Introduction
Today, I would like to begin our summer series of sermons.
Due to summer schedules with people traveling and various interruptions, I thought it would be wise to do a series of messages that do not build from one week to the next.
So, over the summer months, I would like us to examine the Book of Psalms.
As you know, there are 150 psalms in the Book of Psalms.
They cover a wide range of topics. They were written by various authors, although 73 psalms bear David’s name.
The psalms are divided into various genres. Study Bibles and scholars have categorized the psalms into different genres.
I would like to use the categories suggested by Logos. They suggest seven genres as follows:
• Lament (59 psalms)
• Praise (41 psalms)
• Hymn (17 psalms)
• Wisdom (9 psalms)
• Thanksgiving (8 psalms)
• Trust (6 psalms)
For the next few weeks, we are going to examine the psalms that are in the Trust genre.
Today’s psalm is Psalm 11.
The psalm was addressed “To the Choirmaster” and it is one of the 73 psalms that was written by King David.
We are not entirely sure what prompted David to write this psalm. Whatever the occasion, it appears to have been written because of some crisis in David’s life. His friends advised him to run for his life. But David refused to listen to the advice of his friends but instead to trust in the Lord.
Scripture
Let’s read Psalm 11:1-7:
1 In the LORD I take refuge;
how can you say to my soul,
“Flee like a bird to your mountain,
2 for behold, the wicked bend the bow;
they have fitted their arrow to the string
to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart;
3 if the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do?”
4 The LORD is in his holy temple;
the LORD’s throne is in heaven;
his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.
5 The LORD tests the righteous,
but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.
6 Let him rain coals on the wicked;
fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.
7 For the LORD is righteous;
he loves righteous deeds;
the upright shall behold his face.
Lesson
Psalm 11:1-7 teaches us to trust in the Lord despite advice to the contrary.
Let’s use the following outline:
1. The Trust of a Believer (11:1a)
2. The Advice of the Fearful (11:1b-3)
3. The Reasons for a Believer’s Trust (11:4-7)
I. The Trust of a Believer (11:1a)
First, let’s look at the trust of a believer.
David began Psalm 11 with these words, “In the LORD I take refuge” (v. 1a)
David was affirming his faith in the Lord. He was placing his trust not in himself, in other humans, or in things, but in the Lord of glory.
David was facing an extremely severe crisis in his life and he affirmed his faith and confidence in the God of heaven and earth.
The Hebrew word for “refuge” (hsh) means “to find and go to a safe location and shelter.”
We are told where to take shelter on various occasions.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we were initially told to stay home.
If we were to be in a building with an active shooter, we are told to shelter in place. Lock the doors and barricade yourself in the room until you are given the “all clear” sign.
Sometimes during hurricanes, people go to certain locations, like schools, for shelter.
However, David says that his shelter, his refuge, is “in the Lord” himself. That is, David looked to the Lord to take care of him during the crisis in which he found himself.
Now, this is easier said than done.
When you find yourself in a crisis, to whom or to what do you turn?
Do you turn to alcohol? Drugs? Comfort food? TV?
Do you throw yourself into work?
Do you find yourself languishing and unable to do anything?
Or do you, like David, turn to the Lord? Can you say, with David, “In the Lord I take refuge”?
II. The Advice of the Fearful (11:1b-3)
Second, let’s notice the advice of the fearful.
David went on to say in verses 1b-3, “How can you say to my soul, ‘Flee like a bird to your mountain, for behold, the wicked bend the bow; they have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart; if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”
What was the occasion that caused David to say, “How can you say to my soul, ‘Flee like a bird to your mountain’ ”?
One suggestion is that after David killed Goliath, King Saul invited David to spend time in the palace.
However, the people of Israel celebrated David more than Saul as a gifted warrior. They sang, “Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands” (1 Samuel 18:7). Saul was very angry and jealous when he heard this.
Over the next several years, Saul either tried himself or had others try to kill David on multiple occasions.
It is possible that Jonathan was the one who told David to “flee like a bird to your mountain” when he became aware that his father Saul was once again in one of his murderous moods.
Have you ever found yourself dealing with a crisis in your life?
All kinds of crises come into our lives, such as health crises, financial crises, relationship crises, legal crises, career crises, and so on.
You may feel overwhelmed. You may feel crushed. You may feel a deep sense of loss, inadequacy, or danger.
As you deal with whatever crisis is in your life, you start getting advice.
But the advice that you receive does not turn you to the Lord.
No, the advice you receive turns you to your own resources, your own well-being, and your own abilities.
Suppose your marriage is not doing well. Someone comes to you and says it is time for you to take care of yourself. Leave your spouse so that you can find happiness somewhere else.
