Those Who Cannot Save

December 26

(Psalm 146:1-6 NIV) “Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul. {2} I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. {3} Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. {4} When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. {5} Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, {6} the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them-- the Lord, who remains faithful forever.”

(John 14:1-6 NIV)  ""Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God ; trust also in me. {2} In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. {3} And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. {4} You know the way to the place where I am going." {5} Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" {6} Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

“Joy to the world, the Lord has come. Let Earth receive her King.” On this day after Christmas, our Psalm writer vows to praise the Lord as long as he lives. Our God is faithful forever, so we should be faithful forever. Blessing comes from trusting in the God of Jacob and the Creator of all things. No other god can deliver and save. At the time this Psalm was written, there was another suitor vying for our allegiance. Psalm 146 warns against trusting in princes and those who cannot save. Government has always been God’s rival. The tendency to trust in presidents and senators for our care has infected just about every human heart today. But when faith in government replaces our trust in God, we have slipped into idolatry. Princes are flesh and blood. Their power ends at death. God is eternal. His power to provide and protect has no end. Trust in Jesus, not in those who cannot save. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day