Sunday Afternoon Reflections: Shootings, Earthquakes, Tsunamis, & Psalm 11

“In the LORD I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, “Flee like a bird to your mountain, for behold, the wicked bend the bow; they have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart; if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”  The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD’s throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test, the Children of man. The LORD tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.  Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.  For the LORD is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.” Psalm 11 (ESV)

With the violence in the Middle East, the inescapable shootings that mar the evening news, and this week’s earthquake and tsunami in Japan, we are pressed by the question, “What is our ultimate security in the midst of the gyrations, jolts, and torrents of this life?”  Psalm 11 helps us to answer this question. 

In Psalm 11, David professes his faith in the Lord in response to an unnamed detractor who is trying to give rise to doubts intended to challenge David’s personal security.  The detractor mockingly commands Davis to fly like a bird to his mountain.  This may seem like simple metaphorical imagery; but, the detractor is doing much more than referring to David as an easily startled bird.  The detractor is calling into question David’s faith in God.  In ancient Palestine, mountain tops were places of worship, and any given “high place” would have been associated with a particular idol erected by a tribe or clan from the area.  But, there was one mountain that was not a place of idolatry, that mountain was the mountain of the Lord or Jerusalem (eventually the Temple Mount) – this is the mount in question in Psalm 11.  In effect, the detractor is saying:

“Go ahead David, just try to seek refuge on the Lord’s mountain; try to seek refuge in Jerusalem where that dinky little tabernacle is located.  Assassins are laying in wait to kill you – their arrows are all ready.  Look at all the people who want you dead: Goliath, the Philistines, Saul, and Absalom.  Do you think that you’re going to be safe in Jerusalem on the mountain of your Lord? Let’s say you are able to escape the assassins, an earthquake could come along and crumble the very foundations of Jerusalem, and then you refuge is gone.” 

This detractor could easily try to challenge you and me:

“So, you’re a Christian, how could you possibly believe in the God of the Bible?  I mean, look at all that can go wrong in life.  When you go for a drive, you are surrounded by reckless drivers who could kill you in the blink of an eye.  You could be shot by some stark raving mad lunatic while you’re out getting groceries at your local supermarket.  And, then, think about the thousands of Christians who are persecuted and martyred each and every year around the world.  Even if your God protects you from these things, whatever foundation you have built your security upon will fail you.  Your health: even health-nuts get cancer and die; in fact, every last health-nut will eventually die whether or not they get cancer.  Your savings, pension, and 401k: have you ever heard of Enron or Bernie Madoff?  Your career, job, and title: you just have to take a look at who’s sitting in line at the unemployment office.  Your family and friends: no one lives forever that includes your family and friends.  Then there are earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, fires, hurricanes, tornados, and all sorts of natural disasters. Oh, but here’s the real kicker, your church: your pastor and the people in your church are sinners who will eventually let you down. So, you’re a Christian huh?”

This seems like a withering challenge.  How could anyone respond to these substantial questions?  How could anyone resist such plausible doubts?  Well, how did David respond his detractor?

David didn’t put his hope in the periphery or accoutrements of the Jewish religion.  David didn’t place his hope in a holy hill, in Jerusalem, or the tabernacle (eventually replaced by the temple).  David declares, “In the Lord I take refuge.”  And, contrary to his detractor's misunderstanding, the Lord isn’t the meager god of some Palestinian mountain.  Notice that David says that “the Lord is in his holy temple” even though the temple in Jerusalem had not yet been built by Solomon.  The temple and throne of the Lord is in heaven.  From the throne room of heaven God rules the entire cosmos, not just a small hill in some arid corner of the earth.  There is a caution in this: don’t put your hope in a church, a denomination, a preacher, a song, a book, a bible camp, a mission trip, etc. Put your hope in the Lord. 

You might be thinking, “That’s all well and good, but my life is still a painful mess. How is the Lord my refuge?”  This Psalm doesn’t teach us that our lives will be without suffering, struggles, pain, or difficulty.  This Psalm clearly recognizes that life is filled with troubles.  This Psalm doesn’t shy away from admitting that David was a persecuted man.  This Psalm doesn’t deny that some sort of cataclysmic earthquake could “destroy the foundations” of Jerusalem.  In fact, this Psalm says, “the Lord tests the righteous” (v. 5a).  David knew that in all the difficulties he faced, the Lord was trying him so that he would become the person God intended him to be. This is known as sanctification. And sometimes, sanctification comes in the form of a sever mercy rather than a gentle nudge or simple prick of the conscious.  Many heroes of the Bible were shaped into greatness through adversity that was ordained by God’s sovereign hand.  David didn’t just become a “man after God’s own heart” by accident – God forged David into a man after his own heart through the furnace of adiversity and affliction.  God tempered Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Jeremiah, Peter, James, John, and Paul in the hot coals of hardship.  I don’t know about you, but, as scary as this all may sound, I would rather be valuable hard tempered steel than cheep unrefined ore.

The question isn’t, “What could possibly go wrong?”  The question is, “When things do go wrong, what can the righteous do?” First, we need to recognize that the Bible is very clear that there’s no one who is righteous (Rom. 3:10), yet God gives us his very own righteousness through the atoning work of Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:21—22, Phil. 1:9—11; 3:7—9).  Then, with this recognition, in the face of hardship, we are to fly to Christ Jesus who is our righteousness.  We don’t run and hid in our work.  We don’t escape into amusements.  We don’t take shelter in our wealth. We don’t get ultimate protection from our friends and family.  We don’t even hide out in religiosity, legalism, moralism, or piety.  The Lord is our refuge and we are to fly to him.  And, in flying to him, we come to learn that it is the Lord who lifts us upon his wings (Isa. 40: 28—31).

One last objection, “Sure I might be able to run to God in the day to day hardships of life, but what about death?”  Psalm 11 ends with these words of assurance, “The upright shall behold his [the Lord’s] face.”  Because Christ is our righteousness he is our resurrection and sure refuge from the grave (I Cor. 15:54b—58).  And, the same God who caries us upon his wings throughout our daily lives, is the same God who carries us to himself beyond the grave.  This is the faith that gives us the confidence to sing Albert E. Brumley’s spiritual “I’ll Fly Away.”

Some glad morning when this life is o’er,

I’ll fly away;

To a home on God’s celestial shore,

I’ll fly away (I’ll fly away).

Chorus:

I’ll fly way, Oh Glory

I’ll fly away; (in the morning)

When I die, Hallelujah, by and by,

I’ll fly away (I’ll fly away).

When the shadows of this life have gone,

I’ll fly away;

Like a bird from prison bars has flown,

I’ll fly away (I’ll fly away).

Chorus:

Jus a few more weary days and then,

I’ll fly away;

To a land where joy shall never end,

I’ll fly away (I’ll fly away).

Chorus:

(Recognition:  I want to thank Grace Denver Church for the grist behind this reflection.  This Sunday, I had the joy of worshiping with this young church plant; and, even though the sermon text was not Psalm 11,  their well crafted worship service nudged me into reflecting upon Psalm 11 in light of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan .  For more information on Grace Denver Church visit their web site at http://www.gracedenverchurch.com/ or call 303-330-9237.)