Psalm 11

Psalm 11 is a short psalm in Book One (Psalms 1–41) of the Book of Psalms. The preceding Psalm 10 laments the oppression of the wicked; this psalm faces the same threat and expresses a trust that takes refuge in the LORD. Its superscription reads "To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David." The "chief Musician" is generally understood to be the leader of temple music.

Structure

• Verses 1–3 The psalmist declares that he has already taken refuge in the LORD and rejects the counsel to flee like a bird to the mountain. The wicked are bending their bow to shoot from the darkness, and words of crisis are quoted as well: "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?"
• Verses 4–6 The psalmist's gaze turns heavenward. The LORD is in His holy temple, and His throne is in heaven, from which He examines humankind. He tests the righteous, but He hates the wicked and those who love violence. Upon the wicked He rains fire and brimstone and a horrible tempest as "the portion of their cup," that is, the share they are to receive.
• Verse 7 The psalm closes with the assurance that because the righteous LORD loves righteousness, the upright will behold His face.

Key Verses

• Psalm 11:3 "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?" The question captures a situation in which the foundations of society and faith are shaken.
• Psalm 11:4 "The LORD's throne is in heaven." This is the turning point at which attention shifts from the crisis on earth to God's rule in heaven.
• Psalm 11:7 "His countenance doth behold the upright" (KJV). Many translations, including the Korean, render the line "the upright shall behold his face"; this is the hope toward which the whole psalm moves.

People and Places

• David: Named in the superscription; he does not appear directly in the body of the psalm.
• The mountain: A figure for a place of refuge from danger.
• The temple and the heavenly throne: Set side by side in verse 4, they together indicate the place where God dwells.
• Sodom and Gomorrah: The "fire and brimstone" of verse 6 recalls the judgment that fell on these cities (Genesis 19:24).

Points for Reflection

• The text does not make clear who the "you" are who urge flight in verse 1, nor whether their words continue through verse 3. Commentators therefore define the extent of the quotation differently.
• A tradition holds that David wrote the psalm while being pursued by Saul or Absalom, but this is a later conjecture. Neither the superscription nor the text mentions such a setting.
• Some translations emend the Hebrew word rendered "snares" in verse 6 to read "coals." Translations of verse 7 also differ, since it can be rendered either "the upright shall behold his face" or "his countenance doth behold the upright."
• Some read the "beholding of the face" in verse 7 as standing before God in temple worship, and others as the hope of seeing God at the end of the age. Christian interpreters have connected the latter reading with "the pure in heart" of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:8) and with 1 John 3:2. The judgment of fire and brimstone in verse 6 reappears in Revelation 14:9–11.

In the Korean Church

Verse 3, "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?", is frequently quoted in sermons and prayer meetings that address times when the foundations of the church or society are shaken.