THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Psalms: Living By Faith In God

XI. Handling Fear Of The Evil Destruction Of Society

(Psalm 11:1-7)

Introduction: (To show the need . . .)

We have often taught that Revelation 3:21 with 7:17 predict that in the Mini Great Tribulation to occur in our era, many people will become disillusioned with leaders in institutions who are full of intrigue and who oppress. Right now, many people are expressing such disillusionment:

(1) A letter by Frederick Townsend of Wolcott (Republican-American, January 12, 2022, p. 9A) aired his concern over federal officials who are responsible for open borders that let in "criminals, terrorists" and "drug cartels," for a "national debt" that runs "unchecked," for "inflation" that drives down "the standard of living for average Americans" and for the fact that "taxpayers" must "pick up the checks for" the "travel, food, housing" and "medical benefits" of illegal immigrants though "average Americans pay for" such things "themselves."

At the state level, Mr. Townsend lamented "the financial abyss created by unfunded pension plans and medical benefits for state employees and teachers" with "the lack of any apparent solutions" by elected officials, Ibid.

(2) Another letter on the same page by Scott O'Mara of Oxford (Ibid.) testified, "Apparently, I have been living under the illusion that members of the legal profession . . . should be dealing with truth and fact," but "the last several weeks have given me a real jolt of reality. The first jolt came when U. S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, while discussing COVID-19 and vaccinations, told the nation, 'We have over 100,000 children, which we've never had before, in serious condition and many on ventilators.' The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is currently scrambling to provide cover for this learned justice."

"The second jolt came from Frederick Krug's Jan. 10 letter . . . Mr. Krug, . . . a lawyer, criticized the Republican-American's editorial board for stating the Jan. 6, 2021, rioters were 'protesting the impending Electoral College vote count,'" and he "characterized the rioters as 'a murderous onslaught of fanatics' . . ." However, "to suggest the entire gathering was a 'murderous onslaught of fanatics' falls well short of truth and fact." (Ibid.)

(3) The concern over troublesome leaders is disturbing people in the religious realm: (a) The passage of the new Canadian Bill C-4 concerns the "Liberty Coalition Canada, a group of Evangelical pastors," for according to this bill, "the Bible's teaching on sexuality and gender is defined as a 'myth' under Canadian Law," and the "promotion and sharing of this biblical teaching will be a jailable offense that officially 'causes harm to society.'" ("New Canadian Law Will Officially Describe Parts Of The Bible As 'Myth,'" prophesynewswatch.com) These pastors claimed, "'Even a mother or father who offers their children freedom from sexual sin through repentance and faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 6:9-11) could be threatened with five years in jail.'" (Ibid.)

Though this challenge is faced by believers in Canada, some evangelical leaders think we may face it next!

(b) Another religious matter here in the U. S. already concerns some legal experts: "The Pretrial Services Agency for the District of Columbia . . . announced a new records system that will store the names and 'personal religious information' of all employees who make 'religious accommodation requests for religious exemption from the federally mandated vaccination requirement.'" (Sarah Parshall Perry and GianCarlo Canaparo, legal fellows in the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at the Heritage Foundation, "Breaking: Biden Administration Making Lists Of Religious Vaccine Objectors," January 11, 2022; dailysignal.com) This story's authors think "the Biden administration is using" this action to "stealth test a policy" for "the whole government," Ibid. If so, one wonders if it will lead to the listing of everyone in America who has a religious exemption!

Need: So, we ask, "How should we handle the concern people voice over the perceived evil destruction of society?"

I. In Psalm 11:1a, instead of the verb "trust" as is used in the KJV or "take refuge" as in the NIV and ESV, David literally claimed he "fled for protection" (hasah, B. D. B., A Heb. and Eng. Lex. of the O. T., p. 340; H. A. W., The. Wrdbk. of the O. T., v. I, p. 307-308) to the Lord. This unique verb came from the practice of fugitives or warriors seeking a safe height or strong rock in the nearby hills. (Ibid., H. A. W.)

II. David's reason for using this rare verb is explained by his next citing a statement made by concerned associates that due to the ruin of society by the wicked, he should flee to a mountain refuge, Psa. 11:1b-3:

A. David had used the rare verb hasah meaning "flee for protection" [to God] to counter the advice associates had given him, that he flee as a bird to a mountain for refuge since the wicked bend their bow to set their bowstrings and make ready their arrow to kill the upright, Psalm 11:1b-2. (Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 800)

B. These anxious associates had also rhetorically asked David that if the "foundations of society" (shat, Ibid., B. D. B., p. 1011) "be torn down" (haras, Ibid., p. 248), what can the righteous man "do [as to (positive) moral acts]" (po'al, Ibid., p. 730; H. A. W., Theol. Wrdbk. of the O. T., vol. II, p. 730), Psalm 10:3. In other words, David's associates feared that with the undermining of the foundations of society by the wicked, a righteous man like him could no longer function uprightly in society, that he should then flee into hiding from society to protect himself from being influenced to do evil!

