Is Righteousness Valuable?
Psalms 11
September 16, 2018
Many of you are familiar with the book of Job.
It is the account of the most blameless man on earth,
Who fell into enormous affliction and suffering.
Job 1:1 “There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil.”
And yet, Satan incited God to afflict Job, claiming that
If Job lost his worldly comforts, then he would curse God to his face.
And so Job suffered mightily at God’s hand.
And while Job never cursed God, nor sinned with his lips
Job did begin to ask the very question we pose tonight.
IS RIGHTEOUSNESS VALUABLE?
And it was Elihu who really called Job on this question.
Job 34:9 “For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing When he is pleased with God.’”
Job 35:3 “For you say, ‘What advantage will it be to You? What profit will I have, more than if I had sinned?’”
And Job wasn’t alone in this.
We remember Asaph in Psalms 73
Psalms 73:13 “Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure And washed my hands in innocence;”
These were people who had sacrificed to live a righteous life,
But who then felt like that righteousness wasn’t justly treated.
And so from the midst of their affliction they asked,
“Is righteousness valuable?”
• What is the point of being righteous if it doesn’t make life better?
• What is the point of being righteous if it doesn’t save me from harm?
Well, that is the question of our Psalm tonight.
Only it’s not a question David is asking, it’s a question David is answering
Probably more than that,
It’s a faulty mindset that David is correcting.
David is addressing his contemporaries who are telling him
That being righteous won’t help him in his current predicament.
Their advice is not unlike the advice of Job’s wife.
Job 2:9 “Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!”
Similar to Job’s wife, when David finds himself in a difficult situation, his friends arise to give him worldly advice.
David’s friends tell David basically to “run”, to “fear”, and to “give up”.
Now, in fairness fleeing in the midst of adversity is not always wrong.
David in fact did it many times.
• Sometimes he did it to spare a fight.
• Sometimes he did it for the sake of the city or for his men.
• God specifically warned Joseph to flee Bethlehem when Jesus was a baby.
• Paul fled from Damascus in a basket
The problem with the advice of David’s friends
Is NOT that they told him to flee.
The problem with their advice comes in verse 3
When they ask, “What can the righteous do?”
David, you’re righteousness can only go so far,
Now it’s time to think practical and save yourself.
It is worldly logic.
It is decisions made with the eyes of flesh, not the eyes of faith.
And we see this type of advice given several times in Scripture.
It was this type of advice which Peter gave to Jesus when he pulled Jesus aside and told Him to quit talking about a coming crucifixion.
Matthew 16:22 “Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.”
Jesus called Peter Satan after that piece of advice.
It was the type of peer pressure the disciples sought to put on Jesus when He wanted to return to Jerusalem after just having escaped a murder attempt.
John 11:8 “The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?”
It was the type of practical advice the disciples tried to give Jesus during the feeding of the 5,000
Luke 9:12-13 “Now the day was ending, and the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the crowd away, that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging and get something to eat; for here we are in a desolate place.” But He said to them, “You give them something to eat!” And they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless perhaps we go and buy food for all these people.”
It was the type of discouragement that other believers tried to give Paul when he was set on going to Jerusalem.
Acts 21:10-14 “As we were staying there for some days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.'” When we had heard this, we as well as the local residents began begging him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, remarking, “The will of the Lord be done!”
Those were all situations in which believers offered bad advice.
It was advice based on fear and worldly logic,
And it was advice which was void of faith.
We have both received and given that kind of advice in our lives.
Well here David has received some of this advice,
And in his frustration he wrote a song for the church.
As we read in the heading, “For the choir director”
This again was a song to be sung in the church.
And it is a song meant to answer the question,
“Is Righteousness Valuable?”
Let’s look at the Psalm together – 3 main points.
#1 THE FAITH WE PROCLAIM
Psalms 11:1a
“In the LORD I take refuge”
It is the opening line of this song in the church,
And it fully sums up the entire purpose and declaration of the song.
The word for “refuge” there is CHACA (hasa)
And it means “to flee for protection”
And David reminds the church, that our protection is found “in the LORD”
Notice that
• David DOESN’T say, “To the LORD I take refuge”
• David says “In the LORD I take refuge”
And in a moment you’ll see why this is such an important distinction.
But in a simple sense, it is David explaining to his pessimistic friends that in the LORD he has all that he needs.
He doesn’t have to flee
He doesn’t have to despair
He has a plan, and that plan is God
And of course this sentiment is not unique to this Psalm
Psalms 7:1 “O LORD my God, in You I have taken refuge; Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me,”
Psalms 16:1 “Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You.”
