Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 11:7

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Psalms 11:7. The righteous Lord loveth righteousness — He loves that which resembles himself. His countenance - his face - is ever open and unclouded to the upright. They always enjoy his salvation, and know that he is pleased with them.

The preceding verse my old MS. translates and paraphrases thus: -

He sal rayne on synful, snares, fyre, brimstane, and gost of stormis.

Par. - He sal rayne on synful in this werld, snares, that es wiked Lare: fyre is covatyse: brunstane, that es stynk of il werkes: and gost of stormis, that es a stormy though that es withoutyn rest in Ihesu Crist, and ay es traveld with the wynd of the devel. Or the gast of stormys, es the last depertyng of synful fra ryghtwis men, and there fyre, brunston, storm, er part of the chalyie of thaim: that es, thai ar thair part in pyne. He cals thair pyne a Cop, for ilk dampned man sal drynk of the sorow of Hel, eftir the mesure of hys Syn. Behald the pynes of wikid men: fyrst, God raynes upon thaim snares, that es qwen he suffers fals prophetes that comes in clathing of mekenes; and withinnen er wers than wolves, to desayf thaim thurgh errour. Sythen the fyre of lychery, and covatys wastes al the gude that thai haf done: eftirward for stynk of il werkes that er castyn fra Crist, and al his Halows, and then er in sentence of dome; as in a grete storme, dryven in til a pitte of Hel, to bryn in fyre withoutyn ende. This es the entent of this wers.

Ver. Psalms 11:7. For ryghtwis es Lord; and he lufes ryghtwisnes; evennes saw the face of hym — Yf ge ask qwy oure lorde yelded pyne to synful? lo here an answere; for he es rightwis. Als so if ge wil witt qwy he gifes ioy til gude men? Lo here an answere; for he lufed ryghtwisnes: that es, ryghtwis men, in the qwilk er many ryghtwisneses: thof ane be the ryghtwisnes of God, in the qwilk al ryghtwise men or parcenel. Evenes saw his face: that es, evenes es sene in his knawyng inence, both the partys of gud and il. This es ogayne wryches at sais, If God saf me noght, I dar say he es unryghtwis: bot thof thai say it now, qwen he suffris wryched men errour in thought, and worde and dede; thai sal noght be so hardy to speke a worde qwen he comes to dampne thaire errour. Bot who so lufes here and haldes that na unevenes may be in hym, qwam so he dampnes, or qwam so he saves, he sal have thaire myght to stand and to speke gude space. Now er swilk in a wonderful wodenes, that wenes for grete wordes to get ought of God.

The former part of this Psalm, Flee as a bird, c., this ancient author considers as the voice of heresy inviting the true Church to go away into error and intimates that those who were separating from haly kyrk were very pure, and unblameable in all their conduct; and that mountain or hill, as he translates it, signifies eminent virtues, of which they had an apparently good stock. So it appears that those called heretics lived then a holier life than those called halows or saints.

ANALYSIS OF THE ELEVENTH PSALM

This Psalm is composed dialoguewise, betwixt David and those of his counsellors that persuaded him to fly to some place of safety from Saul's fury; which, if he did not, he was in a desperate condition. The Psalm has two parts.

I. He relates his counsellors' words Psalms 11:1-3.

II. To which he returns his answer, Psalms 11:1, and confirms it, Psalms 11:4-7.

I. You, my counsellors, whether of good or bad will I know not, tempt me, that, giving up all hope of the kingdom, I go into perpetual banishment. Such, you say, is Saul's fury against me. Thus, then, ye advise, "Flee as a bird to your mountain:" and your arguments are,

1. The greatness of the danger I am in: "For lo, the wicked bend their bow."

2. The want of aid; there is no hope of help. For the foundations are cast down. Saul has broken all the leagues and covenants he has made with you. He has slain the priests with the sword, has taken thy fortresses, laws subverted. If thou stay, perish thou must: some righteous men, it is true, are left; but what can the righteous do?

II. To these their arguments and counsel, David returns his answer in a sharp reprehension. I tell you,

1. "I trust in God: how say you then to my soul." And he gives his reasons for it from the sufficiency and efficiency of God.

