This may seem like a little detour to you, but stay with me, and I promise you it'll make perfect sense to you.

   These days, there is a LOT of confusion between the words "truth" and "opinion".  A ton of confusion.
   The two words describe something totally different. 
"Opinion" is how something appears. Or feels. We all have opinions, and its what we argue about most of the time. wHY?  Because, for example, if it is 50 degrees Farenheit outside, you may think that is extremely cold out. And to you, if you are very sensitive to that temperature, it feels very cold. Right?
  But if you are from northern Alaska, and you are used to below zero temperatures, your opinion may be that it is warm!  Opinions are relative. They depend upon our emotions at the moment, maybe on how little or how much clothing we have on. Opinions change, and every one may have their own. No persons opinion is right or wrong. Everyone's opinion is just as valid, because it is based upon one's OWN PERCEPTION of reality.

     Okay, how about this then:  Maybe this will make it clearer.    Music is playing. One person is deaf, the other has very good hearing. ( both sense the same reality- but with different ability ). If you ask the deaf person, how the song sounds, she will probably reply, "What song? There isn't any song."  And her opinion would be totally correct about the song. For her, the song doesn't "seem" to exist.
   To the person who can hear the song, they will give you their opinion about the song..."it's a good song", "it's lame," or whatever.  Both individuals opinions are equally valid, and honest. But notice that reality...REALITY...what is true , what actually exists...is NOT a matter of personal opinion. The song is real...its being played out loud. It exists whether or not it can be heard. The sound waves fill the air. Reality exists independent of whether it can be felt, seen, sensed, or noticed. The Bible, names that Truth. Science searches for truth. It is also the foundation of all human relationships. Opinions may divide us, but truth always unites us. 

     So, when I ask you "what did David mean when he made the statement that he has 'taken refuge in the LORD' ,"  I am not asking for your opinion about what he meant. Every human will have their own individual interpretation or opinion, and you're entitled to your own opinion, but then, how do you get a true , actual answer to that question?  God has an answer to the question of what David meant. Here it is:
 
    " No prophecy in Scripture is a matter of one's own 
      interpretation. No prophecy ever originated from 
      humans. Instead,  it was given by the Holy Spirit
      as humans spoke under God's direction."

From The Bible book of 2 Peter 1: 20,21.

The Bible- from Genesis to Revelation, came out of God's own mouth. And every Scripture will back up every other Scripture. God never contradicts Himseff. Never.  We may misunderstand two statements He makes, but the fault is in our understanding- never in God saying one thing, then something opposite later.

2 Timothy 3: 15,16, 17 backs the above truth up 100%

     "They [ the Bible Scriptures or writings ] have the 
     power to give you wisdon so that you can be saved
     through faith [trust] in Christ Jesus.  Every Scripture
     passage is inspired [breathed-out] by God. All of 
     them [Scripture passages] are useful for teaching,
     pointing out errors, correcting people, and training
     them for a life that has God's approval. 
     They [ the Holy God-spoken and written down
      words ] equip God's servants so that they are 
     completely prepared to do good things."

So let's get back to our passage in question.
God had David write the words "I have taken refuge in the LORD."  Here then, is David's meaning: "David had taken refuge in the LORD."  You may have your own personal opinion. But if it is different than what God says? Don't call it [your opinion] truth.
   "Oh, but its 'my truth' ", I hear some say. If you use the word "truth" like that, the culture will love you, but the LORD will not be pleased with you. If you give an opinion- say, "This is my opinion." If you give God's, then say, "This is the Truth". 
   
     The truth is, when David felt the weight of a frightening world...he went right to God for his sense of security. Peace, inner calm. This statement is key to understanding the rest of what David wrote for us, in Psalm 11.

   Because, the next thing he does is tell us what his culture around him was telling him to do.

   "How can you [ the culture around me, specifically those who don't trust or follow God ] say to me:
    "Flee to your mountain like a bird" ?
The culture's opinion about what to do, many times, is to respond by running away from problems. Hiding. In numerous ways. The culture tells us, "Act like a helpless little bird, and get out of Dodge. Put you tail between your legs, and scram!  Head for the hills, bug out, get ready for human Armageddan."

     The enemy uses fear to motivate us. God uses Love. 

    The culture focuses our attention on the 'bad guys'... the Giants in the land, oooo. they're so big, numerous, big, be very afraid. Listen to David tell us their message...


   "Wicked people bend their bows. They set their arrows against the strings to shoot in the dark at people whose motives are decent."

   Notice who tells David this.  Not God. Not the good guys...the righteous folk. "Wicked people bend their bows."  Worse...that its done in the dark. The good seem like fair game. Run...fly to safety in some far-away mountain David. David begins by statement he takes refuge not on some bunker, or worldly mountain, but IN THE LORD.  Within God's arms.

   Those who taunt David, add, "What can a righteous person do?"  If you want to be good these days, it seems you're a sitting duck. or "a little bird".  

   David, they say, those who want to be decent are surrounded, outnumbered, outgunned, out-shouted,...so what are you good people going to do?

God says through David, quoting the mob, "When the Foundations of life are undermined, what can a righteous person do?"

   Now listen to God's answer, through David to you and I: 

   "The LORD is in His Holy Temple."

We need to remember, not human opinion- but God's unwavering, never-changing Truth. Permenant reality:

   The LORD is.   The word LORD, in caps, means
The I AM. The Self-Existant One. He relies on no creature. He pre-existed Creation, including Man. That's what LORD refers to. He is our Creator and sustainer.
He "is".  Yesterday, today, now, and forever!

