Psalm 11

Psalms 11 

This psalm has no name; it is neither called a psalm, nor hymn, nor song, nor prayer, only said to be David's; and is inscribed and directed as others to the chief musician, or master of the song, to be used in public service; and seems to be written much upon the same subject with the two preceding psalms.

This psalm ascribed to David, both in the title and in the location which it has among the Psalms. There is nothing in the psalm to make this doubtful, and indeed its structure is so much in accordance with those usually ascribed to David, as to leave no doubt as to its authorship.

There is no indication of the occasion on which it was composed in the title, or in the psalm itself. There is no special reference to any of the incidents of David’s life, although some of the thoughts or images were suggested apparently by the recollection of what occurred in the persecutions of Saul or the rebellion of Absalom. Different occasions in the life of David have indeed been referred to as having led to the composition of the psalm. All that is apparent in the psalm itself is, that it was when the author was in danger, and when some of his friends advised him to seek safety by flight, Psa_11:1. Instead of doing this, David determined to remain where he was, and to put his trust in God, with the belief that he would interpose and deliver him.

David's struggle with, and triumph over a strong temptation to distrust God, and betake himself to indirect means for his own safety, in a time of danger is the basic content of the psalm.

Detailed contents of the psalm. This psalm may be properly regarded as divided into two parts:

I. The counsel of some timid and fearful friends to the writer, in the circumstances of danger in which he was, to make his escape, and to seek safety by flight, Psa_11:1-3. They advise him to flee as a bird to the mountain; that is, to flee to a place of security while he could, for he seems to have been surrounded by enemies. The arguments by which they enforced this counsel seem to be referred to in Psa_11:2-3, and were these:

(a) that the wicked had made preparations to destroy him, for their bows and arrows were ready, Psa_11:2; and

(b) that the condition of affairs was as if the very foundations were destroyed; that there was nothing to rest on; and that all his hopes, in his present condition, must be swept away, Psa_11:3.

In these circumstances, all his hopes of safety, in their apprehension, was in flight.

II. The views which the author of the psalm entertained on the subject, in reply to this, Psa_11:4-7. He had unwavering confidence in God; he did not despair; he believed that God would protect him; he believed that the object of God in permitting this was to try the righteous, and that in due time he would come forth and rain snares, fire, and brimstone, upon the ungodly. The state of mind thus evinced, is that of firmness in trying circumstances; steady confidence in God when things seem to be most adverse; and an assured belief that God will in due time rescue those who put their trust in him. It is the manifestation of firmness against the counsels of the timid; the language of unshaken trust in God when the fearful and unbelieving despair.

Psa 11:1  To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. In the LORD put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?

In the Lord put I my trust - This, in general, expresses the state of mind of the author - a state of feeling which runs through the entire psalm. It is designed to be an answer to the counsel which others had been giving him to escape, and it implies that he was determined at that time, and always, to put his trust in God. They advised him to flee. In the existing circumstances he felt that that would have implied a want of confidence in God. He determined, therefore, to maintain his present position, and to rely upon the interposition of God in due time.

In the Lord put I my trust - Not in himself, in his own heart, nor in his own righteousness and strength; nor in men, the greatest of men, the princes of the earth; nor in his armies, or any outward force; but in the Lord, as the God of providence and of grace; and in the Messiah, in His person and righteousness; so one manuscript renders it, "in the Word of the Lord do I hope": and the phrase denotes a continued exercise of faith in the Lord; that he was always looking to Him, committing himself and all his concerns to Him; for he does not say, I "have", or I "will", but I "do", put my trust in the Lord; at all times, even in the worst of times, and in the present one; wherefore he is displeased with his friends for endeavoring to intimidate him, persuading him to flee and provide for his safety, when he had betaken himself to the Lord, and was safe enough;

In the Lord put I my trust - Those that truly fear God and serve him, are welcome to put their trust in him. The psalmist, before he gives an account of his temptation to distrust God, records his resolution to trust in Him, as that by which he was resolved to live and die. The believer, though not terrified by his enemies, may be tempted, by the fears of his friends, to desert his post, or neglect his work. They perceive his danger, but not his security; they give him counsel that is of worldly policy, rather than of heavenly wisdom. The principles of religion are the foundations on which the faith and hope of the righteous are built. We are concerned to hold these fast against all temptations to unbelief; for believers would be undone, if they had not God to go to, God to trust in, and future bliss to hope for. The prosperity of wicked people in their wicked, evil ways, and the straits and distresses which the best men are sometimes brought into, tried David's faith.

