"On Every Side The Wicked Prowl" Psalm 11-12 11 Jan 2026

Intro & Scripture Read

Good morning, friends

Today, we are coming back to the psalter - and we’re continuing our study today in Psalm 11 & 12

Many, have considered these two psalms work together well

So, like a good recipe, we’ll pair them together, mix them well, and taste what God is telling us

I want to navigate these carefully, though

I’ve mentioned before that the Book of Psalms has laid out these 150 psalms into various genres, or themes

It’s very appealing to the scholar, or to a pastor like me who is trying hard to bring out their true meaning -

To assign a clear genre to each of the psalms

It is generally accepted that

Psalm 11 is considered to be a “Trust” psalm

Psalm 12 is generally considered to be a “Lament” psalm

But we can’t be too strict - there are elements of trust and lament in both of these psalms

Someone summed them up like this:

Psalm 11 - “God is trustworthy”

Psalm 12 - “But the situation is still intolerable”

But you can’t really separate trust from lament

After all, a lament psalm is basically telling the Lord,

“God, this is my honest summary, from my point-of-view, this is my situation - and it doesn’t look good.”

That is my quick and loose definition of a biblical lament

But wait - the fact that someone is taking the time to tell the Lord all of this, indicates that the person trusts the Lord

Why else would you complain about your situation to the Lord, if you’re not trusting him?

If you’re going to the Lord about your life’s situation

Then, by definition - you are turning to the Lord

And that is called trust

Lament and trust are not necessarily opposite - as long as, within your lament, your decision is to trust

I have two references for today’s scripture reading

2 Timothy 3:1–5 ESV

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

Psalm 46:1–3 ESV

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

(Pray...)

Take Refuge

These two psalms are written by David

We know this from the superscript in each of these psalms

Psalm 11 reads, “TO THE CHOIRMASTER. OF DAVID.”

Psalm 12 reads, “TO THE CHOIRMASTER: ACCORDING TO THE SHEMINITH. A PSALM OF DAVID.”

You see these introductions often in the Psalms

Your Bibles probably have them

These superscriptions are included with the original text and they give us precious information

One, overarching theme with both of these psalms is David pointing out his enemies

His enemies are numerous

His enemies are wicked

They are on every side and they surround him

That is the situation he is facing - and one that we all potentially face in our own lives

Psalm 11, known as a “trust” psalm begins right away with trust

This is the opening statement in verse 1:

In the LORD I take refuge;

The Hebrew word for that English word refuge is a verb, not a noun

That is why most English Bibles say “take refuge”

Hasah is one Hebrew word, a verb, that takes two words in English

There is no equivalent English word, so most Bibles render it as “take refuge”

Some Bibles will say:

In the LORD I put my trust

I trust in the LORD

But the most accurate to the original Hebrew is “take refuge”

There is another word for refuge in other places in the Bible

I just read one from Ps 46 - “God is our refuge”

Other places in the Bible:

You have been my refuge [Ps 61]

God is a refuge for us [Ps 62]

But there is a difference in saying, “God is our refuge” -

and by saying, “In the LORD I take refuge”

Do you see the difference?

It’s a small difference, but a major theological lesson for us

To say, “God is my refuge” is wonderful - there’s nothing wrong with that

But when you say, “In the LORD I take refuge,” it means you’re literally relying on God as your refuge

It goes beyond just acknowledging that God is a great refuge, somewhere out there...yes, he is a mighty God...

It’s more than merely acknowledging who he is

It’s an action verb - declaring that you are taking refuge in the LORD

It’s like saying, “I choose to put my trust in God”

It’s like saying, my doctor is world-renown - he is the greatest doctor in all of Tennessee...probably the world

But if you don’t see your doctor - and if you ignore your doctor’s orders - what good is he to you?

That’s why this is a “trust” psalm

David is declaring his trust in the LORD - and that’s how he begins this beautiful psalm

David continues -

Psalm 11:1–3 ESV

In the Lord I take refuge; 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?”

David is saying:

Don’t tell me to flee to a high mountain like a bird when the wicked are after me

The wicked are set on attacking the righteous

If everything around me crumbles, what hope does the righteous have?

