Scripture: Psalm 11
I. When your world is threatened, you can choose flight.
A. At the end of verse 1 we see how King David was tempted. He is taunted by some wicked people who tell him, “Flee like a bird to your mountain.” Why was King David in such danger? Verse 2 says his enemies were mighty, and they were preparing to attack. These wicked men had put their arrows in their bows, and they were ready to shoot at David. David also felt threatened by what the wicked said to him in verse 3: “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” The foundations are the moral foundations of society. All was collapsing.
B. David opens his song in verse 1: “In the LORD I take refuge.” He would take refuge in God. God would be his shelter. God would protect him. David then was incredulous when the wicked suggested he fly away. How could he when the Lord was his protection? Taking refuge in Jesus means thinking about other people in a dark and scary world. Luke 9:23-24: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”
II. When your world is threatened, you can choose faith.
A. David, as a man after God’s own heart, chose faith. When he was threatened, David remembered God’s character. First, David focused on God’s sovereignty. God is King (vs. 4). What can these wicked people do to him when God the king is watching over him? David also focused on God’s love for the righteous to strengthen his faith. One way that we see God’s love for the righteous is found in verse 5: the LORD tests the righteous. He proves the faith of the righteous and purifies that faith.
B. 1 Peter 2:23-24: “When (Jesus) was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.” Jesus trusted God when he was threatened. He had faith in a God who judges justly. Finally, we can choose faith because of God’s justice. God will judge the wicked who threaten us (vs. 5). God is always on the side of the oppressed and the faithful, and God is always against the violent wicked who seek to further their own power and control.
Application:
Keep the faith in your great God when you are threatened. Don’t fly away.
Sources:
The book of Psalms
Commentaries by J.A. Motyer, Allen Ross, James Hamilton Jr., Gerald Wilson & Christopher Ash
Sermon Discussion Questions
- Do you see similarities between your world and the world described in Psalm 11:1-3? How so?
- Have you been tempted to run when you are threatened? What empowers you to stand firm?
- Which attribute of God is the best encouragement to you to keep the faith in a time of testing and threats?