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[ Music ] [MUSIC] ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Mm ♪

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♪ I hear ♪ ♪ The voice ♪ ♪ Of Jesus saying ♪ ♪ Come unto me ♪

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♪ And rest ♪ ♪ Mm, lay down, lay down, lay down ♪ ♪ Thou weary one ♪ ♪ Lay down ♪

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♪ Thy head upon ♪ ♪ My brain ♪ ♪ Mm, shine on ♪ ♪ Mm, oh Lord, shine on me ♪

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♪ Mm, let the light, let the light ♪ ♪ From the lighthouse ♪ ♪ Let it shine on me ♪ ♪ Shine, oh Lord, on me ♪

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♪ Shine on me ♪ ♪ Let the light ♪ ♪ From the lighthouse ♪ ♪ Let it shine ♪

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♪ On me ♪ - Amen. Psalm 11, verse one. "In the Lord put I my trust.

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How say ye to my soul, flee as a bird to your mountain?" Another translation of this particular passage in the Hebrew is, "In the Lord have I put my trust. How then can you say to my soul, flee, for your rock is a bird?

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The subject of the message, your rock is a bird. Psalm 11 is a sequel to Psalm 10. It's a definite answer to the question why the wicked prosper and the righteous must suffer.

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We agonize over this question today, as did the psalmist thousands of years ago. We ponder and wonder about human existence. We are bewildered and perplexed over the ambiguities of life.

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We're disturbed over the prosperity of the wicked and the adversities of the righteous. The psalmist is a man of faith. He trusts in the Lord.

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His life is committed to following the leadership of the eternal. He's fully confident of God's ability to provide for his needs and to protect his people.

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him in all circumstances. Many people have faith for good times. They have faith when things are going all right, they can easily commit themselves to God when things are running smoothly and there is not a bump in the road, but they lose faith

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when bad times come. But the test of faith comes in whether or not one is able to hold on to the eternal in bad times as well as good times. In this particular situation that is addressed by the psalmist, it is a time of crisis.

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What happens when times get hard? What happens when adversity is coming? the rain pours in such a manner as to become a flood and beat against our dwelling. When the house in which we live is shaken by contrary winds and the ground on which

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we stand is quaking, what happens? The psalmist responds with calm confidence to the storms of life by saying, "In the Lord have I put my trust." Now things are out of control, and the psalmist has been told to flee, for your rock is a

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bird. Faith is tested here by the wicked. The man of faith is teased, he's taunted by those who are fearful. There are times when those who are near us tell us to give up.

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Run away and hide. The race is too much for you. The battle is too difficult. The hills are too high.

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the valleys are too deep. Flee. Run away. Look out for yourself.

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Take care of number one. Flee, for your rock is a bird. A rock is a symbol of stability. A rock is a symbol of that which is steadfast, secure, dependable, reliable.

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A rock. A bird is a symbol of instability. Bird is easily movable, so to speak. A bird is always on the move, flying here and there, one limb to the next, constantly

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on the move, uncertain as to where a bird's going to be. That's the nature of a bird. And so there are those who speak to the Psalmist saying, "You put your trust in God? You think you have stability?

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You think you have security? You think you have safety in God? God is your rock? can't depend on your God. Your rock is a bird. Your rock will not be there in time

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of trouble. When you really need help, your rock will not be there to help you. Your rock is a bird. You need protection, you need security and safety. You don't have it because your rock is a bird. The psalmist responds by saying, "How dare you say to my soul, 'Flee like a bird to your mountain!' How dare you say to me that my

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rock is a bird. I know times are difficult. I know things aren't going well with me. I know I'm experiencing hard times. I know I am in the storm, but how dare you say to me that my rock is a bird. I trust in the Lord. My confidence is in the ultimate reality. I trust in the God who's always there. Don't say to

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me, don't speak to my soul saying your rock is a bird. Be sure there are circumstances where this statement is true. There are circumstances where one may put his ultimate confidence, his ultimate trust in that which is temporary and whenever one does that your rock is a bird. Well whenever we

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trust in the fleeting pleasures of this life and we try to find in the fleeting pleasures of this life that which gives ultimate satisfaction when And when we try to do that, then your rock is a bird. When we look upon fame and prosperity

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and try to find in them eternal security, then your rock is a bird. But the psalmist says here, don't say that to my soul. This is the testimony of courageous faith,

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a faith that is robust, a faith that is able to stand the test, Faith that faces contrary winds. Faith that goes against the tide. A faith that accepts whatever life brings.

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Oh, for a faith that will not shrink, though pressed by many a fall, that will not murmur on the brink of any earthly war. A faith that shines both bright and clear

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when tempests rage without, that wind in danger knows no fear, in darkness knows no doubt. Lord, give me such a faith as this, and then whate'er may come I'll taste even now the hallowed bliss of an eternal home. Courageous faith. We need it. Courageous faith. The psalmist says, "I put my trust in the Lord. I put my trust in the eternal. I put my trust in one

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who will always be there no matter what may happen. It's the voice of cowardice that says flee. It's the voice of fear that says run away. It's the counsel of the wicked that say to the soul,

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flee for your rock is a bird. is a bird. The pharmacist goes on to talk about the wicked. He says they have their position.

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They are arrayed for the battle. They prepared themselves. They've hidden in the darkness. They're ready to strike, to make their ambush.

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Their bow is bent. Their arrow is on the string. They're ready to shoot. The pistol is already cocked.

