Psalm - 11

Psalm - 11

Introduction

Sir Cliff Richards - “The more we depend on God, the more dependable we find he is.”

Psalm 11 gets right to the heart of that reality of depending on God because he is dependable. It is a Psalm of Confidence, as David shows strong confidence in God during unsettling times.

Steve Lawson - “Never do believers experience God to be so sufficient as when they find themselves in the most difficult times, confronted with trials beyond their control. It is in man’s extremities that he discovers God’s sufficiencies.”

Psalm 11:1-7 - To the choirmaster. Of David.

1 In the Lord I take refuge;

how can you say to my soul,

“Flee like a bird to your mountain,

2 for behold, the wicked bend the bow;

they have fitted their arrow to the string

to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart;

3 if the foundations are destroyed,

what can the righteous do?”

4 The Lord is in his holy temple;

the Lord's throne is in heaven;

his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.

5 The Lord tests the righteous,

but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.

6 Let him rain coals on the wicked;

fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.

7 For the Lord is righteous;

he loves righteous deeds;

the upright shall behold his face.

There seems to be some sort of national crisis that is prompting this psalm. Whatever this crisis is, it threatens to overturn the stability of Israel. Those loyal to David are counseling him flee, but he will have none of it.

Though we cannot pin down the actual historical event David is describing here, scholars do like to speculate. They narrow it down to a few events we have recorded:

Saul trying to kill David while he is serving in Saul’s court Saul hunting David in the wilderness Absalom’s rebellion

But we can know for sure that these are not the context of the Psalm. And here is how we know…during each of those times, David did in fact flee for his life! I think the only event that has any merit as the possible context is when Saul kills a bunch of priests. David has been on the run for some time from Saul. David and his companions come to the city of Nob, which is a city occupied exclusively by Israel’s priests. David goes to Ahimelech, who seems to be in charge of the city. David whips up a story as to why he is there so as not to tip off everyone that he is Saul’s enemy at this point. The priest gives David the holy bread that was part of the offering to God (Jesus references the account in Mark 2). While there David asks if they have any weapons they can give to him. The priests happen to be holding onto the sword of Goliath! They give it to him and send him on his way. They are completely ignorant of what David is doing.

Saul hears about it from Doeg, who had happened to be in Nob at the time David was there, and goes to Nob with a garrison of troops. He confronts Ahimelech and the priests. They deny any knowledge of David and Saul being enemies. And they are telling the truth. Here is Saul’s reply:

1 Samuel 22:16-19 - 16 And the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father's house.” 17 And the king said to the guard who stood about him, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because their hand also is with David, and they knew that he fled and did not disclose it to me.” But the servants of the king would not put out their hand to strike the priests of the Lord. 18 Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn and strike the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests, and he killed on that day eighty-five persons who wore the linen ephod. 19 And Nob, the city of the priests, he put to the sword; both man and woman, child and infant, ox, donkey and sheep, he put to the sword.

That event sent shockwaves throughout Israel. The king who is responsible for maintaining social order is the very one who is destroying it. A few chapters later in 1 Samuel 26, David accuses Saul of hunting him like a bird. And even though this is the only event that could potentially fit with what David says here in Psalm 11, David was on the run during that event. So it seems that we simply cannot know what event David is referencing, but that is ok. This is then a general event with an unknown background, yet presents a very real danger to David and the nation.

The psalm comes to us in two basic parts. The first part of the psalm in v. 1-3 is the danger of the situation, where v. 4-7 is the response. We could phrase it like this: v. 1-3 is the Temptation to Flee, while v. 4-7 shows us how David is Trusting in Faith.

TEMPTATION TO FLEE (V. 1-3)

v. 1 - David begins with a definitive statement that sets the tone for the entire psalm. In the Lord I take refuge.

While there may be a very real danger he is facing, David knows he is secure in Yahweh. It is his knowledge of, and love for Yahweh that makes David secure. Refuge - the word means to turn away from something to seek shelter or protection. The verb is in the present perfect, meaning that David’s trust of God has continued throughout all of his life. He has always sought shelter with God and he will not change his tactic now.

