| Back to Home Page | Back to Book Index
|
Psalm Eleven
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO Psalm 11
To the chief Musician
cf15I A Psalm of David.
This
psalm has no name; it is neither called a psalm
nor hymn
nor song
nor
prayer
only said to be David's; and is inscribed and directed as others to the
chief musician
or master of the song
to be used in public service; and seems
to be written much upon the same subject with the two preceding psalms.
According to Theodoret it was written when David was persecuted by Saul
and
was advised by some to flee for his safety.
Psalm 11:1 In
the Lord
I put my trust; How can you say to my soul
“Flee as a bird to your
mountain”?
YLT
1To the Overseer. -- By
David. In Jehovah I trusted
how say ye to my soul
`They moved [to] Thy
mountain for the bird?
In the Lord put I my trust
.... Not in himself
in
his own heart
nor in his own righteousness and strength; nor in men
the
greatest of men
the princes of the earth; nor in his armies
or any outward
force; but in the Lord
as the God of providence and of grace; and in the Messiah
in his person and righteousness; so the Chaldee paraphrase renders it
"in
the Word of the Lord do I hope": and the phrase denotes a continued
exercise of faith in the Lord; that he was always looking to him
staying
himself on him
and committing himself and all his concerns to him; for he does
not say
I "have"
or I "will"
but I "do"
put
my trust in the Lord; at all times
even in the worst of times
and in the
present one; wherefore he is displeased with his friends 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 his heart 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
which was 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
1 Samuel 23:14; or it may be rendered
"to your mountain"
as we
so the Targum; that is
to the said place
or places where he had sometimes hid himself; and this they said to his
"soul"
which was very 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 respected David's soul only
and
the other both soul and body
as Kimchi and Ben Melech observe; but the one
regards David's person
and the other his companions
or the people with him;
and contains an advice
both to him and them
to flee for their safety; the
reasons follow.
Psalm 11:2 2 For look! The wicked bend their
bow
They make ready their arrow on the string
That they may shoot secretly at
the upright in heart.
YLT
2For lo
the wicked tread a
bow
They have prepared their arrow on the string
To shoot in darkness at the
upright in heart.
For
lo
the wicked bend their bow
.... Are
devising mischief
and making preparations to accomplish it;
they make ready their arrow upon the string; of the bow
and are just about to execute their wicked 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 conversations before men
and so became
the butt of the malice and resentment of wicked men; against these they formed
evil purposes
delivered out bitter words
which were like sharp arrows of the
mighty; threatened them with ruin and destruction
and took methods to bring
about their designs and make good their words
in the most private and secret
manner. Hence some of David's friends thought it most advisable for him to make
his escape; adding
Psalm 11:3 3 If the foundations are
destroyed
What can the righteous do?
YLT
3When the foundations are
destroyed
The righteous -- what hath he done?
If the foundations be destroyed
.... Or
"for the
foundations are destroyed"F19כי השתות יהרסון "nam fundamenta
destruuntur"
Piscator
Michaelis; "quoniam"
Pagninus
Montanus; so Ainsworth. ; all things are out of order and course both in church
and state; the laws
which are the foundations of government
are despised and
disregarded; judgment is perverted
and justice stands afar off; the doctrines
and principles of religion are derided and subverted; so that there is no
standing
either in 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 Nob
slain by Doeg. Other Jewish writers
as Aben
Ezra
Kimchi
and Ben Melech
understand it of the purposes and counsels
nets
and 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"F20צדיק מה פעל "justus quid operatus
est?" Pagninus
Montanus
Vatablus
Gejerus; "quid facit?" Syr.
Arab. ? that is
the righteous Lord
he sits in the heavens
he beholds all the
actions of the wicked
he distinguishes the righteous from them
and rains a violent
storm of wrath upon them
as in the following verses; or "what has the
righteous man done"F21"Justus quid fecit?" V. L.
Munster
Tigurine versiom
Piscator; so Ainsworth. ? what has David done
that
the priests of Nob should be slain? nothing that was criminal; nor shall he
bear the sin
but they
according to Jarchi's sense; or rather
what has he
done that the wicked should bend their bow
prepare their arrow
and attempt to
shoot privily at him
and to overturn the foundations of justice and equity?
nothing that deserves such treatment: 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 of himself; 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"F23"Quid fuerit operatus
justus?" Junius & Tremellius; "quid fecerit?" Schmidt. ?
something the righteous ones may do
and should do
when men are attempting to
undermine and sap the foundation articles of religion; they should go to the
throne of grace
to God in his holy temple
who knows what is doing
and plead
with him to put a stop to the designs and attempts of such subverters of
foundations; and they should endeavour to build one another up on their most
holy faith
and constantly affirm it while others deny it; and should contend
earnestly for it
and stand fast in it.
Psalm 11:4 4 The Lord is in
His holy temple
The Lord’s
throne is in heaven; His eyes behold
His eyelids test the sons of men.
