-
Mar
17
2009
Psalm 11:1ff
In the LORD put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?
For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.
David’s Discouragements
I don’t know when this incident in David’s life happened. Some commentators state that it was when Saul was turning against David. Others indicate the days or hours before Absalom’s rebellion. I do know that it was a pretty bad time in David’s life. It was so bad, in fact, that David’s advisers and friends started telling him these types of things.
“Run away!”
Flee as a bird to your mountain…
When the trying times come, we often are pushed both from within and from without just to run away, be quiet, and don’t make a fuss. The easiest way to deal with our problems is not to, or so it seems.
“They’re gonna get you!”
For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.
The advisers went on to explain why he needed to run. The enemy were not preparing to attack the upright in heart. They were perfected (in the grammatical sense), or ready to rumble. They have already finished their preparation and are now waiting.
I do not doubt this in the least. We know that God’s enemies don’t play fair and they are smart about doing evil. I Peter 5:8 teaches us to:
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.
David’s Decision
David rejected this advice to run, and so should you. Before ever being confronted with this turbulence in his life, he had already determined that “in the Lord put I my trust.” David is making a play on words here. It is nothing but discouraging to hear your closest advisers that you should flee to mountain. David, however, turns it around and uses the term “put my trust” which means literally “to seek refuge or flee for protection.” He has no need to run to a mountain to be safe, because He has sought refuge with the Lord.
This is true of the Christian in many ways. When it comes to heaven or hell for example, the only thing that matters is Christ. It does not matter what I have done or said, where I have been, or who I’ve associated with. The question is whether or not I have placed my trust in Christ dying for my sins. John 3:36 says this:
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
Circumstances in my life should not cause me to doubt that I am going to heaven, because whether or not I am going to heaven has nothing to do with circumstances. It has everything to do with Christ.
The same true of other struggles that a Christians faces. Finances, relationships, temptations, and even just big decisions can sometimes force us into a position where we just want to run away and make it all go away, because everyone is out to get us.
The first thing to realize is that fleeing never makes things go away. Problems may be out of sight, they may be out of mind, but they always hang around until resolved.
Second, everyone probably isn’t out to get you, but they might be. It really doesn’t change the advice. As a child of God, my security does not come from what I do for Him. It comes from Him. My peace does not flow from my goodness but His.
“For all of the questions of life, the answer is Christ.”