He was family, but that didn't seem to matter. He was a decorated and celebrated soldier. That didn't seem to matter. Time and again he proved himself to be loyal and unflappable, but that didn't matter either. When King Saul looked at his son-in-law David, he saw a threat. He saw an enemy. What's more, Saul purposed that anyone who showed kindness to his son-in-law was also his enemy. in the waning years of Saul's life and kingship, he heard a report about a priest named Ahimelech, who did show his son-in-law, David, kindness. He even aided him, although in a very meager way. It infuriated the king. And he called Ahimelech and all of the priests that were with him to account. Called him into his presence and he demanded a reply. Have you helped my son-in-law David? We read about it in 1 Samuel chapter 22. In verse 17. Let me say this beforehand. Ahimelech acknowledged that he helped David. And he also acknowledged to the king that David was loyal. He put aside any conspiracy theory that Saul was conjuring up in his mind. But this is what Saul said in response. 1 Samuel chapter 22 verse 17. The king said to the guards who were attending him, turn around and put the priests of the Lord to death. because their hand also is with David and because they knew he was fleeing and did not reveal it to me. But the servants of the king were not willing to put forth their hands to attack the priests of the Lord. Those in attendance with Saul knew David. They knew his character. And likely many of them had served with David, alongside David, maybe under David. And they knew him to be loyal to the king. But that didn't matter to Saul. He wanted the threat removed. They wouldn't do it. They stood up against their boss, the king, and said no. Verse 18. Then the king said to Doeg, now earlier in this chapter we're introduced to this man, he was an Edomite. Meaning he was of the lineage of Ishmael, not Isaac. Which being translated mean he was not an Israelite. He was a foreigner. He had no loyalty to the law of God or the people of God. The king said to Doeg, you turn around and attack the priests. and Doeg the Edomite turned around and attacked the priest and he killed that day 85 men who wore the linned ephod. And, the next verse continues, he struck Nob, the city of the priests, with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and infants and oxen, donkeys and sheep, he struck with the edge of the sword. complete annihilation. All this because the king had no regard for life. He had no regard for the law of God. Indeed, Sawhsaw himself as a man above the law. Here we stand on a Sunday before an historic presidential election where people on both sides are accusing the nominee on the other side of being above the law. Whether that's true or whether that is not true is not our point this morning. My point is how are we as believers in the Lord Jesus to respond in a milieu where there are people in positions of power and authority who say whatever they want to say and do whatever they want to do. Let's make this conversation bigger. It's not just about a presidential election in 2024. Nor is it only about the first king of Israel, Saul, and how he responded to the pressures around him. How is it that we respond, any age, any generation, how is it that believers are to respond when wicked men and women have their way and are able to say what goes? say what must be done, even if it is contrary to the rule of law or the rule of God. How are we to respond? Well, there are those that would say, our options are two, fight or flight. Either stand up with your fist in the air and demand to be heard, and demand that things change, or get out of Dodge, wherever that might be. I would present to you this morning that those are not the only two options. of how we as believers must respond in a difficult political climate. We don't know who's going to win. Oh, everybody has their opinion. But we're not going to go there this morning. Where I do want to go is to Psalm 11. We're taking a break from our series through the book of Ephesians because of this Sunday and because of where we stand. So I invite you to turn with me to the book of Psalms, Psalm 11. When you get there, you'll find in the superscription it tells us that David wrote this psalm. But it doesn't tell us when in David's life. I strongly suspect that this psalm was written after Saul, David's boss and father-in-law, after he became green with envy and jealousy at his more popular son-in-law, and before David really knew how tense and intentional his father-in-law was of taking him out. So in between that portion of time where Saul was after him but David was not fully aware of it, I think that may be where this psalm was written. Follow along with me. In the Lord, David writes, I take refuge. How can you say to my soul, flee as a bird to your mountain? For behold, the wicked bend the bow. They make ready their arrow upon the string to shoot in darkness at the upright in heart. If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? The Lord is in his holy temple. The Lord's throne is in heaven. His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, and the one who loves violence His soul hates. Upon the wicked he will rain snares. Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup. For the Lord is righteous. He loves righteousness. The upright will behold his face. In your notes this morning, I have two points. They're not exegetical points, they're more applicational points. And the first is a question, followed by the second, which is its answer. Point number one, fight or flight. David begins this psalm with a declaration, in the Lord I take refuge. I'm going to put a pause on making a comment on that verse for just a little while longer. I want to get into the statement that we begin reading in verse 1 through verse 3 that is contained within quotation marks. Now if you have the NAS like I do or NIV or ESV or New Living, in those translations, Revised Standard, in all of those translations the middle of verse 1 through verse 3 are contained in quotation marks. If you have New King James it's just the end of verse 1. This statement, however long it might be, and I think it's right to include from the middle of verse 1 through verse 3, this statement was uttered probably by a friend or an acquaintance of David. Somebody who had the ability to speak words to him. So this wasn't just a casual acquaintance. It had to be somebody that knew him. Maybe somebody that was in the court, that was sympathetic toward David, understood what was going on, understood the dynamics of what Saul was all about at the time. And he speaks this word that becomes a temptation to David to leave prematurely. He says this. David's asking, how can you say this to me? This is what he says. Flee as a bird to your mountain. David, get out of here. You've all seen birds in your yard or in some field someplace. They may be looking for lunch. of a wormy variety. And as soon as you start approaching them, what happens? Their urge to get out of there is more urgent than their urge to feed their babies or to satisfy their hungry tummy. And they leave. Birds are kind of skittish. When danger shows up, they're out of there. And this well-wisher tells David, get out of here. It's dangerous. Verse 2, behold, the wicked, we don't know who the wicked is. We're suspicious that it is Saul. The wicked bend the bow. They make ready their arrow upon the string. Now if you know anything about archery, you know that you don't put your bow, or you put your arrow in your bow, you don't draw your bow until you have the enemy in sight. And this well-wisher says, David you are in, you're in the crosshairs, if I can mix my metaphors. to shoot in darkness at the upright in heart. You might think, David, that you're safe because it's dark. And you don't know that these guys, the wicked, have night vision goggles. That's how they have you in their sights. David, get out of here! Verse 3, If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? The tacit assumption here is that if there are those, like the wicked, who are a law unto themselves, they have knocked down the foundation. There's nothing else to build on here. And because you don't have, David, you don't have anyone else to appeal to. There is no higher court. There is no other monarch. You have nothing to rely on. Because of that, David, you are a fool not to leave. Flee. Get out of here! Take the flight! Now it is true that every nation has its foundation. That is, it is founded upon, built on a rule, a constitution. And that may be violated and scuttled when a very powerful person comes to the fore. A dictator, if you will. And they can decide whatever. They are a law unto themselves. What is the righteous person to do? What is that righteous person to do if there are no other options? There is no higher court. There is no person of higher authority to appeal to. What are we to do? Are we to raise our fists and fight or are we simply to fly away? I go back to verse three and I ask the question, is that a valid statement? If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? Yes, nations come and go and their constitutions are scuttled and something else comes to the fore. And we have heard historians refer to the United States as an experiment. because the Founding Fathers knew that if ever anyone who is elected decides and has the opportunity and all of the cards are lined up so that they can feed their own, or line their own pockets and do their own thing, yeah, this is not gonna work. But ultimately, God's foundations will never be destroyed. Never. If they could be, if God's foundations, if what he has established is the way that life is formatted and built, if it's possible that those foundations crumble and fall apart, then God's not God. He is omniscient. and omnipotent. He is sovereign. He is the one who is large and in charge of all things at all times. We have nothing to fear. There was panic in the mind and the words of this well-wisher for the future King of Israel, David. But there was pause on his part because of his confidence. And we find that confidence in verse one. In the Lord I take refuge. So I answer my first point by my second point, which is on the second page of your notes. Fight or flight? No. The better response is to endure and engage. Think about David. We know from the Old Testament that there was a time when he, as a shepherd, was caring for his sheep, and a lion threatened his flock. How easy it would have been to simply say, OK, I'm going to take the rest of my lambs over here, Okay, I'll just write off the loss of one lamb. We're talking about a lion here. No, he would not have any of it. He went after that lion, and in the end, the lion was on the ground, and David was on his feet. And then we find out that there was another threat. A bear came against his flock. What happened? Same thing. The bear ended up on the ground and David was on his feet. And all of this is communicated to us in the context of David standing before a enormously huge, Kevlar protected, highly armed big guy named Goliath. Now, my wingspan from tip to tip is six feet. When I stand flat-footed and I put my finger in the air at the very top, it's eight feet. It is so convenient, I tell you that. Goliath was over nine feet tall. That's eight feet right there. Another foot. I would reach his shoulder blade right here. What? David, at the time, Young, not very skilled, except for a slingshot and a rock. And he took down that giant of a tree of a man with one stone. No. Was he trusting only in his strength, in his own skill? No. The Lord is my refuge. He had found God to be his strength, his courage, his skill, and he continually put his trust in the Lord. So he didn't have to have just two options, raising his fist or raising his sword or fleeing. No, he had other options. In verse four of Psalm 11, we find the first of David's convictions. I put four blanks in there for you to