Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 11:4

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Psalms 11:4. The Lord is in his holy temple — He is still to be sought and found in the place where he has registered his name. Though the priests be destroyed, the God in whose worship they were employed still lives, and is to be found in his temple by his upright worshippers. And he tries the heart and the reins of both sinners and saints. Nothing can pass without his notice. I may expect his presence in the temple; he has not promised to meet me in the mountain.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 11-13 Persevere . . . or give in?

There came a time when David became tired of his continual flight from Saul, not just because it was wearying, but because it was cutting him off from the public worship places of God’s people (1 Samuel 26:19). His spiritual life was weakened and he gave in to the temptation to leave his own country for the safety of enemy Philistia (1 Samuel 27:1). This is the sort of temptation that David considers in Psalms 11:0, the temptation to go along with wrongdoing instead of resisting it.

If people act solely according to common sense, their suggestion in such a crisis will probably be to do what creates least hardship. After all (so the argument runs), if there is no law and order in the community, and if people in positions of power have set themselves to do evil, what can a righteous person gain by trying to resist (11:1-3)? David replies that such action really shows a lack of understanding of God’s holiness and no respect for his authority. God sees and understands all. He will pour out his wrath on the wicked, but he will comfort the faithful with the security of his presence (4-7).

The theme of Psalms 10:0 and 11 continues in Psalms 12:0, and indeed right through to Psalms 17:0. Ungodly people hold all the positions of power and pay no attention to the opinions of those who walk in God’s ways. They maintain their authority and influence only by twisting, ignoring or withholding the truth (12:1-4). But God sees and knows. He promises to protect the godly, and his promises can be trusted (5-6). His people know that their only hope is in him (7-8).

Continual persecution can be hard to bear. It tries the psalmist’s patience to the limit, causing him to cry out to God, almost in despair, asking when will God deliver him from his troubles (13:1-2). If he dies, his enemies will think they have won the battle against him (3-4). However, the very act of crying out to God lightens his burden. It reminds him that the one to whom he cries has bound himself to his people with a covenant love, and he will not fail (5-6).

God’s steadfast love

Frequently the psalmists rejoice in a characteristic of God that RSV translates as ‘steadfast love’, GNB translates as ‘constant love’, and other versions translate as ‘loyalty’, ‘love’, ‘mercy’, ‘kindness’ and ‘loving kindness’. These are all translations of the Hebrew word chesed, which has the meaning of covenant loyalty or faithfulness.

A covenant was an agreement between two parties that carried with it obligations and blessings. Chesed was a particularly strong form of love, which bound a person to be faithful and loyal to the other party in the covenant. In the Psalms the word is used frequently to denote the loyal love and covenant faithfulness that God exercises towards his people through all their trials and joys (e.g Psalms 13:5; Psalms 25:7).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

THE SONG OF THE STEDFAST
(FOR THE CHIEF MUSICIAN. A PSALM OF DAVID)

"In Jehovah do I take my refuge: How say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain; For, lo, the wicked bend the bow, They make ready their arrow upon the string. That they may shoot in darkness at the upright in heart; If the foundations be destroyed, What can the righteous do? Jehovah is in his holy temple; Jehovah, his throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, his eyelids try the children of men. Jehovah trieth the righteous; But the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. Upon the wicked he will rain snares; Fire and brimstone and burning wind shall be the portion of their cup. For Jehovah is righteous: The upright shall behold his face."

As indicated by our arrangement of the text here, this magnificent psalm falls into two divisions. In Psalms 11:1-3, David is wrongfully advised by well-meaning, but erroneous counselors, to flee for his life like as a bird flies toward some mountain. This advice is reinforced by their mention of the murderers who are preparing to kill him, and by the fact that, according to these advisers, the battle is already lost; the foundations have been destroyed; the cause is hopeless; why not abandon a sinking ship?

Spurgeon believed that the historical situation was that of Saul's enmity against David, and before Saul's final attempt upon David's life.Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Treasury of David (ZPH), p. 49. Others have suggested that the situation existed during Absalom's rebellion against David; and, as Yates said, "The circumstances are strikingly similar to those of several episodes in David's life."Kyle M. Yates, Wycliffe Bible Commentary of the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1962), p. 500. And, as McCaw stated it, "The psalm belongs to all of those occasions when evil powers threaten the security and well-being of God's people."Leslie S. McCaw, The New Bible Commentary, Revised (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1970), p. 457. Dummelow also took a broad view of the psalm's application thus: This is a song of confidence in God, and in the security of the righteous under his protection, notwithstanding the timid counsels of less trustful friends, and the evil devices of the wicked, who are doomed to destruction.J. R. Dummelow, On the Old Testament (New York, The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 333.

