Psalms 11:1 “In the Lord I put my trust, how say ye to my soul, flee as a bird to your mountain.”

 

Somewhere over the rainbow

Bluebirds fly,

Bluebirds fly over the rainbow

Why then, Oh why can’t I.

-E.Y. Harburg-  Somewhere Over the Rainbow

 

In Psalms 55:6 David says: “Oh that I had the wings of a dove, I would fly away and be at rest.”   I suppose David is not the only who would look at the birds and envy their freedom to just fly away from their problems. The National Endowments of the Arts listed the top 25 songs of the century. The number one song on that list was “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”   Who hasn’t at times just looked up to the sky during a difficult time and long to just have wings and fly away?

 

In Psalms 11:1, however, David puts a different twist on this flying away.  David’s soul is being told to flee as a bird to your mountain. This is a reference to where the tabernacle of God stood and the presence of God rested. Birds could do what David could not. At any time they desired they could fly over the tabernacle, even over the holy of holies where the presence of God rested. During the time David wrote this Psalm he was running away from Saul. He was a fugitive, hiding out in caves and did not have the freedom to go to the tabernacle. David would look at the birds flying overhead and maybe he would pray: “Birds fly over your presence, why then, Oh Lord can’t I.” But David knew better.

 

The syntax is a little difficult here. Some commentators will say it is really David’s friends telling him to flee to the mountains for protection. I would not question that it might be his friends advising him to flee to the mountains.  However, if the reference was to any mountains, they would have used an article before the word mountain, rather than a pronoun. The reference here is to a specific mountain, which I believe is the mountain on which the tabernacle rested.  Here David could have sought sanctuary.  Yet, David knew his safety was not in the sanctuary of the tabernacle, it was God himself.  The word flee is repeated two times in this verse, nedu nedi.  Scholars believe the nedu is a Khethiv or the way it should be read.  This makes it more specific, you flee to your mountain like a bird.  David is saying that this was spoken to his soul his nephesh. This is a reference not only to his physical safety but his emotional well-being as well.

 

I believe we have a picture here of David fleeing for his life from King Saul, hiding out in a cave. His friends come to him to talk about his situation. They look out over to the mountain of God where the tabernacle rest. His friends, tell him, to go to the mountain, find sanctuary. David however sees beyond that. He feels they are also talking to his soul that needs rest and peace.  David responds: “No, I don’t need to go the tabernacle to find peace and rest for my soul. I will just trust in God.” The word for trust that is used here is  chasad or refuge. “I will find my refuge in God.”

 

David just shakes his head and says: “No my sanctuary is not in a tabernacle.  The peace and rest for my soul would not come flying over the holy of holies or being in the Holy Place itself.  My sanctuary and peace can be right here, for God is right here.”

 

Years ago when I was a camp director for Youth Guidance one of our residents asked if he could build a rocket as his craft project.  I gave my permission only on the basis that he build one that would go high enough to reach God as I wanted to send a message to Him. It wasn’t long before the buzz was about the camp that Bernie was building a rocket to reach heaven. When Bernie was questioned about this he said that he only agreed to build a rock to reach heaven because it was the only way Pic (person in charge) would let him build a rocket. He made no guarantees it would reach heaven.

 

Well, the day came, the rocket was ready, I wrote my message to God, put it in the nose cone and Bernie launched it.  I expected the rocket to fly a few hundred feet in the air, sputter out and fall back to earth with everyone saying: “Yeah, I knew it wouldn’t reach heaven.”   I was ready with a little speech or sermon about heaven. But God had other plans. We watch the rocket rise about three or four feet off the ground.  It was the craziest thing, almost like some hand guiding it. It was like something you would see in a cartoon. At four feet it just stopped in midair, leveled off, then slowly turned around to face the crowd and with a burst of its engine headed right for the crowd.   It was quite an enjoyable sight watching a crowd of tough, street wise gang bangers, suddenly turn around in terror and start running away, being chased by a rocket.

 

When my staff and I finally re-established order, I said something I never expected to say: I turned to Bernie and said, “Mission accomplished. The rocket did reach God.”   I then explained that I did not ask Bernie to build a rocket to reach heaven, I asked him to build a rocket to reach God and that is exactly what it did.  For you see, they thought that rocket was going after them, but in reality is was only doing what it was built to do and that was to go to God and so the rocket aimed itself at their heart because for many, that is where God resides, not in heaven, but in one’s heart. For the first time many came to the realization that if they received Jesus as their Savior, God would be with them, in their hearts no matter where they go.

 

After or little chapel service all the counselors question me as to how we managed to get the rocket to do what it did to give such a good illustration.  Bernie and I only looked at each other and smiled. We didn’t aim that rocket, someone else did but it managed to explain to those residents what David explained to his friends.  He did not have to go to a mountain top to find God, God was right there where he was at. David was saying that God is as close as your heart.

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