Victory by Flight and by Fight

“God is our refuge and strength.” — Psatm xlvi. 1.

THESE words always seem to me to make a two-fold offer of victory, and there is abundant power in the promise to make our security complete. How does this revelation of grace meet our necessity? Well, on the one hand, the wayfarer on the road of life is often faced by perils when his only safety is found in flight. It is not the armour he needs but a refuge. He gains his victory by putting a distance between himself and the foe. He wins his triumph by running away, and by running as far and as swift as he can. A refuge is a crying necessity, and he finds it in God. ‘* God is our refuge.’’ On the other hand, there are enemies who can be best conquered by direct attack. Our safety is found in fighting, and in fighting with all our powers. Forward in frontal attack. That is the way of victory. And for such strenuous battle the wayfarer needs inner resource and dynamic. He needs spiritual vigour and fitting equipment. It is not a refuge he requires, but strength. And his necessity is fully and gloriously filled up in God. “God is our strength.” And therefore do I call the Psalmist’s word a twofold offer of victory. God is near when our spiritual security is gained by flight; He is our refuge. And God is near when our spiritual security is gained by fight; He is our strength.

Let us look a little more closely at these treasures of grace. Sometimes our finest victories are found in triumphant retreat. We win, not by engaging the enemy, but by Tunning away. But the retreat must be a masterly retreat, masterly and masterful in the way in which we make a menacing circumstance pay homage to our Lord. What sort of enemies are they which are thus beaten by leaving them alone? We shall be wise to consult a great warrior, who is very intimate with our road and very expert in spiritual battles and campaigns. I mean the Apostle Paul. We can scarcely associate the thought of retreat with so valiant a fighter, and yet this famous soldier of the faith frequently counsels flight as the best way of gaining victory. For instance, here is one counsel, ‘‘ Flee from idolatry.”’ Do not go near it. Fly away from it. It is an enemy with a most subtle contagion, and even in fighting it we may be stricken with the plague. A false homage may cunningly steal into our worship and our fine loyalty may be broken. “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” We fight by flight.

And here is another counsel of the great watrior, ‘‘ Flee youthful lusts.”’ Put the width of a world between you and them. We reveal our strength in our apparent weakness; we conquer by running away. It is a false display of valour and of power when we say to ourselves, ‘“‘ I am not afraid of these dragons; I will go right up to them and I will drive them away as though they were sheep! Dragons are they? I will chase them as though they were kittens!” Along that road lies defeat. The way to beat them is to run away. Evil desire pines when we treat it with negligence. It starves in contempt. Give it a wide berth. Flee to your refuge!

And yet sometimes our security is gained by fight. Turn to that great fighter, John Bunyan, and accompany him along the road, and watch his pilgrim as he advances in frontal attack to face and fight the foe. Watch him as he meets Apollyon as the antagonist straddles across the road, and take note how by the Word, and by the expert use of a weapon called All-Prayer, he puts Apollyon to flight. And watch Mr. Greatheart as he routs and slays Giant Despair. It is as good a bit of fighting as I know. He advances with a brave army of promises, and he invades the castle of the grim old giant, and he speedily makes an end of him. We must not leave our doubts to thrive and fatten; we must slay them by the word of His grace.

And so God is a very present help for flight and for fight. He meets us in every emergency, and our victory may be continuous and complete.