Put Not Your Trust in Princes

 

Psalm 146:1-10

 

December 18, 2022

 

Put Not Your Trust in Princes

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 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!

 

Put not your trust in man, nor government, nor anything but God.  This has been a tough year for me, it began going south on January 26, 2022, and I came home on April 18, I had missed almost three months of the year, and yet I was so blessed, by the prayers of so many.  I had friends who came to see me and family that was there for me.  But I miss my wife, I missed her being next to me at night, I missed my neighbors, and my ability to work in my garden and woodshop.  And I miss the instruction and teaching of God’s word, and the fellowship with other followers of Christ.

 

But I was blessed to have some very special doctors and nurses, and people who clean my room.  But most of all I had long nights when I had time to pray and be grateful for the many blessings.  I also found that I had a lot of growing to do and my dependence was not on man but on God.  Many a night I would cry out to the Lord, Father, I do not know what to do, please show me how to trust you more.

 

Most nights before our prayer time, Jan and I sing hymns to the Lord, and even now I’m having a tough time breathing, so I’m looking to the Lord to open my air passages and lower my high blood pressure.  In that, I know He is my refuge at all times, especially in times like these.  It is almost Christmas and our daughter and family will be in Colorado with the grandsons, but Jan and I  are so blessed to know they will be celebrating the blessing that our Lord has given them.  Both Nat and Byron are in new endeavors and looking forward to the new year, and so is John Mark, who graduated from College and is ready to be God’s man in the business world.  Zach has two more years of College and he doing great.

 

If it sounds like the little things, such as the messed-up world and not being as healthy as I was for 79 years, are getting us down, you are so wrong, we are so grateful to our Big God for His amazing love and mercy, and the blessing of family and friends.  When you understand that Salvation is found in Christ alone, you will not be looking to anyone else.

 

Do not waste time worrying about all the crooks in Washington D.C., for you have this assurance, the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.  If I told you I was happy about the lies this administration has told, and the evil that our Congress and Senate, the F.B.I., and the others in government are doing, I would be lying.  But in that I know God who loves all and shows mercy to all is going to bring the wicked to ruin, I can trust His timing and not let their actions mess with my head.  So shall we just give Praise to our God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ?  Have a Merry Christmas and look to Jesus.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice