How Blessed - Part 5 (Trusting God)

"How blessed is/are ... !" God intentionally blesses Israel, those in His presence, those free from sin, and those who live righteously. Fifth, God blesses those who trust Him. There is divine reward for those who look to the right place as their source of help.

"How blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, and has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood" (40:4, all verses from Psalms). This psalm rises from personal testimony of God's deliverance of David. David isn't just saying empty words. He knows and has been convinced of their truth, because he has seen it happen.

The blessed man is one who has made God his trust. This is a determined choice. A person decides what he will establish or set up as his source of trust, and he fixes himself on that source. The source of trust is viewed as an object of confidence, refuge, and security. This is no lightly taken step. It is deliberate and purposeful. Not nebulous, this is a clear determination to trust God, and it is made with the realization of what that trust means. With a sense of confidence and assurance, the trusting man knows that his chosen Source will take care of him.

The verse offers a contrast. The people who make God their trust are blessed, but there are people who make other choices - choices that are woefully inadequate. Instead of trusting in God, some people trust in the proud or in deceivers. The proud or defiant man thinks he has all the answers and may even reject the ideas of others; nevertheless, he does not know the answers and therefore is not a good source for trust. The untruthful man may seem reliable for a time, but he soon falls away and degrades into lies and deception. This man is not a good source for trust, as no confidence can be placed in what he says.

God is not like either of these two undependable groups of men; He is not puffed up with empty ideas of what might work, and He never deceives or misleads, even for the purpose of making people feel better. What God plans and advises is the right answer, and He always tells the truth. He is therefore an excellent source of trust, and trusting in Him leads to blessing.

"O LORD of hosts, how blessed is the man who trusts in You!" (84:12). Once again, we see that the man who trusts in God is blessed. God illumines his path and protects him. God gives him grace and glory. God showers him with the good things he needs. (See v. 11).

"How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God" (146:5). Although this verse could seem to refer to blessing for Israel, it is not limited to them. This is about those who trust in Israel's God - which some Jews did and some Jews didn't. Likewise, some Gentiles can trust in that God - the true God, the God who has orchestrated history, the God who has created and who sustains the world, the God who helps the helpless. These characteristics make him a universal God, available to all who trust Him.

In this verse, these blessed people have two characteristics. First, the true God is their help. That isn't so much about what they do as about what God does, but the point is that they are looking to God for their help - for the succor and aid they need in their hour of difficulty. Second, their hope is in God. This certainly clarifies that they are looking to God as their source of help. He is the one they depend on and expect answers from.

"Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!" (2:12). "Him" is referring back to the Son as the place of refuge. This verse (and passage) present a great contrast. Some people do not take refuge in God; instead, they puff themselves up as sufficient and powerful. Those people stand in jeopardy of God's anger, of perishing in the way, and of kindling His wrath.

On the contrary, those who take refuge in God escape those disasters. Taking refuge is the act of fleeing for protection. It is a deliberate action taken because one is aware of imminent danger. When the dangers and trials of life come, there are some people who run to God and who hope in Him as their help and strength. These people are blessed - all of them. No one who takes such a dependent position on God will be abandoned.

"O taste and see that the LORD is good; how blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!" (34:8). David wrote these words also from personal experience. The psalm recalls the time when he found himself in a tenuous situation before a foreign king, and God delivered him through the dubious scheme of a feigned display of madness. By this testimony, David reveals that his trust was not in his own harebrained scheme, but in God his refuge, who made the unlikely plan work. David rejoices in sharing what God has done for him and will do for others who also take refuge in God.

"How blessed is the man whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways to Zion!" (84:5). This is a man who draws his strength from God. Knowing he does not have strength in himself and that no other source is sufficient, he relies on the best source. This man also loves what God loves. This man whose heart is united with God and whose strength comes from God is blessed. Indeed, all who trust God are blessed!