"It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man."
Putting your trust in any man is risky, and the very last man in whom you should put confidence in spiritual matters is yourself!
We read: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." Prov. 3:5.
You ask, What is wrong with my understanding? It has served me well in many a difficulty; why should I not confide in it in the greatest of all difficulties—that of salvation?
Just because "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man." This is a contrast between the Lord and man, and what a contrast!
What is man? He is God's masterpiece. He was created in the image and likeness of God, and was placed in dominion over all the creatures of His hand. He possesses reason, talent, ability, skill and resource, all of which may be highly developed by education and use. He can accomplish great works. He can discover new constellations and galaxies by his telescope, and the infinitesimal particles of creation by his microscope. He has a brain of extraordinary genius and inventive power, but—his "breath is in his nostrils," and he is here today, gone tomorrow, "and the place thereof shall know it no more."
He is limited—greatly limited; his mind and understanding, after all, are limited. He cannot be certain of the events of the next day! It is neither wise nor safe to trust in man.
Moreover, as the result of sin, we read, "there is none that understandeth." How to be made righteous before the God against whom we all have sinned is beyond the natural wisdom of the wisest of men.
Listen to what one of the most learned men of his day wrote on this very point: "If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more;" but he added: "What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ."
For him it had to be either Christ or himself—either the Lord or man, and, when it came to a crisis, he flung away all confidence in himself. He rejected his own merits and stood on Christ alone!
Christ—the Accomplisher of all the work necessary—the Friend of the poor, helpless sinner —the Savior of the lost—the Shepherd who died for the flock—is the only Foundation and everlasting Rock.
In Christ we find the answer to the age-old question: "How shall man be just with God?" He is the answer!
"It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man." Psa. 118:8.
"On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand."