Intro:
1. Tozer, “No man has any right to offer advice who has not first heard from God.”
2. David certainly has a right to give us advice since he is writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The problem today is that most of the advice given originates from man instead of God.
3. My Advice Sir, get Godly Advice Sir!
Trans: Psa. 11:
As one noted, “There came a time when David became tired of his continual flight from Saul, not just because it was wearying, but because it was cutting him off from the public worship places of God's people (1 Sam 26:19). His spiritual life was weakened and he gave in to the temptation to leave his own country for the safety of enemy Philistia (1 Sam 27:1). This is the sort of temptation that David considers in Psalm 11, the temptation to go along with wrongdoing instead of resisting it.
If people act solely according to common sense, their suggestion in such a crisis will probably be to do what creates least hardship. After all (so the argument runs), if there is no law and order in the community, and if people in positions of power have set themselves to do evil, what can a righteous person gain by trying to resist (11:1-3)? David replies that such action really shows a lack of understanding of God's holiness and no respect for his authority. God sees and understands all. He will pour out his wrath on the wicked, but he will comfort the faithful with the security of his presence (4-7).”
I…FIRST, THE COWARDLY ADVICE. 11:1-3
A. The Recommendation. 1
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. In the LORD I put my trust; How can you say to my soul, "Flee as a bird to your mountain"? – birds flee to the forest when they are frightened. In Palestine forests were mountains.
The figure here is used to represent some kind of refuge or protection which is outside the realm of God's provision. It refers to283 human plans and expedients for the protection and welfare of the person. He expects us to fly to Himself for refuge, and this picture is seen in Jeremiah 48:28.
1. False Solution – flee!
nûd̠: A verb meaning to flee, to wander, to mourn. It has the sense of aimless motion or actions. It refers to a person moving about aimlessly without a home (Gen. 4:12, 14); to birds, persons, flora, inanimate objects moving or shaking (1 Ki. 14:15; Ps. 11:1; Isa. 24:20; Jer. 18:16). It has the meaning of to drive away, to cause to wander in a figurative sense (Ps. 36:11[12]). It takes on the sense of concern for people, sympathy, mourning for them (Job 2:11; 42:11; Ps. 69:20[21]); but also to show disdain by shaking one's head (Isa. 51:19; Jer. 48:27). It means to bemoan oneself, to grieve, in its reflexive usage (Jer. 31:18). It refers to making a person or a people wander about, homeless (2 Ki. 21:8).
Ps 55:6 — So I said, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.
Ps 55:7 — Indeed, I would wander far off, And remain in the wilderness. Selah
Pr 6:5 — Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, And like a bird from the hand of the fowler.
How many people seek to solve their problems by running away from them. Members running away from congregations; Spouses running away from their spouses to the divorce courts; Children running away from parents to the dead-end streets; People running away from their jobs to the unemployment line or early retirement; etc.
The problem with running away from our problems is we take our real problem with us – ourselves!
2. False Substitutions – our mountain.
Our mountain represents anything we are fleeing to outside of God. Some mountains are called workaholic mountains; some mountains are drug or alcohol; there are mountains of sensual pleasure, sports, the list is too long to name. It is a place where we seek to cope with life’s pressures.
“These verses contain an account of a temptation to distrust God, with which David was, upon some unmentioned occasion, greatly exercised. It may be, that in the days when he was in Saul's court, he was advised to flee at a time when this flight would have been charged against him as a breach of duty to the king, or a proof of personal cowardice. His case was like that of Nehemiah, when his enemies, under the garb of friendship, hoped to entrap him by advising him to escape for his life. Had he done so, they could then have found a ground of accusation. Nehemiah bravely replied, "Shall such a man as I flee?" and David, in a like spirit, refuses to retreat, exclaiming,
In the Lord put I my trust: how say you to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain? When Satan cannot overthrow us by presumption, how craftily will he seek to ruin us by distrust! He will employ our dearest friends to argue us out of our confidence, and he will use such plausible logic, that unless we once for all assert our immovable trust in Jehovah, he will make us like the timid bird which flies to the mountain whenever danger presents itself.”
B. The Reason for the fleeing.
Some outward pressure has invaded our space. Satan works undercover, secretly, and especially against the upright in heart. As the arrows fly we head for cover, forgetting we have a shield of faith for just such an onslaught. Notice the armor has no back parts! We are not to flee from the enemy but face the enemy face to face, as we stand our ground in Christ. Eph. 6:10-16
1. The needed Reasoning.
a. The Foundation.
If the foundations are destroyed – without a foundation any house, any society, and any person must soon crumble and fall.
Josh McDowell has done some surveying, and here is what he said:
"We included seven statements in our study of church youth about objective standards of truth and morality. Their responses indicate, for the most part, our children echo the world's view. For example..."—listen to this; it will break your heart—"For example, 57% of our young people cannot say that an objective standard of truth exists." That's church kids—57% of them. Fifty-seven percent of them! All right, 57% of our young people cannot even say, "An objective standard of truth exists." That's more than half of the church young people. And, 85% of our kids are liable to reason—quote: "Just because it is wrong for you, it doesn't mean it is wrong for me." And, over half—55%—agree that everything in life is negotiable. Their idea of distinction between right and wrong is fluid, something subject to change.
That is frightening, because the Bible says, in Psalm 11:3: "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?" (Psalm 11:3). If we don't have a foundation of objective truth, what are we going to do? We need to set a standard for our kids. We need to limit them. And, you need to teach them there is a fixed standard of right and wrong—not because Dad says so, not because Mom says so, but because God Almighty says so.
b. The Futility?
What can the righteous do? - This is why it is so important they we stay and fight. Our problem is we are preoccupied these days with politics. If we had spent half as much time praying and getting the gospel out as we have worrying about who is in the White House we might see the foundations restored.
“What can the righteous do? The answer to the question is, "Lay the foundations again!" Each new generation must see to it that the foundations of truth and justice are solid.
Samuel laid again the foundations of the covenant (1 Sam. 12), and Ezra laid again the foundations of the temple (Ezra 3). In spite of all his trials, David lived to make preparations for the building of the temple and the organization of the temple worship. During the checkered history of Judah, godly kings cleansed the land of idolatry and brought the people back to the true worship of the Lord. Christ's messages to the churches in Revelation 2-3 make it clear that local churches need constant examination to see if they're faithful to the Lord, and we need to pray for a constant reviving work of the Spirit.”
Whenever you think of a foundation, you think of something that is solid, strong and stable. If your foundation isn't right, your house will not be secure. If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? (Psalms 11:3)
Jesus said, therefore whosoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. (Matthew 7:24-25)
Jesus Christ is the foundation Stone of God's redemption. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 3:11) Everything rests upon Christ. He is the solid, strong and stable foundation of our salvation. A structure will not last unless it is built upon a solid foundation. Here we learn that the household of God is built upon a solid and sure foundation.
Paul said, According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another builds thereon. But let every man take heed how he builds thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 3:10-11) My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness.”
Spurgeon, "If the foundation be removed, what can the righteous do?" My brethren, there are certain spiritual foundations which God has laid in Zion which never can be removed. There are certain foundations against which the gates of hell cannot prevail, which time cannot shake, and which eternity will only confirm. If we venture to speak of these foundations being removed, it can only be in hypothetical terms, and with the word "if," for there must always be in our souls the conviction that the foundation of God stands sure.”
On the other hand he writes, “The foundations may be removed, not the spiritual foundations at all, but the temporal foundations. The foundations of civil government, the foundations of commerce, the foundations of one's estates, the foundations of trust between man and man, these may be removed…What then? What can the righteous do? Well, he can do as well as another man, and he can do a great deal better. Let me tell you what he can do. The first thing he can do, if the worst comes to the worst, is that he can bear it with a holy equanimity. He can say, "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." If the worst comes, he can still fold his arms and say, "It is written, 'I will never leave and never forsake thee;’ Do not say, "I have lost my all!" you cannot lose your all; your all is Christ, and Christ is not to be lost. Just accept the blow; kiss the rod; touch the hand that smites, and say, "Blessed be my Father, for it is the Lord."
If the foundations be removed what can the righteous do? Why, they can do one thing, they can do the right. They cannot guarantee results, but they can do the right. They cannot tell whether they shall fail in business or not, but they can be upright. They cannot tell whether the fall of this house or the crash of that bank may injure them, but they can tell that they will have clean hands…Once again. There is something more, which the righteous man can do, if the foundations are removed, and that is, he can trust in God that it will be well in the end.
But what if the ship flies before the wind! "It is all right." But there are rocks ahead! "It is all right." Why? "Because He who is at the helm knows all about it; He created both wind and wave, and He knows how to cope with the storm. I cannot see that it is right, but I know that it is, and I walk by faith, and not by sight."
Oh! Christian, this is what you can do. If the foundations be removed, you can bring faith into heavenly exercise, and you can sail against the wind…
Lastly, if the foundations be removed, the righteous can commune with Christ therein. We should never have such fellowship with Jesus as we do if we had not such troubles as we have. You cannot see the stars in the daytime, but they tell us that if you go down into a well you can. Sometimes God sinks wells of trouble and puts his servants into them, and then they see his starry promises.”
II. FINALLY, THE GODLY ADVICE. 4-7
A. Look to God’s Patience.
4 The LORD is in His holy temple, The LORD'S throne is in heaven; - this reveals God’s great patience! He is still on His throne allowing man a time to make choices. He could intervene at any moment and release His just wrath. But He waits patiently, silently working behind the scene.
Swindoll, “The Lord is not slow – He is patient. The Lord is not tardy – He is deliberately waiting. The Lord is not indifferent – He is merciful. He is holding back the events of the end to give as many people as possible an opportunity to believe in His Son. Just imagine, what if the Lord had ended all things just moments before you believed!”
God has never vacated His throne!
“The Bible clearly teaches God's providential control (1) over the universe at large, Ps. 103:19; Dan. 4:35; Eph. 1:11; (2) over the physical world, Job 31; Pss. 104:14; 135:6; Matt. 5:45; (3) over the brute creation, Ps. 104:21, 28; Matt. 6:26; 10:29; (4) over the affairs of nations, Job 12:23; Pss. 22:28; 66:7; Acts 17:26; (5) over man's birth and lot in life, 1 Sam. 16:1; Ps. 139:16; Isa. 45:5; Gal. 1:15-16; (6) over the outward successes and failures of men's lives, Ps. 75:6, 7; Luke 1:52; (7) over things seemingly accidental or insignificant, Prov. 16:33; Matt. 10:30; (8) in the protection of the righteous, Pss. 4:8; 5:12; 63:8; 121:3; Rom. 8:28; (9) in supplying the wants of God's people, Gen. 22:8, 14; Deut. 8:3; Phil. 4:19; (10) in giving answers to prayer, 1 Sam. 1:19; Isa. 20:5, 6; 2 Chron. 33:13; Ps. 65:2; Matt. 7:7; Luke 18:7, 8; and (11) in the exposure and punishment of the wicked, Pss. 7:12-13; 11:6.” (L. Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 4th ed.)
It is truly odd that we readily accept the truth of God’s sovereignty – that is until it actually invades our own life. Then we, in a non apparent way reject God’s throne. God’s final say too often ends where our say begins.
This is a very subtle thing, a thick deception that is rarely allowed to come to the conscious forefront. As has been said, “Because man is born a rebel, he is unaware that he is one.”
We have remained self-absorbed for so long that we think that’s the way life is supposed to be lived. We are more than willing to
give up a little time, space, effort, and to yield something but it stops short of giving up the self throne. Only by way of the new birth and the implantation of a new nature do we begin to see the real I AM without the protective shield of ignorance. Purity of heart is to will one thing – but it is equally true that the essence of sin is to will one thing.” That one thing is related to who we allowed to sit on the throne of our lives.
B. Look to His Omniscience.
His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men 5 The LORD tests the righteous – we have to undergo tests in life to develop and mature us (Ja.1/Rom.5).
Note: Even though God does not have a physical body, Although Jesus Christ now has a physical body as God-man, the Father and Holy Spirit do not, nor did the Son before he was conceived in Mary’s womb. (In the Old Testament “theophanies,” where God appeared in human form, these human bodies were only temporary appearances and did not belong to the person of God.) Scripture uses various parts of the human body to describe God’s activities in a metaphorical way. Scripture can speak of God’s face or countenance (Ex. 33:20, 23; Isa. 63:9; Ps. 16:11; Rev. 22:4), eyes (Ps. 11:4; Heb. 4:13), eyelids (Ps. 11:4), ears (Ps. 55:1; Isa. 59:1), nose (Deut. 33:10), mouth (Deut. 8:3), lips (Job 11:5), tongue (Isa. 30:27), neck (Jer. 18:17), arms (Ex. 15:16), hand (Num. 11:23), finger (Ex. 8:19), heart (Gen. 6:6), foot (Isa. 66:1), and so forth.
As Thomas Watson observed years ago, God's knowledge is primary, for he is the pattern and source of all knowledge from which others merely borrow; his knowledge is pure, for it is not contaminated by either the object or its sin; his knowledge is facile, for it is without any difficulty; it is infallible; it is instantaneous; it is entirely retentive. God is perfect in his knowledge. [Foundations of the Christian Faith]
C. Look forward to His Justice.
...But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates. 6 Upon the wicked He will rain coals; Fire and brimstone and a burning wind Shall be the portion of their cup – yes God is patient, but He is also just, and therefore judgment is coming.