1. You say the foundations are cast down; yet I despair not, for God is sufficient.

1. Present in his holy temple; he can defend.

2. He is a great King, and his throne is in heaven.

3. Nothing is hidden from him: "His eyes behold, and his eyelids," c.

4. He is a just God, and this is seen in his proceedings both to the just and unjust. 1. He trieth the righteous, by a fatherly and gentle correction. 2. "But the wicked, and him that loveth violence, his soul hateth."

These two last propositions he expounds severally, and begins with the wicked.

1. "Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone," &c. 1. He shall rain upon them when they least think of it, even in the midst of their jollity, as rain falls on a fair day. 2. Or, he shall rain down the vengeance when he sees good, for it rains not always. Though he defer it, yet it will rain. 3. The punishment shall come to their utter subversion, as the fire on Sodom, &c. 4. This is the portion of their cup, that which they must expect from him.

2. But he does good to the just: "For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness his countenance doth behold the upright." He bears him good will, and is careful to defend him.

On the whole the Psalm shows, 1. That David had the strongest conviction of his own uprightness. 2. That he had the fullest persuasion that God would protect him from all his enemies, and give him a happy issue out of all his distresses.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 11-13 Persevere . . . or give in?

There came a time when David became tired of his continual flight from Saul, not just because it was wearying, but because it was cutting him off from the public worship places of God’s people (1 Samuel 26:19). His spiritual life was weakened and he gave in to the temptation to leave his own country for the safety of enemy Philistia (1 Samuel 27:1). This is the sort of temptation that David considers in Psalms 11:0, the temptation to go along with wrongdoing instead of resisting it.

If people act solely according to common sense, their suggestion in such a crisis will probably be to do what creates least hardship. After all (so the argument runs), if there is no law and order in the community, and if people in positions of power have set themselves to do evil, what can a righteous person gain by trying to resist (11:1-3)? David replies that such action really shows a lack of understanding of God’s holiness and no respect for his authority. God sees and understands all. He will pour out his wrath on the wicked, but he will comfort the faithful with the security of his presence (4-7).

The theme of Psalms 10:0 and 11 continues in Psalms 12:0, and indeed right through to Psalms 17:0. Ungodly people hold all the positions of power and pay no attention to the opinions of those who walk in God’s ways. They maintain their authority and influence only by twisting, ignoring or withholding the truth (12:1-4). But God sees and knows. He promises to protect the godly, and his promises can be trusted (5-6). His people know that their only hope is in him (7-8).

Continual persecution can be hard to bear. It tries the psalmist’s patience to the limit, causing him to cry out to God, almost in despair, asking when will God deliver him from his troubles (13:1-2). If he dies, his enemies will think they have won the battle against him (3-4). However, the very act of crying out to God lightens his burden. It reminds him that the one to whom he cries has bound himself to his people with a covenant love, and he will not fail (5-6).

God’s steadfast love

Frequently the psalmists rejoice in a characteristic of God that RSV translates as ‘steadfast love’, GNB translates as ‘constant love’, and other versions translate as ‘loyalty’, ‘love’, ‘mercy’, ‘kindness’ and ‘loving kindness’. These are all translations of the Hebrew word chesed, which has the meaning of covenant loyalty or faithfulness.

A covenant was an agreement between two parties that carried with it obligations and blessings. Chesed was a particularly strong form of love, which bound a person to be faithful and loyal to the other party in the covenant. In the Psalms the word is used frequently to denote the loyal love and covenant faithfulness that God exercises towards his people through all their trials and joys (e.g Psalms 13:5; Psalms 25:7).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

THE SONG OF THE STEDFAST
(FOR THE CHIEF MUSICIAN. A PSALM OF DAVID)

“In Jehovah do I take my refuge: How say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain; For, lo, the wicked bend the bow, They make ready their arrow upon the string. That they may shoot in darkness at the upright in heart; If the foundations be destroyed, What can the righteous do? Jehovah is in his holy temple; Jehovah, his throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, his eyelids try the children of men. Jehovah trieth the righteous; But the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. Upon the wicked he will rain snares; Fire and brimstone and burning wind shall be the portion of their cup. For Jehovah is righteous: The upright shall behold his face.”

