The Application of The Words of God
The Practice Of Trust
15th Feb, 2026
Why does he not show himself?
Why does he hide himself?
Why does he not reveals himself in a way that satisfies me?
For millennia man has complained that God is not evident to them enough that they may trust him. For a shorter time, we Christians have lived our lives in a similar fashion.
The last question is more to the point for many, even for you and I far too ofter; “Why does he not reveal himself in a way that satisfies me?”.
Yet all of HEAVEN DECLARES HIM
Heaven Declares Him Trustworthy.
Psalm 19:1–6
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. 2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. 4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, 5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. 6 His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
All of creation speaks to the glory of God.
All that he made he made for a purpose and all works in accord with his purpose.
Man, man alone was given a will to choose to love him, to follow him, to trust him with the whole heart and to live in accord with that trust. But man rebelled from the first.
All of creation identifies their creator, the heavens declare him. He is testified to by the very firmament of heaven in which the stars reside, a “handiwork” that is beyond our comprehension. The beauty of creation, is astonishing even if we are beholding a POST FALL AND POST FLOOD WORLD.
There was a time when man desired to capture the wonder of the Lord in all forms of art, in Music, in Paintings, in statues; in all things creative, man moved to create as the creator, to replicate or at the very least to capture some element of the beauty of God and his “handiwork”.
The declaration of heaven was desired by man as he grew more and more to love his creator.
2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard
Just as the reformation began, when man had come to see that Christ was sent to save that which was lost, man began to fall in love with the Lord and rejoiced with heaven in all that was created.
He searched the stars “night unto night” and he gained in knowledge”, the heavens declared with a single language to all the world, for “there is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard”.
Francis Schaefer, in his classic work, Escape From Reason, testified to the culmination of everything from art to science during those years that coincided with the word of God being set free from the locked language of the latin and placed into the vernacular of the people, testifying to its PRACTICAL EFFECT ON MANKIND through tremendous prosperity in the western nations that embraced the gospel.
The perfection of Art was only improved upon by the rapid acceleration of science and knowledge, mathematics and law.
The establishment of just laws, from the Magna Carta of King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, in the early 13th century (1215) testified that not even the king was above the Law, and so the beginning of JUST Law through the Westminster System began to rule and to govern.
Respect for God’s Law set the people of the world FREE and prosperity increased.
WHY?
Because Heaven Declares Him Trustworthy., and the world began to hear its speech and believe it.
The Family was the very nucleus of Civilisation and the world knew it must be protected at all cost for civilisation to survive and thrive. Men were men and took their responsibilities seriously on the large part.
Churches thrived as more and more people had seen the practical value of the word of God and the Gospel.
The Declaration of Heaven began to be the declaration of the western world
4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.
Such prosperity would be short lived. Just as Satan whispered doubt into the ears of Adam, so he did into the hearts of people.
“Hath God Said” was where it so successfully began before the fall, so too would it be successful in the heart of man who desired a little grey among the black and white.
A little room to move is available if the words of the Lord were NOT PURE words, but PLIABLE WORDS!
“Hath God Said” is the perfect wedge therefore to un-lodge our trust, leading to despair.
Francis Shaeffer again demonstrated such a change in the timeline of history when he wrote of THE LINE OF DESPAIR in his book THE GOD WHO IS THERE.
Above THE LINE OF DESPAIR was hope and joy and prosperity, below it was the doubt in absolutes, rejection of truth, existentialism, nihilism and DESPAIR.
He was able to trace this through history and identified two timelines that affected the cultures of the world, first in Europe and then in the United States.
Above the Line in Europe was before 1890, above the line in the US was before 1935, coinciding with the world turning gradually toward a global conflict.
Everything after 1890 in Europe and 1935 in the US was UNDER THE LINE OF DESPAIR.
Francis Shaeffer identified the influence and its effect;
First in PHILOSOPHY where it entered into the Universities.
Then ART, where it began to influence also MUSIC, until it reached the GENERAL CULTURE and finally THEOLOGY.
Last of all was the final frontier, the formidable blockade of all evil and doubt traditionally, was the Family.
Psalm 19:1–6
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. 2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. 4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, 5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. 6 His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
In spite of all we see around us, as we have now sunk so low into the mire, under that LINE OF DESPAIR, the heavens still DECLARE THE GLORY OF GOD.
The practical effect of that TRUST is evident in a world that now suffers due to its doubt of him.
The truth of this applies PERSONALLY before it is seen CORPORATELY.
First the man, then the family, then society, then civilisation.
The only thing that has changed, is our willingness to IGNORE THE DECLARATION OF HEAVEN.
The Law Converts The Trusting.
Psalm 19:7
7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
From the time of Abraham, men of faith trusted that God is able to undertake the work of saving the soul, converting the heart, making wise the simple and restoring that which was lost.
God had given his word, the law came from his lips and all of creation works in accord to it.
The words of God testify to his character, just as your own words testify to yours. The promises you make, the agreements you undertake, a shake of the hand and the agreements are settled. Trust is formed between men when spoken contracts are honoured.
This stems from the character of God who honours his words above all, even above his own name.
Psalm 138:2
2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
Deuteronomy 6:4–9
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
In doing so, the children of Israel would declare the goodness of the Lord by their actions. They followed his words because they are able to convert the life of the sinner to a life blessed by him.
Trust was placed in action and they found him a firm foundation!
Deuteronomy 32:4
4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.
It is through the Law that we have understanding and knowledge, through the law of the Lord that we learn the way of life and how to live.
Psalm 119:105
NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Psalm 18:30
30 As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.
The life that trusts in his words is blessed and made wise. It has a PRACTICAL EFFECT but ONLY if you trust him!
Psalm 119:98
98 Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me.
Indeed,
7 The law of the LORD…. makes wise the simple. Psalm 19:7
Imagine life lived WHOLLY TRUSTING God at his word?
To whatever end?
Job 13:15
15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.
The Bible teaches that the words of the Lord are food for the soul, nourishment for the heart. They are ALIVE!
Job 23:12
12 Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.
Moreover, they convert the soul.
Psalm 19:7
7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: …
Romans 3:19–20
19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
Romans 1:16
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
The Word Comforts The Trusting
Psalm 19:8-10
8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. 9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Psalm 1:1–3
1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Psalm 119:14
14 I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.
Psalm 119:50
50 This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me.
Psalm 119:92
92 Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction.
Psalm 119:143
143 Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me: yet thy commandments are my delights.
1 Thessalonians 4:18
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
His Judgements Caution Our Trust.
Psalm 19:9–11
9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. 11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.
Psalm 119:9
9 BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.
Proverbs 6:23
23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
Proverbs 14:12
12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Isaiah 47:12–13
12 Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail. 13 Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee.
Romans 3:10–19
10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: 14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: 15 Their feet are swift to shed blood: 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways: 17 And the way of peace have they not known: 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.
19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
Mark 8:36
36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
Isaiah 53:6
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Romans 10:9–11
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
My Response Declares My Trust.
Psalm 19:12-14
12 Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. 13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. 14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.
In all that we do, we declare our trust by first rejecting our own counsel as nothing of any value, but seeking ONLY after the way of the Lord.
This is a PRACTICAL WORK, that DECLARES OUR TRUST.
Exodus 18:13–16
13 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening. 14 And when Moses’ father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even? 15 And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to enquire of God: 16 When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.
Hebrews 4:12–13
12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
John 6:63–68
63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
…. 67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? 68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.
Job 13:15
15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.
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