To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David

1 In the LORD put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?

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.

3 If the foundations be 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 try, the children of men.

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

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

7 For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness: His countenance doth behold the upright.

The Point:

When the enemy has the upper hand we will trust in God who tries the righteous and judges the wicked.

How do we feel in the recitation of this psalm?

We feel threatened by the wicked. We can, as it were, feel the hot breath of the Devil himself on the back of our neck. With confidence, we say that God is in absolute control of all men and will judge with perfect righteousness.

What does this psalm teach us?

Verse 1. David begins the psalm with a personal faith statement as he confesses, “I put my trust in the Lord.” Some psalms speak of the humble in the third person, “they,” and some speak of the whole body of believers using the first person plural “we.” This psalm begins with the first person singular, “I,” in a personal testimony of faith and then moves to the third person plural, “the righteous.”

Verses 2–3. The threats to the soul of the righteous are outlined in the next two verses. Somebody has suggested that David should flee to the mountain as a bird where he will be free from predators: for the wicked seem bent on destroying the righteous man, and they appear to have the upper hand. In fact, they have already plotted the destruction of the righteous and now are ready to implement their plans. When the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? When the foundations of law are corrupted, when men in power no longer fear God, and when God is no longer a consideration in schools and in the media, what can the righteous do? Whereas some have suggested that he flee to the mountains, David has another strategy—he will trust in God.

Verses 4–7. Yahweh is in absolute control and He is in His holy temple. We can be sure that He will judge the wicked with absolute precision in righteousness. But He is also with His church, the temple of the living God. Regardless of what wicked rulers will attempt to do to the righteous, God is with His people. He carefully inspects every detail of the thoughts, words, and actions of men and He will judge the wicked. Even the trials that come upon the righteous by the hands of wicked men are God’s trials. He uses them to confirm His people and to strengthen them. No persecution that the wicked bring upon the righteous is wasted. Amazingly, God uses these trials for the good of His people, and yet, at the same time, He will judge the wicked for bringing them on His precious church.

Some people are uncomfortable to read in verse 5 that God hates those who love violence. How do we explain the fact that God loved the world so much He gave His Son, while at the same time He hates the wicked? The Bible teaches both facts. Has God in the New Testament changed His relationship with men from hate to love? This is not possible, for the New Testament confirms His hatred of Esau (Rom. 9:13). Moreover, God’s plan to send His Son and His love for the world was effective in the Old Testament as well. We must conclude that God’s love for the world He created will result in the redemption of that world. But as for that specific part of His creation known as “the wicked,” or those who love violence and will not repent of their rebellion, He cannot love them. The destruction of the wicked is described in verse 6 in dreadful terms—by fire and brimstone and a horrible hurricane force.

Hatred and love are contrasted in the last few verses. Hatred shrinks away from the object of hatred, while love is drawn to that which it loves. Hatred wants to put an end to that object of hatred, while love wants to promote and reward its object. Thus, God hates wickedness (and will one day see its eternal destruction), but He is drawn to righteousness. He turns His face away from the wicked and He can not bear to look at them. But He is drawn to the upright, those who have, by His grace, trusted in him, and repented of their sin.

How do we apply this psalm?

Our lives are perpetually subjected to the threats of our enemies: the world, the flesh, and the Devil. Thus, our lives and souls are constantly in danger. Usually these threats are subtle and cannot be easily discerned. How often the righteous fall into the traps laid out for them by these tempters! During times of trouble and temptation we must trust in God, for He has a purpose for everything we experience. He is testing us and strengthening us through our trials. But in the end we know that the wicked man is under the constant, all-seeing eye of God who will judge him with a perfect judgment.

How does this psalm teach us to worship God?

1. We express our utter confidence in God in worship, confessing that we really do trust in Him. Here is a psalm for the soul who rides in his tiny boat over the sixty foot waves through the storms of life. Charles Spurgeon rightly entitled this psalm “The Song of the Steadfast.” If the man of faith is headed for the worst trial of his life, he will sing a psalm like this one, all the while believing every word of it.

2. Some of the heart confessions of the psalms are personal and use the word “I,” and others are more corporate and express the faith of the church congregation. Such psalms would use the first person plural pronouns like, “we” or “us.” This teaches us that worship is both personal and corporate. In worship, we speak for ourselves and we speak for the corporate body of the church.

Questions:

1. Name two Faith psalms.

2. Name an Imprecatory psalm.

3. Somebody has made a suggestion to David as he writes this psalm. What did they suggest to him and what is David’s response?

4. How are the foundations destroyed in a nation or group of people?

5. How can God hate the wicked and yet still love the world so much that He gave His Son to die?

Family Discussion Questions:

1. Have you ever felt the hot breath of the enemy on your neck? Have you felt intimidated when you were trying to witness the Gospel to a friend or neighbor? Do you ever fear persecution? How should we deal with these fears?

2. When you say, “I trust in the Lord,” do you really mean that? Is it a personal trust in God? It is important that we trust in the Lord as a family but it is also critical that each of us personally place our trust in God for salvation.