Fight or
Flight?
“In the Lord I
rake refuge; how can you say to my soul, ‘Flee like a bird to your mountain,
for behold, the wicked bend the bow; they have fitted their arrow to the string
to shoot in the dark the upright in heart; if the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do?”
Psalm 11:1-3
The situation described in the above verses is
frightening, isn’t it? David’s
friends and advisor’s stand next to him as they survey the landscape. Things look bleak indeed. If, as many believe, this psalm was
written during the time of Saul’s reign when his hatred and jealousy toward
David was reaching maniacal levels then it is very easy to see just how dark things
appeared to those who had hitched their wagon to David.
They tell him
that it’s time to abandon ship. They tell him to take a lesson from the birds. Birds certainly don’t hang around when troubles approaches,
but spread their wings and fly to a place of safety. They tell David to look around him and see the wicked men
that are aligning themselves against him. It is as though they already have the bow drawn fully and are cunningly
hidden in the dark ready to fire upon him from he knows not where. They would also have David know that he
has no reason to expect help to come from within Saul’s government. After all, the foundations of justice
have been destroyed through Saul’s poor leadership and single-minded focus on
murdering David. Were folks
advising David today they might say, “David, your enemies are everywhere and
they have their guns loaded with fingers on the trigger. The powers that be, including law
enforcement, have grown corrupt and the most powerful man in the nation hates
you and wants you dead. The time
has come to pack your bags and get out of dodge. Abandon hope for it has certainly abandoned you.”
Yet David
begins this extraordinary psalm by asking his friends how they
could advise him to flee? How could they tell him to run away? One might say that the answer seems obvious. However, the one who takes his refuge in God is far more concerned with divine wisdom than conventional. Some problems cannot be bypassed but must be traveled through. David knew that God had plans for him
in Israel so he wasn’t leaving. However, there was no way he was getting through this situation without
God. So David did what David
always seemed to do: he put all of his trust and faith in the One who was infinitely
more powerful than Saul and everyone else. He trusted God to be his refuge. May you and I possess such commitment and faith!
An All-Seeing
Eye
“The Lord is
in his holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids
test the children of man. The Lord
tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves
violence…For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall
behold his face.”
Psalm 11:4-5,
7
“The Lord is in his holy temple.” How that thought must have comforted
David! Reflecting upon that great
truth took a situation that seemed impossible to overcome and reminded David
that Saul was not ultimately in charge, God was! Saul could rampage and threaten, he could set the entire
nation on David, yet God had plans for David that no man could nullify. Saul was not fighting against David, he
was fighting against God.
Every step
that David and Saul made was carefully observed and weighed by God. Every prayer and demonstration of faith
from David was noted and considered. Every time Saul cursed David or committed violence in a murderous rage,
God was watching. God loved David
because of David’s faith. He
demonstrated a heart that God approved of, saying that it was even a heart similar
to His own (1 Samuel 13:13-14). For that reason God protected him. Yet Saul became as wicked as David was righteous. His jealous, ungodly heart even moved
him to commit an atrocious crime by having the priests of the city of Nob along
with their families executed (1 Samuel 22:6-23).
David stated
in verse 5 of our psalm that God tests the children of men. Viewing it through that prism it is
easy to see that while David passed this test of faith with flying colors, Saul
failed it just as thoroughly. After such a promising beginning Saul transformed into the very thing
David reminds us that God hates—a wicked person who falls in love with
violence. Sadly, that description
pretty well sums up the final years of Saul’s life.
David
concludes this wonderful psalm with a powerful statement of encouragement. I have no doubt that he was reminding
himself of God’s great love for righteousness and all His wonderful promises to
the faithful. As bad as things
appeared to be David was buoyed with the knowledge that his trusting faith
would result in seeing the lovely face of God. The same promise stands for you and I.
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