III. David's reply to this fear offers TIMELESS advice for all believers who face such a trial, Psalm 11:4-7:

A. First, the Lord is in His holy temple where orderliness is assured, and His throne is in heaven beyond the corruptive and destructive reach of the wicked, so the infinitely sovereign, righteous, and orderly God stands in blessed relief for the upright who face the destructive threats of the wicked to the social order, Psalm 11:4a.

B. Second, the all-seeing eyes of an all-knowing [omniscient, cf. Psalm 139:1-6] God watch and scrutinize all men, for God observes and evaluates all the deeds of both the upright and the wicked, Psalm 11:4b-5a.

C. Third, God's soul abhors the wicked and those who love violence (against the social order), Psalm 11:5b.

D. Fourth, the Lord will then rain severe judgment down upon the wicked (Psalm 11:6), but due to His love of justice, the upright will see His face, that is, they will be admitted into His presence where they will enjoy fellowship with the Lord and partake of His blessings, Psalm 11:7. (Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 800-801)

Lesson: In response to the fear of his associates that the wicked were destroying the foundations of society so that David should flee from society to preserve his uprightness, David instead "fled" in faith for his needed protection to his All-Sufficient God Who punishes the wicked and blesses the upright.

Application: (1) May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God's gift of eternal life, John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. (2) In response to expressed concerns by others that evil people are tearing down society's foundations so that we should withdraw from society to protect our uprightness, may we instead flee to our All-Sufficient God Who punishes the wicked and blesses the upright.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message . . .)

We apply the sermon lesson to the issues mentioned in our sermon introduction (as follows):

(1) On facing federal officials who are responsible for open borders that let in harmful people, for the rise in the national debt, for inflation, and for unfair tax burdens, we can heed Moses' example when he faced the daunting task of leading Israel out of bondage to Egypt's oppressive ruler Pharaoh: (a) When Moses wondered if he was too unimportant for the task, God promised to be with him, Exodus 3:11-12. (b) When Moses doubted that he had the credibility to be believed so he would be heeded, God gifted him to perform miracles to provide him that credibility, Exodus 4:1-9. (c) When Moses doubted that he was eloquent enough to speak with Pharaoh, God arranged for Moses' brother Aaron to speak in his behalf, Exodus 4:10-17. Thus, like Moses, we have God as our Helper, and He wants us to use the resources and abilities He gives us to handle the trials we face that are caused even by federal officials.

(2) On the failure of some members of the legal profession to deal with truth and facts, 2 Timothy 3:13-17 calls us to use written Scripture to handle all misinformation that we face that we might perform God's calling for us.

(3) On the religious issues of the Canadian Bill C-4 that treats the Bible's teachings on gender and sexuality as "myth," opening the door to jail even parents who teach these truths to their children and of President Biden's stealth test in a small agency of making a list of all government employees who claim religious exemptions to vaccinations, (a) we should first heed Judah's example in 2 Chronicles 20:1-30: when news that a huge foreign army was invading Judah, king Jehoshaphat and Judah's people gathered at the temple to ask for God's help. The Lord announced via a prophet that the battle was His, not Judah's to fight, and God caused the invaders to become mentally deranged and to kill each other off, leaving Judah with the spoils of war! We must thus wait on God, for He may rescue us from harm.

(b) However, if God wills that we face religious persecution, Matthew 10:16-31 tells us (i) to realize that we are sent out as sheep among wolves, that we must be wise as serpents but harmless as doves, seeking to avoid stirring up unnecessary conflict with those who would persecute us, Matthew 10:16. (ii) We also must rely on the Holy Spirit to speak through us to officials if we are "cornered" by officials into having to give them an answer, Matthew 10:17-20. (iii) We must also revere God over our persecutors (Matthew 10:28) and (iv) trust the Lord to care about and to address what personal costs we bear for taking our stands for the truth (Matthew 10:29-31)

May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God's gift of eternal life. In response to expressed concerns by people about the evil destruction of society, may we flee to our All-Sufficient God, heeding His Word and trusting in His help for all that we need.