As members of the Church of God, we trust God because He is the great Creator and the source of all power. He is the greatest being in the universe and knows all that is going on in our lives and what we need. Human beings are fallible and make mistakes. God does not.
Is it compatible to say that a man can trust both in God and man? Let us start with Psalm 118:8 where we read: “It is better to trust in the LORD Than to put confidence in man.”
The explanations given by a number of Bible Commentaries on this verse are helpful. Let us look at a few of these:
Barnes Notes on the Bible states:
“It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man – This is stated apparently as the result of his own experience. He had found people weak and faithless; he had not so found God. Compare Psalm 40:4; Psalm 62:8-9. Literally, ‘Good is it to trust in Yahweh more than to confide in man.’ This is the Hebrew form of comparison, and is equivalent to what is stated in our version, ‘It is better’ etc. It is better,
“(1) because man is weak – but God is almighty;
“(2) because man is selfish – but God is benevolent;
“(3) because man is often faithless and deceitful – God [is] never;
“(4) because there are emergencies, as death, in which man cannot aid us, however faithful, kind, and friendly he may be – but there are no circumstances in this life, and none in death, where God cannot assist us; and
“(5) because the ability of man to help us pertains at best only to this present life – the power of God will be commensurate with eternity.”
The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary observes:
“Even the most powerful men are less to be trusted than God.”
Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible states:
“It is better to trust in the Lord…. This, with what follows in Psalm 118:9, is the conclusion from the above premises and experience; it is good to trust in the Lord; such enjoy peace, are in safety, shall not want any good thing, nor ever be ashamed and confounded: the Targum [explanation of “Targum” below] is:
“‘it is better to trust in the Word of the Lord;’ than to put confidence in man; it is not good to put confidence in man at all [but note the previous comments above and subsequent comments below]; it is trusting to a broken staff, to a mere shadow, which can yield no support or relief: it is best to trust in the Lord; he is able to help, as well as willing; he is faithful to his word, and unchangeable in his promises; whereas man, though he may have a will to help, oftentimes has it not in his power; and when it is in his power, and has promised it, he disappoints, being changeable or unfaithful. Wherefore trust not in man, but in the Lord; yea, cursed is the man that trusts in man; see Jeremiah 17:5.”
Regarding the Targum, Wikipedia states that “The Targum is a term for various Aramaic versions of the Hebrew Bible or parts of it, dating from the post-exilic period. They were used for oral translation and exposition in synagogues, and later became written texts with commentary and interpretation.”
King David knew from personal bitter experience what it was like to be let down by another human being when he wrote in Psalm 41:9: “Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against me.” In short, the Lord is a “refuge” who is totally dependable and reliable because He is perfect, whereas human beings called by God today must be striving to improve in everything they do and are not yet perfect; thus, they will make mistakes. The instruction doesn’t say to never trust other human beings, but rather, trusting God is better – and by a very large margin!
Matthew Poole’s Commentary states the following about Psalm 41:9: “‘Mine own familiar friend’; he means either Ahithophel, or some other perfidious counsellor or courtier, who was a type of Judas, to whom therefore it is applied, John 13:18, as David was a type of Christ in being thus betrayed. So these words were literally fulfilled in David, and yet the Holy [Spirit] which dictated them, looked further in them, even to Christ and Judas, in whom they received a further and fuller accomplishment.” Even King David had those who let him down with their wrong type of behaviour and didn’t behave like a trusted friend.
King David’s son and successor, Solomon, wrote in Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”
One commentator wrote: “It is precisely because we know that God will never fail us that we can trust others. Our ultimate security is in Him, so we are free to trust others and experience the joy it brings. Trusting others is almost inseparable from loving others.”
Let us review Micah 7:5: “Do not trust in a friend; Do not put your confidence in a companion; Guard the doors of your mouth From her who lies in your bosom.”
We read in Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible the following explanation (our emphasis underlined):
“‘Trust ye not in a friend’…. This is not said to lessen the value of friendship; or to discourage the cultivation of it with agreeable persons; or to dissuade from a confidence in a real friend; or in the least to weaken it, and damp the pleasure of true friendship, which is one of the great blessings of life; but to set forth the sad degeneracy of the then present age, that men, who pretended to be friends, were so universally false and faithless, that there was no dependence to be had on them.”
For many today, the same principle can easily apply.
Jeremiah 17:5 reads: “Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the LORD.”
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers states: “’
“‘Cursed be the man’… The words are vehement and abrupt, but they burst from the prophet’s lips as proclaiming the root evil that had eaten into the life of his people. Their trust in an arm of flesh had led them to Egyptian and Assyrian alliances, and these to departing from the Lord.”
This passage looks at the emphasis on man’s ability and influence rather than the strength we can have through trusting God. The emphasis was wrong and it also clearly shows the principle of “whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7).
There is much to learn from God’s Word about the way that we must conduct ourselves as those who have been called to “the Way” by the Father. We ourselves are less than perfect, and we will make many mistakes and errors of judgment throughout our lives, however well-intentioned we may be. We will let others down at times, maybe unknowingly in some circumstances, but as we have not yet achieved perfection, mistakes will be made and trust may figure amongst those problems that will arise in our lives.
It is something well worth remembering that trust goes two ways. We cannot expect that others will be perfect in this way because we ourselves are not perfect.
