Psalm 11 - Stay And Fight Series

-When we read what David has written in Psalm 11 we can all relate because there are times in life when a crisis may settle in on us so that we have a tendency to want to run away and hide from our responsibilities. Sometimes the greatest lesson you can learn from life is that you have to stay and fight.

-What we find in this psalm is the sense of confidence that will prevail. Those around David are filled with panic but David is filled with peace because he knows the Lord is a refuge. This psalm can be grouped with the other psalms of confidence (Psalms 4, 16, 23, 27, 62, 125, and 131).

-We will always find it true that there are two voices in our walk of faith—one that pushes fear and wants us to flee and one that speaks faith and wants us to remain firm.

A. Psalm 11:1-3—The Security of the Saint

Psalms 11:1-3 KJV To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. In the LORD put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain? [2] For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart. [3] If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?

-The Lord is a refuge and a defense that no mountain can even begin to compare to. That is what David’s emphasis is here. Instead of it being so much a song it is more a meditation on God’s presence. It gives the idea of a fugitive who is fleeing from enemies and longs to find the presence of the Lord who is a place of refuge.

-The writer of Hebrews verified this refuge that we have in the Lord when he wrote:

Hebrews 6:18 KJV That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:

-There were six cities of refuge that were provided by God for anyone who accidentally killed another man. He could flee to those cities (Num. 35:11-14; Josh. 20; Deut. 19) and avoid the fury and anger of the avenger.

-The Lord Jesus Christ serves as our refuge. There aren’t any alternatives out there which might cause us to think otherwise. Jesus Christ is the answer for every difficulty that a saint will face in their life. These cities of refuge had characteristics about them that resemble our own hope and path to the Lord.

• A sanctuary for distressed souls.

• A place that is easy to approach.

• A place that is on the hills and mountains so all can see.

• A place that was never more than a half a day’s travel away.

• When wrath called for death, a man was safe in this city.

-Those are the benefits that were provided to that man.

-Despite our knowledge of the Lord being a refuge, there are times when we do not clearly grasp it. David was saying, “I am trusting in the Lord, I have put my confidence in him, I have sought His refuge in this crisis but I am contending with the temptation to want to run away from the problem.”

-That is a temptation that all men have to deal with. We have a tendency to want to run and hide from a crisis that demands our responsibilities. It is a very powerful temptation because of the circumstances we find ourselves in.