We’ve already seen the concept of ‘refuge’ in the Psalms. Psalm 2:12; 5:11; 7:1 A refuge was typically a mountain fortress that elevates you over the enemy and gives you a strategic advantage. You’ll be able to see the enemy coming from miles away. The fortress is virtually impenetrable. For David though, God is the mountain fortress. He is where I hide. He is where I find my confidence. God is all the protection I need. Again, this is a bit ironic because several times David did actually flee for his life. Fleeing is not always a sign of weakness or lack of trust in God. But there is something about this event in particular that makes David feel as if fleeing would be tantamount to betrayal of God. How can you say to my soul…apparently David is receiving counsel to flee. His military advisors, his political advisors, his friends and family, are telling him it is time to run. The ‘you’ is plural so he is getting this counsel from more than one person. These don’t appear to be David’s enemies threatening him and telling him to run away. They seem to be well-intentioned loyal followers who have David’s best interest at heart. And we will see that as we dissect what they say to him.

How can you say?…the counsel to flee is illogical if the first part of the verse is true. A fearful flee is incompatible with faith. To my soul…soul meaning his inmost being. As we’ve seen before, the word for ‘soul’ is the word for ‘throat’ or ‘breath.’ It refers to the inner man, who you are as a person. So they aren’t implying that David is going to suffer from a military setback or political battle. David himself is in danger. Flee like a bird to your mountain…scholars debate on whether this is a general statement to flee to the mountains or to some specific place. I think it is a pretty clear specific place they are referring to.

In 2 Samuel 5 David goes to war with the Jebusites and conquers the mountain fortress called Zion. This is the first mention of Mt. Zion in the Bible. David rebuilds it and renames it The City of David. It will later become his capital and is renamed the City of Jerusalem. This is why Jerusalem is often referred to as the City of David. Whenever Mt. Zion is referred to it means Jerusalem. Flee to your mountain…go to your military mountain stronghold and wait this out! Be safe. Fly like a bird to get there…hurry! v. 2 - this is the description of why David is in danger. The enemy is readying itself for battle.

The wicked…we will see them referred to here in v. 2 and again in v. 5 and v. 6. And we have already seen the wicked mentioned throughout the psalms so far.

Psalm 1:1,4,5,6; 3:7; 7:9,14:9:5,16,17; 10:2,3,4,13,15 The wicked are the ungodly in general. The word carries with it the idea that they are ones who stand guilty before God. Bend the bow…meaning they are preparing to attack. lit. Tread the bow, referring to standing on one end of the bow to bend it to attach the string. It is a progressive perfect, meaning it is happening as we speak. So there is an urgency to this counsel as the enemy is preparing to attack right now. Shoot [arrows] in the dark…could be taken figuratively as referring to words.

Psalm 64:1-4 - Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;

preserve my life from dread of the enemy.

2 Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,

from the throng of evildoers,

3 who whet their tongues like swords,

who aim bitter words like arrows,

4 shooting from ambush at the blameless,

shooting at him suddenly and without fear.

most likely to be taken literally, meaning there is a pending military attack that is coming. David and his nation are in very real danger. At the upright in heart…the enemy is coming after the righteous ones. Likely just a reference to the integrity and morality of the nation. They are God’s people, the righteous ones with the Righteous One on their side. Obviously those who would attack God’s people are considered the wicked, those who are intentionally coming after the righteous. v. 3 - this now comes down to the issue at hand…this is the key question at the heart of the counsel to flee. If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?

‘foundations’ refers most likely to social order (Psalm 82:5; Ezekiel 30:4). It is figurative for the established customs, laws, and general way of life for the community. It could possibly refer even to the pillars of society, the elite, the aristocracy, the politicians, law enforcement, the king himself. If law and order are destroyed, or if the king is killed, what can the righteous do? The question is rhetorical. The answer is clear…nothing. If the backbone of our society is destroyed, the righteous will have no power. We will have no recourse of action. So they counsel David to run and hide, because if he is safe, the nation itself is safe.

v. 4-7 are the response to their counsel. James Montgomery Boice called these verses “faith’s response to fear’s counsel.” Allan Ross calls these verses the “divine alternative” to their counsel. David now retorts.

