June 9 Sermon: Above the Storm
Explore the power of God’s protection in our latest sermon on Psalm 11. Discover how, like eagles rising above the storm, we can find refuge and strength in the Lord amidst life's challenges. Join us as we delve into themes of divine refuge, testing, and righteousness. Experience how trusting in God transforms fear into faith.
Contemplate these questions as you listen to this message on Psalm 11:
How does the imagery of an eagle using storm winds to rise above reflect our spiritual response to trials?
In what ways does Psalm 11 challenge us to examine our trust in God’s sovereign protection when facing life’s metaphorical storms?
How can we practically rely on God as our refuge in daily situations that provoke fear or uncertainty?
Transcript:
A few weeks back, I mentioned the importance of finding a good shelter in a storm. And how, when we experience a storm, we find ourselves running to the most secure location that we can find. And regardless of how strong a storm is, we are going to always choose something substantial over, say, a pup tent. When we see the storm clouds form, we look for something to get under. We look for refuge. Now, I recently learned that this is not something that eagles do. They don't look for something to get under. Under, as we would, instead of seeking shelter, like many birds and like we would, eagles actually use the winds of the approaching storm to gain higher altitude. So they position their wings in such a way that the wind moves them above the storm. And they're not only able to conserve energy by doing this, but they avoid the storm. Because they are above it. And perhaps, like me, you enjoy looking at a good satellite image of a storm. I find it fascinating to look at a picture of a hurricane and the tumultuous clouds from the peaceful perspective of space. But yet, when you look at that storm, you know that there is all kinds of chaos and destruction happening beneath it. And the safety and the security that we have in God is something that we find all throughout the Psalms. We just looked at it a few weeks ago as well. And today we're going to have this theme for us in Psalm 11. And so let's set out some main points for us for the day. And then we'll see what angle this psalm takes to assure us of the safety and security and protection that we have as the people of God. Christ Jesus. And so, first thing we're going to see is that God gives His people sovereign protection and security. And that it is a source of not only confidence, but a source of comfort. Secondly, we see that God tests the children of man. And the idea that we'll see in this middle section of this psalm is this idea that there are many things going on in the world. Terrible things. Storm. But God is not blind to the injustice that we see. And finally, we will see God's righteousness. And that there is punishment for wickedness. But there is also a reward for the righteous. And so as we land here in these first three verses of Psalm 11, we get this familiar idea that I was speaking about when we started. In the Lord. It says that we take refuge. Again, notice here that the word LORD is in all caps. This is the specific divine name of God. This is Yahweh. This is who they find refuge in. And we're reminded that He is the place where the psalmist goes to hide from the issues that he faces. And this is a powerful statement here. But it's kind of interesting. Because this... This isn't the way that you and I would likely go about writing this type of information if we wanted to express what David is trying to tell us here. Because essentially, David is telling us his solution to the problem before he even tells us what the problem is. He's talking about all this stuff that he is facing, and he's telling us where he finds his refuge. If I was writing this, I'd probably whine, and complain about the issues a whole lot. I'd tell you everything terrible that I'm facing, and then I would say something like, well, I guess I have to trust in God because I'm going through all this stuff. But that's not what the psalmist does. David lets us know his foundation, and then tells us why he needs that foundation. The world seems to be collapsing around him. He is facing hardships. And as that stuff is going on in his life, it seems he has some other people who are offering their opinions and their advice. And that advice is to take refuge in something other than the Lord, instead of trusting in the sovereign care and protection of God. It says here that they are telling him to flee like a bird to a mountain. And now, this is kind of a confusing statement. Who is the bird? What is the mountain? It's kind of confusing because David has just told us that he has a refuge. And often when we hear about a mountain in Scripture, it is speaking about God. It's speaking about Mount Zion. It's talking about the place where God dwells. So if we don't slow down here and think about this passage, and consider what the psalmist is saying, and how he's saying it, we might think that, this is a suggestion from these people to run to God for the refuge. But what is