PSALM 11 COMME�TARYEdited by Glenn Pease

PREFACE

I have collected comments on this Psalm from many sources. If any that I quote do not want theirwisdom shared in this way, they can let me know, and I will remove their comments. My e-mail isglenn_p86@yahoo.com

I�TRODUCTIO�

1. Jamison, “Alluding to some event in his history, as in 1Sa_23:13, the Psalmist avows hisconfidence in God, when admonished to flee from his raging persecutors, whose destruction ofthe usual foundations of safety rendered all his efforts useless. The grounds of his confidence areGod’s supreme dominion, His watchful care of His people, His hatred to the wicked andjudgments on them, and His love for righteousness and the righteous.”

2. K&D, “David rejects the advice of his friends to save his life by flight. Hidden in Jahve(Psa_16:1; Psa_36:8) he needs no other refuge. However well-meant and well-grounded theadvice, he considers it too full of fear and is himself too confident in God, to follow it. David alsointroduces his friends as speaking in other passages in the Psalms belonging to the period of theAbsalom persecution, Psa_3:3; Psa_4:7. Their want of courage, which he afterward had toreprove and endeavor to restore, showed itself even before the storm had burst, as we see here.With the words “how can you say” he rejects their proposal as unreasonable, and turns it as areproach against them.”

3. Charles Simeon gives an excellent summary of this Psalm in the following sentences:--"ThePsalms are a rich repository of experimental knowledge. David, at the different periods of his life,was placed in almost every situation in which a believer, whether rich or poor, can be placed; andin these heavenly compositions he delineates all the workings of the heart. He introduces, too, thesentiments and conduct of the various persons who were accessory either to his troubles or hisjoys; and thus sets before us a compendium of all that is passing in the hearts of men throughoutthe world. When he penned this Psalm he was under persecution from Saul, who sought his life,and hunted him 'as a partridge upon the mountains.' His timid friends were alarmed for hissafety, and recommended him to flee to some mountain where he had a hiding-place, and thus toconceal himself from the rage of Saul. But David, being strong in faith, spurned the idea ofresorting to any such pusillanimous expedients, and determined confidently to repose his trust inGod."

4. Spurgeon, “To assist us to remember this short, but sweet Psalm, we will give it the name of'THE SO�G OF THE STEDFAST.'

5. Spurgeon's Treasury of David notes, “Whole Psalm. The most probable account of the occasionof this Psalm is that given by Amyraldus. He thinks it was composed by David while he was in thecourt of Saul, at a time when the hostility of the king was beginning to show itself, and before ithad broken out into open persecution. David's friends, or those professing to be so, advised himto flee to his native mountains for a time, and remain in retirement, till the king should showhimself more favourable. David does not at that time accept the counsel, though afterwards heseems to have followed it. This Psalm applies itself to the establishment of the church against thecalumnies of the world and the compromising counsel of man, in that confidence which is to beplaced in God the Judge of all. W. Wilson, D.D., in loc., 1860.

Whole Psalm. If one may offer to make a modest conjecture, it is not improbable this Psalm mightbe composed on the sad murder of the priests by Saul (1 Samuel 22:19), when after the slaughterof Abimelech, the high priest, Doeg, the Edomite, by command from Saul, "slew in one dayfourscore and five persons which wore a linen ephod." I am not so carnal as to build the spiritualchurch of the Jews on the material walls of the priests' city at �ob (which then by Doeg wassmitten with the edge of the sword), but this is most true, that "knowledge must preserve thepeople;" and (Malachi 2:7), "The priests' lips shall preserve knowledge;" and then it is easy toconclude, what an earthquake this massacre might make in the foundations of religion. Thomas

Fuller.

Whole Psalm. �otice how remarkably the whole Psalm corresponds with the deliverance of Lotfrom Sodom. This verse, with the angel's exhortation, "Escape to the mountains, lest thou beconsumed," and Lot's reply, "I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil take me and I die."Genesis 19:17-19. And again, "The Lord's seat is in heaven, and upon the ungodly he shall rain

snares, fire, brimstone, storm and tempest," with "Then the Lord rained upon Sodom andGomorrah brimstone and fire out of heaven:" and again "His countenance will behold the thing

that is just," with "Delivered just Lot . . . for that righteous man vexed his righteous soul withtheir ungodly deeds." 2 Peter 2: 7, 8. Cassidorus (A.D., 560) in John Mason &eal's "Commentary

on the Psalms, from Primitive and Mediaeval Writers," 1860.

Whole Psalm. The combatants at the Lake Thrasymene are said to have been so engrossed withthe conflict that neither party perceived the convulsions of nature that shook the ground—

"An earthquake reeled unheedingly away,�one felt stern nature rocking at his feet."

From a nobler cause, it is thus with the soldiers of the Lamb. They believe, and, therefore, makeno haste; nay, they can scarcely be said to feel earth's convulsions as other men, because theireager hope presses forward to the issue at the advent of the Lord. Andrew A. Bonar.

6. Calvin, “This psalm consists of two parts. In the first part, David recounts the severe assaultsof temptation which he had encountered, and the state of distressing anxiety to which he hadbeen reduced during the time of his persecution by Saul. In the second, he congratulates himselfon the deliverance which God had granted him, and magnifies the righteousness of God in thegovernment of the world.”

7. J. Vernon McGee, “This is a wonderful little psalm of David, ascribed to the chief Musician.We are not told under what circumstances it was written, but obviously it came out of thepersecution and trials in the life of David. I am going to give an extended quotation from J. J.

Stewart Perowne because I think it is a remarkable statement to be coming from a man who was liberal in his theology.

“The singer is in danger of his life; and timorous and faint-hearted counsellors would fain persuade him to seek safety in flight. But, full of unshaken faith in God, he rejects their counsel, believing that Jehovah, the righteous king, though He tries His servants, does not forsake them. �ot the righteous, but the wicked have need to fear. The Psalm is so short and so general in its character, that it is not easy to say to what circumstances in David's life it should be referred. The choice seems, however, to lie between his persecution by Saul and the rebellion of his son Absalom. Delitzsch decides for the last, and thinks the counsel ( v. 1 ), "flee to your mountain," comes from the mouth of friends who are anxious to persuade the king to betake himself, as he had before done when hunted by Saul, to "the rocks of the wild goats" ( ISam. 24:2 ). It is in favor, to some extent, of this view that the expression in v. 3 , "when the foundations are destroyed," points to a time when lawful authority was subverted.” (The Book of Psalms, p. 166). “This is one time when I agree with aliberal. I think this psalm has reference to the time he fled from Absalom.”

8. Make Straight Paths, “Psalm 11 is one of the ten ‘Songs of Trust’ in the Bible. It is located,however, within a group of ‘Lament Psalms’ and so provides an affirmation of trust in Godwithin the larger context of suffering and disheartenment. It is ascribed to King David. It may beseen that the psalm opens with a declaration of trust in the midst of trouble (vs.1a). It is thistheme around which the entire psalm revolves: regardless of problems, external discouragementor internal dismay, true faith remains steadfastly fixed upon the Lord. Assurance comes, notfrom defeat over enemies or from answers to prayer, but in the knowledge of the utmostrighteousness of the Lord as judge of all. True faith is therefore expressed as trust in God’sjudgement, and it is this expression of trust that comes at the beginning and end of the psalmist’sprayer.

The psalms are not doctrinal expositions or imperatives from God to us. Psalm 11, therefore, maybe read as an example of a believer, besieged by doubts and fears, troubled by injustice andanarchy, who pours out his soul to God. He does not rephrase his doubts so that he appearsrighteous before God, neither does he pretend that his fears do not exist. Rather, he lays themplainly before God. He does not attempt to address the direct cause of his problems but insteadappeals to God as the only just judge, and declares his utter dependence on God’s justice. Theoverall tone is one of such confidence in God’s justice that the psalmist mocks the source of hisfears, “How can you say this to me?” Those fears are utterly confounded through dependence onthe Lord.”

For the director of music. Of David.

1 In the LORD I take refuge. How then can you say to me: “Flee like a bird to your mountain.

1. Barnes, “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 thecounsel which others had been giving him to escape, and it implies that he was determined at thattime, and always, to put his trust in God. They advised him to flee. In the existing circumstanceshe felt that that would have implied a want of confidence in God. He determined, therefore, tomaintain his present position, and to rely upon the interposition of God in due time.

How say ye to my soul - How say ye to “me” - 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 beenconstrued by his enemies, and by the enemies of religion, as evidence that he had no faith orconfidence 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 remainwhere 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 anysafety where he then was. The use of the plural number here - “Flee ye,” by a change notuncommon in the Hebrew writings - seems designed to refer to the whole class of persons in thosecircumstances. The mind turns from his own particular case to that of others in the samecircumstances; and the language may be designed to imply that this was the usual counsel givento such persons; that, on the same principle on which they now advised flight in this particularcase, they would also advise flight in all similar cases. That is, they would counsel persons to fleeto a place of safety when they were in danger of their life from persecution. This is the commoncounsel of the world; this would be the ordinary teaching of human prudence. The mountains inPalestine were regarded as places of safety, and were the common refuge of those who were indanger. In their caves and fastnesses, and on their heights, those who were in danger foundsecurity, for they could there hide themselves, or could more easily defend themselves, than theycould in the plains and in the vallies. Hence, they became the place of retreat for robbers andbanditti, as well as for the persecuted. The allusion to the bird here does not imply that birdssought a refuge in the mountains, and that he was to resemble them in this respect; but the pointof the comparison turns on the rapidity with which this refuge should be sought:” Fly to themountains as swiftly as a bird flies from danger.” Compare Mat_24:16; Jdg_6:2; Heb_11:38.

1B. Birds are quite sensitive to any threat, and they quickly fly away to escape even it there is nodanger. They are not creatures that take a stand and fight, for flight is their method of dealingwith danger. David is saying that he is not going to flee like a bird, but trust in the Lord to enablehim to stand.

1C. Scripture Studies, “We say we have faith in God, but when tested, how does our faith standup? Do we crumble at the first sign of affliction? Does our faith remain strong, even when ourfriends are saying that we're crazy? Where do you flee when your faith is tested? To "yourmountain"? Or to your prayer closet? David lived a life full of testings. As a shepherd, he wasattacked by lions and bears (I Sam. 17:37); he, in faith, battled Goliath (I Sam. 17:45ff); he waspursued to the death by the king of Israel, Saul (I Sam. 19-31), sparing Saul's life twice when hehad opportunity to kill him (I Sam. 24; I Sam. 26). As king, David faced civil wars (II Sam. 3),angry Philistines (II Sam. 5), and a rebellious son bent on killing him (II Sam. 13). David's was atested faith.What good would an untested faith be, anyway? An untested faith is an unproven faith. Many saythat they believe in God, that they trust in God, but mere words mean nothing. Faith, to bediscerned, must be tested; and faith, to be tested, must bear affliction. We learn the extent of our

faith by seeing how well it stands up under affliction. A strictly fair-weather faith is no faith at all.

One of the best ways to demonstrate our faith is to trust in God. Trust in God is essential for achild of God. What child distrusts his own father? We should run to Him when affliction comes;we should listen to Him, not others, in times of trouble. This is what David does. He saysunequivocally: "In the LORD I take refuge."

In spite of David's stated faith, he is advised to "flee like a bird to [his] mountain." David is upsetat this advice. He says, in effect, "Knowing my trust in God, how can you suggest such a thing?"�ote that David was not angry at the advice because he was afraid of being labeled a coward; hefeared more being charged with distrust of God.

We are not told who gave David this advice. Quite possibly, it came from his friends and allies.The best of friends are capable of giving the worst advice. For example, Peter, when Christ told ofHis death and resurrection, took Jesus aside and began to rebuke Him, saying: "�ever, Lord!...This shall never happen to You" (Matt. 16:22). Christ's response was: "Get behind me, Satan!You are a stumbling block to me." Peter, in giving his advice, had the best of intentions, but hisadvice was wrong. We must test all advice, even that from Christians. Temptations to distrustGod are common. Satan strives for God's children to lose confidence in their heavenly Father,and so he uses whom he can to plants seeds of doubt in believers' minds. David's advisors try toget him to forsake his best source of defense: His faith in God. Our faith is our best defense. Weare told by Paul to "take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flamingarrows of the evil one" (Eph. 6:16). When the "flaming arrows" fly, we do not need a place toflee, but a stronger faith, more trust in God.”

2. Clarke, “In the Lord put I my trust: how say ye - Some of David’s friends seem to have givenhim this advice when they saw Saul bent on his destruction: “Flee as a bird to your mountain;”you have not a moment to lose; your ruin is determined; escape for your life; get off as swiftly aspossible to the hill-country, to some of those inaccessible fortresses best known to yourself; andhide yourself there from the cruelty of Saul. To which advice he answers, “In the Lord put I mytrust,” shall I act as if I were conscious of evil, and that my wicked deeds were likely to bediscovered? Or shall I act as one who believes he is forsaken of the protection of the Almighty?�o: I put my trust in him, and I am sure I shall never be confounded.

3. Gill, “In the Lord put I my trust,.... �ot in himself, in his own heart, nor in his ownrighteousness and strength; nor in men, the greatest of men, the princes of the earth; nor in hisarmies, or any outward force; but in the Lord, as the God of providence and of grace; and in theMessiah, in his person and righteousness; so the Chaldee paraphrase renders it, "in the Word ofthe Lord do I hope": and the phrase denotes a continued exercise of faith in the Lord; that hewas always looking to him, staying himself on him, and committing himself and all his concernsto him; for he does not say, I "have", or I "will", but I "do", put my trust in the Lord; at alltimes, even in the worst of times, and in the present one; wherefore he is displeased with hisfriends for endeavouring to intimidate him, persuading him to flee and provide for his safety,when he had betaken himself to the Lord, and was safe enough;

how say ye to my soul, flee as a bird to your mountain? they compare him to a little, fearful,trembling bird, wandering from its nest, moving through fear from place to place, whereas hisheart was fixed, trusting in the Lord; and this gave him a disgust: they advise him to flee either"from" his mountain, so Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret it; that is, either from Judea, whichwas a mountainous country, especially some parts of it; or from Mount Zion, or rather from the

mountain in the wilderness of Ziph, or the hill of Hachilah, where David sometimes was,1Sa_23:14; or it may be rendered "to your mountain", as we, so the Targum; that is, to the saidplace or places where he had sometimes hid himself; and this they said to his "soul", which wasvery cutting and grieving to him; the word rendered "flee" in the "Cetib", or writing of the text,is נודו, in the plural, "flee ye"; but is pointed for, and in the "Keri", or marginal reading, is נודי,"flee thou"; the latter agrees with this being said to David's soul, the former with the phrase"your mountain", and both are to be taken into the sense of the words; not as if the one respectedDavid's soul only, and the other both soul and body, as Kimchi and Ben Melech observe; but theone regards David's person, and the other his companions, or the people with him; and containsan advice, both to him and them, to flee for their safety; the reasons follow.

4. Henry, “Here is, I. David's fixed resolution to make God his confidence: In the Lord put I my

trust, Psa_11:1. Those that truly fear God and serve him are welcome to put their trust in him,and shall not be made ashamed of their doing so. And it is the character of the saints, who havetaken God for their God, that they make him their hope. Even when they have other things tostay themselves upon, yet they do not, they dare not, stay upon them, but on God only. Gold is nottheir hope, nor are horses and chariots their confidence, but God only; and therefore, whensecond causes frown, yet their hopes do not fail them, because the first cause is still the same, isever so. The psalmist, before he gives an account of the temptation he was in to distrust God,records his resolution to trust in him, as that which he was resolved to live and die by.

II. His resentment of a temptation to the contrary: “How say you to my soul, which has thusreturned to God as its rest and reposes in him, Flee as a bird to your mountain, to be safe thereout of the reach of the fowler?” This may be taken either,

1. As the serious advice of his timorous friends; so many understand it, and with greatprobability. Some that were hearty well-wishers to David, when they saw how much Saul wasexasperated against him and how maliciously he sought his life, pressed him by all means to fleefor the same to some place of shelter, and not to depend too much upon the anointing he hadreceived, which, they thought, was more likely to occasion the loss of his head than to save it.That which grieved him in this motion was not that to flee now would savour of cowardice, and illbecome a soldier, but that it would savour of unbelief and would ill become a saint who had sooften said, In the Lord put I my trust. Taking it thus, the two following verses contain the reasonwith which these faint-hearted friends of David backed this advice. They would have him flee, (1.)Because he could not be safe where he was, Psa_11:2.”