Or perhaps your career seems to be going nowhere. Someone comes to you and suggests you do something that will get your career moving again. But the advice is to do something unethical and improper.
Or perhaps your child comes to you and says that he wants to be a girl. Someone comes to you and suggests that your child will commit suicide if you don’t acknowledge your child’s gender preference.
Friends, all kinds of crises come our way.
And with every crisis that comes our way, we are likely to get advice.
The question that you and I must deal with as believers is whether we will trust in the Lord despite advice to the contrary.
But why should we trust in the Lord?
III. The Reasons for a Believer’s Trust (11:4-7)
In this psalm, we learn that there are several reasons for a believer to trust in the Lord.
Let me suggest five reasons for a believer to trust in the Lord.
A. A Believer Can Trust in the Lord Because He is on His Throne (11:4a)
First, a believer can trust in the Lord because he is on his throne.
David said in verse 4a, “The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD’s throne is in heaven.”
David was a remarkable man. From his early youth, he trusted in the Lord.
Do you remember when the Philistines came to battle the Israelites? David was not even old enough to be recruited into military service.
His older brothers were in the military while David was at home watching his father’s sheep.
One day, his father told David to take some provisions to his brothers at the battlefront and see how they were doing.
When David arrived at the battlefront, he soon learned that there was a sort of stand-off between the Philistines and the Israelites.
The Philistines had a giant man who was nine feet tall. His name was Goliath. He taunted the Israelites day by day to come and fight him. He said that there did not have to be thousands of lives lost. Only one life needed to be lost.
If the Israelites sent someone to fight Goliath and kill him, then the Philistines would surrender and serve the Israelites.
But if Goliath killed the Israelite, then the Israelites would serve the Philistines.
But every Israelite was terrified of Goliath.
When David arrived, he was appalled. He could not believe that the people of God would not send someone to fight against an enemy of God.
So, he volunteered himself.
At first, King Saul tried to fit David with armor but David found that it was too cumbersome for him.
So, he took only his sling, selected five smooth stones, and went to fight against Goliath.
Goliath was taken aback when young David came against him. He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” (1 Samuel 17:43).
Do you remember what David said in reply? David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied” (1 Samuel 17:45).
Then David killed Goliath.
David knew that he served the true and living God.
David trusted in the Lord because he knew that the Lord is on his throne.
David never lost a battle. David was never killed.
David had an unwavering trust in the sovereignty of God.
Friend, David lived 3,000 years ago. The same God that was on the throne when David fought against Goliath is still on his throne today.
Whatever crisis you face today, you can trust in the Lord because he is on his throne.
B. A Believer Can Trust in the Lord Because He Sees All that People Do (11:4b)
Second, a believer can trust in the Lord because he sees all that people do.
David went on to say in verse 4b, “His eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.”
Here David was affirming that God is omniscient. That is, God knows everything.
There is nothing that escapes the eye of God.
This is true not only of what God can see outwardly, it is also true of what God can see inwardly.
God sees what we do. But he also knows what we are thinking and feeling.
There is nothing that is beyond the omniscience of God.
That is why a well-known prayer in the Anglican Prayer Book begins with these words, “Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid” (The Episcopal Church, The Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church [New York: Church Publishing Incorporated, 2007], 323).
David often faced life-threatening danger. After all, in verse 2, he wrote, “For behold, the wicked bend the bow; they have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart.”
But even in the dark, the Lord sees all. Nothing is hidden from his sight.
We may not see what others may do to us.
But the Lord sees all that people do. Therefore, he can be trusted.
C. A Believer Can Trust in the Lord Because He Tests the Righteous (11:5a)
Third, a believer can trust in the Lord because he tests the righteous.
David said in verse 5a, “The LORD tests the righteous.”
David recognized that sometimes the Lord allows difficulties to come into the lives of the righteous to continue refining them.
Do you remember the story about Job?
Job 1:1 begins with these words, “There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.”
He was blessed with seven sons and three daughters. He had a very large number of sheep, camels, oxen, donkeys, and servants. The Bible says that “this man was the greatest of all the people in the east” (Job 1:3).
One day, Satan came to the Lord. Interestingly, it was the Lord who said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” (Job 1:8).
Satan said to the Lord that he had put a hedge around Job so that Satan could not bother him.
So, the Lord allowed Satan to test Job.
Satan used various ways to bring the loss of everything that Job owned. Worse, Job lost all ten of his children. Then Job himself was robbed of his health.
We don’t know how long Job suffered. It was likely many months.
