Chapter Eleven

Ps 11-13 were written during the persecutions by Saul. This is confirmed both by the severity of the sufferings portrayed in the psalm, the duration of the dominion over him by the wicked, and by the open and widespread circulation against him of slander by his enemies, as well as by David’s bitter cry about the destruction on earth of righteousness and the spread of falsehood. All this corresponds to the time of persecutions by Saul, but not to the rebellion of Absalom, which was being prepared secretly and did not have a prolonged advantage over David. The bitter lamentation in these psalms of David about the decline in the people of moral purity presupposes in David himself the consciousness of his complete righteousness before God, which, as we have said, is also a particular characteristic of the psalms from the epoch of persecution by Saul.

David prays to God to help him, since he is surrounded on all sides by false people (verses 2-3). David believes that the Lord will not allow these people to triumph and will save those whom they wish to destroy (verses 4-6). God’s promise of protection for the righteous is as immutable and true as refined silver, and it is effective even though the wicked temporarily gain the advantage (verses 7-9).

Psalm 11:2. Save me, Lord, for there is no longer anyone godly; the faithful have vanished from mankind. “There is no longer anyone godly” can be understood not only in the sense of indicating that during Saul’s persecutions the predominant and active mood of both the people and the highest officials in the circle of the king was “unrighteous,” unjust and hostile treatment of David, but also as David’s indication of his own weakness, his weariness from incessant persecutions. There is no longer anyone godly—he lacks the strength (in the Vulgate—the sanctified are diminished) to continuously run from enemies and invent ways to save himself from them; he has grown weak from pursuit.

Psalm 11:3. Everyone speaks lies to his neighbor; they flatter with smooth lips, speaking from deceitful hearts. As one being persecuted by the king, David could not meet with sincere sympathy and open help anywhere. The latter would inevitably incur the wrath of the king toward such a person. David could not rely on anyone for fear of being betrayed; in his relations he saw only hypocrisy and lies.

Psalm 11:5. those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail; our lips are with us—who is lord over us? The Lord will punish those who say: “With our tongue we will prevail, ... who is lord over us?” Saul’s hostile treatment of David was sustained by slanders against him from the courtly flatterers, for whom the personality of David, who had created popularity for himself among the common people, was dangerous due to his possible elevation above them; therefore they lied to David before Saul, brought all kinds of accusations against him, confident in their impunity—who could expose them? (“Who is lord over us?”).

Psalm 11:6. “Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the Lord, “I will place them in the safety they long for. Psalm 11:7. The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times. Psalm 11:8. You, Lord, will keep them; You will preserve them from this generation forever. But what people cannot do the Lord will accomplish, who says that He “will now arise in defense” of the wronged and persecuted righteous ones. This promise of God is as infallible and valuable as refined silver, freed from alloy. On this purity and infallibility of God’s promise is based the confidence that the Lord will always, and thus during the present persecutions, preserve the righteous one.

Psalm 11:9. The wicked prowl on every side when baseness is exalted among mankind. This faith in God sustains David amid conditions favorable to the spread of corruption: since people morally base (meaning slanderers and courtly flatterers) have been exalted and received honor in society, the wicked hold sway “on every side” throughout the land.