Reflections on Psalms 11

 Psalms 11(Contemporary English Version)

1. (A psalm by David for the music leader.) The LORD is my fortress! Don't say to me, "Escape like a bird to the mountains!"
   
2. You tell me, "Watch out! Those evil people have put their arrows on their bows, and they are standing in the shadows, aiming at good people.
   
3. What can an honest person do when everything crumbles?"
   
4. The LORD is sitting in his sacred temple on his throne in heaven. He knows everything we do because he sees us all.
   
5. The LORD tests honest people, but despises those who are cruel and love violence.
   
6. He will send fiery coals and flaming sulfur down on the wicked, and they will drink nothing but a scorching wind.
   
7. The LORD always does right and wants justice done. Everyone who does right will see his face.

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Another Davidic psalm. Though the circumstances are not identified, David was faced with a choice of what to do in the face of danger. Here was the problem: The wicked were stringing their bows and aiming their arrows from the shadows preparing to shoot the upright in heart. When (not if) the foundations were destroyed what could the righteous do? According to the pessimists advising David, the only thing to be done was to run for the mountains! In their pessimistic minds the wicked had already won, as in their statement of, "When the foundations are destroyed." (11:3) It wasn't "If," but "When." In their minds it was a foregone conclusion.

But David had another answer for this dilemma. The Lord was still in His holy temple and on His throne. He was watching and examining everyone. He would deal with the wicked. And the upright would see His face. David's answer to this threat? Don't flee to the mountains, flee to the Lord. Take refuge in Him.

Was this a literal attack with bows and arrows or, more likely, a slanderous attack with destructive words? Either way, the inclination was, and is, to flee for safety. But any appearance of safety apart from the Lord is elusive. The only true safety is in the Lord. He is the only one who can truly rescue us from any danger.

The question was raised, "What can the righteous do?" It was as if the righteous had no defense unless they take on the same tactics as the wicked who supposedly have the upper hand over the righteous. But David's answer was that neither fleeing or resorting to the tactics of the wicked was the answer. The Lord is the answer. He is the source of a strength much greater than that of any enemy. A strength capable of raining down "burning coals and sulfur on the wicked." (11:6)