The Psalmist’s situation is desperate. His life is in peril. Fainthearted friends counsel flight. Wickedness is in the ascendant and irresistible. Indignantly he repudiates their suggestion. Jehovah is his protector. It would be the act of unbelief as well as cowardice to seek any other refuge. Triumphantly he proclaims his faith that Jehovah is the righteous Governor of the world, Who will destroy the wicked and welcome the righteous into His Presence.

The points of connexion between this Psalm and Psalms 5, 7, 10, 17, should be studied. If they are David’s, so may this be. It is strikingly appropriate to the circumstances of his life at the court of Saul, and to this period it should be referred, rather than to the time when Absalom’s conspiracy was hatching. David was in a position of responsibility (1 Samuel 18:13; 1 Samuel 18:16; 1 Samuel 18:30) which he could not abandon without clear indication that it was his duty to do so; the jealousy of the mad king grew daily, until at last he plainly expressed his wish to be rid of David (1 Samuel 19:1). Doubtless many of his rivals at the court were ready enough to take his life; but so popular a leader could not be openly murdered. They must wait for an opportunity of despatching him secretly. Meanwhile his friends advised him to secure his safety by flight, and argued that it was hopeless to continue an unequal struggle, when right was subverted by the action of the central authority of the state. But the time for flight had not come, and conscious of his rectitude, David resolves to face the danger in confident assurance that Jehovah will protect him.

The Psalm consists of two equal stanzas of three verses each, with a concluding verse.

i. The suggestions of faint-hearted friends (Psalm 11:1-3).

ii. The true ground of confidence (Psalm 11:4-6).

iii. The outlook of faith (Psalm 11:7).

1. put I my trust] Rather, have I taken refuge (cp. Psalm 7:1): and therefore it would be an act of unbelief as well as cowardice to seek another asylum in the mountain.

to my soul] To me, as one whose very life is in danger. Cp. Psalm 3:2, note.

Flee as a bird] Or, as R.V. marg., flee ye birds. David and his companions are addressed, and exhorted to flee to their obvious or accustomed place of refuge in the mountain. But the pronoun your should probably be omitted, and as inserted. Timorous and defenceless birds supply a graphic figure for the victims of persecution who have no resource but flight. Cp. 1 Samuel 26:20; Lamentations 3:52. The ‘mountain’ or ‘hill-country’ with its caves and strongholds was the natural place of retreat for fugitives. See 1 Samuel 14:22; 1 Samuel 23:14; 1 Samuel 26:1; 1Ma 2:28. Possibly ‘to flee to the mountain’ may have been a proverbial phrase, taken from the narrative of Genesis 19:17 ff., for the last resource in extremity of peril.

Note IV

On Psalm 11:1There are two readings here: the Qrç, flee thou (fem.): the Kthîbh, flee ye. If flee thou is addressed, as it is natural to suppose, to David’s soul, it must be explained as a bold combination of direct and indirect speech, equivalent to ‘that she should flee as a bird to your mountain,’ i.e. join you in your mountain retreat. Or David and his adherents may be addressed. ‘Flee, O birds (fem. collective), to your mountain!’ The second reading, ‘flee ye, like birds (or, ye birds), to your mountain,’ is simpler. David and his companions are exhorted to seek the mountain which is their natural or accustomed place of refuge. But it must be admitted that the plural ‘flee ye’ is harsh, and that we should expect the poet’s soul to be addressed; while at the same time if the singular ‘flee thou’ is read, the plural ‘your mountain’ can only be explained by the assumption of a bold construction, or an abrupt transition from sing, to plur. And when we find that all the ancient versions give the verb in the singular, and none of them express your, it becomes almost certain that by a very slight change of text we should read ‘Flee (thou) as a bird to the mountain.’ (גודי הר כמו צפור).

1–3. Faith’s indignant repudiation of faint-hearted counsel in the hour of danger.

2. The words of the faint-hearted friends continued. They justify their advice by pointing to the treacherous intentions of remorseless enemies. Similar language is used figuratively of slander in Psalm 64:3-4; Jeremiah 9:3; but here it may be taken literally of intent to murder. Cp. 1 Samuel 19:1 ff. For the language cp. Psalm 7:12; Psalm 7:10.

privily] Lit. as R.V., in darkness. LXX, in a moonless night.