being expressed here, though, is that David is trusting in God as his refuge, and those advising him are telling him, he should try something else. What we see is that the wicked are coming after David. He is in need of escape from their attack. As we read here, they have bent their bows and they have fit the arrow to the string. And David, don't jump over that line about shooting in the dark at the upright in heart. They are not only plotting, they are scheming to ambush him. They are after the righteous king of Israel, and this is their obsession. They are scheming, they are plotting, they are doing the things needed to ambush him. And so the idea behind this is that these are not enemies who are kind of wicked. These are enemies that are extremely, extremely wicked because they are going to ambush him. And they have marked David for an attack. God's anointed one is being threatened, and he is in need of fleeing to save his life. And instead of finding his refuge in God, these advisors are suggesting that he find strength and security someplace else. And in response to that situation, David asks a question here. If the foundations, are destroyed, what can the righteous do? If this is the way that warfare is to be waged, and they aren't going to trust in God to care for them, then what hope does David have? If the God who promised to protect and build up his people isn't going to be leaned on for refuge in a time of distress, brought about by this attack of their enemies, then what do the people of God have going for them at all? Why even bother, trying to protect yourself at all, if you're going to abandon the one who promised to be your protector? That's what David is saying here. If the people of God don't have that to stand on, then, well, they have nothing to stand on, right? Our hope, as the people of God, is rooted in the truth that he keeps his promises to his people. In other words, what hope do we have if we don't believe in that promise? And this is a significant point of application for us, and it's not just something that the anointed king of Israel should be saying. If we don't rest in God's sovereign protection as our hope and our security, what do we have? If we abandon the things of God for the things of the world, should we not expect to be overcome by the world? If we give up on the sound teaching of Scripture as our foundation on which to stand, we should expect to be washed away by the floods that the things of this world send our way. As the people of God in Christ Jesus, we are going to continually have this temptation to abandon trusting in the refuge that is our God. We will be offered paths of escape from the troubles we have that are not standing on God's law and trusting in His sovereign will. And sure, we can chase those things, but if we destroy that foundation for our lives, what do we have left? We will have given up on the greatest hope that we have. And honestly, this is one of the greatest temptations that we will face. All the stuff we've seen in the Psalms in the last few weeks is a reality in our time as well. These songs are not just for people back in Bible times. They are for us too. We see the wicked prosper. And we see iniquity running rapid and going unpunished. And when we face hardships, the voices around us will come with temptation to abandon God and seek security and peace somewhere else. Again, this wasn't just David's problem. This was David's problem. It's a temptation for me. It's a temptation for you. It's a temptation for all our brothers and sisters in Christ throughout history. This is what we face. And I think we can stand strong in the face of it if we take heart what follows in this psalm as we move on to verses 4 and 6. Our second point today is that the Lord tests the children of man. And we see in verses 4-6 that the Lord tests the children of man. And we see that he does this from his throne in heaven. The psalmist tells us that Yahweh, the Lord, is in his holy temple. And the idea here is not that he is bound by a physical building of some kind on earth. Remember, when David would have written this, there was no temple. The idea that God is here is that he is in a holy sanctuary. That he is settled apart. He is other. And the idea expressed to us is expanded by the next statement. That this throne that the Lord is seated upon is in heaven. So what we see here is that he is other. That he is above. He is separate from us. Like the eagle or like the satellite view I mentioned when we started out, God is above the storm. And he sees it. His eyes are upon it. And he isn't just passably observing these swirling winds of the world. He is on the throne and he is sovereign over all of it. And we see this in this idea that he sees and that he tests the children of man. So what David is expressing here is the idea that God sees everything and that he is not indifferent to what is going on. going on. He doesn't have a set group of people that he's watching. I want to see what this group of people is doing, and they better not get out of line. That's not the idea. The idea is that he is on his throne above it