Tonight in our study of the Psalms, we're turning to Psalm 11. This is a short and sweet psalm, and if I had to count up my favorites, Psalm 11 would definitely be on my list of favorites. For the choir director, a Psalm of David. In the Lord 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. That's the Lord's blessing on this portion of his word. O Lord, we come now to the inspired text of your holy word, and we pray that you would use this to teach our hearts how to love and how to serve you. We pray that you would draw back the veil and show yourself to your church, for we pray it in Jesus' name. Amen. King David surely led an interesting life. No two days ever seemed to be the same for this man after God's own heart. There were up times and there were down times. Episodes where David seemed hard-pressed, as well as periods of relative peace and quiet. Surely this great man experienced the gamut of temptations, sometimes falling prey to them and at other times dodging the snares that Satan put in his path. Because his life was so varied and colorful, David can serve as an excellent counselor to his fellow believers, helping them to navigate through the temptations which threatened to shipwreck the soul. This is one more reason that the Psalms are so dearly loved by the church. They provide godly counsel for our lives and practical training in holiness. Our psalm tonight speaks specifically to the temptation to despair and to run away from our trials. Though we don't know exactly when David wrote this song, there were many chapters in his life where these words would have fit very naturally. It could have been during his early days in Saul's court, when the king of Israel was regularly hurling spears at his young son-in-law. Or it could have been during the time in the wilderness when David was fleeing for his life and was almost caught over and over. It could have also been written during his ordeal with his son Absalom. Those circumstances would also seem to fit this psalm. But whenever it was, it must have been a time of great distress. And David's anxieties were only compounded by the people around him who are advising him to run for his life and to save his own skin. I want to look at this psalm tonight considering specifically the topic of temptation and especially the temptation to despair. Let's look first then at an extended temptation. then secondly at reacting to reality, and in closing with how to triumph over temptation in our own lives. I must admit that for years and years now I have read this psalm wrong. Because of a careless and superficial reading of the text, I assumed that there was real substance to the first three verses. And yet, in taking a fresh look at them, it became unmistakably clear that we are encountering in verses 1 through 3 an extended temptation, an enticing speech, which starts in verse 1 and continues through verse 3. Upon a closer examination of my English Bible, I saw that the translators have seen it this way all along. putting quotation marks around that section of the text. How can you say to my soul, quote, 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 and hard, if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? End quote. And so by reading these three verses as a single speech by David's would-be advisors and counselors, I think that we get a full flavor for the temptation. This temptation starts out with an urgent appeal to the king to flee as a bird to your mountain. Now the verb for flee here in the Hebrew means to shake, to waver, to wander, to flutter about, to move to and fro. And so this is not a determined course that is pursued with great vigor. This is not making a beeline for that mountain. But this is to flutter here and there, to wander about, to be confused and bewildered. Well, the tempter goes on to provide for the king a rationale for his flight. The wicked are bending their bows, he says. They are putting their arrows upon the string and they will shoot out of the darkness at the upright in heart. So fly, O king, For your enemies have you in their sights, even now you are vulnerable and they are ready to slay you. Now the crowning touch in this temptation is really the question that is posed in verse 3. If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? This is an increasingly hopeless situation, O King. The foundations are destroyed and you are powerless to resist. And so the only thing that is left to you is to flutter away and hide yourself in the mountains. Now a little analysis of this temptation reveals several dangerous points. You can see in the words of this temptation an idea to view everything in the worst possible light. Things are bad. They couldn't get any worse. Look at everything in the darkest, blackest tones. This advice seems to assume the great strength of the wicked And it presupposes the guaranteed success and certainty of their plans. And so this is really playing off of a sense of almost paranoia and irrational fear of the power of evil. Moreover, underlying this temptation is a subtle message that is significant and yet silent. Notice that