Psalm 11:1-7
To Trust in Our Refuge

For the Chief Musician. By David.

In Yahweh, I take refuge.
       How can you say to my soul, "Flee as a bird to your mountain!"
For, behold, the wicked bend their bows.
       They set their arrows on the strings,
       that they may shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.
If the foundations are destroyed,
       what can the righteous do?

Yahweh is in his holy temple.
       Yahweh is on his throne in heaven.
His eyes observe.
       His eyes examine the children of men.
Yahweh examines the righteous,
       but the wicked and him who loves violence his soul hates.
On the wicked he will rain blazing coals;
       fire, sulfur, and scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.
For Yahweh is righteous.
       He loves righteousness.
       The upright shall see his face.

World English Bible

David did not deny that his circumstances were desperate. In his day, arrows were advance weapons, and a small squad of skilled archers could decimate a battalion of foot soldiers. Even more fearsome were arrows from hidden snipers to kill indiscriminately even children and women who came within firing range. To those observing the circumstances, it appeared that even the foundations of their society were threatened.

David expresses no concern, no fear, and no response to this threat—and don't forget that the poet David was also the king and the commander-in-chief of the armies of Israel. There was one solution, and that was Yahweh. There was one plan, and God was the author and executor of that plan.

The plan from God that David presents is remarkably barren of details. When will the defeat of the enemy take place? What are the solders and citizens of Israel supposed to do? How is God planning to gather sulfur, fire, and wind, and should the people be assisting in supplying the materials needed? No leader should accept a plan that does not address who, what, when, where, and how!

But David recognized that his title was irrelevant, that he was not the leader—he was a servant of God. As a servant, his duty was to obey, to devote himself to God's leadership, and to wait for God to provide any answers in due time that God considered appropriate. Notice at the end of the chapter the servant attitude that David expresses when his best desire is the opportunity to see God's face. God is the perfect Leader, always faithful, always loving, and always more than sufficient for every circumstance, and David called on his people to follow this Leader with complete devotion and complete trust.

It is easy for each one of us to write our own version of the first three verses of this chapter. We have our own plans of escape that urge us to run away from desperate circumstances like a bird flying to a mountain top. We have our own threats, both those that overwhelm our defenses with ferocious intensity and that ambush our sense of well-being. We know those people, organizations, and forces that appear to be dedicated to oppose us, to damage us, and to destroy all that we treasure and love.

It is much harder for us to "own" the rest of this psalm, but what David wrote is the timeless and perfect answer for every one of us. In the face of certain devastation, we are still God's servants, and God loves us. We feel isolated and alone, but God has already examined our circumstances in detail, for God knows all, and God has a plan. We should not expect that we get to see the blazing coals that will come to the evil ones, for God is the righteous judge, but we should expect to see God's face if we commit ourselves to be God's servant.

Elsewhere in the psalms, we see David ask questions for which he receives no answers, and we do the same. David found that the only answer from God he needed was the command to trust in God as his only and his best refuge. As hard as this blessing is for us to accept, it is all we need as well.