5 The Lord puts the upright and the sinner to the test, but he has hate in his soul for the lover of violent acts.
There is a blessing on the man who undergoes testing; because, if he has God's approval, he will be given the crown of life, which the Lord has said he will give to those who have love for him.
Now after these things, God put Abraham to the test, and said to him, Abraham; and he said, Here am I.
Six things are hated by the Lord; seven things are disgusting to him: Eyes of pride, a false tongue, hands which take life without cause; A heart full of evil designs, feet which are quick in running after sin; A false witness, breathing out untrue words, and one who lets loose violent acts among brothers.
Dear brothers, do not be surprised, as if it was something strange, if your faith is tested as by fire:
So that the true metal of your faith, being of much greater value than gold (which, though it comes to an end, is tested by fire), may come to light in praise and glory and honour, at the revelation of Jesus Christ:
And I will make the third part go through the fire, cleaning them as silver is made clean, and testing them as gold is tested: and they will make their prayer to me and I will give them an answer: I will say, It is my people; and they will say, The Lord is my God.
And in one month I put an end to the three keepers of the flock; for my soul was tired of them, and their souls were disgusted with me.
For you are not a God who takes pleasure in wrongdoing; there is no evil with you. The sons of pride have no place before you; you are a hater of all workers of evil.
O God, let the secrets of my heart be uncovered, and let my wandering thoughts be tested: See if there is any way of sorrow in me, and be my guide in the eternal way.
Put me in the scales, O Lord, so that I may be tested; let the fire make clean my thoughts and my heart.
Your hand will make a search for all your haters; your right hand will be hard on all those who are against you.
For the evil-doer is lifted up because of the purpose of his heart, and he whose mind is fixed on wealth is turned away from the Lord, saying evil against him.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 11
Commentary on Psalms 11 Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalm 11
In this psalm we have David's struggle with and triumph over a strong temptation to distrust God and betake himself to indirect means for his own safety in a time of danger. It is supposed to have been penned when he began to feel the resentments of Saul's envy, and had had the javelin thrown at him once and again. He was then advised to run his country. "No,' says he, "I trust in God, and therefore will keep my ground.' Observe,
In times of public fear, when the insults of the church's enemies are daring and threatening, it will be profitable to meditate on this psalm.
To the chief musician. A psalm of David.
Psa 11:1-3
Here is,
Psa 11:4-7
The shaking of a tree (they say) makes it take the deeper and faster root. The attempt of David's enemies to discourage his confidence in God engages him to cleave so much the more closely to his first principles, and to review them, which he here does, abundantly to his own satisfaction and the silencing of all temptations to infidelity. That which was shocking to his faith, and has been so to the faith of many, was the prosperity of wicked people in their wicked ways, and the straits and distresses which the best men are sometimes reduced to: hence such an evil thought as this was apt to arise, Surely it is vain to serve God, and we may call the proud happy. But, in order to stifle and shame all such thoughts, we are here called to consider,
In singing this psalm we must encourage and engage ourselves to trust in God at all times, must depend upon him to protect our innocence and make us happy, must dread his frowns as worse than death and desire his favour as better than life.