Trusting the King

Psalm 146. In Psalm 146, the Holy Scriptures read:

Praise the Lord! 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.

Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.

Blessed is he whose help is in the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord!

Psalm 146:1–10

This is the word of God. Would you pray with me and for me as we look to God’s word this morning? Father, we thank you for your love for us, for sending your Son to die for us, the one who is our anchor of hope. So, Lord, we ask that through your Spirit we would not divert our eyes and our focus off of Christ to the waves that surround us and the sea and the storm that is in this world that we’re in. And I ask, Lord, that we would keep our eyes fixed upon you. Help us not to trust in lesser men and princes that will fall short, that are not able to save. But help our confidence to be in Christ no matter what happens. And we’ll praise you for it in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Throughout human history, there have been numerous men who came promising to bring power to the people. Leaders who promised much, but in the end, they fell short. They did not deliver what they said they would.

Did you know that before Benito Mussolini became the dictator of fascist Italy, you know what his profession was? He was a journalist. It’s true. He began his career writing for a local newspaper where his writing was charged with rhetoric that pushed Italy into a revolution. And after the First World War, Mussolini started his own newspaper where his ideas hit a broader audience. In fact, Mussolini had a unique ability to write in a way that inspired the middle-class youth into action. However, once they were inspired into action and the revolution overturned Italy, Mussolini gained power and he would not let go of it. In fact, he became, as we know, a violent and deadly tyrannical leader. He did not deliver on what he said he would.

At first, Vladimir Lenin’s ideas seemed to benefit nearly everyone. They seemed so reasonable. Surely these things will work. He fought for the underdogs, for the working class, who had no power to help themselves. And so Lenin promised to fight for them by putting the power back into the hands of the people instead of the ruling class who had all of it. His goal and passion galvanized the public and he overwhelmingly won their support. However, Lenin was a proud and fiery man who placed himself, shockingly, right, at the top of this new government and wouldn’t let go of his power. In fact, he began a campaign which would eventually be called the Red Terror that eliminated anyone who opposed his regime.

Another man comes along promising much and fails to deliver. Fidel Castro, who actually just died in 2016, you know how long he reigned for? Nearly 50 years. Castro’s reign came after years of plotting, rioting, and unsuccessful coups. But when he and his guerrilla military forces finally overturned the existing government in 1959, you know what he did? He removed the Cubans’ civil liberties. He implemented mass imprisonments, exiles, and executions. Strange, it keeps happening.

From Hitler to Stalin, to even King David in the Bible, and there’s so many more people we could look at where this has happened. We find something that’s true, and it’s this: human leaders will always let us down. In some way, shape, or form, though they promise much and insist that this time it will be different, they let us down. They always fall short. But we keep on putting our trust in them. It’s like an abusive relationship. It makes no sense. We keep looking to them and hoping that this time it will be different. Maybe this politician won’t be a liar. Yeah, right. Maybe this pastor will make our church grow and fix all of our problems. Right. Maybe this relationship will fill that void in my life that I just can’t seem to fill. Deep down, you know that you are prone to think this way, right? I am.

And yet, in the midst of all these thoughts, in Psalm 146, we find a completely different thought, where the psalmist writes to us saying, “Do not put your trust in princes, in a son of man in whom there is no salvation.” Do you realize that even if your candidate or political party wins big this coming Tuesday, it’s not going to solve all your problems? They can’t fix all of the problems in your life. It’s shocking, but it shouldn’t be. They can’t. I know we like to blame them when they don’t, but the truth is there’s no possible way they could. For how could they? As verse 4 says, when their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish. We live in a culture that looks to princes to solve our problems. But the psalmist, who is likely King David here, knows all too well why that’s a really dumb thing to do. It’s a terrible idea.

