To the Chief Musician, of David
1. In Yahweh I take refuge.
How can you say to my soul,
"Flee to your mountain like a bird?
2. For behold! the wicked will bend the bow,
They set their arrow on the string,
To shoot in darkness at the upright of heart!
3. If foundations will be thrown down,
What will a righteous one do?"
4. Yahweh is in his holy temple.
Yahweh, in heaven is the throne.
His eyes will behold, his eyelids will examine the sons of man.
5. Yahweh the righteous one will examine,
And the wicked one and the one who loves violence his soul hates.
6. He will rain on the wicked ones snares.
Fire and brimstone and a wind of raging heat,
Will be the portion of their cup.
7. For righteous is Yahweh.
Righteousness he loves.
The upright one will behold his face.
Psalm 11 is another psalm of judgment. Because the Father has committed all judgment to the Son, we see again the judgment that our Lord Jesus Christ does now and will do when he comes again.
The wicked threaten the righteous and try to make them forsake their place and calling in the world: ‘Flee to your mountain!’ The leaders of the Jews tried to do this to the apostles (Acts 4:18-21), commanding them not to speak in the name of Jesus and threatening them. Many of God’s people both in Old and New Testaments have endured this kind of persecution. Sometimes the persecution becomes so intense that it seems the foundations must crumble.
But we take refuge in the Lord. We know that the Lord Jesus examines us all the time. His purpose is to search out wicked ways in us and cleanse us from them. We also know that his soul hates the wicked. He is righteous and he will bring judgment on them. Fire and brimstone and a wind of raging heat will be the portion of their cup. But our portion will be to behold the face of our savior in glory. We will be satisfied when we awake with his likeness.
There is another aspect to the Christology of this psalm. Herod tried to frighten Jesus in the same way that David’s enemies tried to frighten him. The leaders of the Jews came to Jesus one day and said, Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill you (Lk 13:31). But Jesus refused to stop doing the work his Father had commanded him to do. He said, Go, tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.’ He trusted that the Lord would be his refuge.
Psalm 11 teaches us that the one who examines us and knows all our sins is also the one who has been tempted in everything just as we are tempted. He knows our frame and remembers that we are dust. He is a compassionate and faithful high priest as well as a righteous judge.