Standing Firm in a Shaky World

Armal explained Psalm 10 quite well last week, giving us multiple characteristics of wicked men.

Today we are going to see what some people do when they rely on their own resources and what the Lord tells them from His Word to do in times of stress.

Psalm 11 is a Psalm of prayer and refuge. It illustrates David’s confidence in the Lord to provide and protect him.

These days are times of panic – but don’t panic, Rest in the Lord

God is in control. Panic is not a sensible plan without some humility. One must not allow his panic to consume him, instead he must resist the panic and seek the Lord’s guidance.

How does God explain to us (His children) that He knows better than we do? Everyone goes through some type of trial or pain in life. When that occurs and you are hurting or confused about what will be your next step, what do you do? You need to be, at a minimum, just a little bit humble. Acknowledge that you are unable to make a wise decision and that you need help from the Lord. That allows you to understand the vast knowledge of our heavenly Father. I typically want to be in control and do what my sinful nature wants to do. I rarely want to wait on the Lord, but slowly I am heeding His teaching me to rely on Him.

Why doesn’t He stop the suffering you and I are going through? There is a bigger picture that you and I don’t fully understand. We don't know why God does what He does. Do you remember a time when you were a child and your parents told you not to do something? They may not have explained their reasoning, but simply commanded or corrected you. Parents know more than the child and they are trying to protect their own chi. Even God the Father said "no" to the Son when Jesus asked to let this cup pass from Him. None of us knows the Master Plan that the Father has prepared for us.

To share a little background of the setting of this Psalm, the word Psalms means Songs. Most scholars agree that Psalm 11 was written by David as God inspired. It is addressed to the Choir Master or the Chief Director of music and was to be set to music and sung as worship. Worship is the main use of a Psalm. Psalm 11 is a part of the 5 Worship groups that Allen outlined in June. Psalm 11 is structured as part of the first Worship Psalms. It was likely written between 1010 and 970 BC, probably during a time of war. In this Psalm we see a strong contrast between the righteous and the wicked. The Book of Psalms is the most quoted book in the New Testament.

Martin Luther called the psalms a “little bible” and a summary of the Old Testament.

There are many reasons to study the Psalms. The greatest reason is that the Lord Jesus told us in Luke 24:44 when He said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” (ESV)

Planning, thinking, and praying are the directions the Lord is giving us today in Psalm 11

Psalm 11-1: “In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, Flee like a bird to your mountain,”

To the Lord you should run and take refuge. You may feel like running away, but don’t run and hide in a mountain cave. You are not a small bird. You are a child of God. You need to rest on the Lord and be patient. Everyone wants the bad situation to go away, especially when more and more things seem to be falling apart around you. You want to do something NOW, but wait. It is natural to try to protect yourself and want to run. It is supernatural to wait on the Lord to work things out. You may be in a situation that you were not thinking about on how the Lord works in every aspect of our lives. REST in the Lord, take refuge, He is in control.

There are people telling David to flee like a bird, but David is so concerned as to why people are telling him to flee. David does not want to run, he is the future king or king, depending when this was written. This is similar to the story of Job where Job gets advice from his friends and even his wife when she tells Job to curse God and die. Job stands pat. So, David stands pat and waits on the Lord. David is still confused by all the advice he is getting to run to the mountains, yet he still relies on the Lord to protect him. This demonstrates the confidence David had that God was in control and knew the ‘big picture’ of his life.

Psalm 11-2: 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;

Get prepared, there are wicked forces mounting against you. Those forces are hiding in the dark, ready to strike. You don’t know where they are coming from but God does. This psalm is most likely set at a time of war, but you never know when you need to be ready and prepared to run or stand and hold your ground to see what the Lord is going to do.

Have you ever felt like the very ground beneath your feet was giving way — not physically, but in your heart, your faith, your sense of security?

Imagine living with that constant threat as some people do around the world. To me, the only way to find refuge is leaning on the Lord for comfort and support.

The wicked are shooting in the dark. You won’t see the arrows coming. It may come from the least area you were thinking about. You need to stand firm and rely on the Lord. He cares for His child. You are His child and He loves you. At times, it may seem as if your life is not going in the right direction, but God knows what you need - you need to trust in the Lord.