TRUSTING IN FAITH (V. 4-7)

Notice in these four verses, David references Yahweh 4 separate times. He is definitely finding his confidence in God alone.

Psalm 90:1-2 - Lord, you have been our dwelling place

in all generations.

2 Before the mountains were brought forth,

or ever you had formed the earth and the world,

from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

And in his declaration of trust in God, he focuses in on different aspects of God and his character.

GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY (V. 4A)

The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven…typically when we think of God’s temple we are thinking of the one in Jerusalem, where he dwells on Earth. But that hasn’t been built yet. Solomon, David’s son builds that. This is referring to his heavenly dwelling, over and above all things. In fact, the Hebrew word for temple is the same word for palace. This is God’s home, his kingly court.

God forever reigns on his heavenly and holy throne. So if you are concerned about the foundations being destroyed and society being shaken, it is best to trust in the unshakeable reign of God. James Johnston - “Nothing happens in Heaven above, on the Earth around, or even in Hell below that he does not ordain and overrule.” Allen Ross - “The point is that the faithful fix their confidence on the heavenly sovereign and his plans, and not on earthly, human institutions.” I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…it is God’s sovereignty that is the most comforting doctrine for believers. This is why we can sleep at night. If God was not sovereign we’d have to stay up all night every night being anxious and alone.

GOD’S SCRUTINY (V. 4B-5)

his eyes see…that word for see means to gaze, to behold, to look intently, to scrutinize. This is God’s divine investigation into the happenings of earth. He has full awareness of all that takes place.

Remember, this is the theme of psalm 10. Psalm 10:11,14

Proverbs 15:3 - 3 The eyes of the Lord are in every place,

keeping watch on the evil and the good.

And it gets even more intense…his eyelids test…this is certainly and odd and unique phrase. His eyelids getting involved means he is squinting his eyes in focus. The eyelids have come into play and are narrowing the field of vision to the specific issue that is happening. The Lord tests the righteous…what does this mean? Is God punishing us by bringing these trials into life so that he can play games with our lives? What does it mean that God tests? The word he uses 2x here for ‘test’ means to examine. When you take a test at school, they are called exams because you are being examined. Same thing here. So not only is God aware of what is happening, he is using those events to see whether you are operating by faith or by fear.

One implication of God’s scrutinizing, all knowing gaze, is his seeing and determining what is happening in our lives and how we are responding. Because you cannot control what happens to you, but you can control how you respond. David is confident God will find that he is responding in faith. So bring on the challenges, because I know what God will find when he pokes around. This theme of testing is common in the Psalms.

Psalm 17:3 - 3 You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night,

you have tested me, and you will find nothing;

I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.

Psalm 26:2 - 2 Prove me, O Lord, and try me;

test my heart and my mind.

Psalm 66:10 - For you, O God, have tested us;

you have tried us as silver is tried.

That verse in particular shows the heart behind this testing. As silver is tried. The word was used to refer to the purifying of precious metals, called smelting. It is the process of intensely heating up the metal until the impurities rise to the surface and then scooping them off. Thus making the already valuable metal even more valuable. And notice that the psalmist continually is asking God, inviting God, to complete this process on himself.

Psalm 139:23 - Search me, O God, and know my heart!

Try me and know my thoughts!

this idea of testing is behind what Peter wrote about our faith.

1 Peter 1:3-9 - 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

now let’s look at the opposing side…the Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked…notice that the opposite of testing isn’t letting the wicked get away with anything. Testing here is contrasted with hatred. So this testing from God is an act of love for his righteous ones. The wicked receive no such love from him. He is not purifying and strengthening their faith. They don’t have any. He is in opposition to them.