As indicated by our arrangement of the text here, this magnificent psalm falls into two divisions. In Psalms 11:1-3, David is wrongfully advised by well-meaning, but erroneous counselors, to flee for his life like as a bird flies toward some mountain. This advice is reinforced by their mention of the murderers who are preparing to kill him, and by the fact that, according to these advisers, the battle is already lost; the foundations have been destroyed; the cause is hopeless; why not abandon a sinking ship?

Spurgeon believed that the historical situation was that of Saul’s enmity against David, and before Saul’s final attempt upon David’s life.Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Treasury of David (ZPH), p. 49. Others have suggested that the situation existed during Absalom’s rebellion against David; and, as Yates said, “The circumstances are strikingly similar to those of several episodes in David’s life.”Kyle M. Yates, Wycliffe Bible Commentary of the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1962), p. 500. And, as McCaw stated it, “The psalm belongs to all of those occasions when evil powers threaten the security and well-being of God’s people.”Leslie S. McCaw, The New Bible Commentary, Revised (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1970), p. 457. Dummelow also took a broad view of the psalm’s application thus: This is a song of confidence in God, and in the security of the righteous under his protection, notwithstanding the timid counsels of less trustful friends, and the evil devices of the wicked, who are doomed to destruction.J. R. Dummelow, On the Old Testament (New York, The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 333.

We appreciate also Rhodes’ comment that:

Psalms 11 is one of the gems of the Psalter classified as affirmations of faith in spite of danger to himself, in spite of advice of friends to flee, and in spite of the seeming hopelessness of the cause.Arnold B. Rhodes, The Layman’s Bible Commentary (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1960), p. 38.

Some have classified this as one of the so-called “Persecution Psalms,” which Maclaren identified as Psalms 3; Psalms 7; Psalms 9; Psalms 14; Psalms 17, in addition to this one.Alexander Maclaren, Psalms (New York: Eaton and Mains, 1892), p. 102.

According to Barnes, all of these Psalms 11:1-3, except the opening declaration of faith in the Lord, may be regarded as the words of David’s well-meaning, but erroneous advisers.Albert Barnes, The Psalms (Baker Book House, 1950), pp. 99, 100. It is also the opinion of this writer that some of these strong admonitions to flee from danger might have come from the promptings of David’s own sense of prudence in the face of danger. Whatever their source, the glory of the psalmist is that he was able to overcome them and to act upon his implicit trust in God.

The second half of the psalm, Psalms 11:4-7, affirms the psalmist’s unwavering trust and confidence in God. He thundered the name of Jehovah no less than four times in this concluding division. God Himself is the answer to all of man’s problems, doubts, dangers and fears. God is in heaven; He is in His holy temple, and that expression in this context has no relation whatever to some earthly house,

God loves the righteous and abhors the wicked. His eyes run to and fro through the whole earth and He sees all, knows all, and will always act whenever the proper time for action has come. Men who have already fled for refuge in Jehovah have no need whatever to seek refuge anywhere else. God is indeed the ultimate refuge.

The mention in Psalms 11:5 that Jehovah trieth the righteous suggests that God’s people are purposely exposed to wickedness because of God’s purpose thus to strengthen and develop them.

He will rain fire and brimstone. It is usually admitted by scholars that there is a remembrance in these words of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, a very remarkable event recorded in Genesis which must be considered as a type of the eternal judgment. The mention of that overthrow here suggests that the psalmist is thinking of the final judgment and destruction of all the wicked when “The great day of God’s wrath” has finally come.

The great lesson for all Christians in this psalm is that we should not attempt to run away from every danger but place our trust in God. Will not the Lord look after His own children? Indeed He will! Yes indeed, they will be threatened, persecuted, hated, even sometimes put to death, but, as Jesus Christ told his apostles:

“Ye shall be delivered up even by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolk, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake. And not a hair of your head shall perish” (Luke 21:16-18).

What a marvelous security is this! Even if we are put to death, “not a hair of our head shall perish.” It was this very confidence and spiritual security that enabled the psalmist in the situation here to resist all suggestions that he give up and flee from the scene. Souls that are truly in harmony with God will find the strength to say in the most important crisis that life can offer, “Here I stand; so help me God, I cannot do otherwise”!