5. Spurgeon, “These verses contain an account of a temptation to distrust God, with which Davidwas, upon some unmentioned occasion, greatly exercised. It may be, that in the days when he wasin Saul's court, he was advised to flee at a time when this flight would have been charged againsthim as a breach of duty to the king, or a proof of personal cowardice. His case was like that of�ehemiah, when his enemies, under the garb of friendship, hoped to entrap him by advising himto escape for his life. Had he done so, they could then have found a ground of accusation.�ehemiah bravely replied, "Shall such a man as I flee?" and David, in a like spirit, refuses toretreat, exclaiming, "In the Lord put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your

mountain?" When Satan cannot overthrow us by presumption, how craftily will he seek to ruinus by distrust! He will employ our dearest friends to argue us out of our confidence, and he willuse such plausible logic, that unless we once for all assert our immovable trust in Jehovah, he willmake us like the timid bird which flies to the mountain whenever danger presents itself.”

6. Treasury of David, “Verse 1. "I trust in the Lord: how do ye say to my soul, Swerve on to your

mountain like a bird?" (others, "O thou bird.") Saul and his adherents mocked and jeered Davidwith such taunting speeches, as conceiving that he knew no other shift or refuge, but so betakinghimself unto wandering and lurking on the mountains; hopping, as it were, from one place toanother like a silly bird; but they thought to ensnare and take him well enough for all that, notconsidering God who was David's comfort, rest and refuge. Theodore Haak's "Translation of the

Dutch Annotations, as ordered by the Synod of Dort, in 1618." London, 1657.

Verse 1. "With Jehovah I have taken shelter; how say ye to my soul, Flee, sparrows, to your hill?"

"Your hill," that hill from which you say your help cometh: a sneer. Repair to that boasted hill,which may indeed give you the help which it gives the sparrow: a shelter against the inclemenciesof a stormy sky, no defence against our power. Samuel Horsley, in loc.

Verse 1. "In the Lord put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?" Theholy confidence of the saints in the hour of great trial is beautifully illustrated by the followingballad which Anne Askew, who was burned at Smithfield in 1546, made and sang when she was in�ewgate:—

Like as the armed knight,Appointed to the field,

With this world will I fight,And Christ shall be my shield.

Faith is that weapon strong,Which will not fail at need:My foes, therefore, among,Therewith will I proceed.

As it is had in strengthAnd force of Christe's way,

It will prevail at length,Though all the devils say nay.

Faith in the fathers oldObtained righteousness;

Which makes me very boldTo fear no world's distress.

I now rejoice in heart,And hope bids me do so;

For Christ will take my part,And ease me of my woe.

Thou say'st Lord, whoso knock,To them wilt thou attend:Undo therefore the lock,

And thy strong power send.

More enemies now I haveThan hairs upon my head:Let them not me deprave,But fight thou in my stead.

On thee my care I cast,

For all their cruel spite:I set not by their haste;For thou art my delight.

I am not she that listMy anchor to let fall

For every drizzling mist,My ship substantial.

�ot oft use I to write,In prose, nor yet in rhyme;

Yet will I shew one sightThat I saw in my time.

I saw a royal throne,Where justice should have sit,

But in her stead was oneOf moody, cruel wit.

Absorbed was righteousness,As of the raging flood:

Satan, in his excess,Sucked up the guiltless blood.

Then thought I, Jesus Lord,When thou shall judge us all,

Hard it is to recordOn these men what will fall.

Yet, Lord, I thee desire,For that they do to me,

Let them not taste the hireOf their iniquity.

Verse 1. "How say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?" We may observe, that David ismuch pleased with the metaphor in frequently comparing himself to a bird, and that of severalsorts: first, to an eagle (Psalm 103:5), "My youth is renewed like the eagle's;" sometimes to anowl (Psalm 102:6), "I am like an owl in the desert;" sometimes to a pelican, in the same verse,"Like a pelican in the wilderness;" sometimes to a sparrow (Psalm 102:7), "I watch, and am as asparrow;" sometimes to a partridge, "As when one doth hunt a partridge." I cannot say that hedoth compare himself to a dove, but he would compare himself (Psalm 55:6), "O that I had thewings of a dove, for then I would flee away and be at rest." Some will say, How is it possible thatbirds of so different a feather should all so fly together as to meet in the character of David? Towhom we answer, That no two men can more differ one from another, that the same servant ofGod at several times differeth from himself. David in prosperity, when commanding, was like aneagle; in adversity, when contemned, like an owl; in devotion, when retired, like a pelican; insolitariness, when having no company, (of Saul), like a partridge. This general metaphor of a bird,which David so often used on himself, his enemies in the first verse of this Psalm used on him,though not particularising the kind thereof: "Flee as a bird to your mountain;" that is, speedilybetake thyself to thy God, in whom thou hopest for succour and security.

Seeing this counsel was both good in itself, and good at this time, why doth David seem so angry

and displeased thereat? Those his words, "Why say you to my soul, Flee as a bird to your

mountain?" import some passion, at leastwise, a disgust of the advice. It is answered, David wasnot offended with the counsel, but with the manner of the propounding thereof. His enemies didit ironically in a gibing, jeering way, as if his flying thither were to no purpose, and he unlikely tofind there the safety he sought for. However, David was not hereby put out of conceit with thecounsel, beginning this Psalm with this his firm resolution, "In the Lord put I my trust: how say ye

then to my soul," etc. Learn we from hence, when men give us good counsel in a jeering way, letus take the counsel, and practice it; and leave them the jeer to be punished for it. Indeed,corporal cordials may be envenomed by being wrapped up in poisoned papers; not so goodspiritual advice where the good matter receives no infection from the ill manner of the deliverythereof. Thus, when the chief priests mocked our Saviour (Matthew 27:43), "He trusted in God,let him deliver him now if he will have him." Christ trusted in God never a whit the less for thefleere and flout which their profaneness was pleased to bestow upon him. Otherwise, if men'smocks should make us to undervalue good counsel, we might in this age be mocked out of ourGod, and Christ, and Scripture, and heaven; the apostle Jude, verse 18, having foretold that inthe last times there should be mockers, walking after their own lusts. Thomas Fuller.

Verse 1. It is as great an offence to make a new, as to deny the true God. "In the Lord put I my

trust;" how then "say ye unto my soul" (ye seducers of souls), "that she should fly unto the

mountains as a bird;" to seek unnecessary and foreign helps, as if the Lord alone were notsufficient? "The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and he that delivereth me, my God, and mystrength; in him will I trust: my shield, the horn of my salvation, and my refuge. I will call uponthe Lord, who is worthy to be praised, so shall I be safe from mine enemies." "Whom have I inheaven but thee," amongst those thousands of angels and saints, what Michael or Gabriel, whatMoses or Samuel, what Peter, what Paul? "and there is none in earth that I desire in comparisonof thee." John King, 1608.

Verse 1. In temptations of inward trouble and terror, it is not convenient to dispute the matterwith Satan. David in Psalm 42:11, seems to correct himself for his mistake; his soul was cast downwithin him, and for the cure of that temptation, he had prepared himself by arguments for adispute; but perceiving himself in a wrong course, he calls off his soul from disquiet to animmediate application to God and the promises, "Trust still in God, for I shall yet praise him;"but here he is more aforehand with his work; for while his enemies were acted by Satan todiscourage him, he rejects the temptation at first, before it settled upon his thoughts, and chasethit away as a thing that he would not give ear to. "In the Lord put I my trust: how say ye to my soul,

Flee as a bird to your mountain?" And there are weighty reasons that should dissuade us fromentering the lists with Satan in temptation of inward trouble. Richard Gilpin.

Verse 1. The shadow will not cool except in it. What good to have the shadow though of a mightyrock, when we sit in the open sun? To have almighty power engaged for us, and we to throwourselves out of it, by bold sallies in the mouth of temptation! The saints' falls have been whenthey have run out of their trench and stronghold; for, like the conies, they are a weak people inthemselves, and their strength lies in the rock of God's almightiness, which is their habitation.William Gurnall.

Verse 1. The saints of old would not accept deliverances on base terms. They scorned to fly awayfor the enjoyment of rest except it were with the wings of a dove, covered with silver innocence.As willing were many of the martyrs to die as to dine. The tormentors were tired in torturingBlandina. "We are ashamed, O Emperor! The Christians laugh at your cruelty, and grow themore resolute," said one of Julian's nobles. This the heathen counted obstinacy; but they knewnot the power of the Spirit, nor the secret armour of proof, which saints wear about their hearts.

John Trapp.”

7. J. Vernon MeGee, “This is the advice psychologists will give you today. They will tell you thatwhat you need to do is get away from your problems. Go off somewhere — what you need is arest. Flee from your present circumstances, as a bird to the mountain. My friend, getting away from it all does not solve a thing. Years ago, in my southland, the lady of the house was complaining to her wonderful housekeeper about wanting to get away from it all. Her housekeeper said, "What are you trying to get away from? This beautiful home? Your lovelychildren? Your wonderful husband? �o matter where you go, you are going to have to lugyourself along." You can never run away from yourself. How true that is ! People would tellDavid, "Flee as a bird to your mountain," but that was not the way to solve his problems.

In our mechanical society and very monotonous culture it is very tiring to sit in an automobile for seven hours on a freeway. Flying in an airplane is a wonderful experience; but after you have been across the country and around the world, flying gets monotonous. You are way up in the air where there is not much to see or do. Actually, I think it is a good thing for a person to get away from the busy life and the noise of the city and the traffic to find a restful place to relax. But if you are trying to run away from your problems or from some situation that you ought to face, this is not good advice. You should not run away because of fear. Many who were counseling David to run away and to get out of the country were afraid for his life, because Absalom, this son of his, was trying to kill him.”

8. F. B. Meyer, “When John Welsh and his fellow-captives were summoned from their prison onthe Firth of Forth, to appear before the court, they sang this Psalm as they walked by night underguard to their trial. It is worth reading in the rugged Scotch version. The Psalm is a debatebetween fear and faith, and probably dates from the time when David was being persecuted bySaul.

THE COU�SELS OF EXPEDIE�CY. (Psalm 11:1)

Timid friends, anxious for his safety, urged him, not simply to flee to the literal mountains, whichhe did, but to desert the cause of God, and to renounce his faith--which he never did. Birdsescape the dangers of the plains by winging their flight to the caves or woods of the hills. Suchcounsels of expediency were frequently given to �ehemiah (�eh. 6). And the enemy has eversought to dislodge the faithful servants of God by fear (Job 2:9-10; Luke 13:31). Luther's diariesabound in similar references. And there is much force in the reasons alleged. The bow is alreadybeing bent; the darkness is in favor of evil stratagems (Psalm 11:2, R.V.); and the foundations ofsocial order are undermined. Righteousness cannot avail! why should it not be relinquished?

9. Warren Wiersbe, “Have you ever felt like running away? "In the Lord I put my trust; how canyou say to my soul, 'Flee as a bird to your mountain'?" (v. 1). All of us have days when we feellike quitting. We throw up our hands and say, "That's it. I've had it, and I'm leaving." At times we do need to get away to rest and regain our perspective. Our Lord Jesus said to Hisdisciples, "Let's just depart and rest a while." Vance Havner once remarked, "If you don't comeapart and rest, you'll just come apart." But the psalmist was not talking about a vacation. "The

wicked bend their bow" (v. 2). He was saying, "The wicked are doing this and that. Let's get outof here and go to some mountaintop and have a good Bible conference."

When you feel like running or flying away, remember, God's throne is secure. The Lord is in Hisholy temple. In a difficult time Isaiah looked up and saw the Lord on His throne, high and liftedup. In the Book of Revelation, John saw the Lord on His throne, and it gave him new courage.

Don't flee to a mountain; flee to the throne of grace. When you feel like quitting or running away,remember that you can't run away from your troubles and you can't run away from yourself.The solution is not running away; it's running to. It's running to the throne of grace and findinggrace to help in time of need.

Those times when you feel like quitting can be times of great opportunity, for God uses yourtroubles to help you grow. When you feel like running away, claim your privilege as a child ofGod and approach the throne of grace. There you will find the personal and tailored help youneed.

10. Calvin, “In Jehovah do I put my trust. Almost all interpreters think that this is a complaintwhich David brings against his countrymen, that while seeking in every quarter for hiding-places, he could find nowhere even common humanity. And it is indeed true, that in the wholecourse of his wanderings, after betaking himself to flight to escape the cruelty of Saul, he couldfind no secure place of retreat, at least, none where he might continue for any length of timeundisturbed. He might, therefore, justly complain of his own countrymen, in that none of themdeigned to shelter him when he was a fugitive. But I think he has a respect to something higher.When all men were striving, as it were, with each other, to drive him to despair, he must,according to the weakness of the flesh, have been afflicted with great and almost overwhelmingdistress of mind; but fortified by faith, he confidently and steadfastly leaned on the promises ofGod, and was thus preserved from yielding to the temptations to which he was exposed. Thesespiritual conflicts, with which God exercised him in the midst of his extreme perils, he hererecounts. Accordingly, as I have just now observed, the psalm should be divided into two parts.Before celebrating the righteousness of God, which he displays in the preservation of the godly,the Psalmist shows how he had encountered even death itself, and yet, through faith and anupright conscience, had obtained the victory. As all men advised him to leave his country, andretire into some place of exile, where he might be concealed, inasmuch as there remained for himno hope of life, unless he should relinquish the kingdom, which had been promised to him; in thebeginning of the psalm, he opposes to this perverse advice the shield of his trust in God.But before entering farther upon the subject, let us interpret the words. The word נוד, nud, whichwe have rendered to flee, is written in the plural number, and yet it is read in the singular; but, inmy opinion, this is a corrupt reading. As David tells us that this was said to himself only, theJewish doctors, thinking the plural number unsuitable, have taken it upon them to read the wordin the singular. Some of them, wishing to retain the literal sense as it is called, perplex themselveswith the question, why it is said, Flee ye, rather than Flee thou; and, at length, they have recourseto a very meagre subtilty, as if those who counselled him to betake himself to flight addressedboth his soul and his body. But it was unnecessary labor to put themselves to so much trouble in amatter where there is no difficulty; for it is certain that those who counselled David did not saythat he alone should flee, but that he should flee, together with all his attendants, who were in thesame danger with himself. Although, therefore, they addressed themselves especially to David, yetthey included his companions, who had a common cause with him, and were exposed to the likedanger. Expositors, also, differ in their interpretation of what follows. Many render it from your

mountain, as if it were מהרכם, meharkem; and, according to them, there is a change of person,because those who spoke to him must have said, flee thou from Our mountain. But this is harshand strained. �or does it appear to me that they have any more reason on their side, when theysay that Judea is here called mountain. Others think we should read הר כמו צפור, har kemo tsippor,

239 239 This is the reading adopted by the Chaldee, Septuagint, and Vulgate versions.Hammond observes, that “where the Hebrew now reads, הרכם צפור, har kemo tsippor, To your

mountain a sparrow, all the ancient interpreters uniformly read, To the mountain as a sparrow.”

Horsley translates the words, “Flee, sparrows, to your hill,” and views the expression “asproverbial, denoting a situation of helplessness and danger, in which there was no hope of safetybut in flight” The noun, צפור tsippor, which he renders sparrows, is singular, and it is hereconstrued with a plural verb and a plural pronoun. But he remarks, that as this word, like mostnames of animals in the Hebrew language, signifies either the individual or the species, it mayhere be used in the singular number for many individuals, and construed with plural verbs,

adjectives, and pronouns. that is, into the mountain as a bird, without a pronoun. 240 240 “Sansspecifier a qui est ceste montagne. — Fr. “Without specifying whose mountain it is.” But if wefollow what I have said, it will agree very well with the scope of the passage to read thus, Flee ye

into your mountain, for you are not permitted to dwell in your own country. I do not, however,think that any particular mountain is pointed out, but that David was sent away to the desertrocks wherever chance might lead him. Condemning those who gave him this advice, he declaresthat he depends upon the promise of God, and is not at all disposed thus to go away into exile.Such, then, was the condition of David, that, in his extreme necessity, all men repelled and chasedhim far away into desert places.

