Discover Psalm 11 Commentary in detail, with their Bible study and explained, as well as their meaning in the Catholic Bible among others.
Psalm 11-1
In the Lord I have put my trust;
How do you say to my soul:
Escape to the mountain like a bird?
Psalm 11-2
For, behold, the wicked draw the bow,
set their arrows on the string,
to shoot them secretly at the upright in heart.
Psalm 11-3
If the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do?
Psalm 11-4
Jehovah is in his holy temple;
Jehovah’s throne is in heaven;
his eyes see, his lids examine the sons of men.
Psalm 11-5
Jehovah tests the righteous,
but his soul hates the wicked and those who love violence.
Psalm 11-6
On the wicked he will rain calamities;
fire and brimstone and a scorching wind will be the portion of his cup.
Psalm 11-7
For Jehovah is just and loves justice;
the righteous will see his face.
Psalm 11 Meaning
The meaning of Psalm 11 is very interesting, it tells us a story of both internal and external struggle. David is lost in his inner world, he needs answers, everything around him is difficulties. He then encounters a battle of his soul, harassed by earthly life and where he tries to find a meaning to what is happening to him.
Psalm 11 Commentary
One of the sports that I am least passionate about is boxing. I am not very attracted to seeing two people beat each other until they bleed and in some cases even die. I have nothing against those who like boxing, after all, in tastes and colors the doctors do not think. As I understand it, it is in boxing fights, when the trainer of one of the opponents throws the towel into the ring, indicating that his pupil is so injured that he cannot continue fighting. Hence the saying that someone has thrown in the towel, to indicate that someone is so fed up with something that they no longer want to deal with the situation.
Many times, life becomes difficult for us and in those circumstances we can also be on the verge of throwing in the towel, that is, ready to abandon the fight.
Just a short time ago, I saw a television report about a man who had a degenerative muscle disease and who in a short time would be totally disabled before death occurred. The journalist asked him: What do you think about the future? The man replied: Nothing, all I want is to die. This is a man ready to throw in the towel. For years he has battled the disease and is tired of fighting on. All he wants is to stop suffering and thinks that death is his only way out.
Perhaps you, listening friend, are also on the verge of throwing in the towel. It may be due to illness, like the case I have shared, or it may be due to a marriage that is not working, or a son who has gone astray, or a daughter who has run away from home, or a business that is going away. to bankruptcy or friendships that are ended by gossip, etc. Before throwing in the towel in whatever situation you find yourself in, I invite you to consider David’s case. This character faced very critical situations in his life. From a young age, even before he was king, He was hunted by King Saul as a horde of hunters would a helpless fox. Later when he was already king, he was also subjected to strong attacks, which even came from his own family.
This is the background to the psalm that we are going to consider this time. It’s about Psalm 11.
This psalm has an overwriting in which we read the following:
To the main musician. Psalm of David.
We can then know that David is the author of the psalm.
- To better grasp the content of this beautiful psalm, let us first consider the plight of the psalmist.
It is found in verses 2 and 3 where it says: “For, behold, the wicked stretch the bow, set their arrows on the string, to strike in secret the upright in heart. If the foundations are destroyed, what will the man do? just?”
David was hunted and surrounded by the bad guys. His situation was very serious. David’s life was at stake. The enemy had no scruples. He was ready for anything. He had the arrows on his bow. It was all a matter of shooting them. He had the arrows poised on the string. It was all a matter of shooting them. Today we would say that David was in the crosshairs. All you had to do was pull the trigger. Furthermore, the enemy was cunning. He was trying to carry out his plan in secret. Under cover of anonymity, no one would know who took David’s life. Contemplating the seriousness of the situation, David says: The very foundation of society has been attacked. What can a righteous person do in this situation?
You are also a listening friend, it may be that you are in a similar situation and you have also said to yourself: The world is so corrupt, so dirty, so shameless, who will be able to stand? What chance does the righteous have to avoid falling into the clutches of so much evil in the world? Many might think that there is no opportunity for the upright, the just, the pious in this world, and they have thrown in the towel and allowed themselves to be carried away by the current of this world. In fact, David had some friends who were justly advising him to throw in the towel.
- Consider secondly the great suggestion of the psalmist’s friends.
We find it in the second part of verse 1 where it says: “How do you say to my soul, let it escape to the mountain like a bird?”
There are all kinds of friends. Some are good, some are more or less, and some are bad. Most friends fall into the second or third category. David had those kinds of friends. Seeing David’s dire situation, his friends approached him and perhaps putting their arms on David’s shoulder whispered in his ear: Dear, David, what you are facing is very serious. Your life is in danger. The best thing is that you listen to our advice. It seems to us that you should pack your things from the palace and go to some distant place, where you are far from your enemies, away from all this serious situation. With friends like that, why enemies, I say. I don’t know if David’s friends had good intentions or not, because maybe they wanted to get rid of David, to fish in rough waters.
We too can have friends like David. People who, for example, advise a wife to divorce, because there is no longer hope in the husband. People who advise a pastor to leave the church because there is no point in continuing to fight against the immorality of the believers who congregate there. In short, it is people who whisper in our ear that we throw in the towel, because there is no hope. What did David do? Threw the towel? Absolutely not.
- Let us therefore consider the glorious assurance of the psalmist.
It is found in the first part of verse 1 and then in verses 4-7. Hearing the advice to throw in the towel, David said, “In the Lord I have put my trust.” “Jehovah is in his holy temple; Jehovah has his throne in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids search the sons of men. Jehovah tests the righteous, but the wicked and those who love violence, his soul hates. On the wicked he will rain calamities; fire, brimstone, and scorching wind will be their portion of the cup. For the LORD is just, and loves justice; the upright man will look at his face. “
David was a tough nut to crack. Talking about throwing in the towel for him was an insult. Not because he felt strong in himself, but because he had his gaze fixed on God. In Jehovah I have trusted, were his words. David had put his trust in Jehovah. David felt secure in Jehovah. There was no valid reason to give up in the face of adversity. Remember listening friend that if you have God you have everything and if you do not have God you have nothing.
David then gives some reasons for trusting in Jehovah. Jehovah is in his holy temple, on his throne in heaven.
There could be no safer place. Even when the whole earth disappears, God on the throne of heaven is not affected by it. It is worth trusting in Jehovah. It is the best refuge one can find. But in addition to Jehovah being on his throne in heaven, Jehovah also watches and carefully examines what man does. Jehovah has not neglected every detail of the activity of every human being on earth.
The Bible says that even the amount of hair on each person is known to God. Jehovah is attentive to the evil deeds of the wicked and the good deeds of the righteous.
This is of great comfort to the righteous and should be of great concern to the wicked. That is why David says that God tests the righteous but instead poor the bad, that is why the bad or the one who loves violence is hated by Jehovah. Consequently, Jehovah will punish the wicked. He will do it by raining calamities on him and as if this were not enough, he will bring down fire, brimstone and scorching wind.
This will be the cup for the bad guys to drink. In this way Jehovah will be found righteous, because he loves righteousness. Hence the upright will look at the face of Jehovah in heaven. For all this, David trusted Jehovah and found it absurd to throw in the towel or give in to trouble. And David was absolutely right.
You too, listening friend, don’t throw in the towel, don’t give up, don’t run away from problems. Trust in Jehovah.
He is not ignorant of anything that happens to you and what those who oppress you do. Someday he will give the reward to the righteous and the punishment to the wicked. The solution to problems does not lie in running away from them. The solution to problems lies in taking refuge in Jehovah. He is waiting with open arms. If you put your trust in Jehovah, like David, it will seem an insult for someone to tell you to throw in the towel.
