AUTHOR:  This psalm is attributed to David in the title, and by its placement in the midst of his other psalms, we are strongly led to believe it is his.

OCCASION:  There is no way to tell for sure just what brought this psalm forth, as the incidents discussed happened variously in the life of the psalmist: among others we find them in the matter of Saul and the rebellion of Absalom.   An occasion of violence and great trouble seems to have been behind its composition.

OUTLINE:    Verses 1-3 -- The advice of  friends.  Verses 4-7 -- The author's reply to the advice given above.

1     IN THE LORD PUT I MY TRUST  This indicates the general disposition of the psalmist, and introduces his anticipated attitude toward the troubles at hand.  HOW SAY YE TO MY SOUL  That is, Why do you advise me...  FLEE AS A BIRD TO YOUR MOUNTAIN  Run!  Leave your troubles behind, lest you lose your life.  He is asking why it was that they, since he evidently put his trust in the Lord, counseled him to run away.

2     FOR, LO, THE WICKED  That is, those who are opposed to God and who live in rebellion to His will.  The word "for" indicates the reason for their advice in verse 1.  The word "lo" means "look, behold".  They were telling him to flee because of the wicked and their deeds.  BEND THEIR BOW  "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 ivory framed together, and it often required great strength -- beyond the strength of the arm -- to bend it so as to adjust the string.  Hence the foot was placed upon the center, and the two ends drawn near to each other" (Barnes).  We take this to mean that the wicked were making final preparations for war, readying themselves for the attack.  THEY MAKE READY THEIR ARROW UPON THE STRING  They have moved now from preparing the weapon initially to actually approaching the prey and "taking aim".  The Hebrew for "make ready" is literally "fit or fix", indicating that they were placing the arrow in the "shooting position".  THAT THEY MAY PRIVILY SHOOT AT THE UPRIGHT  IN  HEART    The   Hebrew   for   "privily"  is,   literally,  "in darkness".  As in the previous Psalm, the enemies here seem to be portrayed as "cowards", opting to forgo a "fair fight" in preference to a "sneak attack".  Since their attack was leveled against "the upright in heart", we may assume that these wicked ones intentionally sought occasion to "sneak up on" the innocent and do evil to them.

3     IF THE FOUNDATIONS BE DESTROYED  These are still the words of the psalmist's friends, words of counsel.  The reference to "foundations" should be taken as that upon which society rests.  They are arguing that the normalcy of life has passed because of the wicked.  "Things are not as they should be", therefore:  WHAT CAN THE RIGHTEOUS DO?  The implied answer is the stated answer of verse 1 -- that is, run!  The wicked have so conducted themselves, in the reasoning of these "friends", as to make it impossible for the righteous to any more live among them; therefore, the righteous should flee.  Whereas it is true that the righteous cannot allow himself to become party to evil, it does not follow that when evil appears the righteous must flee.  The psalmist knew all too well that he had to stand and fight for the Lord against all evil, and we must learn this lesson also.

4     This marks the beginning of David's response to his counselors. THE LORD   "Jehovah".  This is the covenant name of God, and the use of it here indicates an appeal to the fidelity of the God with whom David had an agreement. (NOTE:  The "agreement" referred to was  the law, or covenant, God made with the Israelites through Moses, the Old Testament).  The wicked had no such agreement with God, and even if they were Jewish, (and thus partakers in the Law of Moses),  their conduct made things such as to negate any agreement (render null and void the provisions of Moses' Law unto themselves) they may formerly have had with Him.  He could not bless wickedness, and by calling Him "Jehovah" David appeals to his own fidelity as opposed to his enemies' sin.  IS IN HIS HOLY TEMPLE  That is, Jehovah is in the temple of his holiness.  He is in heaven, which is rightly regarded as his abode or dwelling-place.  Being there, He is in charge of things; He will not allow evil to prosper forever.  There must come a time when sin is recompensed.  THE LORD'S THRONE IS IN HEAVEN:  This appeals to the Kingly aspect of God.  The king has final say in all matters, and short of killing him there was no recourse when he ruled against you.  Here the illustration has three players:  God, David, and the wicked who opposed David.  David claims protection from the King based on his own righteousness, he invokes the punishment of God  upon  the  wicked,  and as per the illustration the only way for the punishment not to be administered would be for someone to depose God as the king. Who  among men (or angels, for that matter) could kill God?  HIS EYES BEHOLD  Is there anything that God cannot see?  And if there be nothing hidden from Him, does it not follow that He will side with David and grant him the final victory?  These are the arguments of David against the counsel of his "advisors".  HIS EYELIDS TRY  God   delves into the affairs of men and determines right and wrong.  Since He had final authority as King, and since nothing is hidden from his eyes, does it not follow that flight is unnecessary?  Will not God recompense the evil?  THE CHILDREN OF MEN  This is in reference to all men, the good and the evil.  Trying all men, God will surely "side with" the righteous.  These wicked ones may well seem to prosper for a time, but David points to their ultimate demise at the hands of God.