all. He is in heaven, and he sees what both the wicked and the righteous are doing. And what David is saying here is that God is concerned with the troubles of the oppressed. Those who are calling for David to flee from his oppressors and abandon his trust in God's providence are reminded here that God knows what is happening, and so David trusts God to act. And the impression this is to make on us is that the difficulties the psalmist is experiencing is God putting an opportunity in front of his people to trust him. In challenging times, will they have confidence that God will deliver them, or will they flee like a bird to some other mountain, to some other refuge? Will they stand through the storms that come their way, or will they blow away with the world? And David says that the Lord tests the righteous. He will stand with them, but he does not stand with the one who loves violence and does wickedness. That's the test. The righteous one can endure, but the wicked do violence, and they will be forced to face a greater storm. And we see what it is here, the wrath of God, because that's what David prays for here. And we often come to these points in the Psalter, and no matter how often I read them, I'm still taken a bit aback by the language that's used here. I expect words like, praise the Lord in the Psalms. I expect prophetic words like Psalm 110.1, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until my enemies are made a footstool. That's what I expect in the Psalter. I don't expect, let him rain coals on the wicked, but the Psalms use this imagery regularly. Here, just in this Psalm alone, we have a bird flying away. That's a peaceful image. We have a majestic image to think about when we think about God being on the throne. And sure, there is talk of the wicked here having a bow and the arrow fitted. There is some imagery of a warrior. But think about this image of judgment here, of what David prays for in verse 6. This is seriously ramping up our mental imagery of what is happening here in this Psalm. Let him rain coals on the wicked. Now, maybe you have more violent prayers than I do, but I'm guessing I'm not the only one who doesn't pray a curse like this on people that are wronging me, right? The language that is used here is the idea of absolute judgment. Take a second and scan your memory banks. What does this language here of coals, fire, and sulfur bring to mind for you? Scan your knowledge of Scripture. What is brought to mind by these words? I'm guessing many, if not all of you, went the same place I did. Sodom and Gomorrah, right? Now, modern movie making makes it pretty easy for us to imagine a scene that has been laid to waste and nothing but scorching wind is left. This is an extreme escalation here, but it draws an important picture for us. One of the things that David is trying to do here is bring to mind the absolute holiness of God. David isn't trying to get God to do this, though, to promote his personal agenda. He isn't trying to get absolute destruction upon his enemies because they were mean to him or something like this. This level of judgment that he's praying for here is meant to bring to mind for us the absolute holiness of God. David isn't asking for the decimation of God. He's asking for the decimation of his enemies because they hurt his feelings. There is wickedness being done, and in doing this wickedness, they are spitting in the face of a holy and righteous God. And we see some familiar judgment language at the end of verse 6 here. This stuff I mentioned that brings the complete obliteration of the wicked, we see that this is the portion of their cup. This is the cup of wrath being poured out upon the wicked. This cup is full, and it says in another part of the Psalms when it uses a cup for wrath, it says that they will drink that cup of wrath down to the dregs. And anytime there is judgment described in this way, we do well to do an assessment of ourselves. If we are excited about the idea of others receiving a cup of wrath of the judgment of God, we need to check our hearts. If we are relishing in the idea that someone receives judgment, we need to stop and consider our offenses against a holy God. We have not loved the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and we have not loved our neighbor as ourselves. Our rebellion against the one on the throne deserves to have coals rayed down on us, but the good news is that the wrath of God for my sin and yours was poured out on Christ. He drank the cup of God's wrath down to the dregs for you and I. The cup of God's wrath came to him at the cross, and because of his victory over the grave, we have now received his perfect righteousness, because our sins and our transgressions that deserve his wrath will be forgiven. We're paid for in Christ, and because we have this gift by grace through faith, we know, we know for sure that when the one who is in his holy temple and his eyes see us from his throne, he sees not our offense, but he sees the perfect righteousness of Jesus. And so we know that the reward we see here in this psalm that the righteous receive is ours. Because