What could I do? Go back to the foundations that the Lord has given you. Read and study His Word that He has given you to calm your heart.

Psalm 11-3 begins with a question that could easily be asked today: “if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”(ESV)

We live in a time when moral, cultural, political, economic, military, and even personal foundations seem to be crumbling. The psalmist, David, faced a similar crisis — yet his response was not to flee in fear, but to stand firm in faith.

Let me ask you (the congregation) to silently name one “foundation” in your life that feels shaky now and commit it to God in prayer.

Are you going to take matters into your own hands? You may have options, so explore them but take them to the Lord, then wait for the Lord and see what He does. Maybe the Lord will put you in a different spot, in your job, in your location, with your friends, or maybe even your family. Be patient, seek His protection. Physical movement is not always necessary, but through a few words of encouragement to others, you may allow the Lord to change the outcomes and even the journey of what man desires.

Talk about foundations, I had my foundation shaken when I had my brain tumor: treat the tumor with a new drug or have surgery. I investigated these different options and prayed about what I should do. There were positive points and negative points with each path. I trusted the Lord and He made my path clear as He led me to the right doctor, allowed the insurance company to agree to cover most of my medical expenses, and even brought friends to me who offered their support knowing I would be out of work for a few months.

Have you ever moved far from home, one of your foundations? Perhaps to a place that was not only geographically distant, but felt foreign, wildly different from the secure place you had always known. For many of us, that experience came when we began college. We had to navigate a new city, look after all of our own daily needs, and find community, all while experiencing some degree of culture shock or foundation shaking.

Twice in my life I experienced that feeling of a shaking foundation. First when I went to college in a different city and later when I moved to Maryland. It was difficult to find a group of like-minded people. I found them at church. When I went to college, it took a while to find a couple of friends I felt comfortable enough with to go to church. Another foundational change was when we moved to Maryland. Poolesville was a small town at that time and the pastor of the church came by our house to invite us to church. That pastor was Jack Reynolds, pastor of Poolesville Baptist who invited us to church. Poolesville Baptist Church has become a solid foundation of our lives.

One of my foundations growing up was going to church. As a child, the week just did not feel right unless it began with Sunday going to church. Today I still get confused if I don’t begin the week going to church. While on-line church is necessary in some instances, my foundation is worshiping with fellow believers within the congregation.

All of that to say, people need a foundation to make things stable. Whether that is in the scheduling, biblical family life, or even a building. I’m an architect and I understand that if a building’s foundation is not stable or correctly constructed, the rest of the building will not be correct. At times it may seem as if society's foundations are being destroyed, but take heart. The Lord is in control. He is on high and sees all.

Psalm 11-4: “The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven; his eyes see; his eyelids test, the children of man.” (ESV)

This is a psalm to comfort and reassure us when it seems like we need to give up. Read the 4th verse again. When the foundations around us are falling apart, read the Word. I remember when the country was primarily called a Christian nation. The 10 Commandments were respected and were used as a standard in law and justice. The 10 Commandments are even on the doors of the Supreme Court. Our currency still has “In God we trust” on it. We continue to have subtle reminders of God in our society, but God has been pushed aside so man can do what as he pleases. The wicked may seem to be overtaking our society, but do not fear, read verse 4 again. Be assured that God is in control. God knows your thoughts and your feelings. I can’t tell you what you are thinking about, but God knows. His eyes see everything, the wicked do not escape God’s eyes. Even the little child knows when he is disobedient. As an adult, I hope your conscience has not been so hardened that you no longer listen to the way the Lord guides you. From Psalm 10 we learned that the wicked are:

1 - Proud, 2 - Foul mouthed, 3 - Greedy, 4 - Violent, and 5 - Godless.

I need to admit that I am all of those at some times in my life. I find rest in the Lord and am assured that the perfect sacrifice was given to save me from hell. Jesus Christ was willing to drink that cup of wrath and die for me. I am that sinner who has murdered, lied, cheated, and have stolen many times in my life. I still put Me First in many situations.

