Whining Friends--Faithful People

July 6, 2003 Sunday Evening

Title: Psalm 11: "Whining Friends and Faithful People"

Text: Psalm 11:1-7

Introduction

As we continue our study of Psalms, we come to chapter 11.

It is certainly appropriate to study this Psalm during our celebration of Independence Day this week.

This Psalm is neatly divided in to 3 stanzas.

the first 2 stanzas are 3 verses each.

The last stanza is a 1 verse conclusion

In the first stanza, David is obviously quoting some so-called friends and they try to advise David of what to do when everything falls apart.

The 2nd Stanza expresses David’s faith in God

And the final stanza concludes with an expression of supreme confidence in the righteousness of God.

Read Text: Psalm 11:1-7

Body

1. First of all, we have what I call "the Whining Friends" vv. 1-3

Evidently David is in real trouble here.

Some commentators indicate that this Psalm was written during those years when Saul and many others were trying to hunt David down.

These friends are trying to advise David.

They are telling him to "Flee like a bird to your mountain" Psalms 11:1 (NIV)

They warn him that wicked men are trying to attack him from the cover of darkness (v. 2)

And then they ask that poignant question: When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?" Psalms 11:3 (NIV)

They ask that question rhetorically...

because in their minds; they have already answered the question...

why don’t you run and hide...because there is nothing that you can do...

you are surrounded...

the foundations are shaking...

your defense is about to collapse...

just give up...

just "run like the wind"...and get out of here.

"flee like a bird"

That’s where I see an application for us during this time of celebrating our freedom.

Freedom doesn’t come easy...

Our fight for freedom from British rule didn’t come easy...

I’m sure there were some people in that day who were like David’s "friends"...

just give up...

just run and hide...

don’t stand up to the British...

we haven’t a chance...

Thankfully, our forefathers had the backbone to stand and fight and win our freedom.

This isn’t the first time in Scripture that we see so-called friends who are quick with their advice.

In the story of Job, we see his 3 "friends" trying to advise him...

contrary to what he knows to be true about his own personal knowledge of God.

his wife was telling him to "curse God and die"...

I guess she didn’t realize that there IS something worse than physical suffering & pain...

there is death without hope...

there is a hell to shun.

And that’s not just found in Scripture...

you can find people like that even today.

people who are all doom and gloom about the church...

people quick with advice that is contrary to God’s will and God’s way.

people who will tell you that it’s okay to sin...

I spent some time with one of my dearest friends while on vacation.

we had a great time playing chess....

playing putt putt...

and other games...

but we also had time to get into some fairly deep spiritual discussions.

This is a friend from my teen years who was always very devout...

a very solid Christian...

quick to pray...

quick to witness about Christ...

I really admired him.

But during one of these discussions, we got to talking about sin...

we got to talking about one of his brothers...

now, I happen to know that his brother professes to be a Christian...

in spite of the fact that he doesn’t attend church...

doesn’t spend time in prayer...

he is divorced from his first wife...

and doesn’t have any qualms about sleeping with other women, (single, married, doesn’t matter)

So I asked my friend, "I know that your brother David professes to be a Christian, but what do you think? Do you think that David is a Christian?"

And my friend said that yes, he felt like his brother was a Christian.

I also noticed that my friend has allowed some coarse language to slip into his vocabulary.

One time, it happened in front of 2 of my kids...I ignored it, hoping they didn’t notice; and they didn’t say anything.

but just this week, Amelia asked me, out of the blue, "why does your friend go to church; but use bad words?"

Does any of this change my friendship with him?

Well, yes and no.

No, it doesn’t change the way I feel...

I still love my friend...

I will still visit with him...

and try to see him from time to time.

But on the other hand, yes, it changes quite a lot

I will no longer seek spiritual advice from him...

and if he tries to give advice...I will take it with a grain of salt.