Psalms 25:2 “O my God, in You I trust, Do not let me be ashamed; Do not let my enemies exult over me.”
Psalms 56:11 “In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
What an important song for the church to sing.
What an important doctrine for the church to grasp.
GOD IS OUR REFUGE.
Psalms 46:1-3 “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.”
This is the reminder of David, and it is the declaration of the church.
• Regardless of what we face…
• Regardless of the trial…
• We have a refuge.
We have a place to flee for protection.
We run to the LORD.
Now, that’s just a general statement
That we all agree with even without any context.
It’s simply true, no matter the circumstance.
However, this song provides for us the context,
And why David felt so compelled to declare it.
The Faith We Proclaim
#2 THE COUNSEL WE REJECT
Psalms 11:1b-3
Here we find what prompted David
To make such a bold and direct statement.
We don’t know the specific setting of the Psalm,
But David’s friends enlighten us to the danger,
For they have given him some counsel.
And incidentally, the counsel is very disagreeable to David.
In fact, he can’t believe any other believer would give such counsel.
Hence the “How can you say to my soul..?”
The implication here is
“How can you (as a believer in God) give me advice like this?”
What is the advice?
“Flee as a bird to your mountain;”
• They want David to run.
• They want David to flee.
Now, as we said, fleeing is not necessarily a bad thing.
Certainly a Christian does not always flee, but without knowing the specific circumstance here, we can’t say with certainty whether or not fleeing was warranted.
The PROBLEM with the advice is not that they told him to flee,
But WHY they told him to flee.
It is why they told him that he needs to run.
And there are 3 reasons.
1) THE DANGER IS LETHAL (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.”
There is a persecution that has emerged.
There is a hostility that is present.
It is instigated by “the wicked” and it is aimed at “the upright in heart.”
We saw last week how the wicked long to corrupt and defile the innocence of the humble, here we learn that they also like to destroy the life of the righteous.
Darkness hates the light, and therefore always attacks it.
And there is no shortage of passages in Scripture that speak to this effect.
Perhaps the clearest is:
2 Timothy 3:12 “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”
Jesus said to His brothers:
John 7:7 “The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil.”
And then later He would tell His disciples:
John 15:18-21 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘ A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. “But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me.”
Jesus said, “They hate Me because I convict them, and they’ll hate you because You’re with Me.”
This is the hostility that David is facing.
His wicked enemies want to kill him
Because he upholds a righteous standard.
And so his friends tell him to flee.
It could even be an implication for him to NOT BE SO STUCK ON RIGHTEOUSNESS.
David needs to make himself less of a target.
His commitment to the righteous life is getting him in trouble.
The wicked have a bow, it is loaded with an arrow,
It is drawn back, and it is pointed at David.
The Danger is Lethal
2) THE SYSTEM IS LIBERAL (3)
“If the foundations are destroyed..?”
Now of course this comes in the form of a question,
But it is a question which assumes this fact is true.
David’s friends are giving advice through the form of a question.
• Advice based on the extreme dangers David faces,
• Advice based on the fact that “the foundations are destroyed”
“foundations” is the word SHATHA (shoth)
And it speaks of “political or moral support”
In other words, David is in danger
But he can expect no help from the government,
Nor can he expect any help from society.
(This Psalm is likely set when Saul is King)
• The government is corrupt
• The government does not care about his righteousness
• And the “good people” of society will turn away to save their own skin
David’s culture is just not a culture that rewards righteousness.
And so, if he’s expecting some sort of deliverance by the civil authorities
Then he’s hoping for nothing.
And here we could talk for quite some time about
The absolute futility for believers to seek the government as a savior.
• I certainly agree with civil duty…
• I certainly agree with exercising the right to vote…
• I also agree with submission to the governing authorities…
I agree with all those things,
And have no problem with believers taking part there.
But, many believers today invest themselves in politics as if the government could somehow save us.
• Their entire focus is on elections and legislation and boycotts.
And the real problem with all this focus
Is that often times their hope follows.
This is why we see so many “believers” just crumble into despair
And get in fights in social media over political issues.
It represents people who place way too much hope in the government
Or society for their deliverance.
That’s what David’s friends were doing.
• They were convinced that all hope was lost because the governmental and societal systems were corrupt.
• They fell into hysteria and fear all because their moral foundations were being attacked.
And so they tell David he’d better run.
The Danger is Lethal, The System is Liberal
3) HOPE IS LOST (3b)
And this is the real problem, “What can the righteous do?”
• Do you hear their anxiety?
• Do you hear their fear?
More importantly do you see how shallow their faith is?
