Sunday Scripture

 

We're continuing with our ongoing series on my simple study of Psalms.  You can see a copy of the journal here: The Book of Psalms 1-50 or you can find all the resources right here on Women Living Well, Psalms 1-50.  I'm attempting to SOAP each Psalm too, though some of them are longer so I will likely only do a selected passage from many of them. [Quick reminder that S stands for Scripture; O stands for for observation; A stands for application, and P stands for prayer.]  Each psalm's study also includes a reflection question, which I will attempt to journal an answer to.  Today's study is from Psalm 11.  This psalm has only 7 verses, so I chose to SOAP all of them.  Here goes:

S= "In the LORD put I my trust; how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?
"For lo, the wicked bend their bow; they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may secretly shoot at the upright in heart.
"If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?
"The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD's throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the children of men.
"The LORD testeth the righteous, but the wicked and him who loveth violence His soul hateth.
"Upon the wicked He shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest; this shall be the portion of their cup.
"For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; His countenance doth behold the upright."  (Psalm 11:1-7)

O=  The biblical heading for this psalm is simply, "To the chief Musician, a Psalm of David." C.I. Scofield titles this psalm "Taking refuge in God."  

Charles Simeon, quoted in C.H. Spurgeon's Treasury of David, wrote: "David, at the different periods of his life, was placed in almost every situation in which a believer, whether rich or poor, can be placed and in these heavenly compositions of the heart, he delineates all the workings of the heart."  He added, "To assist us to remember this short, but sweet psalm, we will give it the name of 'The song of the stedfast'."

And this, from the Daily Walk Bible: "The enemies of God's people are also the enemies of God.  Responding to these enemies is David's burden in Psalm 7-12.  In the face of dangerous opposition, David seeks God's justice (Psalm 7), protection (Psalm 9-10) and deliverance (Psalm 11-12)."

David begins by stating his trust in the LORD.  His next words seem to point at what his enemies are doing, and the supposed futility of his opposing them:

• How can you say, flee like a bird to your mountain?
• For the wicked bend their bows;
• They make their arrows ready upon the string;
• They're preparing to shoot at the upright in heart.
• If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?

Then David turns his attention to the Person and character of God:

• The LORD is in His holy temple;
• The LORD's throne is in heaven;
• The LORD's eyes behold the children of men; His eyelids test them;
• The LORD tests the righteous.

BUT

• God's soul hates the wicked;
• His soul hates those who love violence;
• God will rain the following upon the wicked:
    snares
    fire and brimstone
    a horrible tempest -- those things will be the portion of their cup.

For the righteous LORD loves righteousness;
His countenance beholds the upright.

Cross-reference for "trust" (v.1) -- "O LORD my God, in Thee do I put my trust; save me from all those who persecute me, and deliver me."  (Psalm 7:1)

Cross-references for "flee like a bird" (v.1) --Each of the following Scriptures describes a time when David was hiding from Saul in the wilderness.

"And David abode in the wilderness in strongholds, and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph.  And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand."  (1 Samuel 23:14)

"Then came up the Ziphites to Saul at Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself with us in strongholds in the forest, in the hill of Hachilah, which is in the south of Jeshimon?"  (1 Samuel 23:19)

"Then Saul took three thousand men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats."  (1 Samuel 24:2)

"Now, therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth before the face of the LORD, for the king of Israel is come out to seek a flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains."  (1 Samuel 26:20)

Cross-references for "bend their bow" (v.2) -- "Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity, who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words, that they may shoot in secret at the perfect.  Suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not."  (Psalm 64:2-4)

"And they bend their tongues like the bow for lies; but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not Me, saith the LORD."  (Jeremiah 9:3)

And there is this Scripture which speaks of God bending His bow:  "If [the wicked] turn not, He will whet His sword, He hath bent His bow, and made it ready."  (Psalm 7:12)

Cross-references for "make ready the arrow upon the string" (v.2) -- "Let them melt away like waters which run continually, when he bends his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be cut in pieces."

Again, in this one it is God making the arrow ready:  "Therefore shalt Thou make them turn their back, when Thou shalt make ready Thine arrows upon Thy strings against the face of them."  (Psalm 21:12)

"Secretly" (v.2) means literally "in darkness."

Thus, the ESV reads: "they have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart."

Cross-references for "the foundations" (v.3) -- "They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are out of course."  (Psalm 82:5)

"And the sword will come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down."  (Ezekiel 30:4)

Cross-references for "the LORD is in His holy temple" (v.4) -- "In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God; He heard my voice out of His temple, and my cry came before Him, even into His ears."  (Psalm 18:6)

"Hear, all ye peoples; hearken, O earth, and all that is in it; and let the Lord GOD be witness against you, the Lord from His holy temple."  (Micah 1:2)

"But the LORD is in His holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before Him."  (Habakkuk 2:20)

Cross-reference for "throne is in heaven" (v.4) -- "He who sitteth in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall have them in derision."  (Psalm 2:4)

"Thus saith the LORD: The heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool.  Where is the house that ye build unto Me?  And where is the place of My rest?"  (Isaiah 66:1)

"But I say unto you, Swear not at all, neither by heaven, for it is God's throne."  (Matthew 5:34)

"Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool.  What house will ye build Me? saith the Lord.  Or what is the place of my rest?"  (Acts 7:49)

Cross-references for "test the children of men" (v.4) -- "But He knoweth the way that I take; when He hath tested me, I shall come forth as gold."  (Job 23:10)

"Thou hast proved mine heart; Thou hast visited me in the night; Thou hast tested me, and shalt find nothing.  I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress."  (Psalm 17:3)

Cross-reference for "tests the righteous" (v.5) -- "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him."  (James 1:12)

Cross-reference for "him who loveth violence His soul hateth" (v.5) -- "The foolish shall not stand in Thy sight; Thou hatest all workers of iniquity."  (Psalm 5:5)

"Snares, fire, and brimstone" (v.6) literally means "quick burning coals."