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Their hand is on the trigger. The wicked have prepared themselves. You see, the psalmist is aware of the presence and power of the wicked. We are naive indeed if we fail to note the fact that the enemy is always present and

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prepared. hostile forces. And you read the Psalms, you'll see a great deal of that. The Psalmist is always talking about the wicked. He's very much aware of it. And the person who's not aware of hostile forces, who's not aware of opposition, really is not equipped for life

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and its challenges. The Psalmist looks at the situation. Let me ask the question. If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? What a question.

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If the very foundation on which I have established my life, if that basis that I have somehow projected my future and I rest upon if somehow the very foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? You know there are times when everything that seems to be nailed down seems to come loose.

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And if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? If the foundation on which we thought all of God's moral order is based, if that foundation is proved rotten, if evil triumphs and honesty is defenseless against the barbs of ruthless violence, what can the righteous do?

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Well, the psalmist considers the work of God in creation, his rule over the world, his revelation in his laws to his creatures, and as he looks at all of this in the wide sweep of history, he recognizes the certainty of the sovereignty of God. He says, "If the righteous have suffered defeat everywhere, what then is God's work worth?"

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When we look at our world, we wonder about that. I read in the paper this morning about the fact that the Western nations have food stored in Europe and other places. We've got plenty of food.

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We knew a year ago of the starving situation in Ethiopia where we sort of sat on our hands, the Western nations. you look at that people starving and many times others throwing bread out the back door and we sometimes wonder where is God when you see thousands and

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thousands and yay millions dying and anyone who looks at that situation and see little defenseless and helpless babies dying in their mother's arms so to speak and and when you recognize the seriousness of it we ask the question where is God? And the psalmist looked all around him and he saw situation after

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situation like that, but then after seeing it all he says, "I will trust in the Lord. I put my trust in God. No matter what happens and when everything else scatters and every all of my heart my hopes are dashed I'll just hold on to God no we like to think about rewards and punishments so I'm gonna hold on to God

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because I'm gonna get this this this this well either if we suppose you don't get this hold on to God anyhow just because God is God that's what he's He said, "No matter what may happen, I'll trust in God." And he said, "Now God," what we have to keep in mind, get it?

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We have to keep in mind that God tries the righteous just like he tries the wicked. He tries both the wicked and the righteous. And he tries the wicked, you see, by causing them to have certain experiences, certain reverses in their lives.

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And in many instances, he tries the righteous by permitting the wicked to prosper when the righteous don't. And that's a trial. That's a test of your faith.

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God's trying you. And we don't select the way God gives his test. He selects that. He reserves the right, just as every teacher reserves the right to make out his or her

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own test. God gives us the test the way that somehow he wants to do it, and we don't really understand why God tests us in the way that he does. He tries the righteous as well as the wicked.

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God is with us, that's the important thing. He's with us, but the important thing is what is he doing in us? What is he doing? If God is with us in a time of crisis, what is he doing?

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How is he working in our lives? What is God doing? Well, the psalmist answers the question by saying, "I'm certain of the fact that God is alive and he's well. He's alive and well and not only is he alive and well, he's at

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work in his world. That's his testimony. He's on his throne. Read it, he said he's on his throne. He's on his throne. In other words, God is above us, he's above all I can think. is above, no matter how noble may be our thoughts, God above all that. As the old folk used to say, he sits high and looks low. He's over all this. No matter how

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confusing and how paradoxical maybe what's happening in our world right now, God is on his throne. and he watches, he as the song says he rules and watches for his own and his own includes include both the wicked and the righteous. The righteous admit that they're children of God, the wicked don't, but they're both his own. He watches over

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his own. And he does it carefully. So have faith in God. Have faith in God. Trust God. No matter what may happen, if the foundations on which you stand be destroyed, trust in God. "I cannot cope, dear God," I said. "You do not need to see the road ahead," said he. head said he just trust and walk with me trust God say not to my soul your rock

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is a bird for I trust in the Lord the psalmist said my rock is the eternal My rock is a refuge. My rock is a hiding place. Say not to my soul, your rock is a bird because my rock protects me from the scorching noonday heat. My rock is my security. My rock is my stability. My rock is my strength. My rock is my safety. My rock is the one who cares for the bird. So say not to my soul, your rock is a bird,

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because the God I serve has his eye on the sparrow and I know he watches over me. Though the foundations be destroyed, I know that my rock is my protection. Oh, that word that comes to us in the language of the poet William Cullen Bride when he talks about a waterfowl. Waterfowl, a bird, just a bird.

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Says, "He who from zone to zone guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight, in the long way that I must tread alone

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will guide my feet. All right. My rock. My rock, yes, my rock is a rock that's secure.

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My rock, yes, my rock is a rock that's stable, no matter how the contrary winds blow. My rock is eternal. is the rock of ages.

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So I put my trust in the Lord. Say not to me, your rock is a bird, because my rock is the eternal rock. I will trust in the Lord.

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[MUSIC - "I WILL TRUST IN THE LORD"] I will trust in the Lord. I will trust in the Lord. (upbeat piano music)

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(upbeat piano music) [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC] [ Music ]

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I will trust in the Lord. I will trust in the Lord. I will trust in the Lord. Until I die.

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I will trust in the Lord. I will trust in the Lord. I will trust in the Lord. Till I die.

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I go to borders. I am brave, I was born to walk. I am brave, I was born to walk. I am brave to love.

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I was born to walk. I am brave, I was born to walk. ♪ I am brave, I will go ♪ ♪ I am brave, 'til I die ♪

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♪ God will trust in the Lord ♪ ♪ I will trust in the Lord ♪ ♪ I will trust in the Lord ♪ ♪ Until I find my way ♪

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♪ I will trust in the Lord ♪ ♪ I will trust in the Lord ♪ ♪ I will trust in the Lord ♪ ♪ The Lord ♪

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[Music] [BLANK_AUDIO] [ Silence ]