Faith in the Lord's Righteousness - Psalm 11

 

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. NKJV

11 In the Lord I put my trust;
How can you say to my soul,
“Flee as a bird to your mountain”?

Dennis: That’s how we feel. We want to flee from the problems we see in the world. We wish we could go away some where and hide from it all.

² 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.

It seems all around us that it is difficult for honest people to get a platform. If you do not uphold the opinion of those in power you are hunted and persecuted.

³ If the foundations are destroyed,
What can the righteous do?

They have been destroying the foundations of faith in God for centuries. The French tried it in the late 1700s and ended up with the Bloody Reign of Terror where 17,000 were guillotined in a period of 11 months. Charles Lyle and Charles Darwin did their part. Lyle’s theory gave us millions of years of geological time, while Darwin’s theory gave us molecule to man evolution. Britain that once great nation lost her moral authority as she abandoned God and her civilization soon came to nought.

Daniel Webster, Secretary of State to three of the first US Presidents, said, “If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering and to prosper, but if we or our posterity neglect its instruction and authority, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us and bury all our glory in profound obscurity.”

⁴ The Lord is in His holy temple,
The Lord’s throne is in heaven;
His eyes behold,
His eyelids test the sons of men.

God is watching and we will not go unpunished. We will reap what we have sown. He tests us to see if we will believe His word and follow Him even though all those around us seem to be ignoring Him.

⁵ The Lord tests the righteous,
But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.

God’s word says that God is angry with the wicked every day. One day the judgment will come. Sudden destruction will come and we will not escape.

⁶ Upon the wicked He will rain coals;
Fire and brimstone and a burning wind
Shall be the portion of their cup.

In the last days, God will judge the wicked. For 3 ½ years the righteous will be persecuted by the wicked and many of the righteous will be imprisoned and killed. At the end of that great period of tribulation, those 42 months, or 1,260 days, Christ shall return in the clouds and catch away His bride in that supernatural event called the Rapture. That period of tribulation is found in Revelation 8-10 and parts of Revelation 11,12, and 13.

The wicked shall chastise the just while God will rain down plagues upon the wicked. Immediately after the tribulation of those days where a terrible 1/3 destruction of life on earth has taken place, Jesus will appear in the clouds to save His own. The wicked and unbelievers, however, will not repent. For some 75 days God will rightly rain on them the Vials of Wrath found in Revelation 6:12-17, 11:18, 14:18-20, 15:7-8, 16:1-21 18:1-23, 19:11-21. The wicked shall be turned into hell and all the nations that forget God.

⁷ For the Lord is righteous,
He loves righteousness;
His countenance beholds the upright.

The meek and the poor of the earth will finally see their righteous God give to the wicked what they have deserved for so long. The Bible says, though mercy be shown to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness. Isaiah 26:10. God has been patient, giving the wicked time to repent. In the end, God will be justified in His righteous judgments against the wicked as He was justified in sending the great Flood that killed all humanity except Noah, or in His righteous judgment of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

For a thousand years Christ will rule on earth in righteousness and love spending even more time to give those that survived those terrible days a chance to change and accept His loving rule. But we don’t have to wait until then. Today is the day of salvation. Call upon the Lord today, while He may be found, before the horrendous days of great tribulation are upon us.

Prayer: Jesus, I sense something bad is coming down the tubes. I know I can’t make it in my own strength. I have tried and have only made a mess of things. Please take over my life. I surrender all to You. Take me, Lord. Take control. I need You. Amen