How say ye to my soul - the soul being put for the person himself. “Why” do you say this to me? how can you give me such counsel, as if I were to run away from danger, and to put no trust in God? He seems to have supposed that such an act of flight would have been construed by his enemies, and by the enemies of faith, as evidence that he had no faith or confidence in God. Such circumstances often occur in the world; and when that would be the “fair” and “natural” construction of one’s conduct, the path of duty is plain. We are to remain where we are; we are boldly to face the danger, and commit the whole matter to God.

Flee as a bird to your mountain - This implies that it was supposed there was no longer any safety where he then was. The use of the plural number here - “Flee ye,” by a change not uncommon in the Hebrew writings - seems designed to refer to the whole class of persons in those circumstances. The mind turns from his own particular case to that of others in the same circumstances; and the language may be designed to imply that this was the usual counsel given to such persons; that, on the same principle on which they now advised flight in this particular case, they would also advise flight in all similar cases. That is, they would counsel persons to flee to a place of safety when they were in danger of their life from persecution. This is the common counsel of the world; this would be the ordinary teaching of human prudence. The mountains in that area were regarded as places of safety, and were the common refuge of those who were in danger. In their caves and fastnesses, and on their heights, those who were in danger found security, for they could there hide themselves, or could more easily defend themselves, than they could in the plains and in the valleys. Hence, they became the place of retreat for robbers and bandits, as well as for the persecuted. The allusion to the bird here does not imply that birds sought a refuge in the mountains, and that he was to resemble them in this respect; but the point of the comparison turns on the rapidity with which this refuge should be sought:” Fly to the mountains as swiftly as a bird flies from danger.”

Psa 11:2  For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.

For, lo, the wicked bend their bow - These are to be regarded as the words of the persons referred to in the previous verse, who had advised the persecuted psalmist to flee to the mountains. In this verse reasons are suggested for that advice. The reasons are, that the enemy was preparing for an attack, and that at an unexpected moment the attack would be made unless he should effect his escape. Apprised of the danger, he might now make good his escape, and avoid the peril which was impending. The common weapon in war, as in hunting, was the bow and arrow. The process of preparing for the use of the bow consisted in bending it, and properly adjusting the arrow. The Hebrew word used here is “tread;” “the wicked tread upon the bow;” that is, with a view to bend it.

They make ready their arrow upon the string - Hebrew, “they fit or fix the arrow upon the string.” That is, they place the end of the arrow in the proper place upon the string of the bow.

That they may privily shoot at the upright in heart - That is, that they may do it secretly or treacherously. They do not intend to do it in open day, or (as we say) “in a fair fight;” but they mean to do it when their victim is not aware of their design. The phrase, “the upright in heart,” may be a statement of the advisers in the case, that those whom they counseled were thus upright - a statement on their part that the attack was made on the righteous.

the upright in heart - such as David, and those that were with him, were; they were men whose hearts were upright before God,

Psa 11:3  If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?

If the foundations be destroyed - These are still to be regarded as the words of the psalmist’s advisers; or as an argument why he should make his escape. The word “foundations,” here, refers to those things on which society rests, or by which social order is sustained - the great principles of truth and righteousness that uphold society, as the foundations on which an edifice rests uphold the building. The reference is to a destruction of those things in a community, when truth is no longer respected; when justice is no longer practiced; when fraud and violence have taken the place of honesty and honor; when error prevails; when a character for integrity and virtue affords no longer any security. This is supposed to be the case in the circumstances referred to in the psalm, when there was no respect paid to truth and justice, and when the righteous, therefore, could find no security. It is under these circumstances the advice is given that the righteous should seek safety in flight.

What can the righteous do - What source of safety or confidence has he? His trust for his own safety, and for the good of society, has always been in the prevalence of just principles, and he has no other resource. Whatever others may do; whatever reliance they may place on such things, he can have no confidence in fraud, dishonesty, and error - in secret machinations and plans of treachery and deceit. His reliance is, and must be, in the prevalence of just principles; in the observance of law; in the diffusion of truth; in plans and deeds which are honorable and pure. When these no longer prevail, the argument is, there is nothing on which he can repose confidence in executing the plans on which his heart is fixed, and his proper course would be to flee.

Psa 11:4  The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD'S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.

The Lord is in his holy temple - Hebrew, “Jehovah is in the temple of his holiness.” That is, He is in heaven, regarded as His temple or dwelling-place. This is the answer of the psalmist to the suggestions of his advisers that he should flee from danger. The answer is, in substance, that he had nothing to fear; that he had a protector in heaven; and that he might appeal to Him for defense. The idea is, that God, the protector of the righteous, is always in the heavens; that His throne is always accessible; and that to it the persecuted may come, and may always be safe.

The Lord is in his holy temple - He is still to be sought and found in the place vhere He has registered His name. Though the priests be destroyed, the God in whose worship they were employed still lives, and is to be found in His temple by His upright worshippers. And He tries the heart and the reins of both sinners and saints. Nothing can pass without His notice.

