Psalm 11 is where we are. Psalm chapter 11. At this rate, we only have 139 more Thursdays to get through the book of Psalms. That is not quite three years of Thursdays. I'll probably just be honest, I'm not gonna make it. There'll have to be a long pause between Psalms. There's a lot of them. Today's is a bit shorter, seven verses, Psalm 11. If you will turn there, let's look at it together. It says, 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." Again, this is a short psalm, and we'll just start off in verse number one and try to get an idea of what the psalmist is recalling, what the psalmist is envisioning, what's happening in his mind as he writes this song to the Lord as he writes this song to be sung. It says, in the Lord I take refuge. How can you say to my soul, flee as a bird to your mountains? It seems as though the peers and the companions of the psalmist are telling him to run. It's like, get out of here. We see here that the wicked are upon them all. It's like, So in verse number two, behold the wicked bend the bow. They make ready their arrow upon the string to shoot in darkness at the upright in heart. You just get this sense of urgency that they have you in their sights. They're making their arrow ready now upon their bowstring. So you need to get out of here. Flee as a bird to the mountains. There seems to be a panic that accompanies this word. And his friends are trying to protect his life. They're trying to protect And they're saying, run. There's really no hope. And in verse 3, they add, if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? And that could be translated, since the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? It seems that this enemy, these destructive and vicious enemies, have come in and they've destroyed the foundations. They're prevailing over the psalmist. They're prevailing over his companions. They have him in their sights. They're getting ready to knock their arrow on their bowstring. And the friends of the psalmist are saying, the foundations are gone. What can you do now except run? And this may be how we feel. As we watch the news, as we look around, the enemy is on the move. The enemy is on the move and he is orchestrating quite an affront. None of the things that have happened are haphazard. None of the things that have happened are coincidence. None of the things that have happened just happen to be coming together. No, there's a force behind them. There's an enemy at work behind all of the things that seem to be going wrong. in our world. But I want us to just stop in the midst of all the rhetoric, in the midst of all the news reports, in the midst of all the talking heads that we listen to too much, honestly. And I want us to just be reminded that we have an enemy. And the enemy is not who our eyes keep getting focused on. Our enemy is not who our eyes keep getting directed to. Ephesians chapter 6 And verse 12 says that our struggle is not against flesh and blood. That means that what we see, the flesh that we see, the blood that we see, that's not our enemy. The flesh and blood that we see before our eyes, these temporal, worldly, fleshly people, they're not our enemy. No matter how wicked they may seem, no matter how godless they may seem, no matter how antichrist they may seem, No matter how wrong they may seem, no matter how sinister they may seem, our struggle is not against them. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but it is against the rulers and against the powers. This is Ephesians 6, verse 12, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Let's be reminded in the midst of all of the craziness that characterizes the year 2020, Especially here in the Western world, let's be reminded that our enemy cannot be seen with the naked eye. He can only be perceived with the spiritual eye, and he is at work. He is sharp. He has had centuries to practice. He has a strategy. He has a plan. He can manipulate He works in people and through people and around people to bring things together, to set up an affront against God and against His people. Let's not forget that our real enemy, our real enemy is powerful. Our real enemy is merciless. Our real enemy is wicked and his bow bent. His arrow is ready upon the string to shoot at the upright in heart. He's trying to take us out, and that's why we must have the shield of faith, according to Ephesians 6, to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. So the psalmist here is being encouraged by his companions. He's being encouraged by his friends to run to the hills, to escape, to get out of dodge. There's an urgency. There's a panic. The enemy is upon them. He's got his bow ready to draw. He's got his arrow ready to knock up on the string. The foundations are being destroyed. Get out of town. And we need to remember we have an enemy. We have an enemy that is out to get us. It's not flesh and blood. This enemy is supernatural in nature. His bow is ready to be drawn. His arrow is ready to be knocked. And we better make sure we have the shield of faith if we're going to quench those darts the psalmist did. The psalmist did. His friends are saying, run to the hills, flee to the mountains like a bird. But look at what the psalmist says, in the Lord I take refuge. How can you say to my soul, flee as a bird to your mountain? I know all of this is going