But as he seems to intimate that it would be a sign of distrust were he to place his safety in flight,it may be asked, whether or not it would have been lawful for him to flee; yea, we know that hewas often forced to retire into exile, and driven about from place to place, and that he evensometimes hid himself in caves. I answer, it is true he was unsettled like a poor fearful bird, which

leaps from branch to branch, 241 241 “Je response que combien qu’il n’ait non plus este arrestdqu’un poure oiselet craintif qui saute de branche en branche.” — Fr. and was compelled to seekfor different bypaths, and to wander from place to place to avoid the snares of his enemies; yetstill his faith continued so steadfast that he never alienated himself from the people of God.Others accounted him a lost man, and one whose affairs were in a hopeless condition, setting no

more value upon him than if he had been a rotten limb, 242 242 “Combien que les autres letenissent pour un homme perdu et duquel les affaires estoyent bors d’espoir et qu’ils n’en felssentnon plus de casque d’un membre pourri.” — Fr. yet he never separated himself from the body ofthe Church. And certainly these words, Flee ye, tended only to make him yield to utter despair.But it would have been wrong for him to have yielded to these fears, and to have betaken himselfto flight, as if uncertain of what would be the issue. He therefore says expressly, that this was

spoken to his soul, meaning that his heart was deeply pierced by such an ignominious rejection,since he saw (as I have said) that it tended only to shake and to weaken his faith. In short,although he had always lived innocently, as it became a true servant of God, yet these malignantmen would have doomed him to remain for ever in a state of exile from his native country. This

verse teaches us, that however much the world may hate and persecute us, 243 243 “�ousdeteste et poursuyve.” — Fr. we ought nevertheless to continue steadfast at our post, that we maynot deprive ourselves of a right to lay claim to the promises of God, or that these may not slipaway from us; and that, however much and however long we may be harassed, we ought alwaysto continue firm and unwavering in the faith of our having the call of God.”

Editor's notes,238- “Calvin’s meaning is, that according to the Hebrew letters, the verb is in the

plural number; but according to the Hebrew punctuation, which regulates the reading, it is in thesingular. Piscator, in his commentary on this passage, observes, נודו, nudi, according to the points,is singular and feminine, and refers to the soul of David; according to the letters it is plural, נודו,nudu, and refers to David and his associates. This last reading appears to me the mostappropriate, both because it is followed by the relative in the plural number, and because it doesnot seem to be a proper or natural mode of expression, to speak of persons addressing the soul ofanother” The phrase, to my soul, however, may simply mean to me, a sense in which it isfrequently used in Scripture.

11. Ron Daniel, “11:1-3 How Can You Say?David is saying, "how in the world can you tell me to run away instead of taking refuge in theLord?" I think of the difficulties that �ehemiah was having. The walls around Jerusalem wererebuilt, and the only thing remaining to do was put the doors in the gates. �ehemiah's enemiesstarted sending him letters to distract him. When four letters didn't get a rise out of �ehemiah,the fifth letter said, �eh. 6:6-7 In it was written, "It is reported among the nations, and Gashmusays, that you and the Jews are planning to rebel; therefore you are rebuilding the wall. And youare to be their king, according to these reports. And you have also appointed prophets toproclaim in Jerusalem concerning you, 'A king is in Judah!' And now it will be reported to theking according to these reports. So come now, let us take counsel together." �ehemiah sent aletter back, saying, "�ot!" But then he went to Shem-aw-YAW's house (the son of Del-aw-YAW,son of Meh-hay-tab-ALE). And Shem-aw-YAW said, �eh. 6:10 ..."Let us meet together in thehouse of God, within the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming tokill you, and they are coming to kill you at night."

It was a trap. A trick to show everyone that �ehemiah wasn't trusting in God, but running fromhis enemies. He writes, �eh. 6:11-13 But I said, "Should a man like me flee? And could one suchas I go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in." Then I perceived that surely God had notsent him, but he uttered {his} prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.He was hired for this reason, that I might become frightened and act accordingly and sin, so thatthey might have an evil report in order that they could reproach me. David had this same heart,saying, "How can you say to my soul, 'Flee, run away from the wicked'?"

2 For look, the wicked bend their bows; they set their arrows against the stringsto shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart.

1. K&D, “In Psa_11:2 the faint-hearted ones give as the ground of their advice, the fearful perilwhich threatens from the side of crafty and malicious foes. As ִהּנֵה implies, this danger isimminent. The perfect overrides the future: they are not only already in the act of bending the

bow, they have made ready their arrow, i.e., their deadly weapon, upon the string.”

2. Barnes, “For, lo, the wicked bend their bow - These are to he regarded as the words of thepersons referred to in the previous verse, who had advised the persecuted psalmist to flee to themountains. In this verse reasons are suggested for that advice. The reasons are, that the enemywas preparing for an attack, and that at an unexpected moment the attack would be made unlesshe should effect his escape. Apprised of the danger, he might now make good his escape, andavoid the peril which was impending. The common weapon in war, as in hunting, was the bowand arrow. The process of preparing for the use of the bow consisted in bending it, and properlyadjusting the arrow. The Hebrew word used here is “tread;” “the wicked tread upon the bow;”that is, with a view to bend it. The bow was made of steel, or strong wood, or pieces of ivoryframed together, and it often required great strength - beyond the strength of the arm - to bend itso as to adjust the string. Hence, the “foot” was placed upon the center, and the two ends drawnnear to each other.

They make ready their arrow upon the string - Hebrew, “they fit or fix the arrow upon thestring.” 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 - Margin, as in the Hebrew, “in darkness.”That is, that they may do it secretly or treacherously. They do not intend to do it in open day, or(as we should say) “in a fair fight;” but they mean to do it when their victim is not aware of theirdesign. The phrase, “the upright in heart,” may either denote their own conviction that thosewhom they designed so to attack were upright in heart - thus knowing that they were innocent; orit may be a statement of the advisers in the case, that those whom they counseled were thusupright - a statement on their part that the attack was made on the righteous. The latter isprobably the true construction.

3. Clarke, “For, lo, the wicked bend their bow - Perhaps these are more of the words of hisadvisers: Every thing is ready for thy destruction: the arrow that is to pierce thy heart is alreadyset on the bow-string; and the person who hopes to despatch thee is concealed in ambush.

4. Gill, “For, lo, the wicked bend their bow,.... Are devising mischief, and making preparations toaccomplish it;

they make ready their arrow upon the string; of the bow, and are just about to execute theirwicked designs;

that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart; such as David, and those that were with him,were; they were men whose hearts were upright before God, and were of upright conversationsbefore men, and so became the butt of the malice and resentment of wicked men; against thesethey formed evil purposes, delivered out bitter words, which were like sharp arrows of themighty; threatened them with ruin and destruction, and took methods to bring about theirdesigns and make good their words, in the most private and secret manner. Hence some ofDavid's friends thought it most advisable for him to make his escape; adding,

5. Henry, ““Observe,” say they, “how the wicked bend their bow; Saul and his instruments aim atthy life, and the uprightness of thy heart will not be thy security.” See what an enmity there is inthe wicked against the upright, in the seed of the serpent against the seed of the woman; whatpains they take, what preparations they make, to do them a mischief: They privily shoot at them,or, in darkness, that they may not see the evil designed, to avoid it, nor others, to prevent it, no,

nor God himself, to punish it.”

6. Spurgeon, “How forcibly the case is put! The bow is bent, the arrow is fitted to the string:"Flee, flee, thou defenceless bird, thy safety lies in flight; begone, for thine enemies will send theirshafts into thy heart; haste, haste, for soon wilt thou be destroyed!" David seems to have felt theforce of the advice, for it came home to his soul; but yet he would not yield, but would rather darethe danger than exhibit a distrust in the Lord his God. Doubtless the perils which encompassedDavid were great and imminent; it was quite true that his enemies were ready to shoot privily athim.”

7. Treasury of David, “Verse 2. "For, lo, the wicked bend their bow," etc. This verse presents anunequal combat betwixt armed power, advantaged with policy, on the one side; and naked

innocence on the other. First, armed power: "They bend their bows, and make ready their arrows,"

being all the artillery of that age; secondly, advantaged with policy: "that they may privily shoot,"

to surprise them with an ambush unawares, probably pretending amity and friendship untothem; thirdly, naked innocence: if innocence may be termed naked, which is its own armour; "at

the upright in heart." Thomas Fuller.

Verse 2. "For, lo, the ungodly bend their bow, and make ready their arrows within the quiver: that

they may privily shoot at them which are true of heart." The plottings of the chief priests andPharisees that they might take Jesus by subtlety and kill him. They bent their bow, when theyhired Judas Iscariot for the betrayal of his Master; they made ready their arrows within thequiver when they sought "false witnesses against Jesus to put him to death." Matthew 26:59."Them which are true of heart." �ot alone the Lord himself, the only true and righteous, but hisapostles, and the long line of those who should faithfully cleave to him from that time to this. Andas with the Master, so with the servants: witness the calumnies and the revilings that from thetime of Joseph's accusation by his mistress till the present day, have been the lot of God's people.Michael Ayguan, 1416, in J. M. &eale's Commentary.

Verse 2. "That they may secretly shoot at them which are upright in heart." They bear not theirbows and arrows as scarecrows in a garden of cucumbers, to fray, but to shoot, not at stakes, butmen; their arrows are jacula mortifera (Psalm 7), deadly arrows, and lest they should fail to hit,they take advantage of the dark, of privacy and secrecy; they shoot privily. �ow this is thecovenant of hell itself. For what created power in the earth is able to dissolve that work whichcruelty and subtlety, like Simeon and Levi, brothers in evil, are combined and confederate tobring to pass? Where subtlety is ingenious, insidious to invent, cruelty barbarous to execute,subtlety giveth counsel, cruelty giveth the stroke. Subtlety ordereth the time, the place, themeans, accomodateth, concinnateth circumstances; cruelty undertaketh the act: subtlety hideththe knife, cruelty cutteth the throat: subtlety with a cunning head layeth the ambush, plotteth thetrain, the stratagem; and cruelty with as savage a heart, sticketh not at the dreadfullest,direfullest objects, ready to wade up to the ankles, the neck, in a whole red sea of human, yea,country blood: how fearful is their plight that are thus assaulted! John King.

8. McGee, “Those who were following Absalom were willing to kill David if they had the opportunity. There was great bitterness on both sides. When Absalom came in battle against his father, David did not leave the land. David retreated in order to reconnoiter and then came against his son with his army. David gave specific instructions to his three captains: "Remember my boy Absalom and don't harm him. I want him safe." Absalom made a big mistake in fighting his father and the veterans who were with him, because David was a seasoned warrior and knew all the tricks of the trade. He knew how to fight

in the woods and the mountains. Absalom and his men were not as experienced, and they lost. �ot only was there bitterness on Absalom's side, it was also on David's side — although not in David's heart — but Joab, one of David's captains, when he had the opportunity, put a dart through the boy and killed him. There was bitterness on both sides.”

9. Calvin, “Surely, behold! the ungodly. Some think that this is added as the excuse made by thosewho desired David to save himself by flight. According to others, David expostulates with hiscountrymen, who saw death menacing him on all sides, and yet denied him shelter. But, in myjudgment, he here continues his account of the trying circumstances in which he was placed. Hisdesign is not only to place before our view the dangers with which he was surrounded, but toshow us that he was exposed even to death itself. He therefore says, that wherever he might hidehimself, it was impossible for him to escape from the hands of his enemies. �ow, the descriptionof so miserable a condition illustrates the more strikingly the grace of God in the deliverancewhich he afterwards granted him. With respect to the words, they have fixed their arrows upon

the string, to Shoot Secretly, or in darkness, some understand them metaphorically of the attemptswhich David’s enemies made to surprise him by craft and snares. I, however, prefer thisinterpretation, as being more simple, - that there was no place so hidden into which the darts ofhis enemies did not penetrate, and that, therefore, to whatever caves he could betake himself forconcealment and shelter, death would follow him as his inseparable attendant.”

3 When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

1. Barnes, “If the foundations be destroyed - These are still to be regarded as the words of thepsalmist’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 greatprinciples of truth and righteousness that uphold society, as the foundations on which an edificerests uphold the building. The reference is to a destruction of those things in a community, whentruth is no longer respected; when justice is no longer practiced; when fraud and violence havetaken the place of honesty and honor; when error prevails; when a character for integrity andvirtue affords no longer any security. This is supposed to be the case in the circumstancesreferred to in the psalm, when there was no respect paid to truth and justice, and when therighteous, therefore, could find no security. It is under these circumstances the advice is givenPsa_11:1, 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 ownsafety, and for the good of society, has always been in the prevalence of just principles, and he hasno other resource. Whatever others may do; whatever reliance they may place on such things, hecan have no confidence in fraud, dishonesty, and error - in secret machinations and plans oftreachery and deceit. His reliance is, and must be, in the prevalence of just principles; in theobservance 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 toflee Psa_11:1. Part of this is true; part not. It is true that all the hope of the righteous is in theprevalence of principles of truth and justice, and that for the success of the objects nearest to hisheart, whether of a private or public nature, he has no other resource or hope; but it is not alwaystrue, even when injustice, fraud, and error prevail, that he, should withdraw from society andseek his safety in flight, and leave the world to its own course. His presence may be the very thingto counteract this; his duty may be to remain and face the evil, and to endeavor to secure a betterstate of things. So the psalmist understood in his case.

1B. Scripture Studies, “In addition to the imminent danger, the advisor warns of the dangerousclimate in general: "When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?"Iniquity and injustice were apparently widespread. The advisor, viewing the moral fabric ofsociety as "the foundation", sees no hope for the righteous. We, in these times, see the same thing.We witness the eroding of morality in society, we see a decline in faith, and we wonder: "Whatcan I do? Where can I flee?"The advisor speaks truth: "When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteousdo?"; however, he errs (as many do today) in his selection of "foundations". What is the truefoundation? Is it a moral society, a God-fearing government, a Bible-believing church? �o. Ourcorrect estimation of the situation requires a correct selection of "foundations". The truefoundation is the Rock of our salvation, the Lord God Almighty. Anyone who builds on any lessof a foundation builds on shaky ground. Yes, "when the foundations are being destroyed, whatcan the righteous do?", but the true foundation is everlasting, ever-present, unwavering,undefeated, and indestructible.

1C. Make Straight Paths, “These lines conclude the ‘speech’ addressed to the psalmist, given withthe intent to cause him to lose heart. The word ‘foundations’ (OT:8356) is a rare word, occurringonly twice in the Old Testament. It means “a basis, i.e. (figuratively) political or moral support”(Strong) or “stay (of society) probably figurative of established usages, laws, etc.” (Brown, Driver& Briggs). These lines are therefore probably hyperbolic: “Everything is going wrong!” Thethought continues and enlarges the generally negative and fearful message of the disheartening‘speech’ addressed to David and concludes with a rhetorical question: “The situation is hopeless,what could anyone possibly do about it?”

