1In the Lord I take refuge.
How then can you say to me:
“Flee like a bird to your mountain.
2For look, the wicked bend their bows;
they set their arrows against the strings
to shoot from the shadows
at the upright in heart.
3When the foundations are being destroyed,
what can the righteous do?”
4The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord is on his heavenly throne.
He observes everyone on earth;
his eyes examine them.
5The Lord examines the righteous,
but the wicked, those who love violence,
he hates with a passion.
6On the wicked he will rain
fiery coals and burning sulfur;
a scorching wind will be their lot.
7For the Lord is righteous,
he loves justice;
the upright will see his face.
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Thoughts: Trouble comes to us all. Jesus said, "In this world you will have trouble." The advice given by someone here is to escape- fly like a bird to a mountain. This same person discourages by saying the wicked are powerful (bending their bows) and bent on your destruction. This person says (like many today) that the foundations of righteousness (morality and spirituality) are being destroyed- so what can we do but to flee and escape?
Certainly there is a time to escape. But not to form some kind of Christian commune. In Jesus' day the Essenes tried to escape from all the problems of the rule of pagan Rome- but eventually even they were destroyed. Jesus did not advocate escape- except "when you see the armies surrounding Jerusalem flee to the hills" (Lk. 21:20). But for the most part Jesus stood up even in the face of problems and persecutions in the midst of wickedness and evil. It was hard. It was a denying of his self and involved the bearing of the cross- but Jesus did it. Some leave churches because they get a consumer (what's in it for me) attitude and as soon as a church does something wrong- they feel the foundations are being destroyed so they flee. But Christ calls us to love our enemies- and that means living in the midst of them. No church, no nation, no ideology in this world is perfect. There are hypocrites in every one on this side of heaven. Our task is to not join the hypocrites in action, but stand in love where God has placed us.
So the Psalm ends with the writer assuring himself that God is indeed in His holy Temple. We all stand accountable to the One who sees and examines us all. We don't have to judge. We don't have to flee. We are called to be faithful, until God raises us up. The Psalmist ends with the thought that God is truly good/righteous and does not forget to be fair and just. In the end, it is the upright who will see His face- so let's be upright today- standing instead of giving up on others and fleeing.
Missionaries do not give up in the face of trouble. If that were true, where would Patrick be, or Paul or Hudson Taylor? Missionaries are called to be faithful to a people who are not to make a difference for God. We are all missionaries in the church God has placed us in. Let us not give up or be weary in doing good. But let us be steadfast, trusting in God.
Prayer: Lord, You know it is so hard to be faithful when we see things falling apart around us. When things get difficult, I want to flee instead of stand up. Help me to stand today.