write a few things down. This was David's conviction. We find this in the text of scripture. God is available. Always available. This is what he says in Psalm 11. Having listened to this well-wisher, You should flee. What are you going to do if the foundations are broken? David says, the Lord is in his holy temple. He is always available. Part of my growing up years were spent in Cincinnati, Ohio. And while we lived there, I was seven, nine years of age. Seven, two, nine years of age. Don't try to think that I didn't know where I was. I was privileged to have my mom at home. We only had one car. Back in the 60s, that was not unusual at all. When I was home, my mom was home. Now, we lived on a street. that branched off two very steep hills that came down. So steep were those hills that there were frequent automobile crashes. At that age, that time of life, that neighborhood, I was given free reign. I could go and come and go whenever I wanted. I would like to think that that was because I was a responsible young man. I got into more trouble there than anywhere else. But when there was a crash, and there were a number in those years, I would run out. And I'd see what was going on. This was long before cell phones. And then I would run home because I knew that mom would always be there. And she was the telephone if emergency vehicles needed to be called. We were at the second house from the corner. I saw my first dead body on that street. I knew that I could count on her. She would always be there. And she'd call, she'd make whatever arrangements for things, for people that were injured, as were needed. She was available. In a much more important way. David had the conviction that God is always available. I know where he is. He is in his holy temple. Second, David was convinced that God was sovereign. Again, verse four, the Lord is in his holy temple. The Lord's throne is in heaven. Now if the Lord's throne is in heaven, the Lord is enthroned in heaven. That is, the Lord is in charge. He's the guy. There is no one else. He is the sovereign one. Now from a theological perspective, I want you to listen to this statement from the Westminster Confession of Faith. God, the great creator of all things, doth uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest even to the least, by his most wise and holy providence, according to his infallible foreknowledge and the free and immutable counsel of his own will, to the praise of the glory of his wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy. He controls, he does. From a pastoral perspective, listen to the words of Charles Spurgeon. He commented, there is no attribute more comforting to his children than that of God's sovereignty. Under the most adverse circumstances, in the most severe trials, they believe that sovereignty has ordained their afflictions, that sovereignty overrules them, and that sovereignty will sanctify them. There is nothing for which the children ought to be more earnestly, ought to more earnestly contend than the doctrine of their master being over all creation. The kingship of God over all the works of his own hand. The throne of God and his right to sit upon that throne, for it is God upon the throne in whom we trust. No matter the strength, no matter the intimidating force of the foe who stands before us, this is our conviction. This is my father's world. Oh, let me ne'er forget that though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet. This is my father's world. Why should my heart be sad? The Lord is King. Let the heavens ring. God reigns. Let the earth be glad. Third, David knew that God is available, God is sovereign. Thirdly, God is omniscient. Again, verse four, the Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven. His eyelids, or his eyes behold, his eyelids test the sons of men. His eyes never close. He sees all. He comprehends everything that he sees. He knows everything that is taking place. Keep your finger here in Psalm 11. We'll be right back. I want you to turn with me over to Psalm 121. A psalm from another author, though we don't know who it is specifically. He begins with a rhetorical question. I lift up my eyes to the mountains. From where shall my help come? What are you looking for? Are you looking for an army to crest that mountain? Are you looking for that dread champion to be your deliverer? The psalmist writes, verse 2, no. My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip. He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. He ain't gonna doze off. He ain't gonna lie down for a good long nap. The Lord is your keeper. The Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day nor the moon by night. The Lord will protect you from all evil. He will keep your soul. The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever. With confidence, David knew that. In the Lord, I take refuge. I don't need to run out of panic and fear and terror. I don't need to raise my fist in defiant anger. Endure and engage. Endure and engage. Fourth, God is available, God is sovereign, God is omniscient, God is just. Look at verse five. The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked and the one who loves violence, his soul hates Might be a person in business, might be a politician, might be somebody who is in the role of a sheriff or a police officer of some kind. Whoever that person is, if they are acting outside of the constraints God has put upon them in their role, in their profession, God says, He hates that one. Oh, that's strong language. That's a little hard to hear. Don't we find in the New Testament God is a God of love? Indeed we do. First John chapter four, it says it twice there. God is 100% love. and he's 100% opposed to anything that is opposed to him. He's 100% wrathful, all at the same time. Psalm 5 says this, for you are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness. No evil dwells in you. The boastful shall not stand before your eyes. You hate all who do iniquity. Ezra chapter 8, the hand of our God is favorably disposed to all those who seek him, but his power and his anger are against all those who forsake him. Those who do their own thing, go their own way, are a law unto themselves. God opposes them. Verse 6, upon the wicked God will rain snares. Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup. Tapping into the imagery of Sodom and Gomorrah and the judgment that fell upon those cities, the lovers of lies and of crime and violence and rebellion will drink, as Spurgeon writes, a cup of misery and not a drop of mercy. All this together. David says, no, I'm not going to flee and I'm not going to fight. I will endure. I will engage. I'll explain that in a minute. I want you to first look at verse 7 as he wraps up this psalm. He says, for the Lord is righteous. He loves righteousness. And the upright, the righteous, will behold his face. Remember when Moses was up on the mountain receiving the Ten Commandments? He said, I want to see your glory. And God says, you couldn't handle it. You can't handle it. Not in this state as a man. I'm going to put you in the cleft of the rock, this little crevice here. I'm going to hide you. And I'm going to walk by. and you're going to see my backward parts, but you're not going to see my face. No one can see my face and live. And yet we find in the New Testament, 1 Corinthians chapter 13, Paul reveals to us that as believers, though we see now in the mirror darkly, we are going to see him face to face. It's going to happen after our glorification. The gist of all of this is, David said, I know that God is my refuge. He is my protector. He is my fortress. I can go to Him at any time, and I know He is there to protect me. Fight or flight? No, I don't have to do that. I can endure all things through him who strengthens me. Think about those three friends of Daniel. They stood before Nebuchadnezzar. He demanded this one who was a law unto himself. He demanded that they bow down to him. Bow down to the image he had erected. Nah. Not doing it, O King. They said in a respectful tone. Could they have died in that furnace? Oh yeah, absolutely. Did they expect to die in that furnace? Oh yeah, absolutely. They weren't going to bow down. God protected them. They endured hardship. Now, historically David did flee and on occasion he did fight. that illustration from 1 Samuel chapter 22 regarding Ahimelech and the priests of Nob all being killed because they aided David, albeit in a meager way. David was in flight. Was he wrong to do so? He deemed it prudent to do so, though he didn't do so out of panic. And there were times when he raised his sword to protect other people, not to demand a change so that he could get his way. He was one who had his focus, the focus of his eyes was on the Lord. He realized, he had experienced, God is his refuge. Period. And in the Lord is where he put his trust. I want you to turn with me over to Psalm 37. Find Psalm 37 verse 7. David writes, rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him. Do not fret because of him who prospers in the way. Literally it means do not get heated. because of the prosperity of the wicked, the presumptuous authority of the wicked. Now rest in the Lord and wait patiently on Him. And so I endure Maybe it's prudent at times for me to leave. Maybe it is prudent to take up an arm to protect my family. But if that doesn't happen, does that mean that God is not in control anymore? No. No. Let me say a word about a response of engaging. What wicked people, liars, cheaters, people that are a law unto themselves, you know what they need most? They don't need a conversation about your views on immigration or the economy, or transgenderism, or abortion. That might be very helpful to have those kind of conversations. But those are second to what they really need. What these people need is the gospel of the Lord Jesus. They need the conviction that they are sinners, And they need that message that says Jesus died for sinners. They need to be washed. They need to be cleansed. They need to be born from above. And there's our responsibility. Paul wrote to the church in Rome. Passage we've turned to many times. Romans chapter 10 verse 14. How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how will they believe in him in whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? You got to have somebody communicating the message of sin and coming judgment and escape from God's wrath only found in the Lord Jesus Christ. People in this world, not just politicians and not just people in authority, not just people that are wealthy or are able to do whatever they want to do. Everybody needs this kind of message. Not this kind of message. They need this message. You know, we don't have to be worried about society and where it's going. Is it going to get worse? Probably. In our generation? Don't know. But our hope is not in this world. My citizenship is not here. Oh, I'm not meaning to imply that since I did vote already, and I did put my ballot in the mail, that I'm doing so fraudulently because I'm not a citizen. No, I'm a citizen in the United States. But you know what I mean. My chief identity is not wrapped up in the fact that I am an Oregonian or I am an American. It's that I'm a follower of Christ. He is my joy. He is my refuge. Let's pray. Father, we look around, we watch the news, and we see godlessness, and we see grandstanding. And what these people around us need is the gospel. Father, open up doors of opportunity so that frequently we might speak of the resurrected Christ. We know that as more and more people are converted and become followers, genuine followers of Christ, Their life will change, their family will change, their neighborhood will change, their state will change, the world will change. Our hope is in you, it's not in this world. And I thank you for this time in the scriptures where you bring that to our mind again. With thanksgiving and expectation of your second coming do we pray this. Amen.