2. Clarke, “If the foundations be destroyed - If Saul, who is the vicegerent of God, has cast asidehis fear, and now regards neither truth nor justice, a righteous man has no security for his life.This is at present thy case; therefore flee! They have utterly destroyed the foundations; (of truthand equity); what can righteousness now effect? Kimchi supposes this refers to the priests whowere murdered by Doeg, at the command of Saul. The priests are destroyed, the preservers ofknowledge and truth; the Divine worship is overthrown; and what can the righteous man work?These I think to be also the words of David’s advisers. To all of which he answers: - “

3. Gill, “If the foundations be destroyed,.... Or, "for the foundations are destroyed" (s); all thingsare out of order and course both in church and state; the laws, which are the foundations ofgovernment, are despised and disregarded; judgment is perverted, and justice stands afar off; thedoctrines and principles of religion are derided and subverted; so that there is no standing, eitherin a political or religious sense. Jarchi interprets this of the priests of the Lord, the righteous, who

are the foundations of the world, particularly the priests of �ob, slain by Doeg. Other Jewishwriters, as Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Melech, understand it of the purposes and counsels, netsand snares, laid by the wicked for the righteous, which are broken and destroyed; not by them,for what can they do? but by the Lord, who is in his holy temple. So it

what can the righteous do? or "what does the righteous one do" (t)? that is, the righteous Lord,he sits in the heavens, he beholds all the actions of the wicked, he distinguishes the righteous fromthem, and rains a violent storm of wrath upon them, as in the following verses; or "what has therighteous man done" (u)? what has David done, that the priests of �ob should be slain? nothingthat was criminal; nor shall he bear the sin, but they, according to Jarchi's sense; or rather, whathas he done that the wicked should bend their bow, prepare their arrow, and attempt to shootprivily at him, and to overturn the foundations of justice and equity? nothing that deserves suchtreatment: or if the fundamental doctrines of true religion and everlasting salvation be subverted,what can the righteous do? he can do nothing to obtain salvation, nor do any good works ofhimself; the Chaldee paraphrase is, "wherefore does he do good?" he can have no principle,motive, or end to do good, if fundamental truths are destroyed: or "what should he do" (w)?something the righteous ones may do, and should do, when men are attempting to undermine andsap the foundation articles of religion; they should go to the throne of grace, to God in his holytemple, who knows what is doing, and plead with him to put a stop to the designs and attempts ofsuch subverters of foundations; and they should endeavour to build one another up on their mostholy faith, and constantly affirm it while others deny it; and should contend earnestly for it, andstand fast in it.

4. Henry, “Because he could be no longer useful where he was. “For,” say they, “if the foundations

be destroyed” (as they were by Saul's mal-administration), “if the civil state and government beunhinged and all out of course” (Psa_75:3, Psa_82:5), “what canst thou do with thy righteousnessto redress the grievances? Alas! it is to no purpose to attempt the saving of a kingdom sowretchedly shattered; whatever the righteous can do signifies nothing.” Abi in cellam, et dic,

Miserere mei, Domine - Away to thy cell, and there cry, Pity me, O Lord! Many are hindered fromdoing the service they might do to the public, in difficult times, by a despair of success.

2. It may be taken as a taunt wherewith his enemies bantered him, upbraiding him with theprofessions he used to make of confidence in God, and scornfully bidding him try what stead thatwould stand him in now. “You say, God is your mountain; flee to him now, and see what thebetter you will be.” Thus they endeavoured to shame the counsel of the poor, saying, There is no

help for them in God, Psa_14:6; Psa_3:2. The confidence and comfort which the saints have inGod, when all the hopes and joys in the creature fail them, are a riddle to a carnal world and areridiculed accordingly. Taking it thus, the two following verses are David's answer to this sarcasm,in which, (1.) He complains of the malice of those who did thus abuse him (Psa_11:2): They bend

their bow and make ready their arrows; and we are told (Psa_64:3) what their arrows are, evenbitter words, such words as these, by which they endeavour to discourage hope in God, whichDavid felt as a sword in his bones. (2.) He resists the temptation with a gracious abhorrence,Psa_11:3. He looks upon this suggestion as striking at the foundations which every Israelitebuilds upon: “If you destroy the foundations, if you take good people off from their hope in God,if you can persuade them that their religion is a cheat and a jest and can banter them out of that,you ruin them, and break their hearts indeed, and make them of all men the most miserable.”The principles of religion are the foundations on which the faith and hope of the righteous arebuilt. These we are concerned, in interest as well as duty, to hold fast against all temptations toinfidelity; for, if these be destroyed, if we let these go, What can the righteous do? Good peoplewould be undone if they had not a God to go to, a God to trust to, and a future bliss to hope for.

5. Spurgeon, “It was equally correct that the very foundations of law and justice were destroyed

under Saul's unrighteous government: but what were all these things to the man whose trust wasin God alone? He could brave the dangers, could escape the enemies, and defy the injustice whichsurrounded him. His answer to the question, "What can the righteous do?" would be thecounter-question, "What cannot they do?" When prayer engages God on our side, and whenfaith secures the fulfillment of the promise, what cause can there be for flight, however cruel andmighty our enemies? With a sling and a stone, David had smitten a giant before whom the wholehosts of Israel were trembling, and the Lord, who delivered him from the uncircumcisedPhilistine, could surely deliver him from King Saul and his myrmidons. There is no such word as"impossibility" in the language of faith; that martial grace knows how to fight and conquer, butshe knows not how to flee.”

6. Treasury of David, “Verse 3. "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?" Butnow we are met with a giant objection, which with Goliath must be removed, or else it willobstruct our present proceedings. Is it possible that the foundations of religion should bedestroyed? Can God be in so long a sleep, yea, so long a lethargy, as patiently to permit the ruinsthereof? If he looks on, and yet doth not see these foundations when destroyed, where then is hisomnisciency? If he seeth it, and cannot help it, where then is his omnipotency? If he seeth it, canhelp it, and will not, where then is his goodness and mercy? Martha said to Jesus (John 11:21),"Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died." But many will say, Were Godeffectually present in the world with his aforesaid attributes, surely the foundations had not died,

had not been destroyed. We answer negatively, that it is impossible that the foundations of religionshould ever be totally and finally destroyed, either in relation to the church in general, or inreference to every true and lively member thereof. For the first, we have an express promise ofChrist. Matthew 16:18. "The gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Fundamenta tamen stant

inconcussa Sionis. And as for every particular Christian (2 Timothy 2:19), "�evertheless, thefoundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his."However, though for the reasons aforementioned in the objections (the inconsistency thereof withthe attributes of God's omnipotency, omnisciency, and goodness), the foundations can nevertotally and finally, yet may they partially be destroyed, quoad gradum, in a fourfold degree, asfolloweth. First, in the desires and utmost endeavours of wicked men,

They bring their—

1. Hoc velle,

2. Hoc agere,

3. Totum posse.

If they destroy not the foundations, it is no thanks to them, seeing all the world will bear themwitness they have done their best (that is, their worst), what their might and malice could perform.Secondly, in their own vainglorious imaginations: they may not only vainly boast, but also verilybelieve that they have destroyed the foundations. Applicable to this purpose, is that high rant ofthe Roman emperor (Luke 2:1): "And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decreefrom Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed." All the world! whereas he had,though much, not all in Europe, little in Asia, less in Africa, none in America, which was so farfrom being conquered, it was not so much as known to the Romans. But hyperbole is not a figure,but the ordinary language of pride; because indeed Augustus had very much he proclaimethhimself to have all the world. . . . Thirdly, the foundations may be destroyed as to all outwardvisible illustrious apparition. The church in persecution is like unto a ship in a tempest; down goall their masts, yea, sometimes for the more speed they are forced to cut them down: not a piece

of canvas to play with the winds, no sails to be seen; they lie close knotted to the very keel, thatthe tempest may have the less power upon them, though when the storm is over, they can hoist uptheir sails as high, and spread their canvas as broad as ever before. So the church in the time ofpersecution feared, but especially felt, loseth all gayness and gallantry which may attract andallure the eyes of beholders, and contenteth itself with its own secrecy. In a word, on the work-days of affliction she weareth her worst clothes, whilst her best are laid up in her wardrobe, insure and certain hope that God will give her a holy and happy day, when with joy she shall wearher best garments. Lastly, they may be destroyed in the jealous apprehensions of the best saintsand servants of God, especially in their melancholy fits. I will instance in no puny, but in a star ofthe first magnitude and greatest eminency, even Elijah himself complaining (1 Kings 19:10):"And I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away." Thomas Fuller.

Verse 3. "If." It is the only word of comfort in the text, that what is said is not positive, but

suppositive; not thetical, but hypothetical. And yet this comfort which is but a spark (at which wewould willingly kindle our hopes), is quickly sadded with a double consideration. First,impossible suppositions produce impossible consequences, "As is the mother, so is the daughter."Therefore, surely God's Holy Spirit would not suppose such a thing but what was feasible andpossible, but what either had, did, or might come to pass. Secondly, the Hebrew word is not theconditional im, si, si forte, but chi, quia, quoniam, because, and (although here it be favourablyrendered if), seemeth to import, more therein, that the sad case had already happened in David'sdays. I see, therefore, that this if, our only hope in the text, is likely to prove with Job's friends,but a miserable comforter. Well, it is good to know the worst of things, that we may provideourselves accordingly; and therefore let us behold this doleful case, not as doubtful, but as done;not as feared, but felt; not as suspected, but at this time really come to pass. Thomas Fuller.

Verse 3. "If the foundations," etc. My text is an answer to a tacit objection which some may raise;namely, that the righteous are wanting to themselves, and by their own easiness and inactivity(not daring and doing so much as they might and ought), betray themselves to that bad condition.In whose defence David shows, that if God in his wise will and pleasure seeth it fitting, forreasons best known to himself, to suffer religion to be reduced to terms of extremity, it is notplaced in the power of the best man alive to remedy and redress the same. "If the foundations be

destroyed, what can the righteous do?" My text is hung about with mourning, as for a funeralsermon, and contains: First, a sad case supposed, "If the foundations be destroyed." Secondly, asad question propounded, "What can the righteous do?" Thirdly, a sad answer implied, namely,that they can do just nothing, as to that point of re-establishing the destroyed foundation.Thomas Fuller.

Verse 3. "If the foundations be destroyed," etc. The civil foundation of a nation or people, is theirlaws and constitutions. The order and power that's among them, that's the foundation of apeople; and when once this foundation is destroyed, "What can the righteous do?" What can thebest, the wisest in the world, do in such a case? What can any man do, if there be not afoundation of government left among men? There is no help nor answer in such a case but thatwhich follows in the fourth verse of the Psalm, "The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord's throne is

in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men;" as if he had said, in the midst ofthese confusions, when as it is said (Psalm 82:5), "All the foundations of the earth are out ofcourse;" yet God keeps his course still, he is where he was and as he was, without variableness orshadow of turning. Joseph Caryl.

Verse 3. "The righteous." The righteous indefinitely, equivalent to the righteous universally; notonly the righteous as a single arrow, but in the whole sheaf; not only the righteous in theirpersonal, but in their diffusive capacity. Were they all collected into one body, were all the

righteous living in the same age wherein the foundations are destroyed, summoned up andmodelled into one corporation, all their joint endeavours would prove ineffectual to the re-establishing of the fallen foundations, as not being man's work, but only God's work to perform.Thomas Fuller.

Verse 3. "The foundations." Positions, the things formerly fixed, placed, and settled. It is not said,if the roof be ruinous, or if the side walls be shattered, but if the foundations.

Verse 3. "Foundations be destroyed." In the plural. Here I will not warrant my skill inarchitecture, but conceive this may pass for an undoubted truth: it is possible that a buildingsettled on several entire foundations (suppose them pillars) close one to another, if one of themfall, yet the structure may still stand, or rather hang (at the least for a short time) by virtue of thecomplicative, which it receiveth from such foundations which still stand secure. But in case therebe a total rout, and an utter ruin of all the foundations,, none can fancy to themselves a possibilityof that building's subsistence. Thomas Fuller.

Verse 3. "What CA� the righteous?" The can of the righteous is a limited can, confined to the ruleof God's word; they can do nothing but what they can lawfully do. 2 Corinthians 13:8. "For wecan do nothing against the truth, but for the truth:" Illud possumus, quod jure possumus. Wickedmen can do anything; their conscience, which is so wide that it is none at all, will bear them out toact anything how unlawful soever, to stab, poison, massacre, by any means, at any time, in anyplace, whosoever standeth betwixt them and the effecting of their desires. �ot so the righteous;they have a rule whereby to walk, which they will not, they must not, they dare not, cross. Iftherefore a righteous man were assured, that by the breach of one of God's commandments hemight restore decayed religion, and re-settle it statu quo prius, his hands, head, and heart are tiedup, he can do nothing, because their damnation is just who say (Romans 3:8), "Let us do evil that

good may come thereof."

Verse 3. "Do." It is not said, What can they think? It is a great blessing which God hath allowedinjured people, that though otherwise oppressed and straitened, they may freely enlargethemselves in their thoughts. Thomas Fuller.

Verse 3. Sinning times have ever been the saints' praying times: this sent Ezra with a heavy heartto confess the sin of his people, and to bewail their abominations before the Lord. Ezra 9. AndJeremiah tells the wicked of his degenerate age, that "his soul should weep in secret places fortheir pride." Jeremiah 13:17. Indeed, sometimes sin comes to such a height, that this is almost allthe godly can do, to get into a corner, and bewail the general pollutions of the age. "If the

foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?" Such dismal days of national confusion oureyes have seen, when foundations of government were destroyed, and all hurled into militaryconfusion. When it is thus with a people, "What can the righteous do?" Yes, this they may, andshould do, "fast and pray." There is yet a God in heaven to be sought to, when a people'sdeliverance is thrown beyond the help of human policy or power. �ow is the fit time to make theirappeal to God, as the words following hint: "The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord's throne is in

heaven;" in which words God is presented sitting in heaven as a temple, for their encouragement,I conceive, in such a desperate state of affairs, to direct their prayers thither for deliverance. Andcertainly this hath been the engine that hath been instrumental, above any, to restore this poornation again, and set it upon the foundation of that lawful government from which it had sodangerously departed. William Gurnall.

7. McGee, “This is still a good question to ask. Today the authority of the Word of God is being challenged on every hand. As I write, we have the "new morality," which is sin that the

Bible has condemned from the very beginning. The problem is, What can the righteous do? I will tell you what they can do. Listen to the psalmist:

8. Calvin, “Truly, the foundations are destroyed. Some translate the word השתות, hashathoth, bynets, a sense in which the Scripture in other places often uses this word; and their explanation ofthe words is, that the wicked and deceitful arts which the ungodly practiced against David weredefeated. If we admit this interpretation, the meaning of what he adds immediately after, What

hath the righteous one done? will be, that his escape in safety was owing neither to his ownexertion, nor to his own skill, but that, without putting forth any effort, and when, as it were, hewas asleep, he had been delivered from the nets and snares of his enemies by the power of God.But the word foundations agrees better with the scope of the passage, for he evidently proceeds torelate into what straits he had been brought and shut up, so that his preservation was now to allappearance hopeless. Interpreters, however, who hold that foundations is the proper translationof the word, are not agreed as to the sense. Some explain it, that he had not a single spot on whichto fix his foot; others, that covenants which ought to have stability, by being faithfully kept, hadbeen often shamefully violated by Saul. Some also understand it allegorically, as meaning that therighteous priests of God, who were the pillars of the land, had been put to death. But I have nodoubt of its being a metaphor taken from buildings, which must fall down and become a heap ofruins when their foundations are undermined; and thus David complains, that, in the eyes of theworld, he was utterly overthrown, inasmuch as all that he possessed was completely destroyed. Inthe last clause, he again repeats, that to be persecuted so cruelly was what he did not deserve:What hath the righteous one done? And he asserts his own innocence, partly to comfort himself inhis calamities from the testimony of a good conscience, and partly to encourage himself in thehope of obtaining deliverance. That which encouraged him to trust in God was the belief whichhe entertained, that on account of the justice of his cause God was on his side, and would befavorable to him.”

4 The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD is on his heavenly throne.He observes everyone on earth; his eyes examine them.

1. Barnes, “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 thepsalmist to the suggestions of his advisers that he should flee from danger. The answer is, insubstance, that he had nothing to fear; that he had a protector in heaven; and that he mightappeal to Him for defense. The idea is, that God, the protector of the righteous, is always in theheavens; that his throne is always accessible; and that to it the persecuted may come, and mayalways be safe.

The Lord’s throne is in heaven - God is a king, ruling the universe. As such, the seat of hispower or dominion is represented as in heaven, where he administers his government. Thatthrone 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 ideahere is that of unwavering confidence in God as sitting upon the throne of the universe, andadministering its affairs with justice and truth. Compare Isa_66:1, “heaven is my throne.” Seethe notes on that verse.

His eyes behold - He sees everything in all parts of his vast empire, and therefore he knows allthe purposes of the wicked, and all the wants of the righteous. The thought here, as one impartinga sense of safety, is, that God sees us. He is not ignorant of what our enemies are doing, and he isnot ignorant of what we need. If he were, the case would be different. We might their despair ofsafety, and feel that our enemies could overcome and destroy us. It is much, in the trials of life, tohave 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 shouldinterpose, and that he will suffer nothing to come upon us which it is not best that he shouldpermit. When evil befalls us, therefore, it does not come because God does not know it, orbecause he could not prevent it, but because, seeing it all, he judges that it is best that it shouldthus occur. Compare Gen_16:13.