on. I know everything is falling apart around us. I know that the world seems to be crumbling. I know that the wicked one is on the move. I know that the evil one has staged a great affront against the kingdom of God and against his people and he's dividing and he's conquering it seems, but you're telling me to run? The Lord is my refuge. How can you say to me, flee as a bird to my mountain? We're not retreating to earthly hiding places. We are taking refuge in the Lord. Let us always remember. Let us remember that the kingdom of God is not on defense. The kingdom of God is on offense. The kingdom of God is not in retreat. That's why all of that armor goes on the front. that is described in Ephesians 6, the helmet of salvation, the belt of truth, the shield of faith, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of faith. He mentions nothing about what goes on our backs because we're not in retreat. We're always in advance. We're advancing the kingdom. So let's not even think about escapism. Let's not even think about retreat. Let's not even think about hiding. No, how can you say to me, flee as a bird to my mountain? The Lord's my refuge. We have a king who is mightier than the enemy. Look in verse four. The Lord is in his holy temple. The Lord's throne is in heaven. Okay, the foundations may be destroyed, the enemy may have his bows, he may have his arrows, he may have his strategies, he may have his armies, he may be seeming to conquer, he may be seeming to advance, but let us not forget that the Lord is in his holy temple and the Lord's throne is in heaven. Though the pillars of social and religious order may be destroyed all around us, still the Lord is on his throne. Though the landscape may be littered with the destruction, and the depravity of the wicked who have no fear of God or of retribution. God is looking down from above on it all. And the latter part of verse four says, his eyes behold, his eyelids test the sons of men. We may feel like God has turned his back. We may feel like God's not watching. We may not feel like God doesn't know. We may feel like God doesn't care, but he's looking down and he's sorting it out perfectly in his infinite wisdom. And this enemy is not about to touch his throne. In fact, God is already, God is already taking action against the enemy. He may not see it. We may not see it. He may not recognize it. We may not recognize it, but our God is on the throne. He is watching He is sorting it all out and he's already taking action against the enemy. His eyes behold. Literally, that implies that he's squinting with the focus of taking sure and steady aim. You think the enemy has a bow that's ready to be drawn? God already has his arrow drawn and he is squinting. to take careful aim. His eyelids are testing the sons of men. He is beholding. He's surveying. He's locking in. He's aiming in preparation for a burst of judgment that's going to take the enemy by surprise and take us in awe. Verse 5 says, The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked. He tests the righteous and He tests the wicked. And the one who loves violence, his soul hates. The Lord is analyzing and the Lord is determining who is who. And He will perfectly discern who is righteous and he will perfectly discern who is wicked." And this may be a good place for us to stop and just to be reminded that we as finite human beings are incapable of perfectly, we're incapable of perfectly sorting out that which is righteous from that which is wicked." And when we attempt to sort things out as though we are the all-seeing eye, we often find ourselves unjust. In an effort to be just, we pass judgment from what we can see with our eye, what we can perceive with our finite minds, and we find out later on down the road that our judgment was unjust because we made a poor call. And later, we're embarrassed when we realize that we judged wrongly. But God will perfectly sort it out. That's why you see the psalmist turn to God. I'm not running from the wicked. The Lord is my refuge. The Lord's watching all this. He's going to discern who's righteous. He's going to discern who's wicked. He's got his bow drawn. He's got his aim taken. He is going to burst forth in judgment. And look at how that judgment is going to come. It's not only going to come upon the right people, because God will rightly sort them out, but it's going to come In verse 6, upon the wicked with snares, it said He's going to rain snares, fire and brimstone, and burning wind will be the portion of their cup. Upon the wicked, God will pour out snares. He's going to pour out traps, just like He's going to catch them in a net. Just when the wicked think they have the righteous in their snares, in their trap, here's the enemy advancing on the psalmist. And his friends are saying, you've got to get out of Dodge. He's upon us. He's going to overtake us. Flee to the mountain. It seems like the enemy is ready to cast his net over the psalmist and catch him. And what the enemy doesn't know is that God is about to rain snares down upon him. The Lord is going to come and His net is going to be spread over the enemy and they're going to be caught in a net whose meshes will never break. Psalm 35 and verse 8 says, let destruction come upon him unawares and let the net which he hid catch himself. into that very destruction let him