You Are Not the Only One

1 (To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.) In the LORD put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?

David’s counselors are advising him to “flee.” His response to them is that he will trust in the Lord. 1 Peter 5:7 tells believers that they should “Cast all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

 

2 For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.

The wicked are preparing to do battle. Their weapons of warfare are their bows. They are aimed at the heart of the righteous. The term ( yāšār ) means to be is to be legally and ethically right. Once again we are reminded of Job. What did God say about him?  Job 1:1 “1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.” The Book of Proverbs is permeated with the same thought. (See Prov. 1:3; 2:7, 21; 8:6, 9; 11:3, 6; 12:6; 14:11; 15:8; 16:13; 20:11; 21:2, 8; 23:16; 29:10.) God calls His children righteous. He also knows that they are faced with all sorts of dangers every day. Our choice is 1. panic 2. runaway 3. stand still and see the Salvation of the Lord. Exodus 14:13-14 “ And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.” Remember that the next time that you are faced with what appears to be insurmountable odds that are against you!

3 If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?

Apparently, David’s advisors were positive that the “foundations” of society as they knew it was about to crumble. But more importantly they did not see any recourse for the righteous.  In addition, Cayce indicates that “Foundations” is a metaphor for the order of society, the established institutions which are the social and civil order of the community (82:5)” (2014, Psalm 11). The advisors needed to believe that…

Are there days when you feel as if society is heading down the black abyss and you can do nothing about it? When that happens just breathe in deeply and “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)). These things will happen. We live in a fallen world governed by fallen leaders. Be still and just breathe. God is still on His throne.

https://youtu.be/hnjeMwxFuBA

4The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD’S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.

Don’t you just love David’s response to what his advisors were saying? I wonder if God gave him a vision of what the throne in heaven looked like? Remember Stephen and what he said when he was about to die? (See Acts 7:54-8:2). He was being stoned to death for teaching the Gospel. We have not yet suffered in this manner. The Book of Revelation gives us a glimpse of the temple and what Jesus looks like. Revelation 1:14 “His head and [his] hairs [were] white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes [were] as a flame of fire;” See Revelation 4  (NCV) “³ The One who sat on the throne looked like precious stones, like jasper and carnelian. All around the throne was a rainbow the color of an emerald. ⁴ Around the throne there were twenty-four other thrones with twenty-four elders sitting on them. They were dressed in white and had golden crowns on their heads. ⁵ Lightning flashes and noises and thunder came from the throne. Before the throne seven lamps were burning, which are the seven spirits of God. ⁶ Also before the throne there was something that looked like a sea of glass, clear like crystal.” Nope, we don’t have a clue what is going on in heaven. But we do know for sure that He is on His throne and like MC Hammer said: “Can’t touch this!” The devil has no control over our lives!

https://youtu.be/cmD6Ak0FAtM

5 The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.

God despises evil actions. He abhors sins. He purifies His children. We are not righteous because of anything that we do daily. We are righteous because we took on the righteousness of the Jesus Christ our Lord-when He took our sins on His body on the cross.

6 Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.

The wicked will receive the just reward for the wicked acts that they have committed. Genesis 19:24 “Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven;” There is no excuse for wickedness. Throughout the ages the wicked have heard, but have chosen, to ignore God’s warnings about what the end result of their actions will be. Job 20:23“When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating.” Psalm 23:5 proposes what happens to the righteous. ^“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.” On the other hand the wicked will receive their reward from?“the hand of the Lord [in it] there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them” (Psalm 75:8). Yes, weeping may last for the entire night, but joy comes in the morning. We are not to glory in the sufferings of the wicked. But we are not to allow them to cause us emotional and spiritual turmoil either. When you are accused wrongly – Christ tells us to take it in stride. Why? He was persecuted too.

7 For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.

God loves His children. Not because they are holy, but because He is and they are purchased by the blood of his precious Son. (See Psalms 17:15; 27:4; 63:2).1 John 3:2 ^“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”

Finally, this prayer speaks to the confidence that the child of God has in their King of Kings. First and foremost above all else TRUST HIM! See also Psalms 46 and 48.