Articles
“Panic & Peace”
David wrote Psalm 11 in the middle of a crisis. The nature of the crisis is not stated so the general wording of the Psalm gives it a broad application to any who might find themselves in distress today. It opens with David giving a spirited answer to some demoralizing advice.
Voices of Despair (vv.1-3)
1 In the LORD I take refuge;
how can you say to my soul,
“Flee like a bird to your mountain,
2 for behold, the wicked bend the bow;
they have fitted their arrow to the string
to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart;
3 if the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do?”
David’s advisers (whether the quotes are David’s own voice of doubt or the voice of someone else is not clear) had counseled him to find “refuge” from his crisis by fleeing to the “mountain.” There, they believed, the king could hide from his enemies. Their advice could be well intentioned, like Peter’s to the Lord, when he rebuked Jesus for suggesting He would “suffer many things” at the hands of evil men and eventually be “killed” (Mt. 16:21-22). They could just as well have been insincere like the Pharisees’ words of warning to Jesus not to proceed to Jerusalem because of Herod’s violent designs (Lk. 13:31-32). Either way, the voice is persuasive. There would be little defense against an enemy whose bow was bent to “shoot at the upright in heart” in the open wilderness (v.2). A “mountain” would at least provide some cover.
Their argument in verse 3 is to suggest a situation beyond all hope. To David’s advisers the “foundations” of the kingdom of Israel had been “destroyed.” Everything was falling apart. Against the prevailing anarchy in the kingdom what could one “righteous” man like David do? But David knew, despite the voices of fear and hopelessness, that his true refuge would not be found in a physical mountain but only “in the LORD.”
The Lord’s Vantage Point (vv.4-7)
4 The LORD is in his holy temple;
the LORD's throne is in heaven;
his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.
5 The LORD tests the righteous,
but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.
6 Let him rain coals on the wicked;
fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.
7 For the LORD is righteous;
he loves righteous deeds;
the upright shall behold his face.
As impossible as David’s situation seems in v.2, his problems are dwarfed by the LORD, whose name David repeats emphatically in this section. The true King hasn’t fled for He still reigns from His eternal heavenly “throne.” Israel’s “foundations” had not been “destroyed” for the LORD’s city has divinely constructed and immovable foundations (Heb. 11:10). God’s “temple” is not an earthly palace to be invaded. God’s “throne” is not an earthly seat whose occupant can be unseated. Later, in the midst of his own crisis, the prophet Habakkuk would quote v.4 adding to it, “let all the earth keep silence before Him” (Heb. 2:19).
In times of trouble we must remember God’s position has not and will not change. He is seated in a high position with a heavenly vantage point where He is aware of the plight of the “righteous.” The moments of trial are the LORD’s “tests” for “the righteous.” He is still and watchful in those moments. But His stillness is not inertia. The LORD is concentrating; “His eyes” are gazing intently (“see”) as “His eyelids” examine (“test”) both the “righteous” and the “wicked” to see what they are made of. The faithful should view times of crisis as opportunities to prove the genuineness of their faith (Jas. 1:2-3; 1 Pet. 1:6-7) knowing God is watching.
Then, in His time, the LORD will act decisively and righteously (v.6). Burning hot “coals” will “rain” down on the “wicked” for their injustice. The “fire and sulfur” that were God’s means to overthrow Sodom “shall be” the “portion” of the wicked. Though the timing of judgment is uncertain, the event of judgment is sure, and will be sudden and final.
David’s psalm ends as it began (v.7), with “the LORD,” whose “righteous” character answers the distress and frustration of verses 2-3. The “foundations” of “righteousness” (v.3) were never destroyed for they are the very character and will of God; what He is and what He “loves.” David’s safety was well placed in the LORD (v.1). But David was not only seeking the preservation of his own life. His ultimate goal was to “behold” his LORD’s “face.” He loved the LORD. David had beheld the LORD with eyes of faith in worship (27:4; 63:2) but he was looking forward to the time when he could look upon God’s “face” with unmediated vision in the day when God would finally awaken His children from death to behold His true face in righteousness (16:8-11; 17:15; 23:6; 49:15; 73:23ff; 139:18).
May we learn to develop David's godly grit in this present distress.
(adapted from Kidner Classic Commentaries: Psalms 1-72)
