Psalm 11 - The Lord Is in His Holy Temple

1 In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, “Flee like a bird to your mountain,
2 for behold, the wicked bend the bow; they have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark 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 see, his eyelids  test the children of man.
5 The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.
6 Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.
7 For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.

     David has said in the Psalms already much about the behavior and acts of the wicked. Now in Psalm 11 he describes themes as ones shooting arrows. What an interesting illustration of the works of the wicked. In fact this sounds very similar to what Paul says in Ephesians 6:16, "In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;" Why do we need a shield? Because the arrows are aimed at us! Have you ever thought about that? Do you ever feel that because you are trying to live a godly life that you have a target planted squarely on your back? Do you want to know why you feel that way?  ...Because you do!

   However, our advisory is extremely cunning in his attacks. David says that they are shooting their arrows from secret places and in the darkness. That of course is the best tactical strategy Satan has. It reminds me of the ole boiling frog: Put a frog in hot boiling water and it'll jump right out. But put that frog in cool water and slowly increase the heat and the frog won't know the danger until it's too late. This is Satan's best weapon in his arsenal. We get all comfortable with our lives and the things that occupy us daily and we let our guard down and then he attacks. Peter tells us, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

   So what should we do? Run and hide ourselves? NO! David said, “In the Lord I take refuge.” Again, that is a common theme throughout the Psalms. (There’s that refuge word again.) The first and most important step we can take is to trust the Lord who sees all and knows all and who rules and reigns over all. Our God is awesome in power and might. Who can stand against Him and win? NO ONE! We do not war against Satan alone. Though we may be shot at by the wicked, we need not be afraid. We know that God is still with us as long as we still live righteous and godly lives.

“Our God is an awesome God;

He reigns from heaven above with wisdom, pow’r and love.

Our God is an awesome God!”