We appreciate also Rhodes' comment that:

Psalms 11 is one of the gems of the Psalter classified as affirmations of faith in spite of danger to himself, in spite of advice of friends to flee, and in spite of the seeming hopelessness of the cause.Arnold B. Rhodes, The Layman's Bible Commentary (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1960), p. 38.

Some have classified this as one of the so-called "Persecution Psalms," which Maclaren identified as Psalms 3; Psalms 7; Psalms 9; Psalms 14; Psalms 17, in addition to this one.Alexander Maclaren, Psalms (New York: Eaton and Mains, 1892), p. 102.

According to Barnes, all of these Psalms 11:1-3, except the opening declaration of faith in the Lord, may be regarded as the words of David's well-meaning, but erroneous advisers.Albert Barnes, The Psalms (Baker Book House, 1950), pp. 99, 100. It is also the opinion of this writer that some of these strong admonitions to flee from danger might have come from the promptings of David's own sense of prudence in the face of danger. Whatever their source, the glory of the psalmist is that he was able to overcome them and to act upon his implicit trust in God.

The second half of the psalm, Psalms 11:4-7, affirms the psalmist's unwavering trust and confidence in God. He thundered the name of Jehovah no less than four times in this concluding division. God Himself is the answer to all of man's problems, doubts, dangers and fears. God is in heaven; He is in His holy temple, and that expression in this context has no relation whatever to some earthly house,

God loves the righteous and abhors the wicked. His eyes run to and fro through the whole earth and He sees all, knows all, and will always act whenever the proper time for action has come. Men who have already fled for refuge in Jehovah have no need whatever to seek refuge anywhere else. God is indeed the ultimate refuge.

The mention in Psalms 11:5 that Jehovah trieth the righteous suggests that God's people are purposely exposed to wickedness because of God's purpose thus to strengthen and develop them.

He will rain fire and brimstone. It is usually admitted by scholars that there is a remembrance in these words of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, a very remarkable event recorded in Genesis which must be considered as a type of the eternal judgment. The mention of that overthrow here suggests that the psalmist is thinking of the final judgment and destruction of all the wicked when "The great day of God's wrath" has finally come.

The great lesson for all Christians in this psalm is that we should not attempt to run away from every danger but place our trust in God. Will not the Lord look after His own children? Indeed He will! Yes indeed, they will be threatened, persecuted, hated, even sometimes put to death, but, as Jesus Christ told his apostles:

"Ye shall be delivered up even by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolk, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. And not a hair of your head shall perish" (Luke 21:16-18).

What a marvelous security is this! Even if we are put to death, "not a hair of our head shall perish." It was this very confidence and spiritual security that enabled the psalmist in the situation here to resist all suggestions that he give up and flee from the scene. Souls that are truly in harmony with God will find the strength to say in the most important crisis that life can offer, "Here I stand; so help me God, I cannot do otherwise"!

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

The Lord is in his holy temple - Hebrew, “Jehovah is in the temple of his holiness.” That is, he is in heaven, regarded as his temple or dwelling-place. This is the answer of the psalmist to the suggestions of his advisers that he should flee from danger. The answer is, in substance, that he had nothing to fear; that he had a protector in heaven; and that he might appeal to Him for defense. The idea is, that God, the protector of the righteous, is always in the heavens; that his throne is always accessible; and that to it the persecuted may come, and may always be safe.

The Lord’s throne is in heaven - God is a king, ruling the universe. As such, the seat of his power or dominion is represented as in heaven, where he administers his government. That throne is fixed, and the affairs of his universe will be administered with justice. The righteous, therefore, may hope in his protection, and need not flee when the wicked assail them. The idea here is that of unwavering confidence in God as sitting upon the throne of the universe, and administering its affairs with justice and truth. Compare Isaiah 66:1, “heaven is my throne.” See the notes on that verse.