Psalm 11-5: “The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence”. (ESV)

Remember what I just said about the wicked? In Psalm 10 they love violence. It is so hard to wait on the Lord when it seems like everything around you is collapsing. It may seem that you need to stand and fight, but don’t. The very foundations seem to be crumbling before your eyes. Read part of verse 5 again. The Lord tests the righteous, He constantly tests us, giving us options to move forward. What direction do we go? Why does God test the righteous? Because He wants us to seek Him, to take refuge in His Word, thus strengthening our foundational relationship with Him.

Mathew chapter 10 speaks about persecution and in verse 23a “when they persecute you in one town, flee to the next”

The Lord hates the wicked and the one who loves violence. Sometimes you may need to flee for your safety. That is what the people were telling David to do, run to the mountains for safety, but David knew it was not the right time to flee for his physical safety. David listened to the Lord and took refuge in Him.

Remember in first Samuel 19: 10 where Saul flung a speer at David? David could have fought back in self-defense, but David knew Saul was the anointed King of Israel, so David ran and the Lord provided protection for David. Even Jesus was told to run, to get out of there when some Pharisees warned Him that Herod was going to kill Him.

What to do when you don’t know what to do? Pray first, asking the Lord for direction. Slow down and be patient as you wait to see how the Lord is working in this issue. You may not see or understand how the Lord is working, but He is always with you protecting you. An example of God’s unseen protection is the story of George Washington in battle when he had 3 horses shot out from underneath him and his uniform had bullet holes in it, but Washington was unscathed. Lord was protecting Washington for something in the future. You and I do not know the Master Plan. Continue to Pray.

There are 4 ways to pray from this Psalm

1-Challege the voice of fear and frustration. Look again at verse 1, the gift of prayer is to take refuge in the Lord. David ran from the fear of the people advising him to run to the mountains as he ran to the Lord for refuge.

2- Recognize the hand of the Lord in the testing. In verse 5 the Lord tests the righteous. And in verse 4 His eyelids tests. These tests are for strengthening us, not to punish us.

3 –Affirm the Sovereignty of God in the hardest times. Again in verse 4, “The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven; His eyes see.” Again and again the Lord IS in control. Take refuge, rest on the Lord. He knows all.

Verse 6 “ Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.” This is reminiscent of the judgement of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19:24. Evil will be completely burned up. It is a warning that the Lord is in control. He is loving and very patient, but hates the wicked. This sounds very much like the final judgement for the wicked -hell. Verse 6 states that there will be punishment for the wicked complete destruction.

Part B of verse 6 says: The portion of their cup, There is a cup of God’s blessing (from Ps. 23:5) as well as a cup of His wrath. The wicked will drink wrath to its dregs (Ps 75:8). Jesus Christ took His people’s punishment upon Himself by drinking the cup of God’s judgement, His wrath. Looking back to when Jesus asked His heavenly Father if He could not drink the cup, from Matthew 26:39 it was the cup of God’s wrath. Jesus did not want to drink this cup, but He did it as obedience to the Father.

4 – Anticipate the joy of the final outcome. Verse 7, ”For the Lord is righteous; He loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.” Just imagine being able to see Jesus’ face as He welcomes you and introduces you to the Father.

What a glorious day that will be. Think about that, pray about that, and rejoice in that. If you don’t have knowledge about Jesus and what He did for you to save you from hell, talk with one of the pastors or an elder. Let them help you develop a closer relationship with the Creator of you and the universe.

Let me pray for us. Thank you Father for sending your Son to take the wrath we deserve. Many times we want to do things on our own but, you knew even in the Garden of Eden we could not keep any of the Commandments. Man cannot save himself from hell. Therefore, my Savior, Jesus Christ the only perfect sacrifice, stepped down from heaven and agreed to drink the cup of wrath. Thank you Lord for saving us from the eternal separation from You. As we remember all that you have told us through Your Word, let us reflect on your wisdom, power, and glory to guide us through our lives. Thank you for the comfort and security we have resting in You. We ask these things in Your name above all names, Jesus our Lord. Amen.