McGee, “If you think God is just lovey-dovey, you had better read this and some of the other psalms again. God hates the wicked who hold on to their wickedness. I don't think God loves the devil. I think God hates him, and He hates those who have no intention of turning to Him.
Frankly, I do not like this distinction that I hear today that, “God loves the sinner, but He hates the sin." God has loved you so much that He gave His Son to die for you; but if you persist in your sin and continue in that sin, you are the enemy of God. And God is your enemy. God wants to save you, and He will save you if you turn to Him and forsake your iniquity. Until then, may I say, God is not a lovey-dovey, sentimental, old gentleman from Georgia.”
“The Lord Hates All Who Do Wrong? [See Psa. 5:5]
How can a God of love and mercy be categorized as one who hates? Yet this verse (as well as Psalm 11:5) clearly affirms that God does hate wrongdoers, the wicked and all who love violence. What makes such a strong contrast possible? Scriptural talk about God's hatred involves an idiom that does not suggest a desire of revenge. Why would God feel any need for getting even, when he is God? Our problem with any description of God's displeasure with sin, unrighteousness or wickedness is that we define all anger as Aristotle defined it: "the desire for retaliation."
With such a definition of anger goes the concept of anger and hatred of sin as a "brief madness" or "an uneasiness or discomposure of the mind, upon receipt of an injury, with the purpose of revenge." All such notions of hatred, anger and displeasure in the divine being are wide of the mark and fail to address the issues involved. Better is the definition of the third-century church father Lactantius: anger is "a motion of the soul rousing itself to curb sin."
The problem is that anger can be dangerously close to evil when it is left unchecked and without control. Who could charge God with any of these common human faults? Thus we often object upon being told that God is angry with our sin and that he absolutely hates wrongdoing, violence and sin. Our concept of anger and our experiences with it have all too frequently involved loss of control, impulsiveness and sometimes temporary derangement. No wonder no one wants to link those kinds of thoughts with God!
But God's anger toward sin is never explosive, unreasonable or unexplainable. It is never a force that controls him or a ruling passion; rather, it always remains an instrument of his will. His anger has not, therefore, shut off his compassion (Psalm 77:9).
Instead, God's anger marks the end of indifference. He cannot and will not remain 264neutral and impassive in the presence of injustice, violence or any other sin. While God delights in doing good to his creatures (Jeremiah 32:41) rather than expressing evil, He will unleash his anger and wrath against all sin. Yet Scripture pictures His anger as lasting only for a moment, in contrast to his love, which is much more enduring (Psalm 30:5). His love remains (Jeremiah 31:3; Hosea 2:19), while his anger passes quickly (Isaiah 26:20; Isaiah 54:7-8; Isaiah 57:16-19).
Passions are not in themselves evil. Kept under control, they are avenues of virtue. And our Lord is not without emotions just because He is God. In fact, divine anger (ira Dei) has been sharply debated in the history of the church as the question of divine passibility (that is, God's capacity to feel, suffer or become angry) versus his impassibility (imperviousness to emotion). Teachings issuing from Gnosticism (a philosophy that combined Greek and Eastern ideas with Christian teaching) forced the church to develop a doctrine of divine passibility—that God could indeed experience feelings, suffer, and be angry.
One Gnostic best known for his view that God never took offense, was never angry and remained entirely apathetic was Marcion. Marcion was expelled from the church and his doctrines were anathematized in a.d. 144. Tertullian, one of the church fathers, tried to answer Marcion on this point in his work Against Marcion, but he unfortunately concluded that God the Father was impassible while the Son was passible and irascible—that is, able to exercise anger.
Tertullian, at this point, was more Platonic than scriptural. In the last half of the third century Lactantius wrote De Ira Dei (The Anger of God), arguing that passions and emotions were not bad in and of themselves. What was evil was not being angry in the presence of sin!
Nonetheless, other church fathers, Thomas Aquinas and the Protestant Reformers all taught impassibility. Only in the last two centuries has impassibility been challenged again on biblical grounds.
God's hatred of evil is not some arbitrary force, striking where and when it wishes without any rhyme or reason. Instead, His anger against sin is measured and controlled by His love and His justice. Expressions of his outrage against the evil perpetrated on earth are actually signals that He continues to care deeply about us mortals and about our good.” [Hard Sayings of the Bible]
Fire and brimstone – not many preach this anymore!
Lake of Fire. The phrase occurs six times in Revelation and nowhere else in the NT or in Jewish literature. It is the place of eternal punishment for the wicked. The beast and false prophet are thrown alive into it before the millennial reign (19:20). After the final battle they are joined by Satan (20:10), and after the final judgment death and Hades are also cast in (20:14; cf. Isa. 25:8; 1 Cor. 15:26), as well as those whose names are not in the book of life (20:15). Revelation 21:8 lists many others who will be cast into the fiery lake: "the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars."