The Lord’s throne is in heaven - God is a king, ruling the universe. As such, the seat of His power or dominion is represented as in heaven, where He administers his government. That throne is fixed, and the affairs of His universe will be administered with justice. The righteous, therefore, may hope in His protection, and need not flee when the wicked assail them. The idea here is that of unwavering confidence in God as sitting upon the throne of the universe, and administering its affairs with justice and truth. Compare Isa 66:1 Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?

the Lord's throne is in heaven - here He sits on a throne of grace, and here He has prepared His throne for judgment; and both this and the preceding clause are expressive of His glory and majesty; and are said to command awe and reverence of the Divine Being, and to inject terror into the wicked; and to show that God is above the enemies of His people, and to encourage the saints' trust and confidence in Him; and are mentioned as a reason why David put his trust in Him; and are, with what follows in Psa_11:5, opposed to the advice and reasonings of some of his friends in the preceding ones;

His eyes behold - He sees everything in all parts of His vast universe, and therefore He knows all the purposes of the wicked, and all the wants of the righteous. The thought here, as one imparting a sense of safety, is, that God sees us. He is not ignorant of what our enemies are doing, and He is not ignorant of what we need. If He were, the case would be different. We might then despair of safety, and feel that our enemies could overcome and destroy us. It is much, in the trials of life, to have this assurance - this constant feeling - that God sees us. He knows our condition, our wants, our dangers; He knows all that our enemies are doing - all their machinations against us. Knowing all this, we may be assured that He will interpose when it is best that He should interpose, and that He will suffer nothing to come upon us which it is not best that He should permit. When evil befalls us, therefore, it does not come because God does not know it, or because He could not prevent it, but because, seeing it all, He judges that it is best that it should thus occur.

His eyelids try - That is, they prove, penetrate into, as if by seeing through them. He searches into their very hearts, and into the inmost recesses of them, and takes cognizance of their thoughts, intentions, and designs; and confounds and disappoints them, so that they cannot perform their enterprises. The “eyelids” here are synonymous with the eyes. The form of the language is varied in accordance with a custom common in Hebrew, and there is attributed here to the eyelids what properly belongs to the eyes - the power of seeing.

The children of men - All men, good and bad. He knows them all - all their purposes, their designs, their wishes, their dangers. He knows, therefore, what our enemies are doing; He knows what are our perils; and we may safely leave our cause with Him. We should not, therefore, listen to the counsel which advises us to flee, but should rather put our trust in Him who dwells in the heavens.

He is in heaven; in all His glorious majesty, of His sovereign power and dominion over all men and things, and of His accurate inspection into all men and their actions. He sits on His throne to examine all causes, and to give righteous sentence according to every man's works. He thoroughly discerns all men, their most inward and secret actions: and therefore He sees and will reward or punish accordingly.

Psa 11:5  The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.

The Lord trieth the righteous - That is, He “proves” them, searches them, tests the reality of their piety. His dealings with them are such as to test the genuineness of their faith, and are designed to show their sincerity and the real power of their religious principles. It is not for the purpose of destroying them, or punishing them, that He deals with them as He does, but it is to show the reality of their attachment to Him. This language seems here to be used to show the feeling of the persecuted and afflicted author of the psalm. He understood the reason why these calamities were suffered to come upon him - to wit, as a trial of his faith; and therefore it was his duty to remain and bear these troubles, and not to attempt to escape from them by flight. He says, therefore, that these troubles in the case of the righteous were in strong contrast with the purpose of the divine dealings toward the wicked, on whom God would “rain” snares, fire, and brimstone. In their case His judgments were for the purpose of punishing and destroying; in the case of the righteous it was to “try” them, or to test the reality of their religion.

The Lord trieth the righteous - He does not abandon them; He tries them to show their faithfulness, and He afflicts them for their good.

The Lord trieth the righteous - As gold is refined in the fire, by afflictive providences; hereby He tries their graces, their faith, and patience, their hope, and love, and fear; and, by so doing, expresses His love to them, since this is all for their good: and therefore, when He suffers the wicked to go great lengths in persecuting and distressing them, this should not weaken, their confidence in Him; He still loves them, and loves when He rebukes and chastises them; Heb 12:5-6 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons, "My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and He scourges every son whom He receives."

And him that loveth violence - Referring particularly here to those who were engaged in persecuting him who was the author of this psalm. They were contemplating acts of violence toward him; he says that all such persons were the objects of the divine displeasure, and would be appropriately punished.

