Somebody Else’s Mail (26)

Much has been written concerning the circumstances that inspired Psalm 11. Some readers assign it to the period of roughly eight years when David was on the run from Saul, others to the time when David’s son Absalom seized the kingdom and briefly threatened his father’s life. Either way, the theme they derive from the psalm is that when faced with the threat of evil, godly people ought to stand firm. It is critical, they say, that God-honoring authority not be lost.

Once again, to nobody’s surprise, I have to disagree. I will be asking the same question that has informed our interpretation of several psalms to date, which is “About whom does the prophet say this?” In Psalm 11 at least, I don’t believe the answer is “About himself.”

Psalm 11:1-3 — How Can You Say to My Soul?

To the choirmaster. Of David.

“In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, ‘Flee like a bird to your mountain, 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; if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?’ ”

Times and Circumstances

Those who know their Bible history will understand my reasoning for rejecting the notion that David’s personal experiences informed this psalm, which is simply this: both times his life was at genuine risk from his enemies, David ran away. He fled exactly like a bird, and at times, he even fled literally to the mountains. In the case of Saul’s unjustified persecution, David refused to engage the king in combat at all because Saul was the Lord’s anointed. The only “standing firm” he did was in steadfastly maintaining his conviction that he ought not to take revenge on Saul, but entrust himself to God. Then, in the case of Absalom’s rebellion, David’s loyal troops eventually fought, but not before first abandoning Jerusalem, then fleeing across the Jordan.

Thus, if we want to make David’s personal circumstances his inspiration for Psalm 11, we have to see him in the unlikely position of rejecting counsel in verse 1 that he consistently followed and in the wisdom of which he, at least to all appearances, maintained his belief throughout his life.

Another Time, Another Place

If, then, David is not writing about himself, and since the psalm is not overtly Messianic, at least not with respect to the first advent (Psalm 11 is nowhere quoted in the NT), the godly Israelite remnant of the Great Tribulation period once again becomes our prime candidate for the personified voice in which David is writing. This is not the first time, and it won’t be the last.

Verse 3 strengthens the case for such an interpretation, inquiring, “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” If the Great Tribulation will not constitute the most foundation-destroying event in Israel’s entire history, then words have no meaning. The Lord himself declared that the persecution during the “time of Jacob’s trouble” will be unprecedented in human history.

Nevertheless, whether the psalm portrays David responding to his counselors or the godly remnant of Israel taking its refuge in the Lord during the worst persecution ever experienced, rejecting despair is always sound advice. Those who actually flee to the mountains in those days will not find safety. They will call to the mountains, “Fall on us and hide us” when there remains no place to hide.

The Quotation

As our readers probably know, ancient Hebrew had no quotation marks. Most interpreters take the position that from the middle of verse 1 through the end of verse 3, David is quoting his would-be counselors and rejecting their advice (“How can you say …?”). Verse 3 (“If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”) is generally understood as a rhetorical way to express the futility of maintaining one’s good character when the moral, social and legal pillars of society are all collapsing. It’s bad advice from despairing counselors, much as Job’s wife advised him to curse God and die.

An alternative rendering of the Hebrew (“For the foundations will be destroyed; what has the righteous done?”) might be attributing the destruction of society to the judgment of God, but has the same air of fatigued inevitability. Few translators prefer that version.

Psalm 11:4-7 — Looking to the Lord

“The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man. The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence. Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.”

In His Holy Temple

As always, no matter how dire the situation, the solution is to trust in the Lord. David mentions him four times in these last four verses. He contrasts the unshakeable throne of God with the fragile foundations of human society. God has not shifted with the winds. His character is eternal and immutable. He maintains his love for the righteous and his hatred for the wicked and violent across history.

In spite of David’s intense but unfulfilled desire to build a temple for the Lord in Jerusalem, he recognized that no earthly structure could contain the almighty God. He has his own “holy temple” in the heavens, of which any earthly structure can only be a feeble copy.

Testing Men

Twice David mentions testing. As we saw in last week’s post, God’s apparent silence is a test, and one men frequently fail. As Peter puts it, they ask, “Where is the promise of his coming?” Because God does not dance to their tune, they conclude he is either uninterested in the world he created or may not exist at all.

The righteous do not think this way. Scripture gives us a long list of men tested by God who did not fail. Job, Abraham, Joseph, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, to mention only a few, had their faith refined by testing and came through with flying colors. Others, like Peter, initially faltered but eventually rose to the challenge. All these found ways to think rightly about God under pressure rather than drawing the wrong conclusions about his character.

Vituperations and Imprecations

Verse 6 is actually a curse, and a brutal one to boot: “Let him [the Lord] rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.” Such sentiments are not appropriate to the Church Age. Christians are taught to bless and not to curse. That does not mean cursing the wicked was always wrong or will always be wrong. Rather, it means we are reading the faithful expression of believers from another age, one with different rules.

In this 1983 sermon excerpt, Colin Anderson pointed out that this apparent conflict of prayer interests is implicit evidence for the rapture of the Church:

“How can there be a company of people on earth crying out for vengeance and another company, a Christian company, crying out for mercy? The two can’t exist together, not if both prayers are directed by God. And I believe these prayers are directed by God. I don’t think they’re an expression of immaturity that has to be discarded. I believe these prayers are valid in their time, and it will be appropriate for these prayers to spring forth from the heart and the lips of godly Israelites in that time of great tribulation prior to the coming of the Son of Man. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith such as this; like the widow who cries out for vengeance? Yes, and God will avenge them, and speedily, for their prayer is right.

Well, where is the church at that time? That’s why I believe in a pre-tribulation rapture.”

Beholding His Face

In a spiritual sense, it is always true that the upright behold the face of God. Without holiness, it’s impossible to comprehend him. Really “seeing” God demands we reflect his character.

However, if we are correct that David is speaking in the voice of a godly future remnant of Israel, the statement that “the upright shall behold his face” expresses a reality we can hardly imagine. We see the face of God with the eye of faith. The godly remnant will witness with their own eyes the Rider on a White Horse descending to deliver them with all the armies of heaven in his wake. Jesus Christ will stand on the Mount of Olives and split it in two from east to west, creating a valley for the godly in Israel to flee to safety. Then he will take vengeance on his enemies and establish his eternal kingdom on earth.

What a day that will be!