fall. So there's this picture of God snaring the wicked. He's got him in his sights, and he snares the wicked. He nets the wicked. He captures the wicked. And then we see that fire and brimstone fall upon the wicked. And this is picturing really for them the fire and brimstone that fell upon Sodom and Gomorrah. Think about how it happened in Sodom and Gomorrah. The angels come to Lot and his wife and Lot's children and the angel says, Lot, you've got to get out of Sodom and you've got to get out now. Flee to the mountain. If you want the Lord to be your refuge, you've got to get out of here because judgment's coming. And they fool around, and they drag around as though they've got all day and all night, and the angels grab them and say, we've got to go. Why are they in such a hurry? Because out of nowhere, it seems, God is casting his net over Sodom and Gomorrah, and he's about to rain fire and brimstone on that city. You see how serious this judgment was upon Sodom? how serious his judgment was upon Gomorrah. It was swift. It was violent. It was complete. The place was destroyed. That's what the psalmist is describing that God is going to do to the wicked. He's going to rain snares upon them. He's going to rain fire and brimstone upon them, and then burning wind will be the portion of their cup. Have you ever started a fire or tried to start a fire? You know, inside, here's a little trick you can do. You can take a hair dryer and you can put that hair dryer on the coals, the little bit of flame you have. And if you put that hair dryer on those coals, it'll look like it's about to blow them out, but before you know it, it's just blazing fire. It's almost like a blowtorch. And if you really want to have fun, you can build a fire outside and let it burn. You know, have a small fire outside and get a leaf blower and you can come put the leaf blower on that fire and turn it on. Kids, if there's any young kids watching, don't do this without parental supervision, but you can turn on that leaf blower and it will blaze like a fire torch that you would see in a movie. And I think we see this picture here where God is raining fire and brimstone and then he's blowing on it like a leaf blower. And it's just picking up the heat. It's a raging fire wind. It's fire that is fueled and exhilarated. by the wind of God's wrath blowing upon it. So we have this psalmist and he's standing here and his peers, his friends come to him and say, you've got to flee to the mountains like a bird. The enemy's upon you. He has his bow ready. He's got his arrow ready to be knocked. The foundations have been destroyed. What can the righteous do anyway? Just get out of here and preserve your life. Now if someone says, I take refuge in God, why would you say to me, flee to the mountain? I have a God who is on the throne, who is reigning victoriously, who sees the righteous, who sees the wicked, who's sorting it all out, and he's coming in swift, complete judgment, and he's going to judge the wicked. He's going to catch them in his snares. He's going to rain fire and brimstone on them. He's going to blow against them with a raging wind, and that will be, according to the latter part of verse 6, the portion of their cup. Now, I want to just time out right there, because what we're seeing is the wicked will drink the portion of their cup. They won't get anything that they don't deserve. The wicked who die without being redeemed will not get anything they don't deserve. All of the judgment that is poured out upon them by God will be absolutely just. They are going to drink their portion their cup. And this is really the cup. This cup is a picture of God's wrath. It's not the cup of their sin. It's the cup of God's wrath upon their sin. In Revelation chapter 14 and verse 10 it says, He also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger, and He will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. So what do you see here? You see what is the portion in this cup? The portion in this cup is the wrath of God. And what is the cup? It's His anger. So we can say the wicked in Psalm 11 is going to drink God's wrath upon his sin from the cup of God's anger. This is not going to be pretty. So why is the psalmist afraid? Why should he flee? Why should he retreat? His God is bringing judgment. And then not only is he bringing judgment on the wicked, he's watching from heaven. He's sorting it out. He's discerning the righteous from the wicked, and he's going to bring judgment on the wicked. But that's not all. Verse 7, the Lord is righteous, and he loves the righteous. The upright will behold his face. So we have the wicked on one hand who are going to face swift judgment. We have the righteous on the other hand who are going to face the love of God. The world is falling apart around us. The world is closing in upon us, and everything in us and everyone around us may be saying, flee to the mountain, but let us not forget that God is on His throne in absolute control. He sees everything. He's sorting it all out. He's going to judge in righteousness. He's going to judge in complete justice. The wicked are going to drink the cup of God's wrath. and he will be snared, fire and brimstone will fall upon him, fiery raging winds will consume him, he'll be forced to drink the cup of God's wrath that is rightfully his, but the