Now, David was a great king in many ways, but was David a king that we should put our trust in? Not if your name is Uriah or Bathsheba. Absolutely not. You remember what happened? King David was sitting around. He wasn’t off at war like he should have been. He was at home, lounging around, saw Bathsheba bathing on the rooftop, had his guards go get her, bring her to his chambers, and afterwards, she got pregnant. Uriah, her husband, was off at war. So what did he do? Covered the whole thing up. Tried to. It didn’t work. And then what did he do? Tried to cover up more by sending Uriah’s, the group that Uriah was in, the military group that he’s in, to the front of the battle, had them all pull back, and Uriah was killed. That’s called murder to cover adultery. King David, a man after God’s own heart. So needless to say, David knows all too well exactly why you shouldn’t put your trust in princes.

But Pastor, we’re not voting on a prince this Tuesday. We’re voting on president and members of Congress. Right, but that’s actually exactly the kind of people that David is referring to here when he uses the word prince. The Hebrew word for prince here basically refers to anyone who has influence or power. And so David is saying, don’t look to them for your comfort. Don’t do it. Don’t look to them to solve your deepest problems. Don’t look to them for salvation, for they cannot even save themselves. And what a helpful reminder right now. You look around in our culture, and it’s painfully obvious where many people are looking for their hope and comfort: in their political candidate. And if you do that, you will not find salvation, and you will be disappointed and disillusioned.

In Psalm 146, we’re going to see four reasons this morning why we don’t want to trust in princes. Here’s what they are:

1. They can’t save us.
2. They’re not trustworthy.
3. Princes are not merciful.
4. They’re not praiseworthy.

1. They Can’t Save Us (v. 3)

Here’s the outline. Verse 3:

Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.

Psalm 146:3–4

Right now, we live in a culture where half of the population in our nation believes that one prince can save us, and the other half believes that the other one can. But what does the psalmist tell us? Neither can. They cannot save you.

And now, do you realize that there’s a lot of things that fit into this prince category? All right? There are. There’s a lot of good things, too. And think about this a little bit. Can your church become a prince to you? Yeah? Can your pastor become a prince to you that you put your trust in? Absolutely he can. And let me be the first to warn you, even if your pastor loves God and preaches God’s word faithfully to you, do not allow him to become a prince that you put your trust in. Because I can assure you, he’s not worth doing that for. He’s going to disappoint you. I know him well. Whether the prince in your life is your pastor, your deacons, your church’s music, your church’s programs, whatever, all right? They all fall short and they make for terrible objects to put our ultimate trust into.

Now, on the flip side, does this mean that we should just not have anything to do with princes whatsoever, like influential people, people we look up to, people that have special skill sets, whatever? We just have nothing to do with those. We should avoid all political princes, avoid all church princes, all relational princes? No. It simply means that we don’t put our ultimate trust in them. See the difference there? What do I mean by our ultimate trust? Basically, I mean this. In some way, what you’re doing when you put your ultimate trust in something, you’re looking to that person and seeing them, they’re taking Christ’s place in your life. And not only is that a bad idea, but that’s going to prevent you from benefiting from these lesser princes in your life at all. See, God has placed princes in our lives not for us to put our ultimate trust in, but to benefit from. See the difference there? But if we make them an idol, that’s putting our ultimate trust in them, and we shouldn’t do that, the psalmist says.

You want to know a solid indicator that you might be trusting in a prince? You can’t appreciate the lesser princes in your life. Maybe it’s that special group of friends that you’ve come to put your trust in, that really kind of grounds your identity, and so much so that you wouldn’t even consider developing friendships with anybody else because why would you? Those are lesser princes compared to the ones here that you’re good friends with that you’ve put your trust in. Maybe it’s your pastor. Now, if you’re like me at all, in the past, what I’ve done is I find a pastor I really like to listen to. This happened when I went in the cities. We really loved our church in the cities. And what I found myself doing, especially at first, was comparing all of the lesser princes who didn’t measure up to him and getting frustrated by them. You didn’t say it quite like he does. You don’t teach to the depth that he does. And so I ended up just getting frustrated by these lesser princes, who, yes, they were princes, but not to the degree of the ones I was putting my trust in. And so I couldn’t benefit from them. You know what I’m saying? We easily do that. And when you put all of your trust into a prince, it prevents you from benefiting from the other small princes that God has sovereignly placed into your life. But if Christ is our true and ultimate prince in whom we trust, we will be able to appreciate and benefit from the lesser princes that God has brought into our lives.

