The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men … For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness; the upright will behold His face. (Ps. 11:4, 7)

The Bible is all about God, first and primarily. This is true even in lament psalms like this one, full as it is with complaining to God about one’s difficulties and calling on Him to rebuke or destroy the adversaries. The key to all of life’s problems is knowing God. The psalmist uses his own experience of trials and conflicts as a prism for displaying the many facets of God’s glory and character.

So what is the background to David’s lament? Piecing together various clues, it seems that he is under military attack. He seeks refuge in God (Ps. 11:1a) because his enemies “bend the bow…make ready their arrow upon the string” (Ps. 11:2). His adversaries are threatening violence against him (Ps. 11:5).

David lays out the mocking challenge thrown at him, as he paraphrases in quotation form what his foes are saying to him (Ps. 11:1-3). This man of God is not projecting these words on them out of insecurity or fear. We take it that his detractors did say these things, trying to shake the confidence of David. “Flee as a bird to your mountain” (Ps. 11:1b). Does this sound like what bullies say today: “Run away to your mommy” or “Go back to where you belong” or “Why don’t you just quit the team” or “You are out of your league”? The bully barks out threats to his victim. David inserts his own words into the quote, “the wicked bend the bow.” His enemies, of course, would not call themselves wicked, but David inserts the reality of who they are into his paraphrase of their words. They are evil people threatening “the upright of heart.”

The final taunt is misused by many Christians today: “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” This rhetorical question is most likely part of the rant that wicked people throw at righteous people, in this case, David. Most major English translations use quotation marks to include verse 3 in the quotation of what David’s enemies are saying about him. (The New KJV doesn’t use any quotes at all.) Of course, the verse taken out of context does convey a general truth that foundations are essential for any action by righteous people. However, a true statement is wielded as a weapon against David, the righteous one. His enemies use this truism as a weapon, essentially proclaiming that David doesn’t have a leg to stand on, so he may as well give up.

Why would David be so concerned about the words of others? Today we teach children the rhyme, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me.” However, words do hurt when used as weapons. Even in warfare, propaganda can make a huge difference in how a battle turns out. Psychological warfare is real, whether in actual military conflicts or interpersonal clashes. So, David is not cowering in weakness but recognizing the effectiveness of mental games people play. Rather than dismiss the enemy’s tactics, he wisely takes their taunts to God.

And the place where God is, as pictured throughout the OT, is “in His holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven.” There is no false narrative in God’s presence, no manipulation, no bullying, no confusion, no toxic atmosphere when God examines and tests the motives and hearts of people. He can easily cut through the murkiness and deception of psychological warfare. This is true for not only the wicked but also the righteous: “The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked” (Ps. 11:5), meaning He will correctly judge who is right and who is wrong. And God’s judgment on the wicked will be severe:

Upon the wicked He will rain snares [coals of fire]; fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup. (Ps. 11:6)

Verses like this have long been used to scare people into conformity with images of an angry God. The frightful epic poem from the fourteenth century, Dante’s Inferno, is ridiculed and parodied today as characteristic of an outdated view of God and eternal judgment. However, Psalm 11:6 is, in fact, an inspired depiction of God’s attitude toward people who reject Him. The image here is of a volcanic eruption, which in the ancient world, as it is today, was a completely uncontrollable, cataclysmic event of enormous proportions. That is the nature of God’s judgment, and it rightly should put fear in the hearts of those who blatantly rebel against God.

As faithful, Bible-believing Christians, we cannot relegate this idea to being an OT view of God, replaced by a kind God of the NT. Jesus reflected the perspective of Psalm 11 when He explained and applied the parable of the seeds and tares. In referring to Himself as the Son of Man who will instigate the future judgment, He spoke clearly and definitively:

“The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.” (Matt. 13:41–43)

Praise God He balances His anger with His love. We join the psalmist in his prayer of praise …

“For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness; the upright will behold His face.”