FOUNDATIONS-Psalm 11-12

Old Testament, Psalms, Sermons

Questions: Psalm 11-12. Foundations Destroyed, the Vile Honored.

“When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Ps 11:3) “…when what is vile is honored by the human race” (Ps 12:8).

Psalm 11 comes straight from a crisis. It is a psalm of David, likely from when Devid was hunted down by Saul (1 Sam 26:20). It expresses confident trust in the Lord and rejects the advice to flee to the hills (Ps 11:1) to escape the present evil circumstances due to the imminent crumbling of the “foundations” of world order (Ps 11:3).

Psalm 12, like Psalm 11, is a plea for deliverance (Ps 12:1; 11:1a). Also like Psalm 11, evil appears endemic (Ps 11:2; 12:2) and the suffering of the faithful extreme (Ps 12:7; 11:2). His primary complaint has to do with lies and deeceptively flattering speech with which the enemy maligns the weak and needy. It is about the power of propaganda through the use and abuse of words, which can only be countered by the word of truth (Ps 12:6; Prov 23:23).

  • Misleading Voices (Ps 11:1-3). Flee.
  • A True View of Life (Ps 11:4-7). Heaven rules.
  • Lying Lips (Ps 12:1-4). Arrogance.
  • The Flawless Word (Ps 12:5-8). Truth.

“In the Lord I take refuge. How then can you say to me: “Flee like a bird to your mountain?” (Ps 11:1). Should I try or hope to avoid what God has planed, prepared, and preordained for me? (Mt 16:22) Face the fact and reality, however painful, and live with faith and hope in God. Trusting God and having faith in God does not mean that suffering will be averted or that life will turn out well for you.

References:

1. Tremper Longman III & David E Garland. Psalms. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary. 2008. Psalm 11: Refuge in the Righteous King. Psalm 12: Lying Tongues and the Truthfulness of God‘s Word.

  • A. Refuge in God (Ps 11:1-3).
  • B. The Lord is the Righteous King (Ps 11:4-6).
  • A’ God is the Refuge of the Righteous (Ps 11:7).
  • A. Prayer for Deliverance (Ps 12:1-4).
  • B. Promise of the Lord (Ps 12:5).
  • B’ Reflection on God’s Promise (Ps 12:6).
  • A’ Prayer for Deliverance (Ps 12:7-8).

2. Tim Keller. The Songs of Jesus. 2015. Psalm 11: Don’t Despair. Psalm 12: The Power of Words.

3. Derek Kidner. Psalms 1-72, 1973. Psalms 73-150, 1975. Psalm 11: Panic and Stability. Psalm 12: …the easy speeches that comfort cruel men.

  • Voices of despair (Ps 11:1-3). 
  • The forgotten dimension (Ps 11:4-7).
  • The power of propaganda (Ps 12:1-4).
  • The counter-thrust of truth (Ps 12:5-6).
  • The war continues (Ps 12:7-8).

4. Alec Motyer. Psalms by the Day. A New Devotional Translation. 2016. Psalm 11: Not Flight but Faith. Psalm 12: The Tongue of Falsehood and the Word of Truth.

  • A. Misleading voices (Ps 11:1-3).
  • B. A true view of life (Ps 11:4-6). Sovereignty (Ps 11:4).
  • C. Confidence under divine scrutiny (Ps 11:7).
  • A1. Appeal to the Lord in a collapsing society (Ps 12:1-2).
  • B1. The words of man, false and forceful (Ps 12:3-4).
  • C. The Lord’s commitment (Ps 12:5).
  • B2. The Lord‘s words, pure and purified (Ps 12:6).
  • A2. Confidence in the Lord in a mixed society (Ps 12:7-8).

5. The MacArthur Study Bible. 2006. Psalm 11: The Lord a Refuge and Defense. Psalm 12: God, a Helper against the Trecherous.

    • Two Voices, one urging flight (Ps 11:1-3), one urging faith (Ps 11:4-7).
    • Surviving the Propaganda of Depraved Speech (Ps 12:1-4).
    • Security in the Protection of Divine Speech (Ps 12:5-8).

6. ESV Study Bible. 2001. Psalm 11: The Lord is in His Holy Temple. Psalm 12: The Faithful Have Vanished.

7. Robert Altar. The Hebrew Bible. A Translation with Commentary. 2019.

8. Gerald Wilson. Psalms Vol 1. The NIV Application Commentary. 2002. Psalm 11, 12.

  • Refuge or Flight (Ps 11:1).
  • What can the righteous do? (Ps 11:2-3).
  • The Lord the Examiner (Ps 11:4-6).
  • Affirmation of the Lord’s righteousness (Ps 11:7).
    1. Grounds of complaint (Ps 12:1-2).
    2. Plea for deliverance (Ps 12:3-4).
    3. Divine response and promise (Ps 12:5).
    4. Confident expectation (Ps 12:6-7).
    5. Reprise of complaint (Ps 12:8).

9. John Goldingay. Psalms for Everyone, Part 1. 2013. Psalm 11: Flee or Stay? Psalm 12: Sometimes God Speaks.

Psalm 11:1-7
1 In the Lord I take refuge. How then can you say to me: “Flee like a bird to your mountain.
2 For look, the wicked bend their bows; they set their arrows against the strings to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart.
3 When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

4 The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord is on his heavenly throne. He observes everyone on earth; his eyes examine them.
5 The Lord examines the righteous, but the wicked, those who love violence, he hates with a passion.
6 On the wicked he will rain fiery coals and burning sulfur; a scorching wind will be their lot.
7 For the Lord is righteous, he loves justice; the upright will see his face.
 
Psalm 12:1-8
1 Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore; those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.
2 Everyone lies to their neighbor; they flatter with their lips but harbor deception in their hearts.
3 May the Lord silence all flattering lips and every boastful tongue—
4 those who say, “By our tongues we will prevail; our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?”

5 “Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the Lord. “I will protect them from those who malign them.”
6 And the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times.

7 You, Lord, will keep the needy safe and will protect us forever from the wicked,
8 who freely strut about when what is vile is honored by the human race.
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