April 4
Trust in God
Psalm 56:1–13
In God I trust; I shall not be afraid. Psalm 56:4
There are two parts to David’s confidence:
1. Confidence in God. The first is that he is confident in God. He trusts God. Not man! Not circumstances! Not his own cunning, as useful as that seemed to have been at Gath, the occasion for writing this psalm (see 1 Sam. 21:10–15)! He trusts God: “In God I trust.” It is because of this that he could ask, “What can flesh do to me?” and expect the answer, “Nothing.”
So let me ask, Do you trust God? If you are a Christian, you have trusted him in the matter of your salvation. That is the greatest thing. God has saved you from sin, hell, and the devil. If you are a Christian, you believe he has done that. But if he has done that, can you not also trust him in lesser things like loneliness or even those sometimes dangerous circumstances that cause fear and desperation?
2. Confidence in the Word of God. There is another aspect to David’s confidence in God—it is based upon the Word of God. What is this “word of God” to which David refers? Clearly it is the entire self-revelation of God in Scripture given up to that time—the Pentateuch (the first five books) and possibly Joshua and Judges. This is only a portion of our Bible, but it was enough to make God’s character and desires for his people known. David therefore praises God for his Word, recognizing it as one of the greatest of all God’s good gifts to men and women.
It may also be the case, however, that David is thinking specifically of the words of God that were brought to him by the prophet Samuel, assuring him that he would be king over Israel (see 1 Sam. 16:1–13). That must have seemed a long way off when David was in Gath or hiding in the cave of Adullam. But no matter! It was the word of God, and though the fulfillment of that word might be long delayed, it was nevertheless absolutely certain. Therefore, it was not only in God but also in the specific words of God that David trusted.
You and I do not have individualized revelations from God delivered to us today by God’s prophets. We have the Bible. But the Bible we have is more extensive than David’s. It contains all we need to know about spiritual things. Equally important, we have the Holy Spirit to give us understanding of what has been written as well as the ability to apply it to specific areas of our lives.
This excerpt was taken from Come to the Waters: Daily Bible Devotions for Spiritual Refreshment by James Montgomery Boice.
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