A psalm seeking security in turbulent times
1 In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to me,
‘Flee like a bird to the mountains;
2 for look, the wicked bend the bow,
they have fitted their arrow to the string,
to shoot in the dark 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 gaze examines humankind.
5 The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked,
and his soul hates the lover of violence.
6 On the wicked he will rain coals of fire and sulphur;
a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.
7 For the Lord is righteous;
he loves righteous deeds;
the upright shall behold his face.
Today the psalmist is being advised to flee for his or her life. Their case is not hopeful. It is as if they have been charged with something and it is unlikely they will be found innocent. In a striking and poetic image, we hear the advice (of friends? or enemies? we know not) to take wing and head for the hills, like a fragile bird.
Lately, on the daily Government-regulated walk round the woods, the birds have become our companions. The evening chorus in the high beeches of Warley Woods has been something to look forward to. It is possible certainly to pick out the territorial calls of robin and blackbird, thrush and parakeet, magpie, crow and green woodpecker. And then there is a the twittering of other unidentified tits and others. As yet, the migrant species – chiffchaffs, swallows and swifts – have yet to gladden our hearts. But the year-round residents flit in and out of sight. Today, being windier and colder, their song has been muted, though.
But the image of the fragile bird, easily taking fright, and fleeing from prey, is powerful in the 11th psalm. It is a motif which is contrasted with the continued, repetitive, claim of the poet that God is a refuge in whom we can trust. Fast-forwarding a moment to a later psalm, 139, we are told of the ‘inescapable’ God, from whom we cannot flee even if we were to want to. ‘Where can I go from your spirit?’ asks the psalmist. ‘Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and settle in the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me and your right hand shall hold me fast.’[1]
The conclusion: everywhere is a refuge; nowhere is far from God’s presence.
But there is more wisdom in Psalm 11. It is a prayer of contest, a plea to stand firm in the face of those who ‘stand in the shadows’ (NIV translation) or ‘in the dark’ (NRSVA) and shoot arrows at the upright of heart. And then it asks the question – if (or when) the foundations are being destroyed, what can the upright do?
We can sense, day by day, as life is stripped away from us, that the foundations of society as we have known it are (currently, at least) being shaken. It is so odd to stand at a garden gate to talk to a neighbour on their doorstep (at least we can still do that). It is odder still, learning a new ‘dance’ in the aisle of a shop, a dance demanded by social distancing. But it is the hardest thing of all to hear the sorrowfulness of families parted from loved ones on their deathbeds because of fear of infection, of funerals restricted to four family members and an officiant, of bereaved widows having to drive to their husband’s service because limousines are no longer offered by funeral directors. These small seismic shocks feel like the prelude to something much greater. What can the upright do? We can pray and stay real.
The psalm says don’t flee from reality. Stand firm. Stay. For though the situation may seem hopeless and overwhelming, remain faithful to God’s rule. For God’s rule is certain. The choice is flight or faith. For God watches all and examines the heart of all and longs to see us face to face – not at a distance.
I find Eugene Peterson’s translation in The Message so helpful:
I’ve already run for dear life straight to the arms of God.
So why would I run away now when you say,
“Run to the mountains; the evil bows are
bent, the wicked arrows
Aimed to shoot under cover of darkness at every heart open to God.
The bottom’s dropped out of the country; good people don’t have a chance”?
Aimed to shoot under cover of darkness at every heart open to God.
The bottom’s dropped out of the country; good people don’t have a chance”?
But God hasn’t moved to the mountains; his holy address hasn’t changed.
He’s in charge, as always, his eyes taking everything in, his eyelids
Unblinking, examining Adam’s unruly brood inside and out, not missing a thing.
He tests the good and the bad alike; if anyone cheats, God’s outraged.
Fail the test and you’re out, out in a hail of firestones,
Drinking from a canteen filled with hot desert wind.
God’s business is putting things right; he loves
getting the lines straight,
Setting us straight. Once we’re standing tall, we can look him straight in the eye.
Setting us straight. Once we’re standing tall, we can look him straight in the eye.
Last night we observed Earth Hour between 8.30 - 9.30pm. Joining in solidarity with people across the world we turned off our lights and lit candles. This year there wasn’t just our common concern for planet earth but a concern for all nations hit by this virus. We spent the hour doing a live online quiz by the World Wildlife Fund. It was fun and we learnt some interesting facts about various animals. There was one question about birds: which is the tallest bird: a condor, stork or crane? It was a good distraction but no escape.
ReplyDeleteWhen we find ourselves in awful situations we can find ourselves wanting to escape but of course we can’t. We now have to stay at home. The psalmist is advised to escape, to run away and flee to the mountains. Yet he knows that God is at home in his holy temple. God sees everything that is going on. He is ever present. And the psalmist stands firm and trusts completely in God in his distressing situation of violence and wickedness and opposition.
When we wake up to another day of a higher number of cases and deaths, our hearts sink and long for it all just to go away. But the psalms repeatedly speak of God in our midst, God our strong and constant rock, the one with whom we face the ordeal and in whom we put our trust. We stand firm.
I find the prayers after each psalm in Common Worship Daily Prayer so helpful:
God of heaven,
when the foundations are shaken
and there is no escape,
test us, but not to destruction,
look on the face of your anointed
and heal us in Jesus Christ your Son.