Run! Run and hide! Flee like a bird! The wicked are here.
That’s basically what David is being told. And while there’s a time to run, David states he will run into the arms of the justice of God (Ps 11:4-7).
The Lord is in His holy temple;
the Lord’s throne is in heaven.
His eyes watch; He examines everyone.
The Lord examines the righteous and the wicked.
He hates the lover of violence.
He will rain burning coals and sulfur on the wicked;
a scorching wind will be their portion.
For the Lord is righteous; He loves righteous deeds.
The upright will see His face.
David has such patient trust in the justice of God. By no means did David get quick justice with his prayers. He was ousted from his throne by Saul, he was on the run even from Absalom, he had to hide with the Philistines for an extended time and much more. Justice was not obvious nor was it quick. But David trust in the justice of God.
He didn’t know when God would demonstrate his justice. Maybe only on judgment day. But his unwavering trust that the Lord loves righteousness and hates evil kept him on the path of God. It kept him in the place of rest. And it kept him in the know.
As we saw in the previous psalm, when one loses their ability to wait patiently for God’s justice, evil erupts. But when we know God’s justice, it is the place of rest, even when we don’t see it for an extended time.
Right now it’s mostly easy in the West to rest in God’s justice. But there is more and more a day and time when we will be sincerely tested in this. Do we truly believe God will bring justice amidst an overwhelming flood of evil? How we respond will show what we really believe. We must strengthen that trust muscle now.
“The upright will see his face” (Ps 11:7)