Standing Firm In Difficult Times

In the Lord I take refuge;
how can you say to my soul,
“Flee like a bird to your mountain,
²for behold, the wicked bend the bow;
they have fitted their arrow to the string
to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart;
³if the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do?”
⁴The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord’s throne is in heaven;
his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.
⁵The Lord tests the righteous,
but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.
⁶Let him rain coals on the wicked;
fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.
⁷For the Lord is righteous;
he loves righteous deeds;
the upright shall behold his face. —Psalm 11

I. David’s Proposition–Psalm 11:1a

A. A proposition is the

thought or message that is being conveyed.
B. Making the Lord our ‘refuge’ is something we must

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. It does not come naturally. Psalm 20:7
C. The Lord is his refuge, his place of

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, where he feels safe in the midst of danger.
D. You can only respond correctly to difficulty, trial, suffering, etc…if the proposition is already

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in your heart.

II. David’s Problems. Psalm 11:1b-3

A. Advice:

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! Psalm 11:1b
– 1. What they are really saying is ‘take

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into your own hand,’
B. Warning:

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! Psalm 11:2
– 1. Might be a

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threat.
– 2. Might be

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threat. Psalm 64:2-5; Psalm 10:7-10; 37:14
C. Warning:

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! Psalm 11:3
– 1. The ‘foundations’ refer to the political, economical, educational, moral, ethical family

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of a culture or nation.
– 2. ‘What can the righteous do.’
–– a. Regarding the destroyed foundations of society:

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!
–– b. We can continue to be

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; to do what we know is right according to God’s standard of rightness in Scripture.

III. David’s Position-Psalms 11:4-7

A. David reminds himself of the truths regarding the

.
– 1. Remind yourself of the Lord’s

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.
a. The Israelites had the temple; we

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the temple and the very presence of God dwells in us. 1 Corinthians 6:19
– 2. Remind yourself of the Lord’s

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.
–– a. This means that God is still and always will be in absolute

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over everything.
– 3. Remind yourself of the Lord’s

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. Psalm 139:1-4; Proverbs 15:3
B. David reminds himself of the truths regarding the

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. Psalms 11:4d, 5b-6
– 1. God’s

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of the wicked. Psalm 11:4d
– 2. God’s

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toward the wicked. Psalm 11:5
– 3. God’s

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on the wicked. Psalm 11:6
C. David reminds himself of the truth regarding the

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. Psalm 11:7
– 1. The righteous are and rewarded and their reward is they shall see God

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to

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.