Run!
OCTOBER 25, 2026
SCRIPTURE COLLECTION
Today's Scripture Passage
In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, “Flee like a bird to your mountain, for behold, the wicked bend the bow; they have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart; if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man. The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence. Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.
Psalm 11
Related Scriptures:
Psalm 2:4
Psalm 3:5–6
Genesis 19:24
Proverbs 15:3
Romans 8:35–39
Philippians 1:21
James 1:2–4
Notes & Reflections
“Flee like a bird to your mountain.”
These are words that plead with the psalmist to run for his life.
Many people in our world are on the run. Many have even lost their lives. I recently witnessed a man recording himself, and others with him, as they ran from men seeking to kill them, by shooting them, because they were Christians. He was frightened and desperate for safety.
One has to wonder how someone in his position could rightly face that situation, and others like it, with faith. As with the people in this situation, this psalm speaks of the same threat. Wicked men are bending the bow and “shooting in the dark.”
This imagery shows the desperate and blind rage of those who are in pursuit. They shoot from afar, at anything, in the hope that they will hit their desired target.
Hope of surviving such rage seems minimal and bleak.
More than this, the people who urge the psalmist to run are people who are against him. We can tell this is the case by the psalmist’s confusion toward their suggestions. Do they really desire his safety, or are their motives insincere and sinister? Many times, those who wish to harm you act as though they are for you.
In verse 3, he says, “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” In other words, “If the wicked and unfaithful are allowed free rein, what can the righteous do?”
What kind of hope of security would be left? This is why he is urged to run.
Yet how does the psalmist respond to such advice? What do Christians do when being hunted?
He says, “The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven; His eyes see, His eyelids test the children of man.”
The psalmist fixes his gaze on his God in heaven. He looks past what looks hopeless to the One who he knows has control of all things, the One who judges justly. But more than that, “the Lord tests the righteous.” The moments of severe distress and danger are moments that show whether faith is genuine or not. True believers have a moment to glorify God as they grow more and more assured that their faith is genuine, even in such circumstances. Indeed, they will also glorify God as He comes to their rescue, even in death, because the Lord hates the wicked and the ones who love violence.
The imagery of fire and sulfur raining down is a picture of the Lord working for the righteous in a way that will be seen by all.
They will also receive the portion they are due. This portion is never confined to this life alone, but is also given in the life to come. Justice is always served.
Justice is either given to man through suffering in hell or given to Christ on the cross, where He took the punishment we deserved, so that forgiveness and mercy come to all who trust in Him. The righteous have set their hope and life on the latter. In all these things, those who belong to God should continually follow and trust Him no matter what others are suggesting or saying. The man who is on the run because he is a Christian has a great
God who sees all that he is facing, and He will work on his behalf.
Our God is with us, and we will one day be with Him, see His face, and enjoy Him forever.
If the Lord sees everything from His throne and hates the wicked, why does He allow the righteous to be hunted and even killed?
Psalm 11 tells us that the Lord tests the righteous (v. 5). This means that the suffering of His people is always within His sight and His purpose, because He uses it to prove and refine their faith. Peter says our faith is tested by fire so that it may result in praise and glory when Jesus Christ is revealed (1 Peter 1:6–7). Death also doesn’t defeat the righteous, because their hope was never safety in this life but God Himself, and the psalm ends with the promise that the upright will behold His face (v. 7), while the wicked, even if they seem to win for now, will receive the portion of their cup (v. 6).
Study Questions
QUESTION 01
Why does David refuse to flee to the mountain in verse 1?
QUESTION 02
How does seeing the Lord on His throne in verse 4 change the way David views his danger?
QUESTION 03
Why is beholding God’s face in verse 7 a greater hope than escaping harm?
How To Cling Today
Cling to Christ today by knowing that whatever hard thing you are facing, even running for your life, God sees you and will avenge all things.
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