teachings and failed every time. As the New Testament church developed, so did the completed word of God. A final canon of truth emerged when God gave the world the Bible. Every truth in the word of God shows the power of God’s promises that will never fail. The Bible is the full revelation of God’s will for men to know how to save themselves from the wrath of God. Forgiveness of sins is the central theme through the blood of Jesus Christ. God said He would forgive. He does.

The comparison between trusting in man and in God can be seen only in the contrast between the frailty of human wisdom and the grandeur of divine revelation. Trusting in “princesses,” or “a son of man,” is useless, empty, vain, and without help. They die. His plans perish. The hopes and promises made expire. There is no value in human wisdom. Happy is the man who trusts in the word of God for his help because those promises never die. God is eternal and without end. He has given the world a complete message of hope through the written revelation. His truth lasts forever. Help comes from the Lord. Hope comes from the Lord. Trusting in the Lord is where man finds his happiness. His truth is forever.