His soul hateth - that is, He hates. God is often spoken of in language appropriate to man; and He is here referred to as having a soul - as He is elsewhere as having eyes, hands, or feet. The meaning is, that all such persons were the objects of the divine abhorrence, and that the divine dealings with them were not, as with the righteous, to “try” them, but to “punish” and “destroy” them. Knowing this, the persecuted author of the psalm, instead of fleeing, calmly committed himself and his cause to God.

the wicked, and him that loveth violence, his soul hateth - that is, such who live in a course of sin and wickedness, and who not only do injury to the persons, characters, and properties of men, but love it, and delight therein, and also take pleasure in them that do the same: these God has a continued and inward aversion to; sin and wickedness being the abominable thing His righteous soul hates: and He shows his hatred to them, by not chastising them now, as He does his own people, but reserving everlasting punishment for them hereafter;

Psa 11:6  Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.

He shall reign snares - It seems rather incongruous to speak of raining down “snares, “ - understanding by the word snares, as it is used with us, that which entangles, as the snares by which we catch a bird, or by which a wild animal is taken. The word used here, however, seems to refer to anything by which one is taken in his career or course, or is involved in difficulties; and the meaning is, that God would arrest or seize upon the wicked, as a wild beast is secured by the snares or the toils of the hunter. By their being sent down as in a “rain,” is denoted that such means of their arrest and punishment would exist in abundance, so that they could not escape.  Judgments shall fall upon them suddenly and unawares.

Snares - Grievous plagues or judgments, which are called snares, because wicked men are often surprised with them when they least expect them. And because they cannot escape them, or get out of them; but are held fast and destroyed by them.

Fire and brimstone - There is probably an allusion here to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. As those cities were eminent for their wickedness, and were destroyed on account of their guilt, they furnished an illustration of the manner in which God would treat the wicked in all future times. As they were destroyed on account of their wickedness, so will all the wicked be destroyed.

He shall rain snares, fire and brimstone - The phrases used express the dreadfulness and horribleness of their punishment; the suddenness, violence, and force, with which it will come; and the rise of it, it will be from heaven; God himself will rain this shower of wrath upon them; nor will there be any escaping it, it will be inevitable: therefore "snares" are said to be "rained"; the wicked will be snared in the works of their own hands; they will be taken and held in the cords of their own sins; and full and deserved punishment will be inflicted on them, which will be very severe and terrible. All that is dreadful in a storm is here expressed, even in a storm of fire.

And an horrible tempest - As a furious blast of wind sweeps away houses and trees, spreading wide desolation, so will the wicked be swept away by the manifestation of the wrath of God.

The portion of their cup - which will be measured out to them in proportion to their sins, and which God, in righteous judgment, has appointed for them; and which they shall all drink of, and wring out the very dregs of it. Cup is sometimes put for plenty, for abundance; but here it seems to be used to express the quantum of sorrow and misery which the wicked shall have on the earth.

The portion of their cup - Cup is a frequent figure for God’s favor or wrath Psa_16:5 The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. Psa_23:5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Mat_20:22-23 But Jesus answered and said, You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They said to Him, We are able. And He said to them, You shall indeed drink of My cup and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but to those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.

Psa 11:7  For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.

For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness - This would be more correctly rendered, “For Jehovah is righteous; He loves righteousness.” The idea is, that God is Himself righteous, and, consequently, He loves those who are righteous. He may be confided in, therefore, by the righteous as their friend, and being under His protection they have nothing to fear.

For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness - The Lord is righteous in Himself, and in all His ways and works; and therefore righteousness, as it lies both in punishing the wicked, and in maintaining the righteous cause of His people, must be loved by Him, it being agreeable to His nature: He loves to exercise righteousness in the earth, to administer it to and among men; this He delights in. He is well pleased with the righteousness of His Son, it being satisfactory to His justice, and that by which His law is magnified and made honorable; and He is well pleased with His people, as they are clothed with it: and He approves of their righteous actions, as they are done in obedience to His righteous law, in faith, from a principle of love, and with a view to His glory; these are acceptable to Him in Christ;

his countenance — The word rendered “countenance” is, in the Hebrew, in the plural number; literally, “His faces”. This is a use of the plural applied to God, as in Gen_1:26; Gen_3:22; Gen_11:7; Isa_6:8, etc., denoting the fullness of His perfections, or more probably originating in a reference to the Trinity of persons. “Faces” is used as “eyes”, expressing here God’s complacency towards the upright.

His countenance doth behold the upright - The idea is, that God looks upon the upright; that is, He sees their dangers amid their wants; He looks upon them with favor and affection. Being thus constantly under His eye, and being objects of His favorable regard, they can have nothing to fear; or, in other words, they are safe. This, then, is the argument of the righteous man, in reply to the suggestion Psa_11:1 that he should “flee” from danger. The argument is, that God would be his defender, and that he might safely rely on His protection. The wicked have everything to fear; the righteous, nothing. The one is never safe; the other, always. The one will be delivered out of all his troubles; the end of the other can be only ruin.