But, in the end, righteous Job passed the test of the Lord. Job 42:12a states, “And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning.”
Sometimes the righteous indeed die before they see blessing again. But their righteousness on earth enables them to receive their crown in glory.
You may be experiencing a crisis now. It may be, however, that the Lord is testing you.
If you belong to him, you are called righteous. And you will prevail. You may not see blessing in this life but you most certainly will see it in the next.
So, you can trust the Lord because sometimes he tests the righteous.
D. A Believer Can Trust in the Lord Because He Judges the Wicked (11:5b-6)
Fourth, a believer can trust in the Lord because he judges the wicked.
Speaking of the Lord, David said in verses 5b-6, “…but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence. Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.”
Sometimes we may get discouraged because the wicked seem to get away with their wickedness.
But, Christian, never doubt that the Lord will judge the wicked.
By the way, the wicked are not the most horrible people around. Biblically, the “wicked” are unbelievers. The “wicked” are people who reject the Lord.
The “wicked” may be the nicest people you know but if they do not surrender their lives to the Lord, they are called “the wicked” in Scripture.
When David referenced “fire and sulfur” he was likely thinking of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19.
Abraham’s nephew Lot was living in the city but it had become so filled with wickedness that God determined to destroy it.
He sent angels to warn Lot, his wife, and his two daughters to flee Sodom.
They did and “the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven” (Genesis 19:24).
The Lord gave plenty of previews of his judgment in Biblical times so that we would know that he will judge wickedness. Frankly, most wickedness is not judged in this life. But it will be judged in the next.
So, a believer can trust in the Lord because he judges the wicked.
E. A Believer Can Trust in the Lord Because the Upright Shall Behold His Face (11:7)
And finally, a believer can trust in the Lord because the upright shall behold his face.
David concluded this psalm of trust with these words in verse 7, “For the LORD is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.”
This is the ultimate reason for trusting in the Lord: “the upright shall behold his face.”
This is known as the “beatific vision.” It is the supreme desire of every believer to see God face to face.
This was David’s ultimate reason for trusting in the Lord. He would see the Lord face to face.
I remember the first time I heard the expression “beatific vision.” It was at the Ligonier Conference many years ago. Dr. R. C. Sproul talked about the beatific vision of God in his inimitable way.
Now, I am sure that I had read about the beatific vision in my studies at the seminary but it did not make an impression on me. But when R. C. Sproul spoke about it, it did.
The truth is that every person whom God draws to himself in saving faith “shall behold his face.”
Many believers will spend many years serving him on earth, like David did, and after a long life, they “shall behold his face.”
Other believers may not serve him for a long time but they too “shall behold his face.”
The hope of every believer is that he or she “shall behold his face” for all eternity.
Conclusion
Natalie Lloyd (21) and her 23-year-old husband David were killed by gangs in Haiti on Thursday evening.
Davy grew up in Haiti as a child of missionary parents. He apparently spoke Creole before he spoke English. His parents ran an orphanage in Haiti.
Davy had wanted to be a missionary all his life.
Two years ago, he married Natalie. They were serving along with his parents as missionaries at the orphanage in Haiti.
Natalie’s dad is Ben Baker and he was a student whom my wife knew when she taught at Ben Lippen School in Asheville, NC.
On Friday, Ben Baker, who is Missouri State Senator, posted these words on Facebook:
“My heart is broken in a thousand pieces. I’ve never felt this kind of pain. Most of you know my daughter and son-in-law Davy and Natalie Lloyd are full time missionaries in Haiti. They were attacked by gangs this evening and were both killed. They went to Heaven together. Please pray for my family we desperately need strength. And please pray for the Lloyd family as well. I have no other words for now.”
I understand that one gang scaled the wall of the orphanage compound and Davy, Natalie, and Jude ran to another building when they saw another gang scale the walls.
This second gang shot the windows and entered the house. They killed the three young people and burnt the two men.
I was struck by the sentence in Ben’s post, “They went to Heaven together.”
They beheld the face of the Lord together.
Perhaps there were people who had tried to dissuade Davy and Natalie from serving the Lord in Haiti. But they went and served there anyway because they said, “In the Lord I take refuge.”
They trusted in the Lord because they knew that the Lord is on his throne.
They trusted in the Lord because they knew that he sees all that people do.
They trusted in the Lord because they knew that he tests the righteous.
They trusted in the Lord because they knew that he judges the wicked.
They trusted in the Lord because they knew that the upright shall behold his face.
They were telling the precious children in Haiti about the Lord.
But right now they are seeing the face of their precious Lord.
Oh my friend, always trust in the Lord in spite of advice to the contrary. Amen.