    Where?  In His "Holy Temple".  In David's day, that was in the tabernacle, then the building his son Solomon later erected by God's empowerment. The Lord Jesus Christ opened God's Temple to all His followers. He turned it outside-in. His Spirit doesn't live in a man-made building, but inside the collective physical bodies of His people. Amazing!!  Jesus told the Samaritan woman, that the days of a specific, limited geographical GPS point where God's Spirit resides, is over!!!  God presently indwells His believers, past, present, and future, and across the Earth, and across time.  Today, "The LORD is in His Holy TEMPLE!!"

   So how, when you are afraid, do you find comfort now, today, whereever you are?   
   You, in your spirit, where you are, focus on Him, and believe Him when He tells you He is within your heart.
   
   Next, David, speaks even more clearly to you and I:

"The LORD'S Throne is in Heaven."
Again, David's primary focus is NOT geographic, NOT GPS-wise...David moves us to the present spiritual, non-physical, yet very real dimension: Heaven.
  Where is Heaven?  It's where God is. Where is God? It's where Heaven. And in a non-physical sense...a believer is presently in Heaven. [ Ephesians 1:21-23
and 2: 1-6. ]

    God is untouchable. No evil human can reach Him. In other words, He is in Heaven. This is the foundation of our sense of security in this World. It doesn't mean nothing bad can't happen to you down here. It means, realistically, God will not let anything happen to you, that He does not permit. Ponder that.

  The next thing God says to you, through David, and His Word, is:  "His eyes see."

   Never believe the lie, that God cannot see you.
God sees everything. Not a single human can hide from Him. No exceptions. He sees the tinest bird- Jesus told us, and Jesus only spoke as the Father directed Him to.

    His eye is on the sparrow. You are worth more than many sparrows. So trust Him, and NOT your foolish opinions...or the uneducated, misdirected, unenlightened opinions of others, no matter who they be. 

   The text goes on..." They examine Adam's descendents."  God examines us 24/7.  Hebrews 4:12-13.  Ecclesiastes 12:10-14.  God will judge everything.

Psalms11:4-7  Tells us God will also work with the "righteous people".  Just because you are good, does not mean you will have an easy life. Remember Job?

Does God hate?  "The LORD hates wicked people and the ones who love violence."

    But I thought God was "Love"?  He is. Our understanding of "love" is so deficient, and so different than true Love. Check out the Gospel of John 3:18-21

   "But those who don't believe [don't trust and obey ] Him [The Lord Jesus Christ ] are already condemned because they don't believe in God's only Son."

   God hates wicked people, but His love motivated God to send His Son to Earth, to die for wicked people. That's the truth. He hates wickedness. But He loves them by sending them His own Son to take the punishment for their sins. But this doesn't take away from the truth that "God HATES Wicked people" 
It's all in the understanding it properly.

   David is used by God to explain, that God HATES those who love violence. He's not talking about righteous violence. Not all violence is Evil. When a convicted murderer is executed, that is righteous violence. God decides when violence is wrong. David takes refuge in the LORD, because unlike humans many times...God is 100% Righteous. He is never wrong. That is who He is. He is Just, yet merciful.

   Verse 6 describes God punishing sin. God will not overlook your wrong treatment of your fellow humans...BUT...neither will God overlook others wrong treatment of you. You can take refuge in that truth. Understand, that God sees reality with 20/20 vision. Nobody fools Him. No human sees every side of an issue like Him. He is a flawless, ubribable Judge. 
And God the Father, has committed that duty and position of JUDGE to His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

   Verse 7. "The LORD is Righteous."  Always right.
Read the only Book He ever wrote. The Holy Bible. He has preserved it against centuries of attempts to erase and obliterate it. SO you can understand Him, and take refuge in Him,  today...right this secone.

   "He loves a righteous way of life."   Remember 2 Timothy 3:15-17 ?   God's Word defines "Righteous". 
Reality- Truth- there are many opinions, but only ONE TRUTH and REALITY.  
There may be many perceptions, opinions, feelings, choices...but reality is UNIFIED, and God is THE Standard. The ONLY standard. And you can take refuge in that truth, God speaks.

Finally, verse 7- last statement: "Decent people will see His face."  My opinion?  Nope. My human opinion isn't worth a penny. Neither is yours, or any other mortals.
God tells us, promises us, that we "will see His face".
Many people get hung up on physical interpretations, but here is something God has made clear to me after over 50 years of near daily study and reflection on His Word, bathed in prayer and longing to see the truth:

 The purpose of Life, according to God, is to develope as humans in our hearts- that is, in our characters, and how we relate to our Creator, and to one another.
  Relationships, from our inner beings...how we communicate and treat one another. Everything else is merely a backdrop or stage God had created to bring this about in His time. He wants us to "see His Face" as much as He clearly "sees our face". It's not physical, primarily..it's something much deeper, and permenant.
We humans were designed to exist as functioning, relating beings, for eternity. Scientists now believe that our bodies were intentionally built to work for ever.
In our Chromosomes, their is a part called Telemeres, that keep the strands of our DNA from fraying and coming apart, as our cells divide. These determine how many times our cells can replicate and be copied. In the most recent issue of a magazine called "LIFE EXTENSION" magazine, it seems to suggest that death is actually a very un-natural process. Which confirms the truth God revealed thousands of years ago.

   Death is an interruption, put into place by a loving, relationship-centered God who has acted in history to bring about a staggering, complex and complex rescue plan, that makes D-Day operations look teeny-tiny in comparison.  God is speaking to you right now. Not me.
He is calling you, to place your trust in His Son, the famous, glorified Lord Jesus Christ. You are NOT alone. God has NOT forgotten you. He is asking you to come to Him, as you are, whole-heartedly lean upon His Love and concern for you. So that you may say with David,
  
   "I have taken refuge in the LORD."



The Lord be with you,
           through His Son Lord Jesus Christ,
                          in His Love,
                                              David Clure.