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📜 The Word

"It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.’’

— Psalm 118:8-9

🌎 The World Behind the Word

The history lesson can be thrown out today. This is the truth of all history. Distrust, conflict, judgement. It’s never not been a part of human discourse. What I feel is right for me may not be what you feel is right for you. Now what? Surely conflict at some level. It’s okay to say it.

The more extreme that divide is, the more likely the conflict— and humans have been at war in spirit, mind, and body since the beginning of time.

**Notice what the psalmist does not say…**

He does not say trusting humans is sinful
He does not say rulers are illegitimate
He does not say princes are evil

He says “BETTER.” This psalm is not about obedience or rebellion; it is about orientation.

❓ The Meaning

Refuge and trust.

Refuge means to take shelter. To seek safety. This is not intellectual assent— it’s a place you go to when things go wrong. Where is that? With like-minded friends fighting for what they say is right and wrong? Watching the news 24/7 hoping someone will get the justice they deserve? Or going within and recognizing who is really in charge and then feeling that true power of perfection and justice that is right here, present, with you at this very moment…

This verse mentions man and princes. From ordinary people to elevated, powerful people. That about covers everyone, doesn’t it?

Psalm 118 doesn’t say princes are wrong. It says, “princes are insufficient.”

Judgement says, “This authority is bad.”

Wisdom says, “This authority was never meant to carry this weight.”

This psalm is not asking who your favorite team is, who I should work for or run off to battle, whether to agree with one side or the other, or even who you voted for. It doesn’t care about any of that— and neither does God

It is asking who or what absorbs your fear when your control slips. I have a suggestion for you— let it be God.

Let’s remember what Paul said in Romans somewhere around chapter 12 or so. If you are curious, you’ll find mention of it here:

Romans Part III

Paul can submit to governing authorities, pray for rulers— even those about to execute him. He could live quietly under them because this psalm had already set the tone. If God is your refuge, then obedience is no longer fear-based (it’s pure Love), critique is no longer protecting your perceived morality. Most importantly, acceptance is not endorsement.

But be careful what labels you use to overcome your fear or anxiety about something you have little control over.

Even love, righteousness, perceived morality, and acceptance, can be a form of regulated judgement. You and only God can tell the difference for certain.

🌿 Covenant Contrast

Old Covenant Rebellion:
“This authority is wrong, so I must oppose or correct it.”

New Covenant Posture:
“This authority is limited, so I will not lean on it”

🤵 Pastoral Word

A personal diagnostic, no pressure, no suggestion here:

When leadership fails, where does my inner weight land?

If it lands on anger —> trust is misplaced

If it lands on despair —> refuge is lost

If it lands on steady resolve —> psalm 118 is alive and well within you.

Have you ever seen anyone that fully, and truly, embodied Psalm 118?

Jesus faces Pilate in Jerusalem. Standing before Pilate, Jesus chose not to speak out against the injustice and coercive powers that stood in the room. He didn’t surrender to human authority; he didn’t plead for his life. Pilate, mischievously demands Jesus acknowledge his power by toying with the idea of letting him live.

What did Jesus do?

He didn’t flatter Pilate, he didn’t condemn him, he didn’t argue his innocence, he didn’t surrender, and he didn’t complain. Of all the people in history, Jesus had a solid case to do so.

“You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above.”

— John 19:11

Read it again. It says clearly that God is in charge of the situation. Jesus is claiming victory for his Father.

And what did Matthew say about it?

“He gave him no answer, not even to a single charge.”

— Matthew 27:14

Silence is not fear, weakness, or passivity… and moral indignation, is not justice, compassion, or righteousness.

So Pilate “wins” and

Jesus is condemned
Order is preserved
Rome’s authority is publicly affirmed

But the cost is absolute.

…in condemning Jesus, Pilate inherits:

Moral responsibility without redemption
Historical infamy without appeal
A throne that will never again feel solid

The empire keeps its grip. But it loses its soul. This is victory that devours itself.

Don’t let that be your story. Ever.

🙏 Prayer

Faithful God,

When power threatens me

When authority takes from me

Give me peace in the knowledge

of your authorship

Amen.

🔥 Carry this With You Today

Human authority may be honored, but it must never be leaned on because refuge belongs to God alone.

🙏 Pray

May you leave this place unburdened by the need to be right
and anchored instead in the faithfulness of God.

May you trust neither fear nor power to tell you the truth,
but take refuge in the Lord who governs without anxiety
and reigns without force.

When authority disappoints,
may you resist the urge to judge,
and when outcomes trouble you,
may you resist the urge to control.

May you remember that no throne stands by accident,
and no season unfolds outside of God’s patience.

May your obedience be free of fear,
your silence free of resentment,
and your speech free of contempt.

Go now—not leaning on princes,
not weighed down by outrage,
but resting in the God who holds history steady
even when the ground feels unsteady beneath your feet.

And may the peace of God—
not earned, not explained, not negotiated—
guard your heart and your mind,
now and always.