His eyelids try - That is, they prove, penetrate into, as if by seeing through them. The “eyelids”here are synonymous with the eyes. The form of the language is varied in accordance with acustom common in Hebrew, and there is attributed here to the eyelids what properly belongs tothe eyes - the power of seeing.

The children of men - All men, good and bad. He knows them all - all their purposes, theirdesigns, their wishes, their dangers. He knows, therefore, what our enemies are doing; he knowswhat are our perils; and we may safely leave our cause with him. We should not, therefore, listento the counsel which advises us to flee Psa_11:1, but should rather put our trust in him whodwells in the heavens.

1B. Scripture Studies, “David responds by describing the true foundation: "The LORD is in Hisholy temple; the LORD is on His heavenly throne." The advisor sees only the externalconditions--a declining morality, a corrupt society, an apostate community--and so he asks,"What can the righteous do?" David answers this question succinctly and completely: "TheLORD is in His holy temple; the LORD is on His heavenly throne." The advisor's view of thesituation is based on fear and a lack of trust that God is in control. David's view is based on faithand trust in God. Fear is short-sighted, seeing only the external circumstances; faith considersGod and His end. The advisor's recommendations are based upon his inability to see what isunseen. David's response shows that he sees the unseen hand of God, heeds the unheard word ofthe Lord. The advisor, no doubt, considered David foolish for not fleeing, but the advice Davidfollowed came from the Lord "in His holy temple" and "on His heavenly throne." The two locations of the Lord--"His holy temple" and "His heavenly throne"--reveal the reasonthat David trusts in Him. The temple is where God meets with man. Men, in David's time, gainedaccess to God through the rites and sacrifices as prescribed in the law and carried out in thetemple. We gain access to God through the sacrifice of Christ, who makes atonement for our sins.Christ, in this sense, is for us the Lord "in His holy temple." So, one reason that David trusts inthe Lord is because of the relationship that he can have with God due to the temple sacrifices.

The other location of the Lord cited by David, "His heavenly throne", reveals the second reason

that David trusts in Him: He reigns. God is Lord over all. He reigns even over those who do notacknowledge His Lordship. He reigns over events that seem out of control. However, He does notrashly react to troubling situations, as man does. In His time, He deals with all situations and allparticipants.

As David says, "He observes the sons of men; His eyes examine them." In "examining" them, Heconsiders them carefully and patiently. He examines their actions and their motives, the fruit oftheir lives and the attitudes of their hearts, taking everything into account. God's knowledge ofthe doings of man is perfect, and so, He can perfectly differentiate between the righteous and thewicked. And in the end, He recompenses each appropriately. "On the wicked, He will rain fierycoals and burning sulfur." He has done so in the past (see Gen. 19:24), and He will do so again(see Ezek. 38:22; Rev. 14:10). Make no mistake: God's judgment upon the wicked is real andhorrible. The Bible depicts it as such unambiguously.”

1C. Ron Daniel, “David is taking refuge in the comfort of three truths: the Lord is in His temple,the Lord's throne is in heaven, and the Lord's eyes see all. The fact that God is in His templemeans that David knows he can meet with God, worship Him, and present his case in prayer.Ps. 18:6 In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried to my God for help; He heard myvoice out of His temple, And my cry for help before Him came into His ears. The fact that theLord's throne is in heaven means that He is higher that David's enemies, and sovereignly able tojudge. Ps. 9:4 For Thou hast maintained my just cause; Thou dost sit on the throne judgingrighteously. The fact that the Lord's eyes see all means that nothing is beyond His knowledge,and there won't be any excuses, lies, or injustices when He does judge. Prov. 15:3 The eyes of theLORD are in every place, Watching the evil and the good. It is very comforting to know thesethree truths.

2. Clarke, “The Lord is in his holy temple - He is still to be sought and found in the place vhere hehas registered his name. Though the priests be destroyed, the God in whose worship they wereemployed still lives, and is to be found in his temple by his upright worshippers. And he tries theheart and the reins of both sinners and saints. �othing can pass without his notice. I may expecthis presence in the temple; he has not promised to meet me in the mountain.

3. Gill, “ The Lord is in his holy temple,.... �ot in the temple at Jerusalem, which as yet was notbuilt; nor in the temple of Christ's human nature; but rather in the church, where he dwells,which is an holy temple to the Lord; and which is an argument for trust in him, and a reasonagainst the fears of men in the worst of times; see Psa_46:1. Though it may be best to understandit of heaven, the habitation of God's holiness, and which is the true sanctuary; and which the holyplaces made with hands were only a figure of; since it follows,

the Lord's throne is in heaven; yea, the heaven is his throne; here he sits on a throne of grace, andhere he has prepared his throne for judgment; and both this and the preceding clause areexpressive of his glory and majesty; and are said to command awe and reverence of the DivineBeing, and to inject terror into the wicked; and to show that God is above the enemies of hispeople, and to encourage the saints' trust and confidence in him; and are mentioned as a reasonwhy David put his trust in him; and are, with what follows in Psa_11:5, opposed to the advice andreasonings of some of his friends in the preceding ones;

his eyes behold; all men, and all their actions; he sees what the wicked are doing in the dark,what preparations for mischief they are making, and beholds them when they shoot privily at the

upright in heart; he can turn the arrow another way, and cause it to miss the mark: his eyes runto and fro throughout the earth, in favour of those whose hearts are perfect and sincere. God'somniscience, which is denied by wicked men, who are therefore hardened in sin, and promisethemselves impunity, is used by the saints as an argument to encourage their faith and trust inGod, with respect to their preservation and deliverance. The Septuagint and Vulgate Latin,Arabic, and Ethiopic versions, read, "his eyes look unto the poor"; but this is an addition to thetext not suitable to the context;

his eyelids try the children of men; he tries their reins, he searches into their very hearts, and intothe inmost recesses of them, and takes cognizance of their thoughts, intentions, and designs; andconfounds and disappoints them, so that they cannot perform their enterprises.

4. Henry, “The shaking of a tree (they say) makes it take the deeper and faster root. The attemptof David's enemies to discourage his confidence in God engages him to cleave so much the moreclosely to his first principles, and to review them, which he here does, abundantly to his ownsatisfaction and the silencing of all temptations to infidelity. That which was shocking to his faith,and has been so to the faith of many, was the prosperity of wicked people in their wicked ways,and the straits and distresses which the best men are sometimes reduced to: hence such an evilthought as this was apt to arise, Surely it is vain to serve God, and we may call the proud happy.But, in order to stifle and shame all such thoughts, we are here called to consider,

I. That there is a God in heaven: The Lord is in his holy temple above, where, though he is out ofour sight, we are not out of his. Let not the enemies of the saints insult over them, as if they wereat a loss and at their wits' end: no, they have a God, and they know where to find him and how todirect their prayer unto him, as their Father in heaven. Or, He is in his holy temple, that is, in hischurch; he is a God in covenant and communion with his people, through a Mediator, of whomthe temple was a type. We need not say, “Who shall go up to heaven, to fetch us thence a God totrust to?” �o, the word is nigh us, and God in the word; his Spirit is in his saints, those livingtemples, and the Lord is that Spirit.

II. That this God governs the world. The Lord has not only his residence, but his throne, inheaven, and he has set the dominion thereof in the earth (Job_38:33); for, having prepared his

throne in the heavens, his kingdom ruleth over all, Psa_103:19. Hence the heavens are said to rule,

Dan_4:26. Let us by faith see God on this throne, on his throne of glory, infinitely transcendingthe splendour and majesty of earthly princes - on his throne of government, giving law, givingmotion, and giving aim, to all the creatures - on his throne of judgment, rendering to every manaccording to his works - and on his throne of grace, to which his people may come boldly formercy and grace; we shall then see no reason to be discouraged by the pride and power ofoppressors, or any of the afflictions that attend the righteous.

III. That this God perfectly knows every man's true character: His eyes behold, his eye-lids try,

the children of men; he not only sees them, but he sees through them, not only knows all they sayand do, but knows what they think, what they design, and how they really stand affected,whatever they pretend. We may know what men seem to be, but he knows what they are, as therefiner knows what the value of the gold is when he has tried it. God is said to try with his eyes,

and his eye-lids, because he knows men, not as earthly princes know men, by report andrepresentation, but by his own strict inspection, which cannot err nor be imposed upon. This maycomfort us when we are deceived in men, even in men that we think we have tried, that God'sjudgment of men, we are sure, is according to truth.”

5. K&D, “The words of David's counsellors who fear for him are now ended. And David justifies

his confidence in God with which he began his song. Jahve sits enthroned above all that takesplace on earth that disheartens those of little faith. At an infinite distance above the earth, andalso above Jerusalem, now in rebellion, is a ֵהיַכל קֹדֶ קֶֹדׁש , Psa_18:7; Psa_29:9, and in this holytemple is Jahve, the Holy One. Above the earth are the heavens, and in heaven is the throne ofJahve, the King of kings. And this temple, this palace in the heavens, is the place whence issuesthe final decision of all earthly matters, Hab_2:20; Mic_1:2. For His throne above is also thesuper-terrestrial judgment-seat, Psa_9:8; Psa_103:19. Jahve who sits thereon is the all-seeing andomniscient One. ָחזָה prop. to split, cf. cernere, is used here according to its radical meaning, of asharp piercing glance. ָּבַחן prop. to try metals by fire, of a fixed and penetrating look that sees intoa thing to the foundation of its inmost nature. The mention of the eyelids is intentional. When weobserve a thing closely or ponder over it, we draw the eyelids together, in order that our visionmay be more concentrated and direct, and become, as it were, one ray piercing through theobject. Thus are men open to the all-seeing eyes, the all-searching looks of Jahve: the just and theunjust alike. He tries the righteous, i.e., He knows that in the depth of his soul there is an uprightnature that will abide all testing (Psa_17:3; Job_23:10), so that He lovingly protects him, just asthe righteous lovingly depends upon Him. And His soul hates (i.e., He hates him with all theenergy of His perfectly and essentially holy nature) the evil-doer and him that delights in theviolence of the strong towards the weak. And the more intense this hatred, the more fearful willbe the judgments in which it bursts forth.”

6. Spurgeon, “David here declares the great source of his unflinching courage. He borrows hislight from heaven—from the great central orb of deity. The God of the believer is never far fromhim; he is not merely the God of the mountain fastnesses, but of the dangerous valleys and battleplains.

"Jehovah is in his holy temple." The heavens are above our heads in all regions of the earth,and so is the Lord ever near to us in every state and condition. This is a very strong reason whywe should not adopt the vile suggestions of distrust. There is one who pleads his precious blood inour behalf in the temple above, and there is one upon the throne who is never deaf to theintercession of his Son. Why, then, should we fear? What plots can men devise which Jesus willnot discover? Satan has doubtless desired to have us, that he may sift us as wheat, but Jesus is inthe temple praying for us, and how can our faith fail? What attempts can the wicked make whichJehovah shall not behold? And since he is in his holy temple, delighting in the sacrifice of his Son,will he not defeat every device, and send us a sure deliverance?

"Jehovah's throne is in the heavens;" he reigns supreme. �othing can be done in heaven, orearth, or hell, which he doth not ordain and over-rule. He is the world's great Emperor.Wherefore, then, should we flee? If we trust this King of kings, is not this enough? Cannot hedeliver us without our cowardly retreat? Yes, blessed be the Lord our God, we can salute him asJehovah-nissi; in his name we set up our banners, and instead of flight, we once more raise theshout of war.

"His eyes behold." The eternal Watcher never slumbers; his eyes never know a sleep. "His

eyelids try the children of men:" he narrowly inspects their actions, words, and thoughts. As men,when intently and narrowly inspecting some very minute object, almost close their eyelids toexclude every other object, so will the Lord look all men through and through. God sees eachman as much and as perfectly as if there were no other creature in the universe. He sees usalways; he never removes his eye from us; he sees us entirely, reading the recesses of the soul asreadily as the glancings of the eye. Is not this a sufficient ground of confidence, and an abundantanswer to the solicitations of despondency? My danger is not hid from him; he knows myextremity, and I may rest assured that he will not suffer me to perish while I rely alone on him.

Wherefore, then, should I take wings of a timid bird, and flee from the dangers which beset me?”

7. Treasury of David, “Verse 4. The infinite understanding of God doth exactly know the sins ofmen; he knows so as to consider. He doth not only know them, but intently behold them: "His

eyelids try the children of men," a metaphor taken from men, that contract the eyelids when theywould wistly and accurately behold a thing: it is not a transient and careless look. Stephen

Charnock.

Verse 4. "His eyes behold," etc. God searcheth not as man searcheth, by enquiring into that whichbefore was hid from him; his searching is no more but his beholding; he seeth the heart, hebeholdeth the reins; God's very sight is searching. Hebrews 4:13. "All things are naked, andopened unto his eyes," tetrachlidmena, dissected or anatomised. He hath at once as exact a view ofthe most hidden things, the very entrails of the soul, as if they had been with never so greatcuriosity anatomised before him. Richard Alleine, 1611-1681.

Verse 4. "His eyes behold," etc. Consider that God not only sees into all you do, but he sees it tothat very end that he may examine and search into it. He doth not only behold you with acommon and indifferent look, but with a searching, watchful, and inquisitive eye: he pries intothe reasons, the motives, the ends of all your actions. "The Lord's throne is in heaven: his eyes

behold, his eyelids try, the children of men." Revelation 1:14, where Christ is described, it is said,his eyes are as a flame of fire: you know the property of fire is to search and make trial of thosethings which are exposed unto it, and to separate the dross from the pure metal: so, God's eye islike fire, to try and examine the actions of men: he knows and discerns how much your verypurest duties have in them of mixture, and base ends of formality, hypocrisy, distractedness, anddeadness: he sees through all your specious pretenses, that which you cast as a mist before theeyes of men when yet thou art but a juggler in religion: all your tricks and sleights of outwardprofession, all those things that you use to cozen and delude men withal, cannot possibly imposeupon him: he is a God that can look through all those fig-leaves of outward profession, anddiscern the nakedness of your duties through them. Ezekiel Hopkins, D.D.

Verse 4. "His eyes behold," etc. Take God into thy counsel. Heaven overlooks hell. God at anytime can tell thee what plots are hatching there against thee. William Gurnall.

Verse 4. "His eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men." When an offender, or one accusedfor any offence, is brought before a judge, and stands at the bar to be arraigned, the judge looksupon him, eyes him, sets his eye upon him, and he bids the offender look up in his face: "Lookupon me," saith the judge, "and speak up:" guiltiness usually clouds the forehead and clothes thebrow; the weight of guilt holds down the head! the evil doer hath an ill look, or dares not look up;how glad is he if the judge looks off him. We have such an expression here, speaking of the Lord,the great Judge of heaven and earth: "His eyelids try the children of men," as a judge tries a guiltyperson with his eye, and reads the characters of his wickedness printed in his face. Hence we havea common speech in our language, such a one looks suspiciously, or, he hath a guilty look. At thatgreat gaol-delivery described in Revelation 6:16, All the prisoners cry out to be hid from the face

of him that sat upon the throne. They could not look upon Christ, and they could not endureChrist should look upon them; the eyelids of Christ try the children of men. . . . Wickednesscannot endure to be under the observation of any eye much less of the eye of justice. Hence theactors of it say, "Who seeth us?" It is very hard not to show the guilt of the heart in the face, andit is as hard to have it seen there. Joseph Caryl.

8. McGee, “God is watching us today. He is testing us. And the only place we can turn is to Him.

When the foundations are taken out from under us, the righteous have God to cling to. Abraham reached that place. When it says that Abraham believed God, it means that Abraham threw his arms around God and just held on. He believed God. And these are days when we can believe God and hold on to Him. It is time for many of us who cannot sing the Hallelujah Chorus to at least say it. How wonderful is our God!

