A couple of weeks ago I started a journey through the Psalms. There’s a 150 of them, so it’s going to take some time — probably about a year.
Sidebar: For some weird reason which I cannot explain, I was kind of not looking forward to studying the Psalms, but was resolved to do so. Before I started Psalms, though, I worked my way through Job. By the time I finished Job, I couldn’t wait to get into the Psalms. God knew what he was about. End sidebar.
So today I’m looking at Psalm 11. Pretty short and simple, but so applicable to the church today. (Stupid statement; what Scripture is not applicable to the church today?) Here it is:
1 In the LORD I take refuge; How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain; 2 For, behold, the wicked bend the bow, They make ready their arrow upon the string To shoot in darkness at the upright in heart. 3 If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?”
4 The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD’S throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. 5 The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked, And the one who loves violence His soul hates. 6 Upon the wicked He will rain snares; Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup. 7 For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; The upright will behold His face.
This psalm could as easily have been written today than 3,000 years ago. So much of the church is living in fear that the “foundations” are in danger of being destroyed — our religious foundations, our societal foundations, our political foundations. The increase of evil in the world — whether political, cultural, or international — leads us to believe that we cannot count on good triumphing over evil. And indeed, that danger may be real. Certainly we see erosion of all of those things, and any serious student of history and/or eschatology will tell you that cultures and nations have always risen and fallen, and will continue to do so until Jesus returns. The psalmist (traditionally thought to be David) doesn’t deny the possibility. But he offers a response, and it’s not the response we frequently see from the Christian Church today — or from David’s fearful counselors.
The solution offered by David’s advisors seems to make sense. Flee to the mountains, where we can hide and make a strong defense! Otherwise we are helpless! We see this solution in the evangelical Church today. We are under attack! Flee to our Christian enclaves, where we can avoid the ungodly altogether! Flee to the legislatures, where we can make “Christian” laws! Flee to the courts, where we can enforce our rights, as long as we have the “right” judges! We must fight fire with fire! We must find or make our own security!
There is, of course, a place for the church to fight for righteousness in the legislatures and the courts, just as there was a time for David to flee to the mountains. David did, in fact, flee to the wilderness, and even to the adjoining heathen nation of Philistia, when he was pursued by Saul. But David’s soul knew that his refuge was not in the mountains, or the wilderness, or even the Philistine armies. The first words out of his mouth in this Psalm are “In the Lord I take refuge.” God was his stronghold, his security, his defense. In the face of threat, David isn’t professing his rights. He’s professing his faith. His faith is more important to him than his safety or his rights. David is testifying to his unshakeable trust in the Lord to the people around him who are panicky and fearful.
“The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven.” (v.4) The prophet Habbakuk quotes the first half of this verbatim, and then follows it up with “Let all the earth be silent before Him.” (Hab. 2:20) Would that more Christians were silent, contemplating the sovereign Lord on His throne. And when we do speak, would that we would engage in less railing against our enemies, and spend more words encouraging the weak, apprehensive, and timorous with testimony to the sovereignty, power, justice, righteousness, and goodness of the Lord.
David saw the cosmic realities that overshadow current events. Though everything seems to be crumbling around us, God is still on His throne. When earthly foundations crumble, we have another unshakeable foundation in the eternal, living God. His moral order and kingdom transcend this world, and will never crumble. He is watching, testing, readying His judgment. He hates violence, and He will rain his wrath down upon those who love and do violence.
But that’s His job. Not ours.
Where is our refuge? Is it in God? Or are we trying to create our own? Do we trust Him, or do we trust ourselves, or judges, or our political party, or even our pastor or church? To be blunt, who is going to be the effective God of our lives?
The Christian is the person who can say with David “In the Lord I take refuge.” It is the Christian who finds security outside himself or his circumstances. Irrational evil and chaos, though clearly present, cannot control him or make him fearful.
In this world of chaos, it is the Christian who is the true counter-cultural protestor.
*Hat tip to Dr. Donald M. Williams for his commentary on the Psalms.
