Reading Psalm 11

Many times when we read the Psalms we are not sure how to take them. The Psalms are poetry, and like poetry throughout human history, they use simile and metaphors to create images and fire the imagination to communicate an idea. Often the Psalms are communicating an actual historical event, like the modern ballad. Sometimes they are simply the lament of the author over some event or action by him or others, which are connected to an actual historical event.

While acknowledging this literary truth about the Psalms, we also affirm they are inspired Scripture. The Psalms are written by a human author under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit; this inspiration is intended for all people across time, including us. The challenge comes in understanding how they apply to us today as modern readers. Psalm 11 is an example of understanding how a Psalm applies to us today.

David starts Psalm 11 describing his state, being pursued by his enemies with the purpose of killing him. David then makes his pivot** in verse 4, there David talks about God’s place in heaven and how He is the final judge over the pursued and the pursuer. God will deliver the righteous and judge the wicked.

David expected God to intervene in his situation and provide justice. We see from I and II Samuel that God did so. We too can call to God and hope in His intervening for us in this life when evil pursues us, but we can’t claim this Psalm as a promise He will intervene in this life. We see from church and human history God does not always intervene in this life, Jim Elliot and his co-laborers in Ecuador in 1952 is an example of God not intervening in this life for the righteous and the pursued.

God will intervene for believers, some of the time in this life. However, the Psalm for us is a picture of how God intervenes in eternity over sin and eternal punishment. We should see this Psalm as a promise that comes true, and finds its ultimate fulfillment, at the great judgment occurring at the end of time.

God’s intervening for David in this life is a picture of how God will intervene for all His children in eternity, when the accuser drags our sins before God, which he was the inciter and instigator for, and declares we are not God’s children and belong with Satan in hell. The LORD will judge Satan for his wicked actions, but because of the work of Christ, His children will behold His face, declared upright.

When we are unjustly pursued by wicked individuals and hoping in God’s intervening hand in this life, we can read Psalm 11 and hope God will act for us, while recognizing that the ultimate fulfillment is in the future, when God judges based on our faith in Christ and His work on the Cross.


** The term pivot is one I use to describe the point in a Psalm where the author suddenly pivots and takes the Psalm in a different direction from where he started. Every Psalm has a pivot point, and often they occur in the middle of a Psalm. Sometimes the Psalm will have more than one pivot point.