Psalm 11: NO ONE SEES BETTER THAN JEHOVAH
"He loves righteousness."
This is a Psalm of trust. Trust is "confidence; a
reliance or resting of the mind on the
integrity, veracity, justice, friendship, or other sound principle of another
person or thing.
"Whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe" (Proverbs 29:25).
"O Lord, thou art my
trust from my youth" (Psalm 71:5).
Psalms of trust are important, for we all need to be able to trust in someone
or something.
The Someone is God, and the Something is the Bible. Note how other
Psalms of trust begin:
"Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust" (Psalm 16
"In You, O Lord, I put my trust;
Let me never be ashamed;
Deliver me in Your righteousness" (Psalm 31:1).
In You, O Lord, I put my trust;Let me never be put to shame" (Psalm 71:1).
Psalm 11 has seven verses and four parts, each of which will help us understand
our
title, "No One Sees Better Than Jehovah." "In the LORD I put my trust;
How can you say
to my soul,
For look! The wicked bend their bow,
They make ready their arrow on the string,
That they may shoot secretly at the upright in heart.
If the foundations are destroyed,
These verses remind us that God is able to see every crisis we face. It is better to put our trust
in Him than to listen to well-meaning friends who say, "Flee as a bird to your mountain." For
some birds, that is what they should do! For human beings, God is our refuge, a very present
help in time of trouble. David is saying, "How can you give me this advice? Don't you know
about the providence of God?" David knew that the dangers were real and near, but he also
knew that it is never a mistake to maintain trust in the Lord. The enemies of the faithful often
make a great deal of apparent progress in their war against righteousness (even to the
destroying of foundations). If the righteous flee to anyone other than God, they cannot overcome.
"The LORD is in His holy temple,
The LORD'S throne is in heaven;
His eyes behold,
His eyelids test the sons of men" (v. 4).
This verse teaches that the One Who is able to see is the only One Who has the very best vantage
point. This just means that He occupies the most favorable spot in the universe. Therefore, He is
always in the best position to see and to help. Other scriptures regularly remind us that it is eternally
impossible for God to be removed from this vantage point! He reigns, and He cannot lose! And
although He reigns from heaven, He is very aware of the needs of the righteous, trusting people on
earth. Every person on earth is continually under His all-seeing eye.
How well do you and I realize this?
Do we even believe that He sees?
Are we willing to trust Him since He sees all?
"The LORD tests the righteous,
But the wicked and the one who loves violence
His soul hates.
Upon the wicked He will rain coals;
Fire and brimstone and a burning wind
Shall be the portion of their cup" (vv. 5,6).
In these verses, another regular theme of the Psalms is brought before those who are advising David:
God always properly deals with all people. In other words, He not only sees all, He is able to do
something about everything He sees. In the first part of verse 5, we are taught that the testing that
God does to the righteous results in His approval of them. In the rest of verse 5 and all of verse 6, the
testing that God does to the wicked results in "hatred." This is a very strong statement, but it should
remind us how very much God is set against all evil and all evildoers. The New Testament teaches the
same thing about Him. People who do not obey Him are lost, people who hate Him are lost, and people
who turn from the truth after embracing it are lost. And in all of these cases, vengeance will come from
God to punish them eternally (II Thessalonians 1:6-10; 2:10-12; II Peter 2:1-3:14; Revelation 21).
Thus, the person who is really in danger is the wicked pursuer of David-not David! The danger for
the righteous is "apparently" there-the danger for the wicked is "really" there.
"For the LORD is righteous,
He loves righteousness;
His countenance beholds the upright" (v. 7)
In this verse, we are led to examine ourselves by asking, "Does He love what He sees in me?" It bears
repeating: God is righteous, He loves righteousness, and He beholds the upright!
Who could possibly appeal to Him more than one who cares about learning and doing righteousness?
Matthew 5:6 says, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be
filled."
In this case, David is convinced that he is right, no doubt because his deeds were based on the word
of God. Psalm 119:172 says, "All thy commandments are righteousness."
Are you righteous before Him right now? Check the following verses to see if you have obeyed the
righteous commands that come from Jesus Christ: Mark 4:24; Luke 8;18; Acts 16:31; 17:30;
Matthew 10:32,33; Acts 22:16; Romans 12:1,2; I Corinthians 15:58; John 4:23,24.
SICK LIST: Donna Fields continues to need our prayers.
GROUP ONE: Plantation South at 1:30; see group leaders
for visitation assignments following evening services.
SING: 5:30 Sunday.
CHILDREN'S CLASS: 5:30 Sunday.
LADIES' CLASS: Ladies' class will meet Tuesday at 10:00.
PANTRY ITEM: Spaghetti and Spaghetti Sauce
FOR THE RECORD:
Sunday Bible Class 103
Sunday AM Worship 124
Sunday PM Worship 91
Wednesday Bible Class 93
Contribution $5128
Budget $4600
CAMP: Don't forget our Bible camp June 17-20.
Please pick up a brochure and registration form or see Brad
Bradshaw or Skip Andrews if you have any questions.
There is a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board for food
items that are needed for camp. We ask that you consider
providing a few items
(we will collect the perishable food right before camp).
Sitting in a church house
no more makes a man a
Christian than sitting in
a hen house makes him a hen.
An old minister remarked
that he wished he knew
what kind of fruit Eve ate
that made her realize she
had no clothes on.
He's like to pass it around again.
Verse of the Week:
"I have done judgment and justice: leave me
not to mine oppressors" (Psalm 119:121).
VOLUME 1:12 MAY 2, 1999