righteous will be loved and blessed. And why will he be loved and blessed? Because he had a better childhood? Why will he be loved and blessed? Is it because he's privileged? Why will he be loved and blessed? Because he's a better person or he's worth more? in and of himself? Why will the righteous be loved and why will the righteous be blessed? There's only one reason they will be loved and blessed, because someone else drank the cup of God's wrath for them. You see, the wicked's judgment culminates in them drinking the just wrath of God for their sin. But the righteous, rather than facing judgment and condemnation, face love and acceptance not because of who they are, but because someone stepped in and took their cup. Someone else stepped in and took the cup of God's anger and took the cup of God's wrath against the righteous person's sin and drank it for them. And that person's name was Jesus. Luke 22 and 42, he's in the garden praying. He says, Father, if you're willing, let this cup pass from me. What cup is he talking about? The cup of God's wrath. When Jesus went to the cross, when Jesus went to the cross, he wasn't terrified of the crucifixion. He wasn't sweating drops of blood because he was terrified of the cross. Some 30,000 men had been crucified in the lifetime of Jesus alone. Many, many men had walked this way and taken this brutal, brutal death. So why is Jesus sweating drops of blood? I'm sure He dreads the physical pain, but the ultimate pain that we see Him praying about is the spiritual pain that He's going to experience on the cross when He takes our sin upon Himself. The pain He's going to suffer on the cross when He drinks the cup of God's wrath in our place. He saved us not from hell. He saved us from the wrath and the judgment of God. Verse 7 says the Lord is righteous. He loves righteousness. and the upright will behold his face. And we just read in the same psalm that his soul utterly hates the one who loves violence. And they'll be forced to drink the cup of his wrath that is rightfully theirs. But he loves the righteous and they are righteous because he drank the cup for them. The wicked will see his face as he comes in burning judgment, but the righteous will see his face and be blessed. And that's how the psalm ends. The upright will behold, not just see, it's not like they see in terror, but they'll behold. They'll gaze upon his face. 1 John 3. 1 and 2 challenges us and it says, see how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called children of God and such we are. For this reason, the world does not know us because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him because we will see Him just as He is. We need to be looking for that day. We need to be looking forward to that day as the news, as other human beings, as maybe even professing brothers and sisters in Christ, come to us and in different formats and in different ways say, we need to flee, we need to run to the mountains, we need to escape. The world is falling apart all around us. The enemy is advancing. The enemy is setting up quite an affront against us. And his bow is ready. His arrow is ready. We need to get out of here. We need to not react, but we need to stop and say with the psalmist, you know, there's no need for me to be fearful. There's no need for me to run. There's no need for me to escape. The Lord is my refuge. The Lord is on the throne. He sees all of this. He knows about all of this. He's sorting out the righteous from the wicked even now. He is squinting. He is taking aim with His arrow. He's going to come in just and righteous and perfect judgment to judge fully and completely the wicked and cause them to drink the cup of His wrath upon their sin. But we have hope. We have hope because He took the cup. for us that when He comes, we won't just see Him in fear, but we will behold Him and see Him as He is and be made like Him. Do you know Him? Does He know you? Have you come to see His holiness? Have you come to see your simpleness? Have you come to see that the only hope that you have is Jesus Christ? If you've seen that, we want to plead with you. Wherever you are, whoever you are, whatever background you have, to turn away from your sin, to turn away from your good works, to turn away from your bad works, to turn away from your self-righteousness, to turn away from your wickedness, to turn away from your atheism, to turn away from your religiosity, to turn away from everything that would stand between you and Jesus Christ, and turn to Him through faith in what He did for you on the cross. Turn to Him through faith in the fact that He took the cup that was justly ours and He drank it in our place and was buried in a borrowed tomb and rose from the grave on Sunday morning so that we could call upon His name and be saved from our enemies. Would you call on His name now? Would you turn from your sin and turn to God through faith in Jesus Christ? And would you call upon His name until you're assured that you've been transformed by His grace and His mercy? And with the psalmist say, I'm gonna take refuge in Him. With the psalmist say, I'm gonna trust in Him and I'm gonna wait upon Him and one day I'm gonna behold Him. Thank you for joining us as we've looked at Psalm chapter 11 today. Next Thursday, Lord willing, we'll be in Psalm 12 at 12. Hope you can join us then.