When we were called into the true Church of God, we learnt so many things that were previously a mystery to us. Did we discount all of this information initially because when we didn’t yet fully understand all that we were learning or did we trust God that what He said was totally trustworthy? For all those now reading and understanding these words, the answer is that we did trust God; otherwise, we wouldn’t still be an active member in His Church. Of course, it should be much easier to trust God because we see His mighty creation and know that He is supreme over all, but some may still have “reasons” why that might not apply to them.
Hebrews 11 is known as the “faith” chapter, and in verse 1 we read: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” This is where our trust in God is shown, and we read about the benefits of such belief in Isaiah 26:3: “You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.”
We know that we can trust God because He is perfect but man is not, but that doesn’t mean that we should not trust others as far as we are able and as far as they deserve such trust:
Christianity.com makes these excellent observations:
“If you are like me, there are a great many people you have come to trust in your life. Over the years, they have proven themselves trustworthy. People you can count on in a time of need. A great many others you have learned to never trust. They have let you down time and again — and again and again.
“The list of those who are trustworthy every time is quite likely far shorter than those who have proven unreliable and undependable.
“And it is not a restricted list: parents, siblings, friends, co-workers, bosses, teammates. Those people all make those who do prove trustworthy that much more of a treasure.
“A trusted friend is more precious than pure gold. Rarer too, perhaps. When we find that person, we tend to cling tightly.
“Trusting in people is not a bad thing — in fact, such a friend is to be appreciated and is truly valuable in a time of need.
“When that trusted friend also happens to be your spouse, it is a timeless treasure to be cherished. Such healthy, trusting relationships can and will bear much fruit in our lives.
“Friends who trust can talk to each other; lean on each other; bear one another’s burdens — and be counted on to keep each other’s secrets.
“But… if we are honest, we also know that friends — human beings — can, and will, let us down. Whether intentionally or unintentionally. We are all broken beings and all subject to mistakes. We know, too, the damage it can cause — both to the relationship, as well as our lives and the lives of others.”
In our Christian Way of Life, we are given the tools to do what we know is right, but it might not be that easy to ascertain and to act correctly when decisions have to be made.
For example, we read in Proverbs 26:4-5:
“Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Lest you also be like him. Answer a fool according to his folly, Lest he be wise in his own eyes.”
We don’t just sit back expecting that God Himself will sort these things out for us, but He will certainly give us the wisdom to make such right decisions. Likewise, He will also give us the guidance, if we request this from Him, in whether to trust other fallible human beings or not.
We must remember that when immorality defiled the Church in the early days of apostolic Christianity, the apostle Paul wrote, as recorded in 1 Corinthians 5:9-10:
“I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.” Even in the early Church, there were some considerable problems.
There is a saying that no man is an island, and this was originally written by John Donne and is about the connection between all of humankind and the need for each other.
litcharts.com observes:
“Donne essentially argues that people need each other and are better together than they are in isolation, because every individual is one piece of the greater whole that is humanity itself. The paragraph isn’t actually a poem but a famous excerpt from Donne’s Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions. Written in 1623 when Donne was in the grips of a serious illness, the Devotions examine what it means to be a human being and the relationship between humanity and God. An island is a piece of land surrounded on all sides by water; it’s entirely cut off from the mainland. In saying that nobody is an island, then, Donne is saying that nobody exists entirely cut off on all sides from the metaphorical mainland of humanity. In other words, nobody is completely isolated and alone.”
On the website biblestudytools.com, we read:
“Trusting people is not a bad idea, in fact, trusting people, certain people is wise and essential. The Bible makes clear from the Book of Genesis that God does not desire for any of us to be alone. God made Eve for Adam, and for each of us God desires companionship in some form.
“When we put trust in people, we can reap the fruits of a healthy relationship. A trusting couple experiences peace and calm in their relationship as a result. When questionable things occur, communication is had and all issues get resolved. Friends who trust will talk, share secrets, and bear one another’s burdens. Children who trust adults are more likely to share and seek support.
“However, people, unlike God, can damage trust, whether accidentally or intentionally. If we are accustomed to running to people every time we need help, and not God, we will find ourselves disappointed. Sometimes people don’t want to hear our problems, sometimes they are unavailable. There are times we put our trust in people only to receive bad advice, be lied to, or for someone to divulge our secrets. Not everyone engages in this, but trusting people can potentially have this result. That’s the risk we take when building a relationship.
“That is not the case with God. He is a trustworthy refuge, a permanent one, a person to run to and a place to reside. Humans cannot offer that for us and that is why we need to keep our focus on God. He is for us what people never can be, and for that, He will always remain trustworthy.”
There are many verses that talk about human relationships and the need for inter-acting with others. When we trust others, it can lead to healthy relationships and partnerships which is the state of having shared interests or efforts. But, most critical of all is our relationship with God which is of paramount importance and He is the One whom we can always trust.
God NEVER lets us down and unlike human beings, He doesn’t gossip. He always keeps His word, is totally reliable and is there for us at all times. On the other hand, human beings live in a world which is under the sway of Satan the devil (compare 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2) which can prove troublesome for true Christians unless we are anchored to the great God.
Trust, primarily and essentially in God, is vital to our spiritual well-being and trust within our human relationships is necessary for setting the very best example we can, particularly, but not exclusively, within the true Church of God. We should strive always to be trustworthy and not let others down, and take note of the apostle Paul’s admonition as we read in Ephesians 4:1-2: “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to have a walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love.”
We must always trust God in all things as He knows what is best for all of us, and we can ask Him to give us insight and wisdom about whom we can trust and, in the final analysis, trust God with the outcomes. And we ourselves must work on being trustworthy to others at all times.
Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)