His eyes behold - He sees everything in all parts of his vast empire, and therefore he knows all the purposes of the wicked, and all the wants of the righteous. The thought here, as one imparting a sense of safety, is, that God sees us. He is not ignorant of what our enemies are doing, and he is not ignorant of what we need. If he were, the case would be different. We might their despair of safety, and feel that our enemies could overcome and destroy us. It is much, in the trials of life, to have this assurance - this constant feeling - that God sees us. He knows our condition, our wants, our dangers; he knows all that our enemies are doing - all their machinations against us. Knowing all this, we may be assured that he will interpose when it is best that he should interpose, and that he will suffer nothing to come upon us which it is not best that he should permit. When evil befalls us, therefore, it does not come because God does not know it, or because he could not prevent it, but because, seeing it all, he judges that it is best that it should thus occur. Compare Genesis 16:13.

His eyelids try - That is, they prove, penetrate into, as if by seeing through them. The “eyelids” here are synonymous with the eyes. The form of the language is varied in accordance with a custom common in Hebrew, and there is attributed here to the eyelids what properly belongs to the eyes - the power of seeing.

The children of men - All men, good and bad. He knows them all - all their purposes, their designs, their wishes, their dangers. He knows, therefore, what our enemies are doing; he knows what are our perils; and we may safely leave our cause with him. We should not, therefore, listen to the counsel which advises us to flee Psalms 11:1, but should rather put our trust in him who dwells in the heavens.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

4.Jehovah is in the palace of his holiness. In what follows, the Psalmist glories in the assurance of the favor of God, of which I have spoken. Being destitute of human aid, he betakes himself to the providence of God. It is a signal proof of faith, as I have observed elsewhere, to take and to borrow, so to speak, ⁽²⁴⁵⁾ light from heaven to guide us to the hope of salvation, when we are surrounded in this world with darkness on every side. All men acknowledge that the world is governed by the providence of God; but when there comes some sad confusion of things, which disturbs their ease, and involves them in difficulty, there are few who retain in their minds the firm persuasion of this truth. But from the example of David, we ought to make such account of the providence of God as to hope for a remedy from his judgment, even when matters are in the most desperate condition. There is in the words an implied contrast between heaven and earth; for if David’s attention had been fixed on the state of things in this world, as they appeared to the eye of sense and reason, he would have seen no prospect of deliverance from his present perilous circumstances. But this was not David’s exercise; on the contrary, when in the world all justice lies trodden under foot, and faithfulness has perished, he reflects that God sits in heaven perfect and unchanged, from whom it became him to look for the restoration of order from this state of miserable confusion. He does not simply say that God dwells in heaven; but that he reigns there, as it were, in a royal palace, and has his throne of judgment there. Nor do we indeed render to him the honor which is his due, unless we are fully persuaded that his judgment-seat is a sacred sanctuary for all who are in affliction and unrighteously oppressed. When, therefore, deceit, craft, treachery, cruelty, violence, and extortion, reign in the world; in short, when all things are thrown into disorder and darkness by injustice and wickedness, let faith serve as a lamp to enable us to behold God’s heavenly throne, and let that sight suffice to make us wait in patience for the restoration of things to a better state. The temple of his holiness, or his holy temple, which is commonly taken for Sion, doubtless here signifies heaven; and that it does so is clearly shown by the repetition in the next clause, Jehovah has his throne in Heaven; for it is certain David expresses the same thing twice.

His eyes behold. Here he infers, from the preceding sentence, that nothing is hidden from God, and that, therefore, men will be obliged to render up to him an account of all that they have done. If God reigns in heaven, and if his throne is erected there, it follows that he must necessarily attend to the affairs of men, in order one day to sit in judgment upon them. Epicurus, and such like him as would persuade themselves that God is idle, and indulges in repose in heaven, may be said rather to spread for him a couch on which to sleep than to erect for him a throne of judgment. But it is the glory of our faith that God, the Creator of the world, does not disregard or abandon the order which he himself at first established. And when he suspends his judgments for a time, it becomes us to lean upon this one truth that he beholds from heaven; just as we now see David contenting himself with this consolatory consideration alone, that God rules over mankind, and observes whatever is transacted in the world, although his knowledge, and the exercise of his jurisdiction, are not at first sight apparent. This truth is still more clearly explained in what is immediately added in the fifth verse, that God distinguishes between the righteous and the unrighteous, and in such a way as shows that he is not an idle spectator; for he is said to approve the righteous, and to hate the wicked The Hebrew word בחן, bachan, which we have rendered to approve, often signifies to examine or try. But in this passage I explain it as simply meaning, that God so inquires into the cause of every man as to distinguish the righteous from the wicked. It is farther declared, that God hates those who are set upon the infliction of injuries, and upon doing mischief. As he has ordained mutual intercourse between men, so he would have us to maintain it inviolable. In order, therefore, to preserve this his own sacred and appointed order, he must be the enemy of the wicked, who wrong and are troublesome to others. There is also here contrasted God’s hatred of the wicked, and wicked men’s love of iniquity, to teach us that those who please and flatter themselves in their mischievous practices gain nothing by such flatteries, and only deceive themselves.