we are united to Christ, the one who received all the wrath we deserved for our sin. And so the last verse of this psalm tells us that Yahweh is righteous. The judgment he brings upon the wicked is not capricious. It's not unjustified. The judgment David is praying for is a righteous judgment. Any offense against a holy God deserves punishment. And so we should then be looking to him as our refuge. He is righteous, and his ways will not fail. We have seen David pray for God to pour out wrath on the wicked, but now David gives us a contrast. Instead of wrath for the righteous, what do they receive? God loves them. God cares for them. And it seems to me that we think far more. About the judgment of God for our actions than him loving our righteous deeds. We naturally are prone to trying to avoid particular sinful behavior. But when was the last time we thought about pursuing holiness, seeking to be righteous, and pleasing the Lord with our lives as a witness to his faithfulness to us? We live in a negative world. We tend to focus on the bad so much. We tend to focus on the good. We tend to focus on the bad so much. We tend to more easily than we focus on the positive. But we are called as the people of God to pursue the righteous one, not simply to avoid the sinful. And I want to pose a question to you that I believe I've asked before, but I think it's a question that we should regularly be considering. Knowing that we have been saved by the grace of God from our sin, we know that we're to respond with holy living. And we're to respond with holy living. And we're to respond with holy living. And this is more than just avoiding the bad things that we're tempted to do. So the question that I think is valuable for us to consider is, what would pursuing holiness look like in my life? How would considering the righteous deeds God loves instead of the sinful works he hates change my approach to life? Again, we live in a very negative world. And I think it's hard for us to understand that. And I think it's hard for us to understand that. And I think it's hard for us to even imagine life in this way. Doing what God loves is more important than just avoiding what he hates. So how can I pursue this in my life is a question that is important for us to consider. And our point here in this last verse is that God rewards the righteous. And we don't pursue righteousness to receive a reward. We pursue righteousness because we want to be like the righteous. We want to be like the righteous. We want to be like the righteous. We want to be like the one that has saved us from our sin. But we must never forget that God does reward righteousness. As the psalmist says, the upright shall behold his face. We will one day come before the presence of the throne of the Holy One. And we will behold his face. And there is no way for us to stand on our own in the presence of an absolutely holy God. But we can have confidence that when we come to his presence, we will behold him and we will be seen as righteous because of the work of Jesus for us. And so this is what motivates us as believers. We understand that we deserve the judgment of God. Coals, fire, sulfur, that should be our comfort. We understand that we deserve the judgment of God. Coals, fire, sulfur, that should be our comfort. But because of the work of Jesus and his holiness given to us as a gift, we can step into each day knowing we have a sure and certain promise that we will not face the storm of God's wrath. And this is why God is the refuge for his people. While we face many struggles and difficulties, the greatest thing we face is knowing that one day the curse is going to come for us. And we will stand before a holy God in judgment. And like I said before, that is a storm that nobody can face. No one can withstand it. When that day comes, we need safety. And the greatest safety we have is that we are united to the one who is above the storm. He endured the storm on our behalf. And by faith, we're united to him. He is our ascended Lord and our King. And when the maelstrom of the curse comes for us, we rest in his work, knowing that it's only through the perfect righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ that we are upright and we will behold the face of God. So knowing that we have a refuge because of our union with the one who is above the clouds, may we pursue righteousness that our lives might be a witness to the world of his work for us and in us. So may we remember this union we have with Christ. May we remember that he has paid the price for our sins. And may we pursue holiness that he might be glorified. Amen. Let us pray. Almighty and everlasting God, we thank you that you are our refuge. We know that we cannot withstand the storm, but without you. And so we thank you for giving us the gift of faith, giving us that perfect righteousness of Jesus, that we might one day behold your face and be seen as upright. We thank you for this amazing gift. And we pray, O Lord, that that gift would be on our lips and in our hearts and our minds as we sojourn in your world. It's in the name of Jesus that we pray. Amen.
