We attribute Psalm 40 to King David. In it, he boasts about how God brought him out of a horrible pit and set his feet upon a rock. And then he says, “Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies” (Psalm 40:4, KJV).
It appears as if David was drawing a conclusion about his own experience. In other words, God delivered him because he trusted the Lord and had no dealings with the proud and liars.
We know we are blessed when we trust the Lord. He is faithful and trustworthy. He promised to never leave nor forsake us. He is more than able to supply every one of our needs. But in addition to trusting the Lord, the psalmist mentions two other essentials for us to be blessed. Let’s briefly look at these:
Avoid”the Proud.”
A proud person has a high opinion of himself or his accomplishments. He focuses more on himself than he does on God. His satisfaction comes from the works of his own hands. The proud talks and tries to influence others accordingly. We should avoid them because God resists the proud (James 4:6).
One New Year’s Eve night, I was preaching at a local Christian ministry. After service ended and after I had packed up my Bible and put on my coat, I noticed one person still sitting in the room. As I left, he asked to speak with me for a minute. Responding to my sermon, he said he does not trust God for everything. He said he tends to trust in himself. And his question to me was what’s wrong with that.
Based on his own words, he fits the definition of the proud that the psalmist was talking about. We can’t trust the Lord and trust ourselves. These two diametrically oppose each other.
Avoid Those Who “Turn Aside to Lies.”
Sometimes, it’s costly or painful to tell the truth. It may be tempting to avoid the consequences of owning up to the truth by turning aside to lies. But when you truly trust the Lord, you stay with the truth—no matter how painful or costly.
God is never at any time on board with lying. Whenever we follow those who resort to lying, we will find ourselves on our own. Lying is the antithesis of who God is. Jesus referred to the devil as the father of lies (John 8:44). If we stay with the truth, God will always cause us to prevail and be blessed in what we do.
Conclusion
In Psalm 40, King David was speaking from his own experience. The Bible refers to him as a man after God’s own heart. As such, he did not respect the proud or those who embraced lying. Neither will we if we want to be blessed. First and foremost, we must truth the Lord. But respecting the proud or those who turn aside to lies are mutually exclusive to trusting the Lord.
Copyright 2023 by Frank King. All rights reserved.