Although "lake of fire" does not occur elsewhere, "fire" was commonly associated with punishment and destruction, often in connection with the final judgment. It is especially common in Revelation.
Three of the six occurrences of "lake of fire" speak of fire and sulfur (19:20; 20:10; 21:8; the KJV translates "sulfur" as "brimstone"). This combination is common in the OT and NT (e.g., Gen. 19:24; Ps. 11:6; Ezek. 38:22; Luke 17:29; Rev. 9:17-18; 14:10). The imagery of a lake, fire, and sulfur within the context of punishment and destruction may have originated from the story in Genesis 19:24.
Revelation 20:14 and 21:8 equate the lake of fire with the second death (cf. Rev. 2:11; 20:6), a rabbinic term for the death of the wicked in the next world. After physical death (i.e., the first death) the soul resides temporarily in Hades and goes through the final judgment. The wicked are then condemned to the lake of fire (i.e., the second death) in eternal, conscious punishment (cf. Rev. 14:11; 20:10). There is no concept of annihilation in Revelation.
The conflict between Satan and humans that began in the Garden of Eden will most assuredly end with God's total victory. Satan and his followers have traded the new creation for the lake of fire. [Evangelical Dictionary of Theology]
D. Look to His Presence. 7
For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; His countenance beholds the upright – a better translation is “the upright beholds His countenance.”
7 For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; The upright will behold His face. Psalm 11:7 (NASB) [See ESV/NIV also]
What does God have planned for His own people? "The upright will behold His face" (v. 7, nasb; see 17:15 and 1 John 3:1-3.) To "see the face" means to have access to a person, such as "to see the king's face" (2 Sam. 14:24). For God to turn His face away is to reject us, but for Him to look upon us with delight means He is going to bless us (Num. 6:22-27). When Jesus returns, those who have rejected Him will be cast "away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power" (2 Thess. 1:8-10; Matt. 7:21-23), while His own children will be welcomed into His presence (Matt. 25:34). [Wiersbe]
The LORD is righteous – Righteousness
1. Meaning. Though related to holiness, righteousness is nevertheless a distinct attribute of God. Holiness relates to God’s separateness; righteousness, to His justice. Righteousness has to do with law, morality, and justice. In relation to Himself, God is righteous; i.e., there is no law, either within His own being or of His own making, that is violated by anything in His nature. In relation to His creatures He is also righteous; i.e., there is no action He takes that violates any code of morality or justice. Sometimes these two aspects of righteousness are called absolute (in relation to Himself) and relative (in relation to His Creation).
2. Scripture. God’s absolute righteousness is declared in Psalm 11:7, “For the Lord is righteous” (see also Dan. 9:7). David also declared His relative righteousness (Ps. 19:9; see also Acts 17:31). [Basic Theology]
The upright will behold His face – friend that is the essence of revival!
David Livingstone, “Send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me. Sever me from any tie but the tie that binds one…to Your heart.”
Trans: Godly Advice tells us to look to God’s Patience; Omniscience; Justice; and Presence.
Cowper wrote:
“Ye fearful saints fresh courage take,
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall fall
In blessings on your head.
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense
But trust Him for His grace
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.”
Con:
1. My Advice Sir, get Godly Advice Sir.
2. We have a choice – we can react, run, or retreat to God. The choice we make will have an impact on the very foundation of this Nation! Because only those who really run to God will maintain a prayer life and proclaim the gospel to the lost.
3. In 1820, Hiram Bingham and Asa Thurston became the first missionaries to be sent to by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. Through the years others followed and a spiritual and social change happened in Hawaii. From 1837 to 1840, nearly 20,000 Hawaiians accepted Jesus as their Savior. The missionaries were able to put the Hawaiian language into written form allowing them to read the Bible in their own language. By 1831, only 11 years after the missionaries' arrival, some 52000 pupils had been enrolled in schools. The missionaries introduced western medicine and undertook the Kingdom's first modern census. And the missionaries are credited to helping Hawaii become and remain an independent nation at a time when Hawaii was ripe for colonization.
A serious threat to Hawaii's independence came in 1843. British Lord Paulet forced Hawaiian King Kamehameha to cede the islands to Great Britain. But 5 months later, American Admiral Richard Thomas revoked the cession and granted Hawaii its independence again. King Kamehameha then uttered the words that have become the motto of Hawaii: "The life of the land is preserved in righteousness."
Johnny A Palmer Jr.
