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Psalms 11:5-7 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

5 The LORD H3068 trieth H974 the righteous: H6662 but the wicked H7563 and him that loveth H157 violence H2555 his soul H5315 hateth. H8130

6 Upon the wicked H7563 he shall rain H4305 snares, H6341 fire H784 and brimstone, H1614 and an horrible H2152 tempest: H7307 this shall be the portion H4521 of their cup. H3563

7 For the righteous H6662 LORD H3068 loveth H157 righteousness; H6666 his countenance H6440 doth behold H2372 the upright. H3477

Commentary on Psalms 11 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible


PSALM 11

Ps 11:1-7. On title, see Introduction. Alluding to some event in his history, as in 1Sa 23:13, the Psalmist avows his confidence in God, when admonished to flee from his raging persecutors, whose destruction of the usual foundations of safety rendered all his efforts useless. The grounds of his confidence are God's supreme dominion, His watchful care of His people, His hatred to the wicked and judgments on them, and His love for righteousness and the righteous.

1. my soul—me (Ps 3:2).

Flee—literally, "flee ye"; that is, he and his companion.

as a bird to your mountain—having as such no safety but in flight (compare 1Sa 26:20; La 3:52).

2. privily—literally, "in darkness," treacherously.

3. Literally, "The foundations (that is, of good order and law) will be destroyed, what has the righteous done (to sustain them)?" All his efforts have failed.

4. temple … heaven—The connection seems to denote God's heavenly residence; the term used is taken from the place of His visible earthly abode (Ps 2:6; 3:4; 5:7). Thence He inspects men with close scrutiny.

5. The trial of the righteous results in their approval, as it is contrasted with God's hatred to the wicked.

6. Their punishment is described by vivid figures denoting abundant, sudden, furious, and utter destruction (compare Ge 19:24; Job 18:15; Ps 7:15; 9:15).

cup—is a frequent figure for God's favor or wrath (Ps 16:5; 23:5; Mt 20:22, 23).

7. his countenance—literally, "their faces," a use of the plural applied to God, as in Ge 1:26; 3:22; 11:7; Isa 6:8, &c., denoting the fulness of His perfections, or more probably originating in a reference to the trinity of persons. "Faces" is used as "eyes" (Ps 11:4), expressing here God's complacency towards the upright (compare Ps 34:15, 16).