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness - This would be more correctly rendered, “For Jehovah is righteous; he loves righteousness.” The idea is, that God is himself righteous, and, consequently, he loves those who are righteous. He may be confided in, therefore, by the righteous as their friend, and being under his protection they have nothing to fear.

His countenance doth behold the upright - The word rendered “countenance” is, in the Hebrew, in the plural number; literally,” his faces.” It is not easy to account for this use of the plural, though it is common in the Scriptures. There may be an allusion to the fact that man seems to have two faces - one on the right side, and one on the left, two eyes, two cheeks, two nostrils, etc., as if made up of two persons. Applied to God, it has no other signification than it has when applied to man; nor should we seek to find anything mystical in the fact that the plural form is used. The term here, like the eyelids in Psalms 11:6, is equivalent to eyes, since the most remarkable feature of the countenance is the eyes; and the idea is, that God looks upon the upright; that is, he sees their dangers amid their wants; he looks upon them with favor and affection. Being thus constantly under his eye, and being objects of his favorable regard, they can have nothing to fear; or, in other words, they are safe. This, then, is the argument of the righteous man, in reply to the suggestion Psalms 11:1 that he should “flee” from danger. The argument is, that God would be his defender, and that he might safely rely on His protection. The wicked have everything to fear; the righteous, nothing. The one is never safe; the other, always. The one will be delivered out of all his troubles; the end of the other can be only ruin.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

7.For the righteous Jehovah loveth righteousness. The Psalmist has just now reasoned from the office of God that he will punish the wicked, and now, from the nature of God, he concludes, that he will be the defender of the good and the upright. As he is righteous, David shows that, as the consequence of this, he must love righteousness, for otherwise he would deny himself. Besides, it would be a cold speculation to conceive of righteousness as inherent in God, unless, at the same time, we could come to the settled conclusion that God graciously owns whatever is his own, and furnishes evidence of this in the government of the world. Some think that the abstract term righteousness is put for righteous persons. But, in my opinion, the literal sense is here more suitable, namely, that righteousness is well pleasing to God, and that, therefore, he favors good causes. From this the Psalmist concludes, that the upright are the objects of his regard: His countenance approveth the upright He had said a little before in a different sense, that God beholds the children of men, meaning that he will judge the life of every man; but here he means that God graciously exercises a special care over the upright and the sincere, takes them under his protection, and keeps them in perfect safety. This conclusion of the psalm sufficiently shows, that the scope of the whole of it was to make it manifest that all those who, depending upon the grace of God, sincerely follow after righteousness, shall be safe under his protection. The Psalmist himself was one of this number and, indeed, the very chief of them. This last clause, His countenance approveth the upright, is, indeed, variously explained; but the true meaning, I have no doubt, is, that God has always a regard for the upright, and never turns away his eyes from them. It is a strained interpretation to view the words as meaning that the upright shall behold the face of God. But I will not stop to refute the opinions of other men.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Psalms 11:1-7 is to the chief musician. It is a psalm of David.

In the LORD put I my trust: how do you say to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain? ( Psalms 11:1 )

My trust is in the Lord. Why should I flee to the mountains? Why should I try to hide from trouble? My trust is in God.

For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they might privately shoot at the upright in heart. Now if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? ( Psalms 11:2-3 )

I think that this is a very interesting question that we need to ask ourselves at the present time, as we look at the state of our nation. And we see the foundations being destroyed. The moral foundations upon which our nation was built are being destroyed. The liberal politicians are undermining and destroying the foundations upon which this nation was built, and if the foundations are destroyed, what are the righteous going to do? The thing is going to crumble. Even as Rome was conquered, not from without, but it crumbled from within, because of the rotten planks that once held the nation Rome strong. The law and so forth became corrupt, rotten.

The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD'S throne is in the heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men. The LORD tries the righteous: but the wicked and him that loves violence his soul hates. Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and a horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup. For the righteous LORD loves righteousness; and his countenance doth behold the upright ( Psalms 11:4-7 ). "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 11

David appears to have been fleeing from an enemy when he wrote this psalm, but we do not know the exact background incident. He expressed confidence that, even though lawful authority might perish, the godly can trust in the Lord to punish the wicked and deliver the righteous. The central issue in this psalm of individual lament, with emphases on trust and thanksgiving, is the persecution of the righteous by the wicked.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

2. Confidence in God 11:4-7

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

God hates violence and will punish it (Psalms 11:5-6), but He loves righteousness and will reward it with His fellowship, presence, protection, and favor. He will admit the godly to His presence, and they will enjoy His blessings. This is a greater prize than physical safety.