5     THE LORD TRIETH THE RIGHTEOUS  This points to the proving, or "trying by fire" of the righteous.  God will consider and determine the faithfulness of a man by his reactions to the trials of life.  God would turn to a blessing these trials, which at the time, appeared to be anything but a blessing.  BUT THE WICKED  This is a general statement, embracing all of the wicked.  To be "wicked" indicated being bad, malicious, living without and in violation of the Law of God.  AND HIM THAT LOVETH VIOLENCE  Whereas the general word "wicked" applied not only to those at hand but to all "bad men" in general, this is a specific reference to the enemies of the present matter.  These men "loved" or greatly desired and preferred violence.  They desired an occasion to bring hurt to innocent men.  They would rather act violently toward another than to treat him properly.  HIS SOUL HATETH  By application the phrase indicates:  HE HATETH.  God is often spoken of in terms of a man, and such is the case here.  The "soul" of man indicates the inward parts, the deepest emotions, the firmest convictions.  Hence, from the inward parts of God, his deepest emotions, his firmest convictions, he hates these wicked men.  Naturally He wishes they would be saved (II Peter 3:9), but their rejection of His Will made them enemies of God (James 4:4).  As enemies, they represented all that God abhorred.  The point of the verse is this:  The Lord will recognize the righteous by their conduct in these matters, and He will recognize the wicked by their conduct, and distinguishing between the two categories, the Lord will show preference to the righteous and detest the wicked.

6     UPON   THE   WICKED    This   may   be  taken  generally  as  a condemnation of all wickedness everywhere, and specifically a condemnation of the wicked ones of the present context.  HE SHALL RAIN  That is, pour forth.  He would send His response to their evil as the rain that falls.  It would come from above and cover everything.  SNARES  We take this as anything by which men are caught up, or entrapped.  The sending of these snares as a rain indicates that the punishment would be "inescapable".   FIRE AND BRIMSTONE  Genesis 19:24 tells of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and we take this as a probable reference to that destruction.  God destroyed those cities with "fire and brimstone", and the same God would punish these wicked ones.  David seems to reason from the one act of God's Righteous Vengeance to point to a coming similar act on those of the present context.  "Brimstone originally denoted fire from heaven.  It is connected with sulfur.  Places touched by lightning were called THEIA, (the Greek word for "Brimstone")," (Davis' Dictionary of the Bible).  AND AN HORRIBLE TEMPEST  As a great wind sweeps up and carries away everything in   its path, so the vengeance of God would sweep up and carry away these evil men.  THIS SHALL BE THE PORTION OF THEIR CUP  This, the fire and brimstone, the snares "raining" down upon them, the horrible tempest, is what God has in store for these men.  Barnes says that the reference to the "cup" was a reference to the administration of a deadly dose of poison in punishment for wickedness, hence it involved the idea of just recompense for sins committed.

7     FOR THE RIGHTEOUS LORD  The subject of the phrase is "Lord", and the adjective is "righteous".  An appeal to the righteousness of God indicates that He could do nothing but recompense the evil with punishment and the righteous with salvation.  LOVETH RIGHTEOUSNESS  That is, He prefers the acts of obedience rendered by David as opposed to the acts of rebellion and evil from the enemies of David.  HIS COUNTENANCE DOTH BEHOLD THE UPRIGHT  Applied, this means that God looks upon those who are righteous, and also that He looks upon them with favor.  God prefers the actions of the righteous to the actions of the evil, and will therefore bless the righteous and punish the wicked.

QUESTIONS:  PSALM ELEVEN

1.To whom is this psalm attributed in the title?

2.Give two examples of events such as were described in this psalmhappening to David.

3.In whom did David put his trust?

4.What was the gist of the advice to David from his "friends" in verse 1?

5.Who was speaking in verse 2, David or his friends?

6.To what process did "bend their bow" refer?
 

7.Of what was a bow made?

8.With what did they bend the bow?

9.What were they doing when they made ready their arrow upon the string?

10.What does "privily" mean?

11.What does this seem to indicate about these men?

12.To what did the "foundations" refer?

13.What was the implied answer to the question posed by the advisors in verse 3?

14.Who is speaking in verse 4?

15.What does "Lord" mean in verse 4?

16.What "covenant" was referred to?

17.Where is the Lord?

18.Where is the Lord's throne?

19.Who sits on a throne?

20.What recourse did one have when a king ruled against him?

21.Could anyone do this to the Lord?

22.Is there anything that God cannot see?

23.Seeing all good and all evil, with whom will God side?

24.Who are "the children of men"?

25.By what will the Lord consider and determine a man's righteousness?

26.What does "wicked" mean?

27.Specifically, to whom did "him that loveth violence" apply?

28.Why does God hate these people?

29.Upon the wicked God would rain.... what?

30.To what event did the "fire and brimstone" citation probably refer?

31.What does "an horrible tempest" indicate?

32.What was the probable source of the "cup" reference?

33.What is the subject of the phrase "the righteous Lord"?

34.What is the adjective?

35.What does the righteous Lord love?

36.To what does the phrase "His countenance doth behold the upright" refer?