9. Calvin, “Jehovah is in the palace of his holiness. In what follows, the Psalmist glories in theassurance of the favor of God, of which I have spoken. Being destitute of human aid, he betakeshimself to the providence of God. It is a signal proof of faith, as I have observed elsewhere, totake and to borrow, so to speak, light from heaven to guide us to the hope of salvation, when weare surrounded in this world with darkness on every side. All men acknowledge that the world isgoverned by the providence of God; but when there comes some sad confusion of things, whichdisturbs their ease, and involves them in difficulty, there are few who retain in their minds thefirm persuasion of this truth. But from the example of David, we ought to make such account ofthe providence of God as to hope for a remedy from his judgment, even when matters are in themost desperate condition. There is in the words an implied contrast between heaven and earth;for if David’s attention had been fixed on the state of things in this world, as they appeared to theeye of sense and reason, he would have seen no prospect of deliverance from his present perilouscircumstances. But this was not David’s exercise; on the contrary, when in the world all justicelies trodden under foot, and faithfulness has perished, he reflects that God sits in heaven perfectand unchanged, from whom it became him to look for the restoration of order from this state ofmiserable confusion. He does not simply say that God dwells in heaven; but that he reigns there,as it were, in a royal palace, and has his throne of judgment there. �or do we indeed render tohim the honor which is his due, unless we are fully persuaded that his judgment-seat is a sacredsanctuary for all who are in affliction and unrighteously oppressed. When, therefore, deceit,craft, treachery, cruelty, violence, and extortion, reign in the world; in short, when all things arethrown into disorder and darkness by injustice and wickedness, let faith serve as a lamp toenable us to behold God’s heavenly throne, and let that sight suffice to make us wait in patiencefor the restoration of things to a better state. The temple of his holiness, or his holy temple, whichis commonly taken for Sion, doubtless here signifies heaven; and that it does so is clearly shownby the repetition in the next clause, Jehovah has his throne in Heaven; for it is certain Davidexpresses the same thing twice.His eyes behold. Here he infers, from the preceding sentence, that nothing is hidden from God,and that, therefore, men will be obliged to render up to him an account of all that they have done.If God reigns in heaven, and if his throne is erected there, it follows that he must necessarilyattend to the affairs of men, in order one day to sit in judgment upon them. Epicurus, and suchlike him as would persuade themselves that God is idle, and indulges in repose in heaven, may besaid rather to spread for him a couch on which to sleep than to erect for him a throne ofjudgment. But it is the glory of our faith that God, the Creator of the world, does not disregard orabandon the order which he himself at first established. And when he suspends his judgments fora time, it becomes us to lean upon this one truth that he beholds from heaven; just as we now seeDavid contenting himself with this consolatory consideration alone, that God rules over mankind,and observes whatever is transacted in the world, although his knowledge, and the exercise of hisjurisdiction, are not at first sight apparent. This truth is still more clearly explained in what isimmediately added in the fifth verse, that God distinguishes between the righteous and theunrighteous, and in such a way as shows that he is not an idle spectator; for he is said to approve

the righteous, and to hate the wicked The Hebrew word בחן ,bachan, which we have rendered toapprove, often signifies to examine or try. But in this passage I explain it as simply meaning, that

God so inquires into the cause of every man as to distinguish the righteous from the wicked. It isfarther declared, that God hates those who are set upon the infliction of injuries, and upon doingmischief. As he has ordained mutual intercourse between men, so he would have us to maintain itinviolable. In order, therefore, to preserve this his own sacred and appointed order, he must bethe enemy of the wicked, who wrong and are troublesome to others. There is also here contrastedGod’s hatred of the wicked, and wicked men’s love of iniquity, to teach us that those who pleaseand flatterthemselves in their mischievous practices gain nothing by such flatteries, and onlydeceive themselves.

5 The LORD examines the righteous, but the wicked, those who love violence, he hates with a passion.

1. Barnes, “The Lord trieth the righteous - That is, he “proves” them, searches them, tests the reality oftheir piety. His dealings with them are such as to test the genuineness of their religion, and are designed toshow their sincerity and the real power of their religious principles. It is not for the purpose of destroyingthem, or punishing them, that he deals with them as he does, but it is to show the reality of theirattachment to him. This language seems here to be used to show the feeling of the persecuted and afflictedauthor of the psalm. He understood the reason why these calamities were suffered to come upon him - towit, as a trial of his faith; and therefore it was his duty to remain and bear these troubles, and not toattempt to escape from them by flight. He says, therefore, that these troubles in the case of the righteouswere 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 anddestroying; in the case of the righteous it was to “try” them, or to test the reality of their religion.

But the wicked - The wicked in general. All the wicked.

And him that loveth violence - Referring particularly here to those who were engaged in persecutinghim who was the author of this psalm. They were contemplating acts of violence toward him Psa_11:2; hesays 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 ishere referred to as having a soul - as he is elsewhere as having eyes, hands, or feet. The meaning is, that allsuch 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 persecutedauthor of the psalm, instead of fleeing, calmly committed himself and his cause to God.

2. Clarke, “The Lord trieth the righteous - He does not abandon them; he tries them to show theirfaithfulness, and he afflicts them for their good.

His soul hateth - The wicked man must ever be abhorred of the Lord; and the violent man - thedestroyer and murderer - his soul hateth; an expression of uncommon strength and energy: all theperfections of the Divine nature have such in abomination.

3. Gill, “The Lord trieth the righteous,.... As gold is tried in the fire, by afflictive providences; hereby hetries their graces, their faith, and patience, their hope, and love, and fear; and, by so doing, expresses hislove 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;

but the wicked, and him that loveth violence, his soul hateth; that is, such who live in a course of sin andwickedness, and who not only do injury to the persons, characters, and properties of men, but love it, anddelight therein, and also take pleasure in them that do the same: these God has a continued and inwardaversion to; sin and wickedness being the abominable thing his righteous soul hates: and he shows hishatred to them, by not chastising them now, as he does his own people, but reserving everlastingpunishment for them hereafter; see Pro_13:24.

4. Henry, “That, if he afflict good people, it is for their trial and therefore for their good, Psa_11:5. TheLord tries all the children of men that he may do them good in their latter end, Deu_8:16. Let not thattherefore shake our foundations nor discourage our hope and trust in God.

V. That, however persecutors and oppressors may prosper and prevail awhile, they now lie under, andwill for ever perish under, the wrath of God. 1. He is a holy God, and therefore hates them, and cannotendure to look upon them: The wicked, and him that loveth violence, his soul hateth; for nothing is morecontrary to the rectitude and goodness of his nature. Their prosperity is so far from being an evidence ofGod's love that their abuse of it does certainly make them the objects of his hatred. He that hates nothingthat he has made, yet hates those who have thus ill-made themselves. Dr. Hammond offers anotherreading of this verse: The Lord trieth the righteous and the wicked (distinguishes infallibly between them,which is more than we can do), and he that loveth violence hateth his own soul, that is, persecutors bring

certain ruin upon themselves (Pro_8:36), as follows here.”

5. Spurgeon, “"The Lord trieth the righteous:" he doth not hate them, but only tries them. Theyare precious to him, and therefore he refines them with afflictions. �one of the Lord's childrenmay hope to escape from trial, nor, indeed, in our right minds, would any of us desire to do so, fortrial is the channel of many blessings.

"Tis my happiness below�ot to live without the cross;

But the Saviour's power to know,Sanctifying every loss.

* * * * * * * *

Trials make the promise sweet;Trials give new life to prayer;Trials bring me to his feet—

Lay me low, and keep me there.

Did I meet no trials here—�o chastisement by the way—Might I not, with reason, fearI should prove a cast-away?

Bastards may escape the rod,Sunk in earthly vain delight;

But the true-born child of GodMust not—would not, if he might."

William Cowper.

Is not this a very cogent reason why we should not distrustfully endeavour to shun a trial?—forin so doing we are seeking to avoid a blessing.”

6. Treasury of David, “Verse 5. "The Lord trieth the righteous." Except our sins, there is not suchplenty of anything in all the world as there is of troubles which come from sin, as one heavymessenger came to Job after another. Since we are not in paradise, but in the wilderness, we mustlook for one trouble after another. As a bear came to David after a lion, and a giant after a bear,and a king after a giant, and Philistines after a king, so, when believers have fought with poverty.they shall fight with envy; when they have fought with envy, they shall fight with infamy; whenthe have fought with infamy, they shall fight with sickness; they shall be like a labourer who isnever out of work. Henry Smith.

Verse 5. "The Lord trieth the righteous." Times of affliction and persecution will distinguish theprecious from the vile, it will difference the counterfeit professor from the true. Persecution is aChristian's touchstone, it is a lapis lydius that will try what metal men are made of, whether theybe silver or tin, gold or dross, wheat or chaff, shadow or substance, carnal or spiritual, sincere orhypocritical. �othing speaks out more soundness and uprightness than a pursuing after holiness,even then when holiness is most afflicted, pursued, and persecuted in the world: to stand fast infiery trials argues much integrity within. Thomas Brooks.

Verse 5. �ote the singular opposition of the two sentences. God hates the wicked, and therefore incontrast he loves the righteous; but it is here said that he tries them: therefore it follows that totry and to love are with God the same thing. C. H. S.

7. McGee, “"The LORD trieth the righteous" is better translated "the Lord tests the righteous."God knows who are His own, and He will test His children. He tests me and He may be testing you. And that doesn't mean He hates us. He is testing us for our good and His glory. "But thewicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth." If you think God is just lovey-dovey, youhad better read this and some of the other psalms again. God hates the wicked who hold on totheir wickedness. I don't think God loves the devil. I think God hates him, and He hates thosewho have no intention of turning to Him. Frankly, I do not like this distinction that I hear todaythat, "God loves the sinner, but He hates the sin." God has loved you so much that He gave HisSon to die for you; but if you persist in your sin and continue in that sin, you are the enemy ofGod. And God is your enemy. God wants to save you, and He will save you if you turn to Him andforsake your iniquity. Until then, may I say, God is not a lovey-dovey, sentimental, old gentlemanfrom Georgia.

8. Ron Daniel, “We've heard so often that God is a God of love. Indeed, the Scripture says,1John 4:8 ... God is love. But because of this, are we justified in saying, "God loves everyone"?Maybe not, because the Bible mentions God's hatred of certain people serveral times: Ps. 5:4-5For Thou art not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; �o evil dwells with Thee. The boastfulshall not stand before Thine eyes; Thou dost hate all who do iniquity.

Prov. 6:16, 19 There are six things which the LORD hates... A false witness {who} utters lies, Andone who spreads strife among brothers. And it says here in Psalm 11 that God hates those wholove violence. We read in the book of Malachi, Mal. 1:2-3 "I have loved you," says the LORD.But you say, "How hast Thou loved us?" " {Was} not Esau Jacob's brother?" declares theLORD. "Yet I have loved Jacob; but I have hated Esau, and I have made his mountains adesolation, and {appointed} his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness." The descendants ofEsau, who was also called Edom, loved violence. The Edomites violently opposed the Israelites,and were made stubble.

�ow, the real mystery is if or when God ceases to love someone and begins to hate them. Arethere some people that God has never loved? Or does He stop loving them when they finally andcompletely reject His Holy Spirit's prompting to believe in Jesus Christ - when they commit theblasphemy of the Holy Spirit? Or is this concept of hate and love being mutually exclusive amisunderstanding on our part - that maybe God can love a lost sinner, yet hate him at the sametime? I honestly don't know - I don't have the answer for such a mystery as this. But I do knowthat when we encounter a mystery of this sort, we need to rely on what we do know for sure. Andwe do know this: John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. The basic truth is that Godloves any sinner who will repent and receive His Son, but without repentance and acceptance ofJesus, there will be, sooner or later, a terrible judgment from the Lord.

6 On the wicked he will rain fiery coals and burning sulfur; a scorching wind will be their lot.

1. Barnes, “Upon the wicked - Upon all the wicked.He shall rain - He shall pour down as in a furious tempest.

Snares - It seems rather incongruous to speak of raining down “snares, “ - understanding bythe word snares, as it is used with us, that which entangles, as the snares by which we catch abird, or by which a wild animal is taken. Compare the notes at Job_18:8-10. The word used here,however, seems to refer to anything by which one is taken in his career or course, or is involved indifficulties; and the meaning is, that God would arrest or seize upon the wicked, as a wild beast issecured by the snares or the toils of the hunter. By their being sent down as in a “rain,” is denotedthat such means of their arrest and punishment would exist in abundance, so that they could notescape.

Fire and brimstone - There is probably an allusion here to the destruction of Sodom andGomorrah, Gen_19:24. As those cities were eminent for their wickedness, and were destroyed onaccount of their guilt, they furnished an illustration of the manner in which God would treat thewicked in all future times. As they were destroyed on account of their wickedness, so will all thewicked be destroyed.

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

This shall be the portion of their cup - That is, this shall be what they shall drink. See the noteat Isa_51:17. The idea is, that the Lord holds out to them a cup for them to drink - a cupcontaining a deadly mixture. The allusion is to the mode of administering punishment by apoisonous draught - not an unfrequent mode of punishment in ancient times. The idea in thewhole verse is, that the wicked would be destroyed, and that, therefore, there was nothingultimately to be apprehended from them. God would protect his own friends, and would destroyall those that sought their hurt. In these circumstances the righteous should confide in him astheir protector, and not “flee.”

2. Clarke, “Upon the wicked he shall rain - This is a manifest allusion to the destruction of Sodomand Gomorrah.

Snares - Judgments shall fall upon them suddenly and unawares.

Fire - Such as shall come immediately from God, and be inextinguishable.

Brimstone - Melted by the fire, for their drink! This shall be the portion of their cup.

A horrible tempest - רוח זלעפות roach zilaphoth, “the spirit of terrors.” Suffering much, andbeing threatened with more, they shall be filled with confusion and dismay. My old MS. has “gostof stormis.” See at the end, Psa_11:7 (note). Or, the blast of destructions. This may refer to thehorribly suffocating Arabian wind, called Smum.

Mohammed, in describing his hell, says, “The wicked shall drink nothing there but hot stinkingwater; breathe nothing but burning winds; and eat nothing but the fruit of the tree zakon, whichshall be in their bellies like burning pitch.” Hell enough!

The portion of their cup - Cup is sometimes put for plenty, for abundance; but here it seems tobe used to express the quantum of sorrow and misery which the wicked shall have on the earth.See Psa_75:8; Isa_51:17, Isa_51:21-23; Jer_25:15; Jer_49:12; Lam_4:21, Lam_4:22. It is alsoused in reference to the afflictions of the righteous, Mat_20:22; Mat_26:39, Mat_26:42;Joh_18:11.

We find a similar metaphor among the heathens. The following, from Homer, Il. xxiv., ver. 525,is in point: -

Such is, alas! the god’s severe decree,They, only they are bless’d, and only free.Two urns by Jove’s high throne have ever stood,The source of evil one, and one of good.From thence the Cup of mortal man he fills:Blessings to these; to those distributes ills.To most he mingles both: the wretch decreedTo taste the bad unmixed, is curs’d indeed.

- Pope.

3. Gill, “ Upon the wicked,.... The wicked one, the man of sin, antichrist, and upon all thatworship the beast and his image, on all persecutors, and upon all wicked men in general:

he shall rain snares, fire, and brimstone, and an horrible tempest; this will be in hell, as Jarchiobserves. The allusion is to the Lord's raining fire and brimstone from heaven upon Sodom andGomorrah, which was an example and emblem of eternal fire; see Gen_19:24. For the beast andthe false prophet, and all the antichristian party, and all wicked men, will have their part in thelake which burns with fire and brimstone. The phrases used express the dreadfulness andhorribleness 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,Job_20:23; nor will there be any escaping it, it will be inevitable: therefore "snares" are said tobe "rained"; the wicked will be snared in the works of their own hands; they will be taken andheld 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 astorm of fire. The word rendered "snares" is by some thought to be the same with פחמים,

"burning coals"; and may signify burning stones, hot thunderbolts; see Psa_18:13; "fire" maysignify lightning, with its dreadful flashes, and which burn and consume in an instant; and"brimstone" the nauseous scent and smell, which always attend lightning and thunder, asnaturalists observe (x): and the words for "an horrible tempest" signify a burning wind: so thatthey all serve to convey horrible ideas of the punishment of the wicked in hell. The Targum callsthem "showers of vengeance";

this shall be the portion of their cup; which will be measured out to them in proportion to theirsins, and which God, in righteous judgment, has appointed for them; and which they shall alldrink of, and wring out the very dregs of it.