(245) “De prendre et par maniere de dire, emprunter lumiere du ciel.” — Fr.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Psalms 11:1-7 is to the chief musician. It is a psalm of David.

In the LORD put I my trust: how do you say to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain? ( Psalms 11:1 )

My trust is in the Lord. Why should I flee to the mountains? Why should I try to hide from trouble? My trust is in God.

For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they might privately shoot at the upright in heart. Now if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? ( Psalms 11:2-3 )

I think that this is a very interesting question that we need to ask ourselves at the present time, as we look at the state of our nation. And we see the foundations being destroyed. The moral foundations upon which our nation was built are being destroyed. The liberal politicians are undermining and destroying the foundations upon which this nation was built, and if the foundations are destroyed, what are the righteous going to do? The thing is going to crumble. Even as Rome was conquered, not from without, but it crumbled from within, because of the rotten planks that once held the nation Rome strong. The law and so forth became corrupt, rotten.

The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD'S throne is in the heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men. The LORD tries the righteous: but the wicked and him that loves violence his soul hates. Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and a horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup. For the righteous LORD loves righteousness; and his countenance doth behold the upright ( Psalms 11:4-7 ). "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 11

David appears to have been fleeing from an enemy when he wrote this psalm, but we do not know the exact background incident. He expressed confidence that, even though lawful authority might perish, the godly can trust in the Lord to punish the wicked and deliver the righteous. The central issue in this psalm of individual lament, with emphases on trust and thanksgiving, is the persecution of the righteous by the wicked.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

David’s perspective included God’s throne in heaven, the symbol of His royal rule and authority to judge. There he visualized Yahweh sitting in perfect control over the nation He had created and promised to maintain (cf. Habakkuk 2:20). The pagans thought their gods dwelt in heavenly temples, but Yahweh really did. The anthropomorphic description of God’s eyes and eyelids (parallelism) portrays His close scrutiny and precise awareness of all that was going on in Israel. He was not unaware of His people’s plight.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

2. Confidence in God 11:4-7

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

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

Psalms 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 Psalms 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.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      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 a horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.   7 For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.

      The shaking of a tree (they say) makes it take the deeper and faster root. The attempt of David's enemies to discourage his confidence in God engages him to cleave so much the more closely to his first principles, and to review them, which he here does, abundantly to his own satisfaction and the silencing of all temptations to infidelity. That which was shocking to his faith, and has been so to the faith of many, was the prosperity of wicked people in their wicked ways, and the straits and distresses which the best men are sometimes reduced to: hence such an evil thought as this was apt to arise, Surely it is vain to serve God, and we may call the proud happy. But, in order to stifle and shame all such thoughts, we are here called to consider,

      I. That there is a God in heaven: The Lord is in his holy temple above, where, though he is out of our sight, we are not out of his. Let not the enemies of the saints insult over them, as if they were at a loss and at their wits' end: no, they have a God, and they know where to find him and how to direct their prayer unto him, as their Father in heaven. Or, He is in his holy temple, that is, in his church; he is a God in covenant and communion with his people, through a Mediator, of whom the temple was a type. We need not say, "Who shall go up to heaven, to fetch us thence a God to trust to?" No, the word is nigh us, and God in the word; his Spirit is in his saints, those living temples, and the Lord is that Spirit.

      II. That this God governs the world. The Lord has not only his residence, but his throne, in heaven, and he has set the dominion thereof in the earth (Job 38:33); for, having prepared his throne in the heavens, his kingdom ruleth over all,Psalms 103:19. Hence the heavens are said to rule,Daniel 4:26. Let us by faith see God on this throne, on his throne of glory, infinitely transcending the splendour and majesty of earthly princes--on his throne of government, giving law, giving motion, and giving aim, to all the creatures--on his throne of judgment, rendering to every man according to his works--and on his throne of grace, to which his people may come boldly for mercy and grace; we shall then see no reason to be discouraged by the pride and power of oppressors, or any of the afflictions that attend the righteous.