And this concept goes for any kind of prince that we might put our trust in. Whether we trust in our spouse to be our prince, our boss, children, president, pastor, you name it. When a human prince becomes the source of our confidence, our spiritual confidence, even, our strength or our contentment, that’s going to end in disappointment. Have you ever noticed people who bounce from so many churches all the time every time the pastor lets them down? Is it not possible that they are looking to that pastor as a prince? Now, I’m not saying you should never leave a church, but I’m saying that definitely is a possibility, is it not? We can easily do that. But we shouldn’t do that, the psalmist says, for they cannot save us. And how could they? These people put their pants on one leg at a time, just like the rest of us. They’re flesh and bones. And when their breath departs, as verse 4 says, what do they do? They turn to dust.

But as Christians, we know not to trust in them because we know of the one, there is one who died and who did not turn to dust. There is one prince in whom we should trust in, for he will never disappoint us. And when we place our trust in princes that aren’t Christ, do you know what we’re really doing? We’re forgetting the gospel. Ultimately, that’s what’s going on.

Is anyone else struggling right now with worry over what might happen this Tuesday if the bad guys win? On the flip side, is anybody else filled with great confidence and encouragement if the good guys win this coming Tuesday? I think if we’re honest, we have to admit we tend to think that way. I do. It’s a challenge not to. But as the psalmist says, do not put your trust in princes.

Now, I’m not at all suggesting here that Christians should just withdraw from the political and public arena. That actually wouldn’t be a good idea at all, I don’t think. But at the same time, we shouldn’t become so focused and obsessed on political and social reform that we forget about the gospel. As important as it may be in electing godly politicians that will defend the lives of the unborn, politicians who will defend the defenseless, politicians who will implement justice that does not see color. Hear me when I say, church, that God is neither Republican nor Democrat. He’s not. And when the cross of Jesus is wrapped in the flag of a political party, you know what happens to that cross? You don’t see it. It becomes hidden from view. Yes, vote for justice. Yes, vote for righteousness. But don’t forget for a moment that your vote is not the same thing as the gospel. It does not have the power of the gospel. The gospel is why we are here. And the gospel is why we must never weave into it the social or political flag of the party we follow. It’ll hide it. It will tarnish it. It will prevent it from being seen by a world that desperately needs it. The ballot box cannot save us. What can? Christ. That’s it. The cross is the centerpiece of our mission, of our life, and our salvation.

Now think with me for a moment. How do we avoid diminishing the gospel and not wrap it in the flag of our political party? Right? Because we’re not saying avoid all civil duties. We’re not suggesting that at all. I don’t think the Bible suggests that. We do that by not compromising the gospel message. We don’t shy away from it because our party doesn’t like those aspects of the gospel. We say, you know what? Sorry, party that we are naturally inclined towards. You’re wrong on this. I stand on the gospel. So we don’t compromise the message of the gospel. But secondly, and this is huge, by our unity as Christians in the gospel, that overcomes our political and ideological differences. You understand how important this is? Do all of us think alike on political and social economic issues? No. But what do we all think alike on? If you’re a Christian, the gospel. And that thinking alike on the gospel should overshadow every other little thing that we may differ on. That’s what matters. This other stuff, sure, it matters, but not to the degree that the gospel does. And so we need to remember that and not put our trust in princes, but keep our trust in the Prince of Peace. And only then can we go forth into our culture and engage in cultural and political battles in a way that does not take the light off the center of the gospel, which is the cross of Jesus.

As much as I would love to see our country implement just laws, we must remember that our gospel mission isn’t to save America, to save Americans. Right? We’re after Americans, not America. Self-preservation is not the church’s mission. It’s absolutely not. You cannot read the New Testament and think, oh, you know what these believers were about? Fixing Rome, making so they had a cushy, nice life. No, they were not. And so even though God’s people will be known for being pro-life, we must also be known for loving women who have had abortions. Even though we will be known in our culture and should be known for being pro-family, we must also be known for loving homosexuals, for those who struggle with gender dysphoria. These people are not our enemies, church. They are our mission and the people whom we are called to love and serve.