These are strong words against the wicked. But again people like to focus on ‘God is love’ and ignore verses like this. All the wicked receive, likely best translated as the ‘wicked who loves violence’ is rejection and threat of wrath. His soul hates…soul referring to God’s entire being. Hate means to reject, while love means to accept. In Malachi 1 you have the famous statement from God that ‘Jacob I loved but Esau I hated.’ The Apostle Paul uses this phrase in Romans 9 to prove God’s sovereign choosing of those who are his own. What does it mean that he loved one and hated the other. It means, in context, that he chose Jacob and rejected Esau. God loves/accept the righteous and hates/rejects the wicked.

GOD’S SEVERITY (V. 6)

let him rain coals on the wicked…this is an interesting phrase. God has a history of raining coals/fire/sulfur on people. The most famous in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. God simply rains down fire on his enemies to destroy the wicked. That is his prayer here…God destroy the wicked.

Word for ‘coals’ literally translates as ‘trap.’ Specifically used for bird traps. So there is a bit of irony here with v. 1 being counseled to flee like a bird, now stating that God will trap with wicked like birds. Scorching wind…cold be translated as ‘burning breath’

Isaiah 11:4 - 4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,

and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;

and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,

and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

all of this is the portion of their cup…cup is a metaphor for life in general. Sometimes the portion of the cup is good…Psalm 23:5 my cup overflows…sometimes it is bad like in Isaiah 51:11 with the wicked drinking the cup of wrath. This is the result of God’s divine displeasure with the wicked. He bring wrath and judgement. And it is expressed here in the form of prayer or wish. And he could be implying it will be immediate (like Sodom and Gomorrah), or that it will be eventually at the destruction of the wicked. Though many don’t like the idea of God bringing wrath, we understand that wrath and love go together. They are linked together. For example, if you love your family, don’t you rightly bring wrath on those who would bring them harm? Precisely because God loves his people he brings wrath on those who would harm his Beloved.

GOD’S SUPPORT (V. 7)

for the Lord is righteous…that is linked to the statement right before it. God brings wrath and judgement…for he is righteous.

He loves righteous deeds (which he gets to define as the one who is righteous), meaning he accepts those who live righteously and rejects those who live unrighteously (those who are attacking David and Israel). The primary cause of judgment is God’s character. The upright…those who are currently being attacked (v. 2b) are those who will be rewarded. Shall behold his face…could be a metaphor for divine favor.

Numbers 6:24-26 - 24 The Lord bless you and keep you;

25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;

26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Psalm 30:7 - 7 By your favor, O Lord,

you made my mountain stand strong;

you hid your face;

I was dismayed.

but there is no reason to not also see this as literal. Because this is part of the promises from God for eternity.

1 John 3:1-2 - See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

Application

Charles Spurgeon - “God refines with afflictions.” Arno C. Gaebelein said of the question in v. 3 that it is the “burning question of our day.” If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? He said that in 1939. Infinitely more true today when the very moral fabric of our nation is being ripped apart. Though this is nothing new. There were no golden eras of God’s blessing and personal morality. Too many look at the past with nostalgia and see a photoshopped version of life that was never real. People have always been wicked and the world has always been broken. Today we are simply fighting on more fronts…marriage, sexuality, gender ideology, abortion as healthcare. And as the tide continues to turn away from biblical values, what can the righteous do? Temptation to flee

Physically…move to wilderness, commune, monastery…just remove self from civilization. Culturally…freeze a supposed era in time. Think of the Amish or Hasidic Jews. Are they typically known for reaching the lost? Emotionally…I just won’t care any more. If someone suffers from result of their sin my attitude will be ‘that’s what they get!’ They forget that Blessed are the merciful.

James Johnston - “Flight is a form of unbelief if it is a substitute for trusting God.”

how do we flee from sin without abandoning the lost to Hell?

The Apostle Paul endured much for the sake of spreading the Gospel. On occasion, he also fled fo this life, being lowered in a basket outside the city walls to escape death. Missionary organizations train like spies. Teach how to pick handcuffs and escape restraints, even endure torture. If God wants you to escape, you have the skills. If God wants you to die, just stay. Matthew 10:28 - 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. We trust in a kingdom that cannot be shaken

Hebrews 12:18-29 - 18 For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest 19 and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. 20 For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” 21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” 22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.