A Path Through Chapter 11 - Taking Refuge in God

 

There's a path, let's follow it We're now clearly on this path, hasn't it been life-giving so far. Today we delve into chapter 11, it's short, but packed with so much!     We'll look at this chapter, starting with a really powerful song that's been on my playlist all week, don't skip through it, have a listen. I'm very excited for our guest speaker David Oliver to share with us. David is an author of many books, a speaker, businessman and someone who hears from the Lord. You'll find his talk part way through the path today, he gives us such a poetic and well-crafted overview of both the Psalms and this chapter all in one video. so lets... get on the path

Psalm 11  For the director of music. Of David.   In the Lord I take refuge. How then can you say to me:     “Flee like a bird to your mountain. 2 For look, the wicked bend their bows; they set their arrows against the strings to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart. 3 When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” 4 The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord is on his heavenly throne. He observes everyone on earth; his eyes examine them. 5 The Lord examines the righteous, but the wicked, those who love violence, he hates with a passion. 6 On the wicked he will rain     fiery coals and burning sulfur; a scorching wind will be their lot. 7 For the Lord is righteous, he loves justice;  the upright will see his face.

We'll begin the stroll down our path today by transporting ourselves to the throne. David expressed and celebrated this fact in verse 4 that the Lord is on his throne. This song by People and Songs called The Throne Room is an explosion of worship to get us started and focused on Him.

Once again we start reading on our path with David using the word refuge. Put another way that's where David puts his trust, in the Lord.  Where do you put your trust, where is your refuge? These are key questions to keep in our mind as we delve into chapter 11 together.  David had to find safety often as he was chased by his enemies, he knew the meaning of a refuge. Most if not all of you reading this and going on the path today don't need a physical refuge. You're probably not being pursued by an enemy, you're not trying to outrun a foe or wild animal. You won't be dwelling in a cave tonight either. So is that practical to us? When do we need to take refuge? When I think of the previous year of the lockdown and Covid situation, taking refuge and trust in Him has been at the top of the list. You and I haven't made it through this tumultuous time without knowing where the safe place is located.  Check out verse two, the wicked have their bows ready, the arrows are against the string and ready to shot. The enemy is against us, the plots and schemes of the devil are toward you and me. I remember reading a book many years ago now called 'The Three Battlegrounds' it highlighted the spiritual battle this is present in our mind, the church and the spiritual realm. It's real, you've probably experienced the battle recently, the need for the place of refuge and the the never-ending quest of putting your trust in the Lord.  While this is a scary beginning, just wait for the second half of this short psalm.

I've never been in a building where the foundations were crumbling, I've not endured an earthquake or bombing. I can only imagine how scary and terrifying it must be when a structure shakes or even falls. I do remember back in university I along with my friend Rob were part of a group on a weekend trip with Habitat for Humanity. It's a wonderful charity that builds houses all over the US for people who are in need. I was quite worried to go on the weekend as I'm not a builder. I can hardly nail a nail or screw in a screw and certainly can't climb up ladders to save my life. Anyway I agreed to go and on arrival found out that we weren't going to build, rather we were tasked with tearing down.  It was an extremely old and dilapidated house. After our crew were done deconstructing and clearing, the next group would come in and build a brand new house. It was a weird feeling to tear down, to rip out nails, boards, bricks and more. The house shook as we took axes to the walls and were quite frankly ruthless with the old house. Everything was being destroyed, I'm sure the foundations were shaking as the angst of many college students was taken out on the old home.  David asks the question. 'When the foundations are being destryoyed, what can the righteous do? When all is falling apart, when what has been built is seemingly or literally being destroyed what can the righteous do? We see the answer to this question later in our psalm.

Let's pause and hear this chapter sung, maybe a bit as David would have on stringed instruments. This is My Trust is in the Lord by Nathan C. George and Family.

Are you ready for an insightful, painting of words from our guest speaker today. You'll want to click below to hear David Oliver give us a great view of Psalm 11. Below this video you'll see a button which will take you to his website where you'll find books, a blog and bio.

David Oliver Website

When you look into a lake or the river it's often a murky view, you can't usually pick out fish swimming, or usually see the bottom. It's not a clear scene. Here in Overton at the Test River it's a different story. Looking over the bridge it's translucent waters reveal the fish, the stones at the bottom along with the little webbed feet of the ducks. You can see it all, it is a truly beautiful waterway, it's a clear view.                                               We see in verse 4 a clear picture and statement. 'The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord is on his heavenly throne'. We see throughout the Bible in Isaiah, Matthew, Hebrews and especially in the book of Revelation that the Lord is in a holy place; seated upon the throne as the King over all. This is so ultimately comforting that He is observing everyone and examining them. This means He sees you. The king is on the throne, he has billions of subjects yet knows each one.  As we hear later in Psalms God knows even the number of hairs on our head. He sees us in our troubles, throughout this covid pandemic which has ravaged the world and our everyday lives. He's seen it. He knows your struggle. He knew David's fight, and David knew where to turn. We too know where we can turn, and where to put our trust.

So what can the righteous do? David asked that question earlier as did we. We can turn to him, and see him upon his throne. To recognise him as the King means that is where our authority derives from, and the King is the one we worship. What can we do? We can trust in the Lord. We can read from Revelation that the winner of the battle is already determined. The victor in your battle has been declared. A great way to summarise the big picture of this chapter is much like we see in Revelation - Jesus Wins.  We see in the last verse that those who stay close will see his face. What a sight, to look into the face of the Lord. This is metaphorical, but even so it doesn't lose it's power, to see the Lord. This brings us to our final song today.

This worship song paints the picture of seeing the face of the Lord. Here is You're  Beautiful by Phil Wickham.

Dear Lord, We declare today that you are high above, you are the King upon the throne. We fall at your feet in adoration, in worship and stating that you a holy, righteous judge. Lord please save us from our enemies, keep us safe in our storms, be a refuge to us. Lord we desire to see your face, may your face shine upon us. Amen