3. The state, or society, is compared to a building. The foundations upon which it rests (or the pillars which support it) are the fundamental principles of law and order and justice. The figure sometimes denotes nobles, or chief men, as in Isaiah 19:10 (R.V.), but the more general explanation is preferable here. Cp. Psalm 75:3; Psalm 82:5; Ezekiel 30:4. When these principles are being subverted, ‘what,’ asks the voice of despair, ‘can the righteous do? and the form of the question in the original seems to be intended to exclude the possibility of an encouraging answer.

But the verse should probably be rendered (cp. R.V. marg.), For the foundations are being overthrown; what hath the righteous wrought? The efforts of the righteous have availed nothing to avert the general anarchy. What then, it is implied, can he hope to effect by remaining in the midst of it at the peril of his life?

4. More exactly:

Jehovah in his holy temple, Jehovah, whose throne is in heaven,

His eyes behold &c.

The last clause is the predicate on which the emphasis falls. The temple is here heaven, as in Psalm 18:6; Psalm 29:9; Micah 1:2; Habakkuk 2:20. There Jehovah sits enthroned in Majesty as King and Judge (Psalm 9:4; Psalm 9:7), surveying the course of human affairs. Cp. Psalm 10:14; Psalm 14:2; Psalm 102:19 ff. The epithet ‘holy’ emphasises the contrast with earth. The confusions and mistakes and prejudices of earth cannot enter there.

behold] The Heb. word suggests the idea of a discerning, penetrating gaze. The P.B.V., His eyes consider the poor, is derived through the Vulg. from the LXX[8].

[8] ‘The consonants of the word for poor (עני) resemble those of the word for his eyes (עיניו), and this word appears to have been doubly read and translated by the LXX.

his eyelids try] The eyelids are contracted when we wish to examine an object closely. ‘Try’ is a metaphor from refining. He distinguishes at a glance between dross and gold. Cp. Psalm 7:9.

4–6. David’s answer, justifying his rejection of his friends’ advice. They look to earth alone; he looks up to heaven. They judge by the appearance of the moment; his faith beholds the righteous Governor of the world exercising His sovereignty. On earth justice may be suspended or subverted; but the Eternal Judge has not quitted His throne in heaven.

5. Each half of the verse is to be completed from the other. God proves and approves the righteous: He proves and rejects the wicked.

trieth] Alloweth in P.B.V. means ‘approveth after trial.’ Cp. Romans 14:22; 1 Thessalonians 2:4.

his soul hateth] Cp. Isaiah 1:14. God’s soul is a bold expression for His innermost, essential nature, which cannot do otherwise than hate evil, and of necessity also the evil man, in so far as he surrenders himself to ‘love violence,’ deliberately choosing evil for his good. Cp. Micah 3:2; Romans 1:32.

6. Literally:

Let him rain snares upon the wicked!

Fire and brimstone and scorching blast be the portion of their cup!

A wish takes the place of the simple statement (he shall rain) which might have been expected. Cp. Psalm 12:3. May the wicked meet the fate of Sodom, so often alluded to as the typical example of signal judgment upon gross and defiant sin. The language is borrowed from Genesis 19:24. Cp. Deuteronomy 29:23; Ezekiel 38:22. The ‘snares’ are to entangle them so that they cannot escape from the fire which consumes, and the fatal simoom which suffocates. But possibly we should follow the version of Symmachus in reading coals of fire for snares. So Cheyne and others. Cp. Psalm 18:12; and Psalm 140:10 (a psalm containing other allusions to this psalm).

7. For Jehovah is righteous; he loveth righteous deeds;

The upright shall behold his face.

The character of Jehovah is the ground of the judgement which has been described; and the reward of the upright is contrasted with the punishment of the wicked.

Righteous deeds may denote the manifestations of Jehovah’s righteousness (Jdg 5:11; 1 Samuel 12:7), as well as the righteous acts of men. (Isaiah 33:15); but the context points to the latter meaning here.

The A.V. rendering of the second line gives a good sense:—He beholds the upright with favour. The P.B.V. follows the ancient versions in its rendering, ‘will behold the thing that is just.’ But usage and parallel passages are decisive in favour of the rendering of R.V. given above. The wicked are banished and destroyed; but the upright are admitted to the presence of Jehovah, as trusted courtiers to the presence of their sovereign (cp. Psalm 5:4-5; Psalm 15:1; Psalm 17:15; Psalm 140:13); they gaze upon that Face which is the source of light and joy and salvation (Psalm 4:6; Psalm 16:11; Psalm 44:3). It is one of the ‘golden sayings’ of the Psalter, ‘fulfilled’ in the revelation of the Gospel. See Matthew 5:8; 1 John 3:2; Revelation 22:4.