“Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save…Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God.”
(Psalm 146:3, 5 NIV)
Do Not Put Your Trust in Princes
The Bible gives us life advice that flies in the face of everything we learned as kids—especially those of us who were once little girls.
It’s the opposite of what we read in fairytales. It’s the opposite of what we learn from movies. It’s the opposite of the way our hearts naturally lead us.
God warns us: “Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save” (Psalm 146:3 NIV).
What?! I can’t trust princes?!
Let’s think about what the Bible is really saying.
Why Not Trust in Princes?
What comes to mind when you think of a prince? Princes tend to be impressive, strong, well-educated, and powerful people who have bright futures ahead of them.
Now, the Bible doesn’t have anything against princes specifically. Or men! After all, we could all list some virtuous, trustworthy men and princes!
In this psalm, the Holy Spirit uses princes as an example of a powerful human to whom we often look for protection, salvation, and significance. A prince would naturally be a person to whom an entire nation might rely on for hope.
Here’s the point of this verse: don’t put your ultimate trust in people, no matter how trustworthy they seem.
The Bible says people “can’t save.” This means that at the end of the day, people can’t give us what we most need.
What do we most need? We need to be saved from God’s wrath against our sin. We need a change of heart so that we want to love and obey God rather than rebel against him. We need hope that stretches beyond this life. Yet us people can’t reconcile our souls to God. People can’t change our heart for us. People can’t provide lasting, soul-deep comfort and strength in our distress.
Where Do You Turn for Help and Hope?
So where do we turn to for help and hope instead? A few verses later in Psalm 146 we find the answer: “Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God” (Psalm 146:5 NIV).
In other words, happy are those whose full confidence is in the God of the Bible! Happy are those who find protection, salvation, and significance in him.
God does save. God has promised that he will save anyone who turns from their sin and trusts in Jesus. Jesus’ life, sacrificial death, and resurrection not only paid the penalty that was due for our sin, but it also restored our relationship with God (1 Peter 3:18).
God has promised to give everyone who trusts in Jesus a new heart, and his Holy Spirit, to be with us forever to strengthen and help us (Ezekiel 36:26). Jesus is the only Prince worthy of our complete trust—not just for our salvation, but for all our needs afterwards, big and small.
Is there a prince you’re trusting in? Who are you tempted to look to for your help, hope, or rescue instead of God? What would it look like for you to choose to hope in God today?