4. Henry, “He is a righteous Judge, and therefore he will punish them, Psa_11:6. Theirpunishment will be, (1.) Inevitable: Upon the wicked he shall rain snares. Here is a doublemetaphor, to denote the unavoidableness of the punishment of wicked men. It shall be rainedupon them from heaven (Job_20:23), against which there is no fence and from which there is noescape; see Jos_10:11; 1Sa_2:10. It shall surprise them as a sudden shower sometimes surprisesthe traveller in a summer's day. It shall be as snares upon them, to hold them fast, and keep themprisoners, till the day of reckoning comes. (2.) Very terrible. It is fire, and brimstone, and a

horrible tempest, which plainly alludes to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and very fitly,for that destruction was intended for a figure of the vengeance of eternal fire, Jud_1:7. The fire ofGod's wrath, fastening upon the brimstone of their own guilt, will burn certainly and furiously,will burn to the lowest hell and the utmost line of eternity. What a horrible tempest are thewicked hurried away in at death! What a lake of fire and brimstone must they make their bed infor ever, in the congregation of the dead and damned! It is this that is here meant; it is this thatshall be the portion of their cup, the heritage appointed them by the Almighty and allotted tothem, Job_20:29. This is the cup of trembling which shall be put into their hands, which theymust drink the dregs of, Psa_75:8. Every man has the portion of his cup assigned him. Those whochoose the Lord for the portion of their cup shall have what they choose, and be for ever happy intheir choice (Psa_16:5); but those who reject his grace shall be made to drink the cup of his fury,Jer_25:15; Isa_51:17; Hab_2:16.”

5. Spurgeon, “"But the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth:" why, then, shall I fleefrom these wicked men? If God hateth them, I will not fear them. Haman was very great in thepalace until he lost favour, but when the king abhorred him, how bold were the meanestattendants to suggest the gallows for the man at whom they had often trembled! Look at theblack mark upon the faces of our persecutors, and we shall not run away from them. If God is inthe quarrel as well as ourselves, it would be foolish to question the result, or avoid the conflict.Sodom and Gomorrah perished by a fiery hail, and by a brimstone shower from heaven; so shallall the ungodly. They may gather together like Gog and Magog to battle, but the Lord will rainupon them "an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone:" Ezekiel 38:22. Someexpositors think that in the term "horrible tempest," there is in the Hebrew an allusion to thatburning, suffocating wind, which blows across the Arabian deserts, and is known by the name ofSimoom. "A burning storm," Lowth calls it, while another great commentator reads it"wrathwind;" in either version the language is full of terrors. What a tempest will that be whichshall overwhelm the despisers of God! Oh! what a shower will that be which shall pour out itselffor ever upon the defenceless heads of impenitent sinners in hell! Repent, ye rebels, or this fierydeluge shall soon surround you. Hell's horrors shall be your inheritance, your entailed estate,"the portion of your cup." The dregs of that cup you shall wring out, and drink for ever. A drop

of hell is terrible, but what must a full cup of torment be? Think of it—a cup of misery, but not adrop of mercy. O people of God, how foolish is it to fear the faces of men who shall soon befaggots in the fire of hell! Think of their end, their fearful end, and all fear of them must bechanged into contempt of their threatenings, and pity for their miserable estate.”

6. Treasury of David, “Verse 6. "Upon the wicked he shall rain snares." Snares to hold them; thenif they be not delivered, follow fire and brimstone, and they cannot escape. This is the case of asinner if he repent not; if God pardon not, he is in the snare of Satan's temptation, he is in thesnare of divine vengeance; let him therefore cry aloud for his deliverance, that he may have hisfeet in a large room. The wicked lay snares for the righteous, but God either preventeth them thattheir souls ever escape them, or else he subverteth them: "The snares are broken and we aredelivered." �o snares hold us so fast as those of our own sins; they keep down our heads, andstoop us that we cannot look up: a very little ease they are to him that hath not a searedconscience. Samuel Page, 1646.Verse 6. "He shall rain snares." As in hunting with the lasso, the huntsman casts a snare fromabove upon his prey to entangle its head or feet, so shall the Lord from above with manytwistings of the line of terror, surround, bind, and take captive the haters of his law. C. H. S.

Verse 6. "He shall rain snares," etc. He shall rain upon them when they least think of it, even inthe midst of their jollity, as rain falls on a fair day. Or, he shall rain down the vengeance when hesees good, for it rains not always. Though he defers it, yet it will rain. William &icholson, Bishop

of Gloucester, in "David's Harp Strung and Tuned," 1662.

Verse 6. "Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest." Thestrange dispensation of affairs in this world is an argument which doth convincingly prove thatthere shall be such a day wherein all the involucra and entanglements of providence shall beclearly unfolded. Then shall the riddle be dissolved, why God hath given this and that profanewretch so much wealth, and so much power to do mischief: is it not that they might be destroyed

for ever? Then shall they be called to a strict account for all that plenty and prosperity for whichthey are now envied; and the more they have abused, the more dreadful will their condemnationbe. Then it will be seen that God gave them not as mercies, but as "snares." It is said that God"will rain on the wicked snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest:" when he scattersabroad the desirable things of this world, riches, honours, pleasures, etc., then he rains "snares"

upon them; and when he shall call them to an account for these things, then he will rain uponthem "fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest" of his wrath and fury. Dives, who caroused onearth, yet, in hell could not obtain so much as one poor drop of water to cool his scorched andflaming tongue: had not his excess and intemperance been so great in his life, his fiery thirst hadnot been so tormenting after death; and therefore, in that sad item that Abraham gives him(Luke 16:25), he bids him "remember that thou, in thy lifetime, receivedst thy good things, and

likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented." I look upon this as amost bitter and a most deserved sarcasm; upbraiding him for his gross folly, in making the triflesof this life his good things. Thou hast received thy good things, but now thou art tormented. Oh,never call Dive's purple and delicious fare good things, if they thus end in torments! Was it goodfor him to be wrapped in purple who is now wrapped in flames? Was it good for him to faredeliciously who was only thereby fatted up against the day of slaughter? Ezekiel Hopkins.

Verse 6. "Snares, fire and brimstone, storm and tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup."

After the judgment follows the condemnation: pre-figured as we have seen, by the overthrow ofSodom and Gomorrah. "Snares:" because the allurements of Satan in this life will be their worstpunishments in the next; the fire of anger, the brimstone of impurity, the tempest of pride, the

lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. "This shall be their portion;" compare itwith the psalmist's own saying, "The Lord himself is the portion of my inheritance and my cup."Psalm 16:5. Cassidorus, in J. M. &eale's Commentary.

Verse 6. "The portion of their cup." Hebrew, the allotment of their cup. The expression hasreference to the custom of distributing to each guest his mess of meat. William French and George

Skinner, 1842.

7. Calvin, “He will rain upon the ungodly. David now, in the last place, lays it down as a certaintruth, that although God, for a time, may be still and delay his judgments, yet the hour ofvengeance will assuredly come. Thus we see how by degrees he rises up to the hope of a happyissue to his present affliction, and he uses his efforts to attain this, that the social and moraldisorder, which he saw prevailing around him, might not weaken his faith. As the tribunal of Godremains firm and immovable, he, in the first place, sustains and comforts himself from theconsideration, that God from on high beholds all that is done here below. In the next place, heconsiders what the office of judge requires, from which he concludes, that the actions of mencannot escape the inspection of God’s omniscient eye, and that although he does not immediatelypunish their evil deeds, he hates all the wicked. Finally, he adds, that since God is armed withpower, this hatred will not be in vain or ineffectual. Thus while God defers the infliction ofpunishment, the knowledge of his justice will have a powerful influence in maintaining our faith,until he actually show that he has never departed from his watch-tower, from which he beholds

the actions of men. 248 248 “De la quelle il contemple les faits des hommes.” — Fr. Heappropriately compares the punishments which God inflicts to rain. As rain is not constant, butthe Lord sends it forth when he pleases; and, when the weather is calmest and most serene,suddenly raises a storm of hail or violent showers of rain; in like manner, it is here intimated thatthe vengeance which will be inflicted on the wicked will come suddenly, so that, when they shallbe indulging in mirth, and intoxicated with their pleasures, and “when they shall say, Peace and

safety, sudden destruction will come upon them.” 249 249 “Et qu’ils diront paix et asseurancemort soudaine leur advient h’a.” — Fr. At the same time, David here evidently alludes to thedestruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. As the prophets, when they would promise the grace ofGod to the elect, remind them of the deliverance from Egypt, which God wrought in behalf of hisancient people, so when they would alarm the wicked, they threaten them with a destruction likethat which befell Sodom and Gomorrah, and they do so upon good grounds; since Jude, in hisEpistle, tells us that these cities “are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal

fire,” (Jude 1:7) The Psalmist, with much beauty and propriety, puts snares 250 250 Horsley

reads, “glowing embers.” Lowth renders the word “live coals,” and observes, that פתים, pachim,

means globes of fire, or simply the lightning. “This,” says he, “is certainly more agreeable to thecontext than snares. The root is puach, which, though it sometimes means to ensnare, yet morefrequently means to breathe forth, or emit, fire, for instance. Ezekiel 21:31, ‘In the fire of mywrath I will blow upon thee.’ The Ammonites are spoken of as thrown into the furnace of thedivine wrath: compare Ezekiel 22:21, where almost the same words occur, except that thecorresponding (and in this case synonymous) verb apach is made use of, whence mapnach, abellows, Jeremiah 6:29. In the same sense the verb puach is introduced, Proverbs 29:8, ‘Scornerswill inflame a city.’ From this explication of the root puach, the word pach, a coal blown up, isrightly derived.” — Sacred Poetry of the Hebrews, volume. 1, pp. 194, 195. Lowth also states, thatthe Orientals sometimes call the lightning snares or chains, probably from the continualcoruscations of the lightning in its passage through the air, which seem to be connected with each

other like a chain. Hengstenberg, however, opposes this exposition, and adopts and defends thatwhich Calvin has given. “ פחים,” says he, “must here, according to most expositors, be taken as afigurative designation of lightning, which is alleged to be called also by the Arabians, in prose andpoetry, by the name of chains. But it is a sufficient objection to this meaning, that פח does notsignify cord, in general, but specially, gin, snare, trap.” In proof of this, he quotes Psalm 9:15; Job18:9; 22:10; Isaiah 24:17, 18; Proverbs 22:5. “The expression, that he will rain,” says he, “canpresent no proper difficulty, as it simply points to the fullness of God’s retributive judgments,noticed already by Luther, when he says, that by it the prophet indicates the great variety andmultitude of the evils threatened.” before fire and brimstone. We see that the ungodly, while Godspares them, fear nothing, but give themselves ample scope in their wayward courses, like horses

let loose 251 251 “Ainsi que des chevaux desbridez.” — Fr. in an open field; and then, if they seeany adversity impending over them, they devise for themselves ways of escape; in short, theycontinually mock God, as if they could not be caught, unless he first entangle and hold them fastin his snares. God, therefore, begins his vengeance by snares, shutting up against the wickedevery way of escape; and when he has them entangled and bound, he thunders upon themdreadfully and horribly, like as he consumed Sodom and the neighboring cities with fire fromheaven. The word זלעפות, zilaphoth, which we have rendered whirlwinds, is by some translated

kindlings or burnings; and by others, commotions or terrors. 252 252 Dr Adam Clarke renders thewords רוה זלעפות, ruach zilaphoth, “the spirit of terrors,” and states, that “this may refer to thehorribly suffocat ing Arabian wind called Sinurn.” Bishop Lowth translates the words, “aburning storm,” upon which Michaelis observes, “This is an admirable image, and is taken fromthe school of nature. The wind zilgaphoth, which blows from the east, is very pestilential, and,therefore, almost proverbial among the Orientals Many wonderful stories are related of its effectsby the Arabians, and their poets feign that the wicked, in their place of eternal torment, are tobreathe this pestiferous wind as their vital air.” — Lowth’s Sacred Poetry, vol. 1, p. 193.Hengstenberg translates the words wrath-wind, and explains them as simply meaning the divineanger which breaks forth as a tempest; and observes, that the vehemence of the anger is denotedby the plural number. In opposition to the rendering burning wind, and to the opinion that thereis an allusion to the Arabian Samurn, he states, “The root, זעפ has, in Hebrew, the signification ofbeing angry, no other; and that of being hot, is not once to be found in the dialects.” But thecontext requires the interpretation which I have brought forward; for a tempest is raised bystormy winds, and then follow thunder and lightning.The portion of their cup. By this expression he testifies that the judgments of God will certainlytake effect, although ungodly men may delude themselves by deceitful flattery. This metaphor isfrequently to be met with in the Scriptures. As the carnal mind believes nothing with greaterdifficulty than that the calamities and miseries which seem to be fortuitous, happen according toa just distribution from God, he represents himself under the character of a householder, whodistributes to each member his portion or allowance. David, therefore, here intimates that there iscertainly a reward laid up for the ungodly; that it will be in vain for them to resist, when theLord shall reach to them the cup of his wrath to drink; and that the cup prepared for them is notsuch as they may sip drop by drop, but a cup, the whole of which they will be compelled to drink,as the prophet threatens,

(Ezekiel 23:34) “Thou shalt drink it off even to the dregs.”

7 For the LORD is righteous,

he loves justice; the upright will see his face.

1. Barnes, “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 therighteous as their friend, and being under his protection they have nothing to fear.

His countenance doth behold the upright - The word rendered “countenance” is, in theHebrew, in the plural number; literally,” his faces.” It is not easy to account for this use of theplural, though it is common in the Scriptures. There may be an allusion to the fact that manseems to have two faces - one on the right side, and one on the left, two eyes, two cheeks, twonostrils, etc., as if made up of two persons. Applied to God, it has no other signification than ithas when applied to man; nor should we seek to find anything mystical in the fact that the pluralform is used. The term here, like the eyelids in Psa_11:6, is equivalent to eyes, since the mostremarkable feature of the countenance is the eyes; and the idea is, that God looks upon theupright; that is, he sees their dangers amid their wants; he looks upon them with favor andaffection. Being thus constantly under his eye, and being objects of his favorable regard, they canhave nothing to fear; or, in other words, they are safe. This, then, is the argument of the righteousman, in reply to the suggestion Psa_11:1 that he should “flee” from danger. The argument is, thatGod would be his defender, and that he might safely rely on His protection. The wicked haveeverything to fear; the righteous, nothing. The one is never safe; the other, always. The one willbe delivered out of all his troubles; the end of the other can be only ruin.

2. Clarke, “The righteous Lord loveth righteousness - He loves that which resembles himself. Hiscountenance - his face - is ever open and unclouded to the upright. They always enjoy hissalvation, and know that he is pleased with them.

The preceding verse my old MS. translates and paraphrases thus: -

He sal rayne on synful, snares, fyre, brimstane, and gost of stormis.

Par - He Sal rayne on synful in this werld, snares, that es wiked Lare: fyre is covatyse:brunstane, that es stynk of il werkes: and post of stormis, that es a stormy though that eswithoutyn rest in Ihesu Crist, and ay es traveld with the wynd of the devel. Or the past ofstormys, es the last depertyng of synful fra ryghtwis men, and there fyre, brunston, storm, er partof the chalyie of thaim: that es, thai ar thair part in pyne. He cals thair pyne a “Cop”, for ilkdampned man sal drynk of the sorow of Hel, eftir the mesure of hys Syn. Behald the pynes ofwikid men: fyrst, God raynes upon thaim snares, that es qwen he suffers fals prophetes thatcomes in clathing of mekenes; and withinnen er wers than wolves, to desayf thaim thurgh errour.Sythen the fyre of lychery, and covatys wastes al the gude that thai haf done: eftirward for stynkof il werkes that er castyn fra Crist, and al his Halows, and then er in sentence of dome; as in agrete storme, dryven in til a pitte of Hel, to bryn in fyre withoutyn ende. This es the entent of thiswers.

