In The Word
Read: Psalm 11-12
The Lord a Refuge and Defense.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
11 In the Lord I take refuge;
How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain;
2 For, behold, the wicked bend the bow,
They make ready their arrow upon the string
To shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.
3 If the foundations are destroyed,
What can the righteous do?”
4 The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven;
His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.
5 The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked,
And the one who loves violence His soul hates.
6 Upon the wicked He will rain snares;
Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup.
7 For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness;
The upright will behold His face.
God, a Helper against the Treacherous.
For the choir director; upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David.
12 Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases to be,
For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
2 They speak falsehood to one another;
With flattering lips and with a double heart they speak.
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
The tongue that speaks great things;
4 Who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are our own; who is lord over us?”
5 “Because of the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy,
Now I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will set him in the safety for which he longs.”
6 The words of the Lord are pure words;
As silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times.
7 You, O Lord, will keep them;
You will preserve him from this generation forever.
8 The wicked strut about on every side
When vileness is exalted among the sons of men.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
In today’s reading, David made the statement that he took refuge in the Lord. David wrote this Psalm while being pursued by King Saul (Psalm 11:1b). His foundation, at that moment, was being shaken. In the midst of the attack, we see David shift his faith to God and declare, “God is in His holy temple” (Psalm 11:4). Regardless of the attack, God was not surprised or caught off guard.
The reality is that God’s eyes observe all of what takes place on the earth. He knows what we are going through at all times. God is never surprised. We must hold to the truth of the Scripture and choose to turn to the foundation of our faith just like we see David doing.
Have you ever felt like your world was crashing down on you and the foundation you were standing on was crumbling like David’s? It could have been a phone call from a loved one, or news that you have seen through a media outlet. Either way, at that moment, it is very real. You may be there right now. How do you handle times like this? Remember, God is not surprised. You must hold on to the hundreds of promises found in Scripture. You must choose to live in faith in His Word; you must know and believe it to be flawless (Psalm 12:6). Find a promise of God to live by today, and declare it so that your foundation will not be shaken.