David provides the solution in the first sentence:

In the LORD I take refuge

Despite all that’s going on around me - my best response is turn to the Lord and put my trust in him

Even if everything in my life falls apart I will trust in the Lord

The Lord Tests the Righteous

David goes on in verse 4 - telling about how the LORD is in his holy temple and that his throne is in heaven

We’re being reminded of the supremacy and complete holiness of God

Then he says this - in verse 4

Psalm 11:4–5 ESV

...his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man. The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.

When it says that God’s eyelids test the children of man

That means that God intently sees everyone - “children of man” simply means all of mankind

He’s watching everyone

There is no escape from his gaze

Then it says that he tests the righteous

To understand what this means - I want you to think of a picture Jesus gives us in John 15

Jesus says this, starting in verse 1 of John 15

John 15:1–2 ESV

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

Jesus is the vine - we are the branches - and the Father is the vinedresser

The branches that do not bear fruit, he takes away - they are not the ones who abide in Jesus

Later, in verse 6, it says that they, the discarded branches, are gathered, and thrown into the fire, and burned

That’s strong language

But the righteous ones, the ones who bear fruit are pruned by the Father

He disciplines us - it’s not always fun, but it’s good for us

It means he trims us, and takes away what is bad in our life - so that we can produce more fruit

Love and Hate

The rest of the psalm uses harsh words

In verse 5, it says that the Lord hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.

And the next verse describes his judgment for them

Now, verse 5 is strong language - it says that the Lord hates the wicked, and also the one who loves violence

Here are the exact words of Ps 11:5

The LORD tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.

I understand it can be hard to read that God hates something

So I looked up the original word in Hebrew

The exact original Hebrew verb means - “hate”

If I am to be an honest expositor of the Word, I can’t sugarcoat this

And I certainly won’t try to “cover up” for God or his word

The fact that it says that his “soul hates the wicked” is even more harsh

A good way to understand it - is that God hates with a passion

So I can’t stand up here and say that it actually doesn’t mean that God hates

Here’s what I do know from the context:

This is not referring to Christians who “struggle with sin”

This is talking about hard-hearted people who are against God and against his people -

and who see violence as the answer to accomplish what they want

Then the last verse ends on a high note

Psalm 11:7 ESV

For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.

Psalm 12

Psalm 12 is also short - just 8 verses

It is also a psalm of David

It begins with a lament

David is asking for God’s help because, from his perspective, “the godly one is gone”

Then he says,

Psalm 12:1–2 ESV

for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man. Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

This sounds like that verse in 2 Tim I read earlier

David is sad because as he looks around, it seems like no one is good - everyone is bad

David repeats this theme in Psalm 14 - the psalm that Paul quotes in Romans 3

Romans 3:10–11 “as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.”

That’s the Apostle Paul, quoting David in the Psalms

Paul then uses a unique phrase - he says everyone is under sin

The sinner is under sin -

Christians are not - we are under grace - under God’s love

Here's my first impression of the beginning of Psalm 12. And also Psalm 14

Both David and Paul seem to be hyperbolic in one sense.

No one is good? No one faithful?

David would have to include himself - same with Paul, who was an Apostle

Psalm 1, for instance, talks about the wicked and the righteous

Here’s what I think is going on

Not one of us naturally seeks after God - in our natural state, we'd want nothing to do with him

Here’s the bottom line

We don’t come to God because of our righteousness - or through our righteousness

He doesn’t give us favor because of our righteousness

We are not righteous creatures - who are flattered that God has noticed how good we are

We take our refuge in God because he is righteous

That means we repent and turn to Jesus

We’re righteous only because of him

The sins of the sinner were laid upon the sinless Savior who became sin and saved us

When we take refuge in the Lord - he is faithful to protect us

Close

Let me close with the last two verses of Psalm 12

Psalm 12:7–8 ESV

You, O Lord, will keep them; you will guard us from this generation forever. On every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is exalted among the children of man.

No matter what is going on around us, he will guard us

Remember the verse I read earlier:

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

The reality of this world is the evil around us

For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy...and on and on

Question - Do you actively take refuge in the LORD?

He is our refuge and strength

(Pray...)

Benediction

Heb 13:20-21

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead, our Lord Jesus,

the great shepherd of the sheep,

by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight,

through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Communion

(Pick one…)

Matthew 26:26–29 ESV

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

Luke 22:19–20 ESV

And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 ESV

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.