Psalm 2:12b Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. (See also Psalm 34:8.)

Psalm 37:5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

Psalm 56:3 What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.

4 In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.

Psalm 62:8 Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.

10 Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them.

Psalm 118:8 It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

Proverbs 29:25 The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.

Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

4 Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.

Jeremiah 17:5 Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.

6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.

7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.

8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

I Timothy 6:17 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.

MEMORY VERSE: But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us.

—II Corinthians 1:9-10

CENTRAL THOUGHT: The result of our belief in God’s Word that saves and sanctifies us is that we trust, rely, and depend upon Christ and not upon our own understanding, our own righteousness, our own flesh, wealth, human strength, or deliverance from any other source.

WORD DEFINITIONS

Psalm 37:5 “Commit”: roll down; roll away; probably a metaphor picturing the way a camel kneels down and gives a big shrug, rolling its burden onto the ground.

Psalm 62:10 “Oppression”: extortion, or “the act or practice of wresting anything from a person by force, duress, menaces, authority, or by any undue exercise of power” (Webster’s). “Become not vain”: act upon a vain hope; deal foolishly. “Robbery”: things taken away by violence.

Psalm 118:8 “Trust”: seek refuge.

Isaiah 26:3 “Whose mind is stayed”: lean; lay; rest; support; prop. “And that is the trust of the Old Testament, the faith of the New—the simple act of reliance, going out of myself to find the basis of my being, forsaking myself to touch and rest upon the ground of my security, passing from my own weakness and laying my trembling hand into the strong hand of God, like some weak-handed youth on a coach-box who turns to a stronger beside him and says: ‘Take thou the reins, for I am feeble to direct or to restrain.’ Trust is reliance, and reliance is always blessedness” (MacLaren’s Expositions).

Isaiah 26:4 “Everlasting strength”: literally, the Rock of Ages.

Jeremiah 17:5 “Maketh flesh his arm”: his confidence, to lean upon and be protected by.

Jeremiah 17:6 “Heath”: a plant which has neither fruit nor seed, and is neither sown nor planted. Bare; destitute; naked desert plant.

Jeremiah 17:7 “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord”: “‘In the Word of the Lord,’ [Those] who have a spiritual knowledge of Him, and so trust in Him, who have seen the vanity and emptiness of all other objects of trust, there being no salvation in them, only in Him; who betake themselves to Him as their only refuge; lay hold, rest, and rely upon Him, as their Saviour; commit their all unto Him; trust Him with all their concerns, respecting life and salvation, and with their immortal souls; and expect all from Him, grace here, and glory hereafter: who trust in His person for their acceptance with God; in His righteousness for their justification; in His blood for the pardon of their sins; in His fulness for the supply of their wants; in his power for protection and preservation…” (Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible).

I Timothy 6:17 “Highminded”: arrogant; proud; a high, self-exalted outlook; acting from a sense of self-greatness.

II Corinthians 1:9 “The sentence of death”: literally, answer of death; judicial response; verdict; diagnosis. Paul felt that he must die, and all human help was vain.

LESSON BACKGROUND

Our verses today are from the writings of David, Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Paul concerning the essential element of trust in God. Not only believing in God’s Word is vital and necessary—and that not just a “head” belief, but rather a “heart” belief—but we also must take refuge or comfort in, and rely, depend, and lean on God for salvation and for all things.

Several verses have to do with trusting God instead of being afraid. Indeed, reliance upon God is the antidote to fear. Where once I was afraid to die, trusting in God for salvation and atonement of my sin brings peace and knowledge that I no longer stand in danger of the judgment of eternal death. Instead of fearing what people can do to me in this life, trusting in God, Who controls all things, shields me from what may harm me, or deems, in His ultimate wisdom, physical misfortune or harm as part of His plan for my spiritual good and His glory, causes me to have peace in all circumstances and dangers.

David was indeed “a step away” from death many times, first while tending sheep in the wilderness and contending with predators; and later as he was a fugitive from King Saul. It is thought that Isaiah was possibly put to death by Hezekiah’s son Manasseh; certainly prophets like him were constantly at risk merely by bringing God’s words to the people. Jeremiah faced ridicule, threats, imprisonment and exile because he faithfully warned his people of God’s impending judgments upon Israel. Paul was a set mark for all the enemies of the gospel—the zealous Pharisees and Jewish leaders and the pagan devotees and Roman emperors. He speaks of “perils of waters, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren.” He learned to not rely upon his own strength, but to trust God in everything.

—Sis. Angela Gellenbeck

DISCUSSION:

1. Your Choice: Those who trust in God are _________. Those who trust in man are ________.
2. Word Picture 1: The actions of what animal describe for us the meaning of the word commit?
3. Word Picture 2: A person who does not trust in the Lord is compared to what plant?
4.  All Other Ground: Name “other” things besides the Lord upon which people often place their trust.

COMMENTS AND APPLICATION

There are so many other scriptures describing the blessedness of trusting in God. We have listed just a few, but they are enough to convince us of this vital truth.

I could not emphasize enough how prone we are to lean upon our own strength; to depend upon other sources of help, to seek comfort and refuge in places other than God. Trusting in riches is mentioned several times in this group of scriptures. Jesus described the security of wealth as being deceptive. How is that? It is because accumulated wealth can seem so secure when in reality it is very insubstantial and fleeting. Without realizing it, we can develop an “air” of independence almost immediately when we feel that we have finally reached financial success. A child of God should instead manifest humility; an inner sense of total dependence upon God for life, temporal blessings, and personal holiness.

It has been said that preservation of life is one of the strongest drives in a man. The scriptures today reveal a depth of trust in God that surpasses that strong human instinct. What will it take to reach that depth, where my very efforts to hold on to life itself are surrendered into the will of God?

—Sis. Angela Gellenbeck

REFLECTIONS

It’s time to do a little study and find the scripture that is in the very center of the Bible. It is the scripture in our lesson, Psalms 118:8. “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.” If you count the chapters before Psalms 118, there are 594 chapters and there are 594 chapters after. If you add 594 + 594 you get 1188 or Psalms 118:8. What does this scripture tell us? “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.”

I believe our lesson is central to the success of every Christian life today. God wants to be front and center of our everyday life. He wants us to put all of our trust in Him. It is no coincidence that the center of the Bible tells us to put our trust in Him. If God is the center of our life in everything, we will be perfectly balanced. Perfect love will cast out the imbalance of fear. Fear tips the scale causing one to slide in a puddle of doubts. Trust keeps us out of the sinking mire of doubt and into the stable, trusting zone. Let us learn to look up and keep our trust in God.

—Bro. James Bell