There are three cross-references for this phrase as well: "Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven."  (Genesis 19:24)

"It shall dwell in his tent, because it is none of his; brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation."  (Job 18:15)

"And I will enter into judgment against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his hordes, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone."  (Ezekiel 38:22)

Cross-reference for "portion of their cup" (v.6) -- "For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is fully mixed, and He poureth out of the same; but the dregs thereof all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them."  (Psalm 75:8)

"His eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty."  (Job 21:20)

Cross-reference for "loves righteous deeds" (v.7) -- "He loveth righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD." (Psalm 33:5)

Cross-references for "the upright shall behold His face" (v.7) -- "As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness." (Psalm 17:15)

"Surely, the righteous shall give thanks unto Thy name; the upright shall dwell in Thy presence."  (Psalm 140:13)

"Beloved, now are we the children of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is."  (1 John 3:2)

A= One thing that jumped out at me is verse 3 -- "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?"

We have had people in power who seem bent on destroying the foundations of our country, our families, and everything else we hold dear.  Yet the next verses remind us that God has not moved.  The LORD is in His holy temple.  He is still God, still in control.  When it seems the foundations are about to be destroyed, we can look to Him and appeal to heaven.  He sees all and He hates sin.  He will deal with the wicked in His timing.

Warren Wiersbe describes how David was in great difficulty -- "Around him, the archers were getting ready to shoot.  Under him, the foundations of society were shaking.  What should he do?  What would you do?

"When you are in that kind of situation, your first thought may be to get away as fast as you can.  Even David's friends advised him to act like the bird and fly away.  It is right to flee from temptation, but not from duty.  Instead of flying away like a frightened bird, you should trust God and 'mount up with wings like eagles' (Isaiah 40:31).

"If the foundations are destroyed, lay the foundations again.  That is what Ezra did (Ezra 3:8 and following) and what each generation may have to do.  David became king of Israel and laid the foundations for a godly society ... God is still on the throne and will one day judge the wicked.  If you love righteousness, God is on your side."

Concerning the phrase "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?" Charles Spurgeon wrote, "Doubtless, the perils which encompassed David were great and imminent; it was quite true that his enemies were ready to shoot privily at him; it was equally correct that the very foundations of law and justice were destroyed under Saul's unrighteous government: but what were all these things to the man whose trust was in God alone?  He could brave the dangers, could escape the enemies, and defy the injustice which surrounded him."

A couple more quotes from the Treasury of David:

"It is impossible that the foundations of religion should ever be totally and finally destroyed, either in relation to the church in general, or in reference to every true and lively member thereof.  For the first, we have an express promise of Christ.  (Matthew 16:18) 'The gates of helll shall not prevail against it.'  And for every particular Christian (2 Timothy 2:19) 'Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are His'." -- Thomas Fuller

"Such dismal days of national confusion our eyes have all seen, when foundations of government were destroyed, and all hurled into military confusion.  When it is thus with a people, 'What can the righteous do?'  Yes, this they may, and should do, 'fast and pray'.  There is yet a God in heaven to be sought to, when a people's deliverance is thrown beyond the help of human policy or power.  Now is the fit time to make their appeal to God, as the words following hint: "The Lord is in His holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven'." -- William Gurnall

Concerning the phrase "the LORD is in His holy temple", Spurgeon writes: "Satan has doubtless desired to have us, that he may sift us as wheat, but Jesus is in the temple praying for us, and how can our faith fail?  What attempts shall the wicked make which Jehovah shall not behold?  And since He is in His holy temple, delighting in the sacrifice of His Son, will He not defeat every device and send us a sure deliverance?"

How wonderful this is!  When I thought about God being in His holy temple, I'm ashamed to say that I did not thinking about Jesus there at His right hand, praying for me and for all believers: "It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." (Romans 8:34)

And in reference to the phrase "His eyes behold; His eyelids try the children of men" Spurgeon says, "The eternal Watcher never slumbers ... He narrowly inspects [the] actions, words, and thoughts [of the children of men].  God sees each man as much and as perfectly as if there were no other creature in the universe.  He sees us always; He never removes His eye from us; He sees us entirely, reading the recesses of the soul ... My danger is not hid from Him.  He knows my extremity and I may rest assured that He will not suffer me to perish while I rely alone on Him."

P=  "Lord, I am so thankful that You see and know all.  We can look to Your sovereignty, omniscience, and power rather than the wickedness and evil of our enemies.  You are still on Your throne.  When the foundations look to be destroyed, You are still there.  You see all, and will act in Your timing.  The wicked will give account to You, the righteous God, and will be punished.  We can trust You to act righteously on our behalf, and I praise You for this in Jesus' name, Amen."

Reflection question: God makes His presence known to the righteous and allows them to behold His face in the midst of turmoil.

How have you seen the face of God in your darkest times?

My response:  Mostly through His Word, especially in Psalms.  I know from Psalm 23 and Psalm 91 that He will be with me through the darkest times of trouble.  Hebrews 13 assures me that He will never leave me or forsake me, that I may boldly say, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear what man can do unto me.'  

I also love the reminder in verse 4 that the Lord is in His holy temple and that He sees all.  Spurgeon reminds me that Jesus is there praying for me at the right hand of God.

During a couple of the darkest times in my life, as I prayed, I felt the very real touch of a hand upon my shoulder, and the assurance that all would be well with the situations I was praying about.

And there is our simple study of Psalm 11.  I hope it was a blessing to someone today!