Psalm 84:12 says, “O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.”
The first U.S. coin to read, “IN GOD WE TRUST” is the 1864 two-cent piece (Wikipedia). The motto was not on paper currency until 1957. In 1955 Congress made it a law that it would appear on all currency.
A few years ago I tried an experiment of saying “in God we trust” whenever I spent cash—at Zips, McDonalds, the grocery store, etc. I usually got some response. If they said “what?” I would say, “That’s what it says on the money. I hope we still trust in God.” Hopefully I gave the cashier something to think about.
Our text does not demand that we trust in God, not even calling us to trust in Him. It does not ask us to consider or think about trusting in God. The fact of the business is the man who trusts in God will be happy, experiencing the many blessings of God. There are scores of Bible verses that tell of God’s desire to bless us. Numbers 6:22-27 states, “And the Lord spake unto Moses saying, Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.”
I heard of a dad a long time ago who stood his little boy on the table and told him to jump into his arms. When the boy jumped the dad did not catch him on purpose, telling him that it was a lesson to never trust anyone. He probably never trusted his dad again. Our trust can certainly be misplaced. I like the hymn “The Solid Rock” by Edward Mote and William B. Bradbury; Verse one: “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.” Refrain: “On Christ the solid Rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand.”
Many have trusted in God and known His blessing—Noah, Abraham, and King David to name
few. I want us to look for a minute at the sons of Reuben who went out to war against the Hagarites, also Jetur, Neophish, and Nodab (I Chronicles 5:18-20). As they went out to war they probably trusted in themselves. They were valiant men. They could handle a shield and a sword, shoot with a bow, and were skillful when it came to war. In all this, when they got into the battle they needed God’s help. God did help them, “And they were helped against them, and the Hagarites were delivered into their hand, and all that were with them: for they cried to God in the battle, and he was intreated of them; because they put their trust in him” (V. 20).
Psalm 84 begins with the Lord of hosts (armies), and ends with the Lord of hosts. God is still the Lord of hosts. Our nation is in the battle today. Our President has stated that we need God. Let us cry out, from our hearts, IN GOD WE TRUST!
🙌👏