The Russian philosopher Alexander Solzhenitsyn, he once said this, and I love this quote: “The line separating good and evil passes not through state, nor between classes, nor between political parties, but right through every human heart and through all human hearts.” The rot is not out there. The rot is in here. It’s in our hearts. It’s in my heart. It’s in your heart. And without the gospel, there’s no prayer of a chance to clean that rot out. And when we forget that, we forget the gospel, and the natural result is that we become impatient with an unbelieving world that so desperately needs our patience.

1 Peter 3:15 tells us this:

But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.

1 Peter 3:15

Similarly, in Jude 22, it says, “And have mercy on those who doubt.” If you see people in your life who do not think politically like you or ideologically like you or even share your Christian worldview, and you see them as your enemy, are you going to be able to have mercy on them? Absolutely not. If your goal is to preserve America as a nation as opposed to seeing Americans convert to Christ, are you going to be able to see these people as objects of mercy that you must show your mercy to? You’re not.

Here’s another question for you. A hard question. If the best way for the gospel message to go forth and see souls saved from hell is a rapid assault on our freedoms in our country, are you prepared and willing to endure that for the sake of the gospel? I’m not suggesting we should be eager for suffering and pain or loss, but my question is this. Is your heart’s desire like that of Christ in the garden who said, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will be done, but yours”? If the gospel is our mission, that will be our attitude. If the gospel is our mission, we will embrace suffering and hardship if that’s what it takes to reach the lost.

2. Princes Are Not Trustworthy (vv. 5–6)

Why shouldn’t we trust in princes? Because they cannot save us, but secondly, because princes are not trustworthy.

Blessed is he whose help is in the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever.

Psalm 146:5–6

If you place your ultimate trust in me as your pastor, I guarantee I’m going to let you down. I’m not going to pastor you as I ought. Maybe I’ll take too long to call you and check in with you. Maybe I’ll forget to pray for you as I ought, or even sometimes, Lord willing, this doesn’t happen, preach what I ought. In fact, you might, once in a while, see me act sinfully, and I can tell you right now, you can take the word “might” out of that sentence. But the point is this: eventually, in one way or another, I’m going to let you down. I’m not a prince worth putting your trust in. So do not place your ultimate trust in me. And in fact, don’t trust in any prince, for they will let you down.

There’s so many different princes that we can place our trust in. And here’s one that you may be looking to: yourself. Maybe you are looking to yourself as a prince that you’re putting your ultimate trust in. Maybe it’s your good works. It’s your righteousness that you are building. Maybe it’s your theological knowledge or your faithfulness to church. I don’t know. There’s tons of options that you could be looking to within yourself to make yourself a prince that you’re putting your ultimate trust in. And if that’s you here this morning, hear the word of the psalmist and don’t put your trust in princes, even if that’s you. Especially if that’s you. Instead, be like the blessed one who, as the psalmist says in verse 5, looks to the Lord for help, not themselves. For blessed is the one whose hope is in the Lord, the God of Jacob.

Why is that person blessed? Is it because they are trustworthy or because God is? Clearly, it’s because God is. We fail God and we fail him a lot, just as Jacob did, right? But the God of Jacob keeps his promises no matter what. For he’s the God, as the psalmist tells us, who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them. What does that have to do with being trustworthy? Well, think about it. Do the seasons keep coming? Pretty regularly, right? We had a little early one this year with winter, but they keep coming. Why? Because the seasons come from a creator God who is faithful and cares for all that he has made, as verse 6 indicates.

You know, verse 6 is kind of echoing what Jesus says in Matthew 10:29–31. Let me read these for us.

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Matthew 10:29–31

For those who trust in the God of Jacob, you have much to have confident hope in because God is a faithful God who knows how many hairs are on your head. A sparrow does not fall to the ground without him knowing it. That’s how faithful he is to his creation, and so therefore, will he not be that much more faithful to you, who are more precious than the sparrows?

