Psalm 11
It’s pretty obvious from reading through this psalm, that David is going through a rough patch again. His enemies are giving him trouble and we can see by the first few verses, he’s been told by someone… maybe it’s his friends, or his advisors, that he needs to run away and go to a stronghold of some sort. That’s what they’re saying to him here… “The wicked are all around you… they’ve got their bows and their shooting… and even if they’re shooting in the dark, even if they’re shooting blindly, one of the arrows might find it’s mark. It’s best to take shelter – flee like bird to your mountain. Wait this thing out. Lay low for a while.”
But I love David’s answer to them. “In the Lord, I take refuge.”
So in a very literal, and physical, and real sense, someone has told David to go to his mountain. Go to your fortress, your stronghold. You’ll be safe there. That’s what they’re saying, but David has a deeper understanding. The people are saying “Flee to your mountain!” But David is saying, “The Lord is my Rock, and my Fortress. He is my strong tower! He is my shield and strength!” You see; David understood that.
And so he rebukes those advisors who are telling him to flee to his mountain. He says to them, “How can you say to my soul, flee like a bird to your mountain”? “How can you say to me, seek safety, and security, and salvation in something other than the Lord?” “No, no… IN THE LORD – I TAKE REFUGE!”
If we could be like David in this and know that trusting in any refuge other than God is futile. Our health gives out, so it is not a true refuge. Our finances can be taken away, so that is not an acceptable refuge either. Even our families can let us down and fail us. Only the Lord can bring us true safety and security and salvation!
Trusting in the Lord is the one true antidote for life’s threatening dangers. The first verse in Hebrew is constructed in an interesting way. It literally reads: “In the Lord is the refuge I take.” In the Lord, that is more than a place, it is the realm where all of us find the solace and rest that our hearts need.
PRAY
Father, I pray that You will protect me from the evil one. I pray that You will be a shield about me, behind, beneath, and above. Help me to detect Satan’s wiles, his deceitful ways, and his suggestions. I confess my sins and receive Your forgiveness that I might be clean before You. May there be no evil crevice within my soul that gives Satan permission to tempt or harass me. Be my refuge and hiding place O Lord.