there is no mention of God in this advice. In fact, the underlying idea is that things are so bad that God can't help you. He won't help you. And so all you can do is rely upon yourself. distrust God but trust yourself to save you all you have to rely upon is you we also see running through this temptation an undercurrent of despair and hopelessness and the suggestion of verse 3 is really the most hopeless of all the foundations are destroyed Wake up and smell the coffee. Everything is lost. It's hopeless. Recognize it. And so the temptation closes on a very down, hopeless note. The righteous are powerless to change things. There's nothing left to do. Well, let me ask you a moment. Have you ever had similar thoughts yourself when you have been in difficult strengths? Have you ever thought to yourself, you know, a lot of people are out to get me? Now, this doesn't have to be supported by the facts. Sometimes people can get in their heads this idea that many, perhaps most, of humanity is after me. I remember visiting with a family in another church one time and I noticed that their attendants had wavered and I sat down with them and I said, what's going on here? I was very concerned for them. And their little boy, who must have been no more than seven or eight years old, said, There are a lot of people in this church who would rather that we weren't here. Where did that come from? As far as I knew, everybody loved this family. They were as perplexed as I was. How does a seven-year-old get it in his head that there are people who don't like us? They'd rather that we weren't here. And yet sometimes we can get that in our minds. People are out to get me. People. don't like me. Have you ever come to the conclusion foundations are crumbling around me? The very ground of everything is breaking away. It's a hopeless scenario that I'm stuck with. Things can't change and there's nothing that a righteous man can do. Have you ever thought, perhaps I should flutter away and lose myself in the mountains? It's best to run because that's the only sensible solution to my despairing hopeless condition. Well, however compelling the advice that David received may have seemed on the surface, David reacts to the temptation that he encounters by remembering reality. In the Lord, I take refuge, he says. I have put my trust in him. So how can you say to me, flee now as a bird to your mountains? David answers the tempting advice of his so-called friends by remembering that he had sought refuge in the Lord. And this is really a recurring theme in David's life. It seemed that whenever Saul was close on his heels about to capture David, David was going up to the stronghold. He was hiding in the fortress. And as David went to the stronghold, he slowly began to realize that his real stronghold was Jehovah, that the Lord was his fortress, that he could not flee anywhere but to God and find safety. We are safe and we are secure when we flee to the Lord and hide ourselves in him. Within his protection, nothing in heaven, nothing on earth can ever touch us. Temptations lose their luster when they are viewed in the light of his glorious presence. Well, David comes back to this thought, expanding on it in the second half of the psalm. The Lord is in His holy temple. The Lord's throne is in heaven. Now by affirming these facts, David is really remembering reality that God is still God and He is still in heaven. He remembers that our God is a holy God who dwells in perfect and utter holiness. everything that our God does is holy and holiness surrounds him. He remembers that God sits upon his holy throne in his heavenly temple and from his holy throne God is reigning as the sovereign king of glory. He is judging justly. He is ruling in righteousness. David knows that the living God is continuing to govern all his creatures and all their actions in uninterrupted and perfect righteousness. And so by the end of the psalm he has come to recall once again the Lord is righteous and the Lord loves righteousness. And so he responds to temptation by refreshing his theological grid. He steps back and he remembers what he believes about God. You see, this is why theology is so important. It's not just some academic thing that we use to persecute young candidates for the ministry at Presbytery. Neither is it something that we do to show how smart and how studied we are. Theology that is good, sound theology comes in very handy when we're facing temptations to despair. And it's times like this that we renew our commitment and we say, I know God is still God. And the things that I believe about Him are the things that are anchors for my soul. When the great storms of life are blowing against me, He is my foundation. I am rooted in Him. And so theological truth, theological reality comes rushing back to David's mind, and it's a great comfort and a great blessing to him. It helps him to cope with the temptation and to resist the powerful pull of the evil one. towards hopelessness and despair. A further reality that David recalls is that the Lord sees everything. His eyes see. His eyelids test the sons of