Psalm 11: Flee to Your Mountain

We try to be faithful. We do our best to live ethically. We treat others as we would like to be treated. But then. Even within our congregation there are those who cut corners, cheat, and bend rules. Worst of all, they succeed. When we complain, those among us say things like: “It’s the way things are. Everyone does these things. Don’t be such a stuck up.”

St. Athanasius (296–373) writes:

When you see the boundless pride of many, and evil passing great, so that among men so it seems no holy thing remains, take refuge with the Lord and say Psalm 11.

For the Chief Musician.
By David.

Psalm 11 likely is set early in David’s life, when Saul’s paranoia exploded. The Jewish sage Rashi (1040–1105) aligns the psalm with 1 Sam 22:

Saul heard that David was discovered, with the men who were with him. Now Saul was sitting in Gibeah, under the tamarisk tree in Ramah, with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing around him. Saul said to his servants who stood around him,
Hear now, you Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse (David) give all of you fields and vineyards? Will he make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, that all of you have conspired against me, and there is no one who discloses to me when my son makes a treaty with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you who is sorry for me, or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as it is today?
Then Doeg the Edomite, who stood by the servants of Saul, answered and said,
I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. He inquired of Yahweh for him, gave him food, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine (1 Sam 22:6–10).

The Psalm begins with David expressing his trust.

1In Yahweh, I take refuge.

His advisors give discouraging advice.

How can you say to my soul,
“Flee as a bird to your mountain!”

²For, behold, the wicked bend their bows.
They set their arrows on the strings.
They shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.

³If the foundations are destroyed,
What can the righteous do?

What are these foundations? In today’s world we can link them to traditional values and the institutions of law and government.

David’s advisors are telling him to flee. It makes sense! Saul’s army ranged in size anywhere from three thousand (1 Sam 13:2) to twenty thousand (1 Sam 15:4). David’s loyal followers numbered only four hundred (1 Sam 22:2). Not exactly a fair fight. Saul’s troops would happily sneak up in darkness and put an end to David and those with him. What can the righteous do? The following verses present David’s surprising reply.

⁴Yahweh is in his holy temple.
Yahweh is on his throne in heaven.
His eyes observe.
His eyes examine the children of men.

⁵Yahweh examines the righteous.
His soul hates the wicked and him who loves violence.

⁶On the wicked he will rain blazing coals,
Fire, sulfur, and scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.

Fire, sulfur, and scorching wind is a literary reference to Sodom and Gomorrah. David doesn’t anticipate these things literally. He does expect judgment. Whenever it comes it will be sudden and quick. In the meantime, God waits. He observes, examines, and sees all. But why does he wait so long to act? Peter tells us:

The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some count slowness; but is patient with us, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up (2 Pet 3:9–10).

⁷For Yahweh is righteous.
He loves righteousness.
The upright shall see his face.

Conclusion

Though David wrote this psalm, it’s implications go far beyond its historical significance. What do we do when evil surrounds us, even within our own community. Should we flee or stand firm? It is hard to resist the evil of the times. David’s later actions show this to be true:

David said in his heart,
I will now perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me any more in all the borders of Israel. So shall I escape out of his hand (1 Sam 27:1).

David left Israel and lived with the Philistines for a year and four months. What happened? It appears that after being on the run for years, he emotionally gave up. I get it. It is hard, nearly impossible, to stand up to overwhelming odds. But, what about Jesus? When the crushing forces of evil were lined up for the final confrontation, Jesus determined to travel to Jerusalem and engage. Peter with good intention feared the outcome. What can the righteous do?

Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up. Peter took him aside, and began to rebuke him, saying,
Far be it from you, Lord! This will never be done to you.
But he turned, and said to Peter,
Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of men (Matt 16:21–23).

Jesus’s enemies were not hesitant to add their two cents:

Some Pharisees came, saying to him,
Get out of here, and go away, for Herod wants to kill you.
He said to them,
Go and tell that fox,
Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I complete my mission. Nevertheless I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the next day, for it can’t be that a prophet would perish outside of Jerusalem.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that kills the prophets, and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, like a hen gathers her own brood under her wings, and you refused!

Behold, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me, until you say, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord (Luke 13:31–35)!

David eventually gave up and fell short, Jesus stood firm. Rashi comments on the phrase: “flee as a bird to your mountain:”

Every wandering person is compared to a bird that wanders from its nest, as it is written (in Prov. 27:8):
As a bird wandering from its nest, so is a man wandering from his place.

When it comes to how we live, Psalm 11 teaches us never to compromise. Yet, we are weak and sometimes we are guaranteed to fail. This early Christian creedal fragment resonates:

If we endure, we will also reign with him.
If we deny him, he also will deny us.
If we are faithless, he remains faithful.
For he can’t deny himself (2 Tim 2:11–13).

David failed. We fail. But thank God, Jesus did not.

Thanks for listening,

Modern Musical Renditions

The Lord is in His Temple by Celtic Folk Music
My Trust Is in the Lord Nathan Clark George and Crew
Righteous is the Lord by Highway to Zion
The Rhythm of My Refuge by Bible Jamz
Foundations by Jason Silver

For Further Meditation

Agpeya: Prayer Book of the Hours, (Coptic Orthodox Church of Saint Mark, 2017).
Christopher Ash, The Psalms: A Christ Centered Commentary: Psalms 1–50, Vol. 2, (Crossway, 2024).
Athanasius, “letter to Marcellinus: On the Interpretation of the Psalms.”
Augustine, “Exposition on the Psalms.”
Basil, The Fathers of the Church: A New Translation, Vol. 46.
Basil, On Prayer.
Bonhoeffer Dietrich, Psalms: The Prayer Book.
C. Hassell Bullock, Encountering the Book of Psalms, (Baker 2001).
Hilary of Poitiers, “Homilies on the Psalms.”
Joseph Galineau, The Psalms: A New Translation Singing version, (Paulist Press, 1991).
Jerome, The Fathers of the Church: The Homilies of Jerome 1–59, Vol 1.
Dereck Kidner, Kidner Classic Commentaries: Psalms 1–72, (IVP Academic, 1973).
C. S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms, (New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1958).
Temper Longman III and David E. Garland, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms, Vol. 5, (Zondervan, 2008).
Origen of Alexandria, Fathers of the Church: Homilies on the Psalms Codex Monacensis Graecus 314, (Catholic University of America Press, 2020).
Origen, Commentary on Psalms.
Pettingill, Christ in the Psalms, (Van Kampen Press, 1937.
Rashi, “On Psalms.”

Dan Harvey, author of Wrestling with Faith and Experiencing the Apocalypse

Psalm 11: Flee to Your Mountain

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