Seventh-day Adventist Bible CommentaryPsalms 11

Trust. Heb. chasah, “seek refuge.” The psalm begins with an expression of absolute confidence, and closes (v. 7) in the same mood. The thought is interrupted in the middle of the verse. How say ye? How can you give me this counsel when I put my trust in God? The counsel follows to the end of v. 3. My soul. Or, “me” (see on Ps. 16:10). Flee as a bird. Probably a proverb, used in warning a man to seek his only safety in flight. Who can find the little bird that seeks safety in the thickets and crannies of the rocks? The picture may have been very forceful to the Hebrews, who no doubt at times had taken refuge in caves. David lives serenely because he takes refuge in God. The idea is frequent in Psalms.

Privily. Literally, “in darkness,” hence secretly, treacherously, when the victim is off guard.

Foundations. These may here be thought of as the principles upon which good government rests: respect for truth and righteousness. If these are destroyed, what further can the righteous do? If the king and his counselors show contempt for that which they should uphold, collapse is inevitable. The righteous, helpless in such a case, can seek safety only in flight. But the psalmist does not accept such counsel. Verses 4–6 are his reply.

In heaven. Compare Hab. 2:20. Since God is in heaven, the psalmist has nothing to fear. The persecuted have a Protector to whom they can always appeal. The psalmist replies to his advisers with an unequivocal conviction. He knows his God. His eyelids try. Although God is in heaven, He scrutinizes the actions of His children upon earth. God’s scrutiny should not alarm; in His love and justice He sees into the very heart of the truth. There is nothing incompatible about God’s being in heaven, yet concerned with his earthly creation (see Isa. 57:15).

Trieth the righteous. God tests all men, even the righteous, but when He approves the righteous, His care is assured. Hateth. Because of His nature God finds evil hateful. Its existence in men is loathsome. The idea is expressed in human language, in which sin and the sinner are considered identical (see Isa. 1:14; see on Ps. 2:4).

Snares. Heb. pachim, “traps.” The translation “coals of fire and brimstone” (RSV) is obtained by an alteration of the Hebrew text, reading pachame for pachim. Such

changes are mere conjecture. In this instance the LXX supports the Hebrew. There may be an allusion to the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:24, 28). Compare the destruction of the wicked at Christ’s coming (Luke 17:29, 30). Cup. Figuratively, God holds out to the wicked a cup for them to drink. In ancient Greece punishment was often administered by requiring the victim to drink a poisonous draught. In Scripture the cup often represents the fate of the wicked (see Ps. 75:8; Rev. 14:10; 16:19).

Ellen G. White

Loveth righteousness. The righteous have nothing to fear; they may safely put their trust in God. Thus David resumes the thought begun in v. 1. His countenance doth behold the upright. This statement may also be translated, “the upright shall behold His face” (see RSV). The godly will be admitted into the very presence of God (see on Ps. 4:6; see also 1 John 3:2; Rev. 22:4). “Face to face shall I behold Him, Far beyond the starry sky; Face to face in all His glory, I shall see Him by and by!” It was this confidence in ultimate fellowship with God in heaven that supported the psalmist’s trust in God’s daily care.