YLT
4`Jehovah [is] in his holy
temple: Jehovah -- in the heavens [is] His throne. His eyes see -- His eyelids
try the sons of men.
The Lord is in his holy temple
.... Not in
the temple at Jerusalem
which as yet was not built; 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
reason against the fears of men in the worst of times; see Psalm 46:1. Though it may be best to
understand it of heaven
the habitation of God's holiness
and which is the
true sanctuary; and which the holy places 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
and here he has
prepared his throne for judgment; and both this and the preceding clause are
expressive of his glory and majesty; and are said to command awe and reverence
of the Divine Being
and to inject terror into the wicked; and to show that God
is above the enemies of his people
and to encourage the saints' trust and
confidence in him; and are mentioned as a reason why David put his trust in
him; and are
with what follows in Psalm 11:5
opposed to the advice and
reasonings 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 run to
and fro throughout the earth
in favour of those whose hearts are perfect and
sincere. God's omniscience
which is denied by wicked men
who are therefore
hardened in sin
and promise themselves impunity
is used by the saints as an
argument to encourage their faith and trust in God
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 the text not suitable to the context;
his eyelids try the children of men; he tries their reins
he
searches into their very hearts
and into the inmost recesses of them
and
takes cognizance of their thoughts
intentions
and designs; and confounds and
disappoints them
so that they cannot perform their enterprises.
Psalm 11:5 5 The Lord tests the
righteous
But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.
YLT
5Jehovah the righteous doth
try. And the wicked and the lover of violence
Hath His soul hated
The Lord trieth the righteous
.... As gold is tried in
the fire
by afflictive providences; hereby he tries their graces
their faith
and patience
their hope
and love
and fear; and
by so doing
expresses his
love 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 and wickedness
and who not only do injury to the
persons
characters
and properties of men
but love it
and delight therein
and also take pleasure in them that do the same: these God has a continued and
inward aversion to; sin and wickedness being the abominable thing his righteous
soul hates: and he shows his hatred to them
by not chastising them now
as he
does his own people
but reserving everlasting punishment for them hereafter;
see Proverbs 13:24.
Psalm 11:6 6 Upon the wicked He will
rain coals; Fire and brimstone and a burning wind Shall be the portion
of their cup.
YLT
6He poureth on the wicked
snares
fire
and brimstone
And a horrible wind [is] the portion of their cup.
Upon the wicked
.... The wicked one
the man of sin
antichrist
and upon all that worship 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 Jarchi observes. The allusion is to the Lord's raining fire and
brimstone from heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah
which was an example and emblem
of eternal fire; see Genesis 19:24. For the beast and the false
prophet
and all the antichristian party
and all wicked men
will have their
part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone. The phrases used express
the dreadfulness and horribleness 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 to be
"rained"; the wicked will be snared in the works of their own hands;
they will be taken and held 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 a storm 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 Psalm 18:13; "fire" may signify
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
as naturalists observeF24Senecae Nat. Quaest.
l. 2. c. 21
53. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 35. c. 15. : and the words for "an
horrible tempest" signify a burning wind: so that they all serve to convey
horrible ideas of the punishment of the wicked in hell. The Targum calls them
"showers of vengeance";
this shall be the portion of
their cup; which will be measured out to them in proportion to their sins
and which God
in righteous judgment
has appointed for them; and which they
shall all drink of
and wring out the very dregs of it.
Psalm 11:7 7 For the Lord is
righteous
He loves righteousness; His countenance beholds the upright.[a]
YLT
7For righteous [is] Jehovah
Righteousness He hath loved
The upright doth His countenance see!'
For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness
.... The Lord
is righteous in himself
and in all his ways and works; and therefore
righteousness
as it lies both in punishing the wicked
and in maintaining the
righteous cause of his people
must be loved by him
it being agreeable to his
nature: he loves to exercise righteousness in the earth
to administer it to
and among men; this he delights 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 his people
as they
are clothed with it: and he approves of their righteous actions
as they are done
in obedience 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
Psalm 11:2; God looks with pleasure upon
them
and takes delight in them
and takes care of them
protects and defends
them
and at last saves them; and which
with all that goes before
was an
encouragement to David to trust in the Lord; see Psalm 7:10; and moreover
the Lord lifts up
the light of his countenance on such
and indulges them with his gracious
presence
than which nothing is more comfortable and desirable. Some choose to
render the word
"their countenance"F25פנימו
"facies eorum"
Genebrardus
Vatablus
Gussetius; so R. Japhet in
Aben Ezra
who compares it with Genesis xx. 13.
meaning the trinity of
Persons
Father
Son
and Spirit
who all have a gracious regard to such:
others render the clause thus
"the upright shall see his face"
the
face of God; so the Chaldee paraphrase and the Arabic version; see Psalm 17:15.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)