men. Now this word eyelids, that's kind of a confusing thing. We tend to think of eyelids as being closed. We don't think of eyelids as really being open. Well, this may be not the greatest translation. It's a very traditional translation. But perhaps a better translation of this word and this idea is the piercing, penetrating gaze of Jehovah. As he glances, he sees through what he's looking at. And so as he's looking and scanning the earth, he is seeing all things upon earth. He is seeing the sons of men, and he is testing them, and he is trying them, and he sees through them. He pierces them with his perceptive sights. And as he looks upon the sons of men, he examines every thought. He sees and knows every single word and each and every deed. He even looks into the heart and sees the secret motives of men's hearts. It's all seen, it's all known accurately by him. He doesn't miss anything and in fact the Lord tests everything. He knows the man who loves violence. He sees the man who harbors wickedness in his heart. There are countless sinners running around this world who think that they've got everybody fooled. And while it is true that you can fool some people, some of the time, Perhaps even most people, most of the time, if you're good at playing the game, God is never fooled. He looks in the heart and he sees that love of evil and violence and his soul hates the worker of iniquity. And so God is looking upon the sons of men and he sees the scoundrels in their wickedness. It should not come as a great surprise that the righteous Lord will then punish the evildoer even as the same God is rewarding and protecting the righteous man. The contrast found throughout these verses is very stunning. God's soul hates the violent worker of iniquity, but he loves the righteous and he shines his face upon the upright in hearts. He rains down snares upon the wicked. He gives them fire and brimstone and burning wind for the portion of their cup, even as he is filling the cup of his loved ones to overflowing. with blessing and peace. God's judgments against the wicked remind us very much of Sodom and Gomorrah and how he overthrew those wicked cities. I think it's fair to say from this psalm that as God did to the men of Sodom, so he will do to every evildoer who lives in rebellion against God's holy will. But then in contrast to his fierce judgments against the wicked, the Lord richly blesses and greatly prospers and constantly protects all who trust in his name. When a man takes refuge in the Lord, he is safe and secure for all eternity. In the book of John, Jesus says a very interesting thing, a thing that should bring us great comfort. He says that the saints, his chosen ones, are in my Father's hand. And then he says a few verses later, they're in my hand. It's as if the Father and the Son cup the elect in their hands. And nothing can pry apart the fingers of God as they are enfolded over His beloved people. And so while He is raining down fire and brimstone and burning wind and snares and coals of fire on the wicked, He is over here cupping the righteous in the palm of His hand, cooing to them, delighting over them, loving them, destroying these wretches and protecting his people and so as we consider the reality we must remember God always punishes evil people and God does indeed protect his own well we see that David resists and overcomes the temptations that he faced David in this psalm also provides us with guidance for how we can be more than conquerors through him who loved us. In closing tonight, I want to distill for you five principles that will enable you to successfully resist temptation, and especially to resist the temptation to hopelessness and despair. I think each of these principles is clearly rooted in this psalm and it is clearly based on David's fine example. But let me say, you can't do this in your strength any more than David could do it in his strength. It's beyond your capacity to do this. But by the power of the Holy Spirit, and through your trust in Christ. You can not only resist temptation, but you can conquer temptation. You can overcome temptation. And so all of what I'm about to say is under the umbrella of the ministry of the Holy Spirit empowering you to do these things and to resist and to overcome. The first principle that I would suggest to you is to recognize temptation as temptation and to remember its source. David's response in verse 1 really shows some self-awareness. He realized that he was being tempted towards something which was wicked. He saw temptation for what it is. He treated temptation as temptation. Satan can often have a measure of success with you only as long as he convinces you to suspend disbelief. If you will take his temptations at face value and if you will go with him where he suggests you go without remembering that these are temptations coming from Satan, he can make some headway and he can trip you up. But when you step back from the situation and you say to yourself, self, you are being tempted right now by the devil, suddenly everything falls apart. The convincing, enticing power of temptation is