3. Princes Are Not Merciful (vv. 7–9)

Why shouldn’t we trust in princes? They can’t save us. They’re not trustworthy. But third, princes are not merciful.

The Lord executes justice for the oppressed. He gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

Psalm 146:7–9

What the psalmist writes here is nearly identical to what we find in Isaiah 61, which is also what Jesus is quoting from in Luke chapter 4. If you zoned out, zone in for this, because don’t miss this. This is really huge. This is really cool, actually, if you see it. I want to read Jesus’ words from Luke chapter 4, but I want you to try to see if you can notice the difference between Isaiah 61 and Luke chapter 4. Does that make sense? Basically, Isaiah is quoting Psalm 146, and Jesus is quoting Isaiah with a slight twist on it. Okay? Let’s look at it. This is Jesus in Luke chapter 4:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

Luke 4:18–19

Did you see what was left out? What’s the last line there on Isaiah? Both the psalmist and Isaiah include that line speaking of God’s justice and his vengeance, which will assuredly one day be poured out when Jesus comes back. But you see what Jesus does when he quotes it on his first coming? He straight up drops that part out of the quote. Why? Because unlike other princes, Jesus is the Prince of what? Peace, right? He is merciful, and he came to offer peace to a world that needed mercy. John 3:17 says this:

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

John 3:17

Don’t you see that we are the spiritually oppressed? We are the spiritually poor and hungry. We are the ones in spiritual captivity that were born blind into spiritual darkness. We are the ones who fully deserve the vengeance and wrath of God, as Isaiah rightly points out and the psalmist. We are the wicked who deserve ruin. But because God is merciful, he proclaims good news to the poor. He sets the captives free. He recovers the sight to the blind. He proclaims the year of the Lord’s favor upon all who will receive his mercy. And it is because of this we praise him and not other princes, for he alone is worthy of our praise.

4. Princes Are Not Praiseworthy (vv. 1–2, 10)

The fourth reason we don’t trust in princes is because princes are not praiseworthy.

Praise the Lord! 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.

The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord!

Psalm 146:1–2, 10

Though every human prince will die and return to dust, there is one man who tasted death, but did not overcome him. Why? Because he was the God-man. He was the prince of princes, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. The Lord God of Zion, who will assuredly one day reign forever and ever. The one prince who is worthy of all of our worship, all of our praise, and all of our admiration. The one whom we should put our trust in fully. And one day he will conquer all of the other lesser princes and rulers who will not turn and put their trust in him. And it is this coming king that we should confidently place our trust in. For when we do, we can be confident to know that we will never be put to shame.

Praise the Lord. 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, the psalmist says. I ask you this morning, is that your praise? Or is your praise right now for mere human princes who will fail you every time? These princes cannot save us, church. So don’t look to them. Don’t put your full trust in them. And so this Tuesday, as you cast your vote for a human prince, remember that it is only the Prince of Peace, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, who can save us and who alone is worthy of our trust and all of our praise.

Would you pray with me? Father, we are like dust. Our lives are a vapor that quickly appears and then vanishes away. But not you, O Lord, for you are eternal. You are everlasting. You are the God of the ages, the God before time. So, Lord, it is in you that we put our trust, our hope. Not in mere mortals whose plans will fail, but in you, God, the God-man, Jesus Christ, the one prince whose plans cannot fail, and in whom we can confidently place our trust and hope. We thank you for the salvation we find in Christ. We thank you that you are trustworthy to keep your promises. And we thank you for your mercy. We thank you for your grace that you freely give us through the precious blood of your Son. Help us, Lord, to extend this gospel of mercy towards others. Not see them as our enemies, but as our mission. Help us to remember that we’re out to save Americans, not America, and all nations, all individuals, as we bring the gospel to a world that so desperately needs it. May our lives bring you glory, honor, and praise. Soli Deo Gloria. We pray these things in Christ’s name. Amen.