Psalm 11 New Living Translation
Psalm 11
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
1 I trust in the Lord for protection.
So why do you say to me,
“Fly like a bird to the mountains for safety!
2 The wicked are stringing their bows
and fitting their arrows on the bowstrings.
They shoot from the shadows
at those whose hearts are right.
3 The foundations of law and order have collapsed.
What can the righteous do?”
4 But the Lord is in his holy Temple;
the Lord still rules from heaven.
He watches everyone closely,
examining every person on earth.
5 The Lord examines both the righteous and the wicked.
He hates those who love violence.
6 He will rain down blazing coals and burning sulfur on the wicked,
punishing them with scorching winds.
7 For the righteous Lord loves justice.
The virtuous will see his face.
Word of God for the Children of God
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
It’s possible for all of us to read certain passages or verses of Scripture many times yet miss goldmines of truth. Sometimes we pass by and or skim over because we think we’re overly familiar with what we’ve read, and other times it’s because we don’t take the time to meditate and savor the wealth before us.
So let’s take this glorious opportunity God has just gifted to us to dwell on the truth that “the LORD is in his holy temple.” This simple truth offers both comfort and chastening. Its reality is 100% affirmed in many places in the Old Testament (for example Habakkuk 2:20; Psalm 18:6; Micah 1:2), but David provides some additional angles from which to consider it here in Psalm 11.
The first is that “the LORD’s throne is in heaven,” absolutely making Him the exalted Lord. He reigns not as a mortal with limited perspective and control but as the all-powerful, immortal, all-knowing God, Creator of heaven and earth.
He always and forever outlasts all rulers, all nations are as nothing before Him.
Second, God is the observing Lord: “His eyes see.”
From the exalted position of His heavenly throne, nothing is hidden from God’s sight. No good thing done in His name goes unobserved, and no impure motive or thought is secret to Him. (Psalm 139)
What a comfort to know every day of our lives, going back to when we were merely “unformed substance,” is visible to God (Psalm 139:15-16)!
And what a sobering reality to realize every word, thought, and deed is laid bare before Him!
Third, God is the examining Lord: “The LORD tests the righteous.”
His tests are not always or often easy, but they are always precisely what we need. None of us will ever reach heaven without tests and trials along the way.
This may be our all time most unpleasant reality to consider, but it should be most precious to us, for it means we will not panic when God, in His sometimes inscrutable wisdom, narrowly routes a path thru a valley shadowed by death.
God’s tests are never sent without a glorious purpose; they are always for the sake of preparing us for the day when we too shall see Him in His holy temple.
Keep the truth of this verse in mind the next time you feel as though “the foundations are destroyed” (Psalm 11:3).
The instability we sometimes feel is meant to remind us that worldly stability is only an illusion and that true security is found in God alone. He alone is exalted, He alone sees all, and He alone directs our lives and tests us for our good.
When our foundations tremble, crumble, we can remember that this world is not our home and that our sovereign God is leading us to one day inhabit a city with foundations that will not shake (Hebrews 11:10; 12:28). You can know that He is in His holy temple—and He has promised to bring you to that very place.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Praying …
Psalm 46 Authorized (King James) Version
Psalm 46
To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, A Song upon Alamoth.
1 God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed,
and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
3 though the waters thereof roar and be troubled,
though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.
4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God,
the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved:
God shall help her, and that right early.
6 The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved:
he uttered his voice, the earth melted.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,
what desolations he hath made in the earth.
9 He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth;
he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder;
he burneth the chariot in the fire.
10 Be still, and know that I am God:
I will be exalted among the heathen,
I will be exalted in the earth.
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 