Psalm 11
Should the Righteous Run
From Danger?
This psalm was written, it is believed, during the time that Absalom was gathering support for his overthrow of David. We see in this psalm the counsel of some of those near to David and his response to that counsel.
Ps 11:1-3
1 In the LORD put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?
2 For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.
3 If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?
He begins with his affirmation to trust completely, totally, and with his whole heart in the Lord God.
He seems offended by the suggestions of his counselors to run and hide. The words ‘flee as a bird to your mountain’ are probably David’s version of what their words sounded like to him. David’s enemies are preparing to attack him it is sure. If the godly foundations of the nation are destroyed
by Absalom, what is to become of the righteous? Their concern is legitimate but David disagrees with their advice, thinking that it shows a lack of trust in God.
Another way to view David’s question is, “if there is no foundation upon which the godly can rest (the protection of the Lord) what hope can the righteous have in hiding?” A reasonable question that points to his confidence in God.
Ps 11:4-6
4 The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD’s throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.
5 The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.
6 Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.
This is David’s rationale, his defense, for having confidence in the Lord.
The Lord sits in His Holy Temple, far above the events on earth that dishearten those of little faith. Above the earth are the heavens and in the heavens is the throne of God, the King of all kings. This temple is the place that the actual determinations are made concerning the course of events on
the earth.
Hab 2:20
20 But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him. (KJV)
Micah 1:2
2 Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord GOD be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple. (KJV)
No doubt there is some question in the mind of David as to whether Absalom will prevail against him as a judgment upon his own sin, many judgments having already come upon David. But the Lord is the One Who will decide.
The mention of God’s eyes or eyelids is a direct reference to how we change our eyes when we want to look at it closely and examine the details of it. God’s eyes are all-seeing, and He examines closely the deeds of all men, righteous and wicked alike.
But He tries them in a different way and from a different place. It is true that the righteous are held accountable before Him. He tries them with a stern and exact measure. He disciplines them, sometimes severely, for ungodliness. Sometimes He makes them sick and sometimes He takes their
lives. But His discipline toward His people always has one outstanding quality. It comes from a place of love for them.
But with the wicked, there is a different kind of attention paid, “the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.” God judges the wicked from a place of active, perfect, and infinite hatred. Therefore, it is not possible that they should ultimately prevail.
David looks forward here to the final end of the wicked and sees the awful devastation that God is going to rain upon the earth on the Last Day and also the eternal judgment of Hell which is their destiny. Sometimes the wicked on this earth miss seeing God’s awful retribution in this life, but
more often than not they experience it in this life and then pass into the next to know it forever.
“Chances are,” David says, “that God will intervene and judge those who have risen up against me.” He did it with Goliath and with Saul and with every enemy that had raised his head to this point against David. God had promised him a throne and an heir to sit on that throne, Solomon. It is
inconceivable, then, that Absalom should prevail.
“Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.”
Snares are the little traps that men make for animals to catch them fast as they go along a trail. God’s power is so great that He needs little more than a foot-trap to catch the wicked. He will allow them to pursue their course and then be taken, helpless, like a rabbit or a bird. It is interesting that
David almost exactly foreviews the way that Absalom would die. One of God’s trees laid hold of his hair and held him fast until David’s general, Joab, found him and put him to death.
David describes hell like a hurricane of fire and brimstone. If the fire and the heat were not enough, he sees it in the midst of a ‘horrible tempest,’ an awful storm. There is no doubt in David’s mind but that this will certainly be the reward of the wicked who lift up their hands against the anointed
of God.
Ps 11:7
7 For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.
To behold the face of God in judgment is impossible, as Moses discovered, for a human to do and live. But when God sets His face toward His creatures in love, He make His countenance bearable and even welcome to them. To enjoy this vision of God, softened by love, is the highest honor that
God in His mercy can bestow upon a human. It is a blessedness which is reserved only for the righteous.
Ps 140:13
13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy presence.
The ultimate glory of heaven has a precursor here. God grants to them some of the blessing which will be known there.
How, then, shall the righteous flee in terror from the wicked?
— April 14, 2020