For ryghtwis es Lord; and he lufes ryghtwisnes; evennes saw the face of hym - Yf ge ask qwy ourelorde yelded pyne to synful? lo here an answere; for he es rightwis. Als so if ge wil witt qwy hegifes ioy til gude men? Lo here an answere; for he lufed ryghtwisnes: that es, ryghtwis men, inthe qwilk er many ryghtwisneses: thof ane be the ryghtwisnes of God, in the qwilk al ryghtwisemen or parcenel. Evenes saw his face: that es, evenes es sene in his knawyng inence, both the

partys of gud and il. This es ogayne wryches at sais, If God saf me noght, I dar say he esunryghtwis: bot thof thai say it now, qwen he suffris wryched men errour in thought, and wordeand dede; thai sal noght be so hardy to speke a worde qwen he comes to dampne thaire errour.Bot who so lufes here and haldes that na unevenes may be in hym, qwam so he dampnes, orqwam so he saves, he sal have thaire myght to stand and to speke gude space. �ow er swilk in awonderful wodenes, that wenes for grete wordes to get ought of God.

The former part of this Psalm, Flee as a bird, etc., this ancient author considers as the voice ofheresy inviting the true Church to go away into error; and intimates that those who wereseparating from haly kyrk were very pure, and unblameable in all their conduct; and thatmountain or hill, as he translates it, signifies eminent virtues, of which they had an apparentlygood stock. So it appears that those called heretics lived then a holier life than those called halowsor saints.

3. Gill, “For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness,.... The Lord is righteous in himself, and inall his ways and works; and therefore righteousness, as it lies both in punishing the wicked, andin maintaining the righteous cause of his people, must be loved by him, it being agreeable to hisnature: he loves to exercise righteousness in the earth, to administer it to and among men; this hedelights 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 honourable; and he is well pleased with hispeople, as they are clothed with it: and he approves of their righteous actions, as they are done inobedience 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 doth behold the upright; whom wicked men privily shoot at, Psa_11:2; Godlooks with pleasure upon them, and takes delight in them, and takes care of them, protects anddefends them, and at last saves them; and which, with all that goes before, was an encouragementto David to trust in the Lord; see Psa_7:10; and moreover, the Lord lifts up the light of hiscountenance on such, and indulges them with his gracious presence, than which nothing is morecomfortable and desirable. Some choose to render the word, "their countenance" (y), meaningthe trinity of Persons, Father, Son, and Spirit, who all have a gracious regard to such: othersrender the clause thus, "the upright shall see his face", the face of God; so the Chaldeeparaphrase and the Arabic version; see Psa_17:15.

4. Jamison, “his countenance — literally, “their faces,” a use of the plural applied to God, as inGen_1:26; Gen_3:22; Gen_11:7; Isa_6:8, etc., denoting the fullness of His perfections, or moreprobably originating in a reference to the trinity of persons. “Faces” is used as “eyes” (Psa_11:4),expressing here God’s complacency towards the upright (compare Psa_34:15, Psa_34:16).

5. Henry, “ That, though honest good people may be run down and trampled upon, yet God doesand will own them, and favour them, and smile upon them, and that is the reason why God willseverely reckon with persecutors and oppressors, because those whom they oppress andpersecute are dear to him; so that whosoever toucheth them toucheth the apple of his eye,

Psa_11:7. 1. He loves them and the work of his own grace in them. He is himself a righteous God,and therefore loves righteousness wherever he finds it and pleads the cause of the righteous thatare injured and oppressed; he delights to execute judgment for them, Psa_103:6. We must hereinbe followers of God, must love righteousness as he does, that we may keep ourselves always in hislove. He looks graciously upon them: His countenance doth behold the upright; he is not only atpeace with them, and puts gladness into their hearts, by letting them know that he is so. He, like a

tender father, looks upon them with pleasure, and they, like dutiful children, are pleased andabundantly satisfied with his smiles. They walk in the light of the Lord.

In singing this psalm we must encourage and engage ourselves to trust in God at all times, mustdepend upon him to protect our innocence and make us happy, must dread his frowns as worsethan death and desire his favour as better than life.”

6. Spurgeon, “The delightful contrast of the last verse is well worthy of our observation, and itaffords another overwhelming reason why we should be stedfast, unmoveable, not carried awaywith fear, or led to adopt carnal expedients in order to avoid trial. "For the righteous Lord loveth

righteousness." It is not only his office to defend it, but his nature to love it. He would denyhimself if he did not defend the just. It is essential to the very being of God that he should be just;fear not, then, the end of all your trials, but "be just, and fear not." God approves, and, if menoppose, what matters it? "His countenance doth behold the upright." We need never be out ofcountenance, for God countenances us. He observes, he approves, he delights in the upright. Hesees his own image in them, an image of his own fashioning, and therefore with complacency heregards them. Shall we dare to put forth our hand unto iniquity in order to escape affliction? Letus have done with by-ways and short turnings, and let us keep to that fair path of right alongwhich Jehovah's smile shall light us. Are we tempted to put our light under a bushel, to concealour religion from our neighbours? Is it suggested to us that there are ways of avoiding the cross,and shunning the reproach of Christ? Let us not hearken to the voice of the charmer, but seek anincrease of faith, that we may wrestle with principalities and powers, and follow the Lord, fullygoing without the camp, bearing his reproach. Mammon, the flesh, the devil, will all whisper inour ear, "Flee as a bird to your mountain;" but let us come forth and defy them all. "Resist thedevil, and he will flee from you." There is no room or reason for retreat. Advance! Let thevanguard push on! To the front! all ye powers and passions of our soul. On! on! in God's name,on! for "the Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge."

7. Treasury of David, “Verse 7. That God may give grace without glory is intelligible; but to admita man to communion with him in glory without grace, is not intelligible. It is not agreeable toGod's holiness to make any inhabitant of heaven, and converse freely with him in a way ofintimate love, without such a qualification of grace: "The righteous Lord loveth righteousness;"

his countenance doth behold the upright;" he looks upon him with a smiling eye, and therefore hecannot favourably look upon an unrighteous person; so that this necessity is not founded only inthe command of God that we should be renewed, but in the very nature of the thing, becauseGod, in regard to his holiness, cannot converse with an impure creature. God must change hisnature, or the sinner's nature must be changed. There can be no friendly communion betweentwo of different natures without the change of one of them into the likeness of the other. Wolvesand sheep, darkness and light, can never agree. God cannot love a sinner as a sinner, because hehates impurity by a necessity of nature as well as a choice of will. It is as impossible for him tolove it as to cease to be holy. Stephen Charnock.

8. Calvin, “For the righteous Jehovah loveth righteousness. The Psalmist has just now reasonedfrom the office of God that he will punish the wicked, and now, from the nature of God, heconcludes, that he will be the defender of the good and the upright. As he is righteous, Davidshows that, as the consequence of this, he must love righteousness, for otherwise he would denyhimself. Besides, it would be a cold speculation to conceive of righteousness as inherent in God,unless, at the same time, we could come to the settled conclusion that God graciously owns

whatever is his own, and furnishes evidence of this in the government of the world. Some thinkthat the abstract term righteousness is put for righteous persons. But, in my opinion, the literalsense is here more suitable, namely, that righteousness is well pleasing to God, and that,therefore, he favors good causes. From this the Psalmist concludes, that the upright are theobjects of his regard: His countenance approveth the upright He had said a little before in adifferent sense, that God beholds the children of men, meaning that he will judge the life of everyman; but here he means that God graciously exercises a special care over the upright and thesincere, takes them under his protection, and keeps them in perfect safety. This conclusion of thepsalm sufficiently shows, that the scope of the whole of it was to make it manifest that all thosewho, depending upon the grace of God, sincerely follow after righteousness, shall be safe underhis protection. The Psalmist himself was one of this number and, indeed, the very chief of them.This last clause, His countenance approveth the upright, is, indeed, variously explained; but thetrue meaning, I have no doubt, is, that God has always a regard for the upright, and never turnsaway his eyes from them. It is a strained interpretation to view the words as meaning that theupright shall behold the face of God. But I will not stop to refute the opinions of other men.”

9. Make Straight Paths, “The conclusion of the psalm sees the psalmist underscore hisoverarching theme: the Lord is just. The anthropomorphic reference to God’s face implies thefavour of the Lord. In fact, verse seven forms a chiasmic parallelism in which the basic elementsof verse five and six are echoed, but in reverse order: The Lord sees, He judges the wicked; Hejudges the righteous, who in turn see his face.

Conclusion

Psalm 11 is an expression of trust in the midst of doubt, of faith amid fear. The psalmist sings ofhis confidence in God while those around him speak words of discouragement. His trust does notcome from his own righteousness or from confidence in the strength of his weaponry, or from theLord’s anointing on his army, but rather his trust comes from an expression of absolutedependence upon the Lord’s justice, beside which doubts and fears seem absurd. It is this divinejustice that provides refuge, regardless of the calamities that surround; it is this justice thatinexorably propels the ‘wicked’ towards their fate, and the righteous into His favour. This psalmmay equally well refer to human enemies or to troubling circumstances. The psalmist sets anexample of honest prayer, as he lays his fears openly before the Lord, who, he affirms, is to betrusted in all.”

10. Scripture Studies, “Such judgment will come upon the wicked, "for the LORD is righteous"and "He loves justice." The coming judgment of God upon the wicked is not due to some morbiddesire by God to cause suffering, but is due to His righteous and holy character. God cannot,because of His righteousness, allow the wicked to go forever unpunished. At the same time,judgment is God's "strange work" and "alien task" (Isa. 28:21). He does not desire that any facethe fire of His wrath. Therefore, God has gone to great lengths to spare sinful men from Hiswrath. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us "in order that the righteous requirements ofthe law might be fully met in us" (Rom. 8:4). In doing so, He provided a way for even the wickedto be declared righteous, that is, by accepting Christ's sacrifice for their own sins. And so, God'srighteous judgment is satisfied by His wrath being poured out upon one righteous man, in thestead of millions of sinful men. It is these "upright men" (who were made "upright" through theacceptance of Christ's sacrifice for them) who, as David says, "will see His face." This is theeternal reward for which all Christians are waiting: to dwell in the presence of the Lord Most

High, imputed with the righteousness of Christ, and thus, able to bear the holiness of God.Yes, Lord, we anxiously wait for that day, when we will see You in all Your glory and embarkupon an eternal journey living in Your presence. May this day come soon! Send Your Son, as Youpromised many times, to gather Your people and bring them home. Until then, by Your Spirit,help us to imitate the faith of David, who, in the direst of straits, was able to put his trust in You.We ask these things in the name of Your Son, who made it possible for us to see Your face, Amen.

PSALM 11 I� POETRY

1. My refuge is the God of love;Why do my foes insult and cry,"Fly like a tim'rous, trembling dove,To distant woods or mountains fly?"

If government be all destroyed,(That firm foundation of our peace,)And violence make justice void,Where shall the righteous seek redress?

The Lord in heav'n has fixed his throne,His eye surveys the world below:To him all mortal things are known,His eyelids search our spirits through.

If he afflicts his saints so far,To prove their love and try their grace,What may the bold transgressors fear?His very soul abhors their ways.

On impious wretches he shall rainTempests of brimstone, fire, and death;Such as he kindled on the plainOf Sodom, with his angry breath.

The righteous Lord loves righteous souls,Whose thoughts and actions are sincere;And with a gracious eye beholdsThe men that his own image bear.

Isaac Watts

2. From Scottish Metrical Psalms 1650Meter: 8,6,8,6

1 I in the Lord do put my trust: how is it then that ye Say to my soul, Flee, as a bird, unto your mountain high?2 For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, their shafts on string they fit, That those who upright are in heart they privily may hit.

3 If the foundations be destroy'd, what hath the righteous done?4 God in his holy temple is, in heaven is his throne: His eyes do see, his eye-lids try5 men's sons. The just he proves: But his soul hates the wicked man, and him that vi'lence loves.

6 Snares, fire and brimstone, furious storms, on sinners he shall rain: This, as the portion of their cup, doth unto them pertain.7 Because the Lord most righteous doth in righteousness delight; And with a pleasant countenance beholdeth the upright.

3. Words: Brady and Tate, A �ew Version of the Psalms of David

1 Since I have placed my trust in God, a refuge always nigh, Why should I, like a tim'rous bird, to distant mountains fly ?

2 Behold, the wicked bend their bow, and ready fix their dart; Lurking in ambush to destroy the man of uptight heart.

3 When once the firm assurance fails which public faith imparts, 'Tis time for innocence to fly from such deceitful arts.

4 The Lord hath both a temple here, and righteous throne above;

Whence he surveys the sons of men, and how their counsels move.

5 If God the righteous, whom he loves, for trial does correct; What must the sons of violence, whom he abhors, expect?

6 Snares, fire, and brimstone on their heads shall in one tempest show'r; This dreadful mixture his revenge into their cup shall pour.

7 The righteous Lord will righteous deeds With signal favor grace; And to the upright man disclose the brightness of his face.

4. Words: The Psalter of the United Presbyterian Church of �orth America, 1887 ed. There are also Short Metre and Common Metre versions of this Psalm on this page

1 My trust is in the Lord Most High; Then to my soul why should ye say, Away to your lone mountain fly, Speed liked bird and flee away?

2 For lo! the wicked bend the bow, With skilful hand they aim the dart; Their arrows through the darkness go, To pierce the man of upright heart.

3 If the foundations be o'erthrown, Of what avail the righteous race? The Lord in heav'n has fixed his throne, And reigns within his holy place.

4 His eyes behold, his eyelids scan The sons of men, the just he tries. His soul doth hate the wicked man, And bold transgressors doth despise.

5 Snares, fire and brimstone, round their path, On wicked men the Lord shall rain; Dark tempests filled with burning wrath, Their cup's full portion shall remain.

6 The Lord is just in all his ways, And righteousness is his delight; To upright men his grace displays, And gives them favor in his sight.

1 My trust is in the Lord; How to my soul say ye, Away with speed, and like a bird To your high mountain flee?

2 Lo, sinners bend the bow; On string they fit the dart, That they unseen may shoot at those Who upright are in heart.

3 What can the righteous do? What can for them avail, If the foundations be destroyed And all they built on fail?

4 The Lord in Zion dwells, The Lord's throne is on high: His eyes behold the sons of men; Yea, them his eyelids try.

5 The Lord the righteous tries: But those that wicked be, And him who loveth violence In soul abhorreth he.

6 Fire, brimstone, snares, fierce storms, On sinners he shall rain; This is the portion of their cup, The cup which they shall drain.

7 Because the righteous Lord Delights in righteousness; And with his gracious countenance The upright he will bless.

1 I in Jehovah put my trust; Then wherefore say to me, As timid birds a refuge seek,

So to your mountain flee?

2 For, lo! the wicked bend the bow, On string their arrow fit, That those who upright are in heart In secret they may hit;

3 For if foundations be destroyed, What hath the righteous dour? Jehovah in his temple is, In heaven is his throne.

4 His eyes do see, his eyelids try Men's sons. The just he proves; But his soul hates the wicked man, And him that vi'lence loves.

5 Snares, fire, and brimstone, raging storms, On sinners he shall rain; This, as the portion of their cup, Shall unto them pertain.

6 Because the Lord most righteous doth In righteousness delight; And with a pleasant countenance Beholdeth the upright.

5. Words: Sternhold and Hopkins, The Whole Book of Psalms Collected into English Metre

1 In God the Lord I put my trust; why say ye to my soul, Unto the mountain swiftly fly, as doth the wing-ed fowl?

2 Behold, the wick-ed bend their bows their arrows they prepare, To shoot in secret at those, who sincere and upright are.

3 Of worldly hope all stays were shrunk, and clearly brought to naught: Alas! The just and upright man, what evil hath he wrought?

4 But he that in his temple is most holy and most high, And in the highest heav'ns doth sit

in royal majesty,

5 The poor and simple man's estate considers in his mind, And searcheth out full narrowly the manners of mankind;

6 And with a cheerful countenance the righteous man will use, But in his heart he doth abhor all such as mischief muse.

7 And on the sinners casteth snares as thick as hail or rain: Brimstone and fire, and whirlwinds great, appointed for their pain.

8 Ye see then how a righteous God doth righteousness embrace, And unto just and upright men shows forth his pleasant face.