• If the government isn’t going to bail us out…
• If the government isn’t going to protect us…
• If society won’t do the morally right thing…
Then we have no hope, “What can the righteous do?”
That type of hysteria only proves that people
Are putting their faith in the government instead of in God.
We live in a world where “In God We Trust”
Is printed on the government’s currency,
But “In Government We Trust” is screamed by God’s people.
And that is a recipe for disaster.
Jeremiah 17:5-8 “Thus says the LORD, “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind And makes flesh his strength, And whose heart turns away from the LORD. “For he will be like a bush in the desert And will not see when prosperity comes, But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, A land of salt without inhabitant. “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD And whose trust is the LORD. “For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That extends its roots by a stream And will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield fruit.”
Psalms 20:7 “Some boast in chariots and some in horses, But we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God.”
Psalms 108:12 “Oh give us help against the adversary, For deliverance by man is in vain.”
Psalms 118:8-9 “It is better to take refuge in the LORD Than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD Than to trust in princes.”
Now it is true that
• The government does in fact have a God-ordained function,
• Which they are required to perform under penalty of the judgment of God.
Romans 13:3-4 “For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.”
Incidentally this is why we do not agree with “Separation of Church and State”.
It’s not that we oppose freedom of religion, we don’t.
It’s just that we want politicians to understand that they will answer to God.
The government has a function which they should fulfill,
But we never place our hope in whether or not they actually do it.
David’s friends basically said:
“If the government isn’t for us, then we are sunk!”
But the Bible says:
Romans 8:31 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?”
David’s friends need that verse.
And incidentally, David is about to give it to them.
He already questioned their pitiful counsel boldly declaring, “In the LORD I take refuge.”
Now David is about to explain why.
And it is a beautiful declaration of faith from God’s people.
The Faith We Proclaim, The Counsel We Reject
#3 THE GOD WE TRUST
Psalms 11:4-7
Here David just sets the record straight.
It is a lesson on perspective.
It is the same as when the King of Aram went to attack and kill Elisha and Elisha’s servant fell into dismay.
Elisha sought to change his perspective.
2 Kings 6:17 “Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”
That is David’s purpose here.
• To open blind eyes
• To give proper perspective to those in despair
And David here gives us 3 counter arguments to the counsel of his faithless friends.
1) THE FOUNDATION ISN’T SHAKEN (4a)
David declares, “The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD’S throne is in heaven;”
When David’s friends approached him and said, “the foundations are destroyed” David immediately said,
“You’re looking at the wrong foundation”
You are looking at the earthly throne.
I’m looking at the heavenly one.
This encounter also occurred for the prophet Isaiah.
Isaiah 6:1-5 “In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”
• Uzziah had reigned for 52 years in Israel.
• Things were stable under his reign, and now he was gone,
• And all Isaiah could see was an empty throne.
And in frustration, possibly despair, he entered the temple,
Where he received a new perspective.
Uzziah was only a representative of the “the King”.
And that foundation was firm.
Remember Asaph when he fell into despair because it seemed like the wicked did whatever they wanted without consequence?
Do you remember what set him right?
Psalms 73:16-17 “When I pondered to understand this, It was troublesome in my sight Until I came into the sanctuary of God; Then I perceived their end.”
David is taking his doubting counselors there.
He, in effect, took them to Revelation 4
Where in heaven we see a throne and One on the throne.
It is the sovereign reality of God’s absolutely dominion.
• You think things are bad because the government is corrupt?
• You think things are bad because society is immoral?
• You think hope is lost because no one cares about Christianity anymore?
Have you forgotten who the sovereign King of the world is?
Isaiah 40:21-24 “Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. He it is who reduces rulers to nothing, Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless. Scarcely have they been planted, Scarcely have they been sown, Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth, But He merely blows on them, and they wither, And the storm carries them away like stubble.”
My whole life it seems it’s been the same story.
• Bill Clinton got elected, what are we ever going to do?
• George W. Bush got elected, it’s over for America now!
• Barak Obama got elected, there goes Christianity for good.
• Donald Trump got elected, it’s got to be the end for sure now.
What petty, faithless, ignorant, and short-sited statements!
GOD REIGNS ON HIS THRONE!
And that’s what David is telling his counselors.
“What do you mean righteousness is no longer valuable?
Have you forgotten who is King?”
Have you forgotten that our God reigns?
The foundations are just fine.
Charles Spurgeon said,
“The sovereignty of God is the pillow upon which the believer rests his head.”
Absolutely true! Don’t rest your head on any other pillow.
Don’t stand on any other foundation.
The Foundation Isn’t Shaken
2) JUDGMENT ISN’T FORGOTTEN (4b-5)
“His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked, and the one who loves violence His soul hates.”