suddenly dissolved as you realize, oh, what am I thinking? This is a temptation! I'm in the middle of a temptation and it's coming from Satan, the enemy of my soul. How gullible I have been! And so you've got to do what David does, steps back and say, how can you say to my soul these silly things? No, no, you're tempting me. And I see that. And I step away from it and it loses its luster. The second step is to remember and renew your trust in the Lord. Notice what David does there in that first verse. In the Lord I take refuge, he says. I have done it in days gone by. I am doing it right now. I will do it all the days of my life. I am taking refuge in God, my Savior. The Lord, the Lord is my stronghold, not some mountain. not some fortress the Lord is my refuge and so I will not only remember it but I will say it now let me just encourage you to do this little thing there you are in the pressure cooker of temptation you're feeling yourself very weak this sin is looking awfully good and you're about to yield Stop yourself and say what David said. In the Lord I take refuge. Just say it out so you can hear it. It helps. It breaks the spell. Oh yeah, the Lord. The Lord. He's my refuge. I'm trusting in Him. And in voicing that trust, I believe we drive Satan and his minions away from us. We are resisting him in the name and the power of Jesus. And so we are renewing our trust in the Lord. A third important step or stage is to consciously remember the true nature of things. Bring yourself back to reality. God is still God. He's still in heaven. There's still a throne there in the holy sanctuary. He is still surrounded by myriads of angels and glorified saints. He is still the sovereign king of glory. He still sees. He continues to know the thoughts of my heart. And he sees what I'm tempted to do. He knows what I am wanting to do in this situation. The Lord is aware. Again, as you're sitting there in the midst of temptation, just consider that the Lord Jesus Christ would be sitting next to you. And then what would you do? Would you continue down the road to sin? Would you yield and submit to what you were doing and wanting to do, even though Jesus was sitting right beside you, looking on? Well, even though He's not physically present on earth, He sees and He knows it all. And if He were in your physical presence, physically watching you, wouldn't that change some things? So, you know, you've got to remember reality. You've got to remember, too, God punishes people who do what I am being tempted to do. Whoever goes this way, into this kind of sinful conduct, He gives them snares, and burning wind, and fire, and brimstone. Not so sure I want that. That's not such a good deal. The trade-off isn't really that great. the pleasures of sin for a short season, and then I get brimstone? But over here, if I do what's right, God's love will rest upon me, and His protection will surround me. And He will give me eternal blessings and fullness of joy in His presence. What do I do? Part of Satan's tricks is also to say, you will be blessed if you sin. But if you pursue holiness, it's going to make you miserable, and your life is going to be over, and there's just no future in it. Righteousness is a dead-end street, Satan tells us. Now, get ourselves back to reality. God punishes the wicked. God protects and blesses the righteous. There's consequences, eternal consequences. for what I'm choosing to do right now. And so, getting ourselves back to reality, remembering God, remembering what He says He will do. It's also important, I think, to consciously remember the true nature of our circumstances. A lot of times in temptation, we'll get a skewed view of things. Things are much worse and hopeless and desperate. But if we look at it realistically, we see the foundations aren't destroyed. And those wicked, evil people who are out there in the dark with their arrows, they're not guaranteed success. Until I remember that things are maybe not exactly as they seem. I want to look at my circumstances afresh. and see them in the light of God's reality. Well, fourth principle is to simply refuse to submit to temptation. Now again, this is only by the power of the Holy Spirit. But in the power of the Holy Spirit, you can say no to sin and yes to God. Satan cannot make you sin. Flip Wilson was wrong. The devil did not make him do it. Flip made Flip do it. The devil can't force you to sin. The best he can hope for is that his advertisements will entice you to make the choice he favors. But he cannot make you sin. You stand there at the crossroads and you have a choice to make. Either I will submit to temptation and do what I am being enticed to do, or I will resist it. I will refuse it. I'll say no to the devil. And as David stands here being coaxed to despair, he says, no, I refuse. I will not give up like you're telling me to. And so we've got to make a choice. And part of our choice is to refuse to submit to temptation. The final step is the positive alternative. This is the second half of the choice. Not only should we refuse to submit and say no to sin, but we need to say yes to God.