Psalm 11

 

 

Introduction – These are the songs of a psalm-singer, a man whose life, like ours, takes all kinds of twists and turns. But these are also the songs of another Psalm-Singer, One who knows that He and His Father see all things clearly. In our lives we shall always be pressed in with dangers at every turn, sometimes explicit, always just around the corner. The psalmist learns from the Psalmist that God is not threatened in any circumstance. In union with Him, we find our Refuge and strength. So, when was the last time you were greatly tempted to distrust God, His providence, or His ways?

 

 

 

The Circumstances (vv1-3) – The psalm-singer trusts in God in the midst of his circumstances, not because of his circumstances. The psalm-singer begins with faith (“In the Lord I put my trust”) and then examines his situation, not the other way around.

The Characters – We have the psalmist, a group of wicked ones who have wrought havoc on the very foundations of the society and now are poised to bring their evil very personally upon the psalmist, and a group of “reasonable” friends who give well-meaning advice to flee. In the world, both groups often have great public relations and are upheld as having the best counsel for society and culture, or for one’s personal protection or gain.

Faith’s Response to Fear’s Counsel – Flight is not always a sin. David fled on a number of occasions. Think of Paul’s escape from the Jews (Acts 9:25) or Peter’s from prison (Acts 12). But those same men often stood their ground in the face of threats of punishment and death. David himself had stood his ground against Goliath and all the counsel to flee (1 Sam 17). Jesus would later stand His ground against threats made by Herod (Luke 13:31-33). The issue was not flight, but panic. All “reasonable” interpretations of the threats led to a conclusion that the wicked had made their move and their victory was just around the corner. All interpretations, that is, except for those who remembered YHWH.

“In YHWH I put my refuge” – The psalm-singer is not denying the real danger. Rather, like someone safely in a strong shelter in the midst of a storm, his confidence is in the fact that he has found refuge in a place and in a Person, not simply in a series of propositions.

 

 

 

Heavenly Worship Here and Now (vv4-6) – The psalm-singer describes how one’s orientation is changed from listening to fear’s counsel to standing on the voice of faith. It does not come from looking deep within oneself. It comes from looking away to YHWH in His holy temple-palace. Sitting on His throne, a place of authority, rule, and control, God is not moved by the shaking fists.

The Lord’s Throne is in Heaven – This is always where God’s throne has been. This was understood as Israel approached the ark of the covenant in faith (Ex 40:34-35) and this is what is understood as we gather here in faith (Heb 12:18-24). In His service of worship, we come to this throne of grace and this sets the pattern, instructing us to approach Him in faith throughout the week and throughout our lives.

What Do We See? – The psalm-singer observes the Lord in His majesty, dominion, transcendence and holiness and sees that God beholds all that is occurring (v4). He is examining and judging all that the righteous and the wicked are doing (vv4-5), and He responds. Reject the notion that God loves all men equally. He hates the wicked and their violence; and we see that it is only by grace that we have been called out of that number. We pray that His kingdom would come and His will would be done and we think of Muslim terrorists receiving the judgment of YHWH; we should not forget a nation that murders a million babies a year (among other atrocities) either.

Judgment Now (v6) – While it is true that YHWH will delay His final judgment upon the wicked until that final Day (and it will be a terrible, holy judgment), and while it is true that we will experience persecutions and trials in the here and now (Heb 12 again, this time vv3-4), this verse is also reminding us that God is often pleased to bring forth many of His judgments now. We are to pray for them and when He answers, we are to see them by faith for what they are (1 Pet 3:12).

 

 

 

What God Loves and Who God Sees (v7) – God loves righteousness because He is righteous. But again, it is not just righteousness in the abstract, God loves the righteous. The psalm-singer changes from singing of what he sees to what God sees. Our temptation to be timid in the face of fear sometimes is because we doubt God’s knowledge, or His competence, or His loyalty. Ultimately, it is because we do not believe that God sees us. But what is the psalm-singer resting in? Why is he able to trust God and not react to reasonable-but-faithless counsel and fall into fear of the wicked? It is because, having come to see God on His throne he realizes that from His throne God sees and loves him.

What has God called you to, right now, that looks ridiculous in the eyes of counselors who would tell you to flee and preserve yourself? Join the psalm-singer.

 

 

 

 

 

Dave Hatcher – August 12, 2007