• Do you really suppose that the wicked are just getting off scot free?
• Do you really think God doesn’t see?
• Do you really think God doesn’t know?
He knows!
“His eyes behold”
He analyzes!
“His eyelids test the sons of men”
He is angry!
“The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked, and the one who loves violence His soul hates.”
There’s you another uncomfortable fact about God.
David says that God hates those who love violence.
DOESN’T SAY God hates violence.
It SAYS God hates those who love it.
(Does Romans 5 not call them enemies of God?”
God isn’t passive…
God isn’t wishy-washy…
Our God is a sovereign King,
Passionate about holiness and righteousness.
He is so passionate that He carefully watches every man,
And evaluates and judges their every deed and every motive.
And He responds in divine wrath to those who defy His decrees.
Proverbs 6:16-19 “There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.”
GOD HATES WICKEDNESS.
So are you really going to ask me if righteousness is valuable?
Don’t fear the rise of the wicked, they won’t win.
Our God reigns and He hates wickedness.
The Foundation isn’t Shaken and Judgment Isn’t Forgotten
3) JUSTICE ISN’T FORSAKEN (6-7)
God doesn’t just hate the wicked,
He pronounces justice upon them.
(6-7) “Upon the wicked He will rain snares; Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup. For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; The upright will behold His face.”
The obvious question is:
Do you understand what it means when God says He hates something?
HE CRUSHES IT!
“snares” – “fire” – “brimstone” – “burning wind”
Why?
“For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness;”
He does not let the guilty go unpunished
And He does not let the righteous go unrewarded.
“The upright will behold His face.”
POINT? – I don’t know what you saw on the evening news that sent you into such a tither, but OPEN YOUR EYES OF FAITH and see that things are as secure now as they have ever been.
Go read the book of Daniel
• And watch as God’s people are captives in a foreign land.
• And see how God systematically overthrows ruler after ruler
During the book of Daniel Babylon falls, Media falls, Persia falls,
Greece falls, the future fall of Rome is revealed –
And yet God’s people are still standing through it all.
Do you know why?
• Our God reigns
• He knows what is happening
• He will judge it in righteousness
SO CAN WE NOW ANSWER THE QUESTION:
“Is Righteousness Valuable?” – I think “yes”
BUT BEFORE YOU START HIGH-FIVING.
This also presents a massive problem for us.
We read this Psalm about God rewarding the righteous and we each
(out of human nature)
Just decided to put ourselves in the camp of the righteous.
You are rejoicing that God crushes the wicked and rewards the righteous.
But let me ask you, “Who told you that you were the righteous?”
Stop and look at your life.
Go back to that passage in Proverbs.
• You have never loved violence?
• You have never had haughty eyes?
• You have never had a lying tongue?
• You have never shed innocent blood?
• You have never devised wicked schemes?
• You have never run into evil?
• You have never been a false witness?
• You have never spread strife?
Who told you that you were righteous?
We just learned that God watches everybody.
(4) “His eyelids test the sons of men.”
“test” is the word used of “testing metals”
God knows who and what you are.
And furthermore we just learned that upon those who are not righteous, “He will rain snares; fire and brimstone and burning wind”
We determined that righteousness is valuable,
But the far more important question is, who among you has it?
Because God will judge with justice.
Romans 2:6-11 “[God] WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.”
John 5:28-29 “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.”
It’s amazing how easily people can read that and assume that
They are the ones who did the good deeds worthy of life.
Let me take you back now to that first line of the Psalm.
“In the LORD I take refuge.”
I told you that David doesn’t say, “TO the LORD I take refuge”
David said “In the LORD”
This is a picture of the atonement that is found
Only when we die to ourselves and are raised “in Christ Jesus”.
We are talking here about being clothed IN the righteousness of Christ.
Think about David’s righteousness?
Romans 4:6-8 “just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: “BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED. “BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.”
David said that his sins had “BEEN COVERED”.
He was not standing before God in his own righteousness.
• He was taking refuge “In the LORD”,
• That is in the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is that miracle of the imputed righteousness of Christ.
David had it, and so before God, he had nothing to fear.
Without it, you are merely the wicked whom God will destroy.
Now, there is a song for the church to sing.
My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale, My anchor holds within the veil.
His oath, His covenant, His blood Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.
When He shall come with trumpet sound, Oh, may I then in Him be found;
Dressed in His righteousness alone, Faultless to stand before the throne.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.
Righteousness is indeed valuable because the absolute sovereign God of the universe loves righteousness.
And that righteousness is found only by those who place their faith in the perfect righteousness and substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ.