      III. That this God perfectly knows every man's true character: His eyes behold, his eye-lids try, the children of men; he not only sees them, but he sees through them, not only knows all they say and do, but knows what they think, what they design, and how they really stand affected, whatever they pretend. We may know what men seem to be, but he knows what they are, as the refiner knows what the value of the gold is when he has tried it. God is said to try with his eyes, and his eye-lids, because he knows men, not as earthly princes know men, by report and representation, but by his own strict inspection, which cannot err nor be imposed upon. This may comfort us when we are deceived in men, even in men that we think we have tried, that God's judgment of men, we are sure, is according to truth.

      IV. That, if he afflict good people, it is for their trial and therefore for their good, Psalms 11:5; Psalms 11:5. The Lord tries all the children of men that he may do them good in their latter end,Deuteronomy 8:16. Let not that therefore shake our foundations nor discourage our hope and trust in God.

      V. That, however persecutors and oppressors may prosper and prevail awhile, they now lie under, and will for ever perish under, the wrath of God. 1. He is a holy God, and therefore hates them, and cannot endure to look upon them: The wicked, and him that loveth violence, his soul hateth; for nothing is more contrary to the rectitude and goodness of his nature. Their prosperity is so far from being an evidence of God's love that their abuse of it does certainly make them the objects of his hatred. He that hates nothing that he has made, yet hates those who have thus ill-made themselves. Dr. Hammond offers another reading of Psalms 11:5: The Lord trieth the righteous and the wicked (distinguishes infallibly between them, which is more than we can do), and he that loveth violence hateth his own soul, that is, persecutors bring certain ruin upon themselves (Proverbs 8:36), as follows here. 2. He is a righteous Judge, and therefore he will punish them, Psalms 11:6; Psalms 11:6. Their punishment will be, (1.) Inevitable: Upon the wicked he shall rain snares. Here is a double metaphor, to denote the unavoidableness of the punishment of wicked men. It shall be rained upon them from heaven (Job 20:23), against which there is no fence and from which there is no escape; see Joshua 10:11; 1 Samuel 2:10. It shall surprise them as a sudden shower sometimes surprises the traveller in a summer's day. It shall be as snares upon them, to hold them fast, and keep them prisoners, till the day of reckoning comes. (2.) Very terrible. It is fire, and brimstone, and a horrible tempest, which plainly alludes to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and very fitly, for that destruction was intended for a figure of the vengeance of eternal fire,Jude 1:7. The fire of God's wrath, fastening upon the brimstone of their own guilt, will burn certainly and furiously, will burn to the lowest hell and the utmost line of eternity. What a horrible tempest are the wicked hurried away in at death! What a lake of fire and brimstone must they make their bed in for ever, in the congregation of the dead and damned! It is this that is here meant; it is this that shall be the portion of their cup, the heritage appointed them by the Almighty and allotted to them, Job 20:29. This is the cup of trembling which shall be put into their hands, which they must drink the dregs of, Psalms 75:8. Every man has the portion of his cup assigned him. Those who choose the Lord for the portion of their cup shall have what they choose, and be for ever happy in their choice (Psalms 16:5); but those who reject his grace shall be made to drink the cup of his fury, Jeremiah 25:15; Isaiah 51:17; Habakkuk 2:16.

      VI. That, though honest good people may be run down and trampled upon, yet God does and will own them, and favour them, and smile upon them, and that is the reason why God will severely reckon with persecutors and oppressors, because those whom they oppress and persecute are dear to him; so that whosoever toucheth them toucheth the apple of his eye,Psalms 11:7; Psalms 11:7. 1. He loves them and the work of his own grace in them. He is himself a righteous God, and therefore loves righteousness wherever he finds it and pleads the cause of the righteous that are injured and oppressed; he delights to execute judgment for them, Psalms 103:6. We must herein be followers of God, must love righteousness as he does, that we may keep ourselves always in his love. He looks graciously upon them: His countenance doth behold the upright; he is not only at peace with them, and puts gladness into their hearts, by letting them know that he is so. He, like a tender father, looks upon them with pleasure, and they, like dutiful children, are pleased and abundantly satisfied with his smiles. They walk in the light of the Lord.

      In singing this psalm we must encourage and engage ourselves to trust in God at all times, must depend upon him to protect our innocence and make us happy, must dread his frowns as worse than death and desire his favour as better than life.