July 14, 2003

YOUR PLACE OF ESCAPE

Many years ago, I was captivated by a beautiful little song, sung to ukelele chords by a student from Hawaii. Though I can still hum the tune, I remember only the first two lines of the lyrics:
“Flee, as a bird, to your mountain,
Ye who are weary of sin. . . “

That refrain has often gone through my mind when I’ve felt overwhelmed. The invitation to “flee” from it all was very inviting. “Your mountain” seemed clearly to be a reference to the comforting presence of God. Just thinking about this has sometimes made me feel I had wings that could carry me away from troubles and trials and into his presence.

But, unfortunately, the song is based on a misinterpretation of a Bible verse. It took me years to find that out. I was browsing through the Psalms one day, and there it was, in Psalm 11:1: “Flee as a bird to your mountain!” I thought, if that phrase is a blessing, the rest of the psalm must build on its encouraging truth. I read on and made a surprising discovery. My comforting invitation to flee was in quotes and was presented as the wrong thing to do!
“In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to me, ‘Flee, as a bird, to your mountains’?”

The psalm is attributed to David, and it was written at a time when King Saul was hunting for him as a hunter would track down a bird. The advice David got from friends was to flee into the mountains, just the way a hunted bird might. The bird has no other defenses but flight. David’s advisors suggested that he was just as defenseless.

But David rejects their advice. He has taken refuge in the Lord, so he is far from defenseless. To flee would be to show a lack of faith in God.

It is true that David’s only hope is to be in God’s presence, but he doesn’t have to flee to the mountains to experience that protection. As he says in another psalm, his God is “a very present help” (Psalm 46:1).

How striking and enigmatic are his words in verse 4:
“The Lord is in his holy temple;
The Lord’s throne is in heaven.”

Well, just where is he? In his temple—the place where earthly people worship him; or in heaven—above and in control of his whole creation?

The wonderful truth about David’s God is that both are true. The awesome Creator of the universe is also the loving Father of this one human person who trusts him. David does not have to flee. There is no force in the mountains that can equal the “very present” One who has promised to be his refuge right here in the valley of troubles and trials.

We are all like timid birds, ready to flee from any threat. Most of us have some favorite escape—”your mountain.” It may be a diversion activity, a chemical dependency, a hobby, a group of mutually-dependent friends who are themselves scared birds huddled together.

You should know that when you flee to your mountain, you are not fleeing to the Lord; you are fleeing from the Lord. He’s right here, with all his delivering power. Let him be your refuge, right in the valley of your most difficult struggle.

It’s hard for me to believe any bad advice can come from a Hawaiian with a ukelele. But then, Hawaii is the Great Island Escape.

–Pastor George Van Alstine