From time to time it seems as though society as we know it is crumbling around us. The prophets of doom counsel us to take drastic measures to preserve ourselves or we will perish, they say. The godly should remember that God is still in control, and He will take care of those who trust in Him and behave in harmony with His will.

"Our Lord Jesus also had confidence in the Father when he faced the temptations of Satan and the hostility of people. When our hearts trust in him, he has promised to help us in crisis situations. Confidence in the Lord is a mark of Christian maturity." [Note: VanGemeren, p. 131.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness,.... The Lord is righteous in himself, and in all his ways and works; and therefore righteousness, as it lies both in punishing the wicked, and in maintaining the righteous cause of his people, must be loved by him, it being agreeable to his nature: he loves to exercise righteousness in the earth, to administer it to and among men; this he delights in. He is well pleased with the righteousness of his Son, it being satisfactory to his justice, and that by which his law is magnified and made honourable; and he is well pleased with his people, as they are clothed with it: and he approves of their righteous actions, as they are done in obedience to his righteous law, in faith, from a principle of love, and with a view to his glory; these are acceptable to him in Christ;

his countenance doth behold the upright; whom wicked men privily shoot at, Psalms 11:2; God looks with pleasure upon them, and takes delight in them, and takes care of them, protects and defends them, and at last saves them; and which, with all that goes before, was an encouragement to David to trust in the Lord; see Psalms 7:10; and moreover, the Lord lifts up the light of his countenance on such, and indulges them with his gracious presence, than which nothing is more comfortable and desirable. Some choose to render the word, "their countenance" y, meaning the trinity of Persons, Father, Son, and Spirit, who all have a gracious regard to such: others render the clause thus, "the upright shall see his face", the face of God; so the Chaldee paraphrase and the Arabic version; see Psalms 17:15.

y פנימו "facies eorum", Genebrardus, Vatablus, Gussetius; so R. Japhet in Aben Ezra, who compares it with Genesis xx. 13.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      4 The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD's throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.   5 The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.   6 Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and a horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.   7 For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.

      The shaking of a tree (they say) makes it take the deeper and faster root. The attempt of David's enemies to discourage his confidence in God engages him to cleave so much the more closely to his first principles, and to review them, which he here does, abundantly to his own satisfaction and the silencing of all temptations to infidelity. That which was shocking to his faith, and has been so to the faith of many, was the prosperity of wicked people in their wicked ways, and the straits and distresses which the best men are sometimes reduced to: hence such an evil thought as this was apt to arise, Surely it is vain to serve God, and we may call the proud happy. But, in order to stifle and shame all such thoughts, we are here called to consider,

      I. That there is a God in heaven: The Lord is in his holy temple above, where, though he is out of our sight, we are not out of his. Let not the enemies of the saints insult over them, as if they were at a loss and at their wits' end: no, they have a God, and they know where to find him and how to direct their prayer unto him, as their Father in heaven. Or, He is in his holy temple, that is, in his church; he is a God in covenant and communion with his people, through a Mediator, of whom the temple was a type. We need not say, "Who shall go up to heaven, to fetch us thence a God to trust to?" No, the word is nigh us, and God in the word; his Spirit is in his saints, those living temples, and the Lord is that Spirit.

      II. That this God governs the world. The Lord has not only his residence, but his throne, in heaven, and he has set the dominion thereof in the earth (Job 38:33); for, having prepared his throne in the heavens, his kingdom ruleth over all,Psalms 103:19. Hence the heavens are said to rule,Daniel 4:26. Let us by faith see God on this throne, on his throne of glory, infinitely transcending the splendour and majesty of earthly princes--on his throne of government, giving law, giving motion, and giving aim, to all the creatures--on his throne of judgment, rendering to every man according to his works--and on his throne of grace, to which his people may come boldly for mercy and grace; we shall then see no reason to be discouraged by the pride and power of oppressors, or any of the afflictions that attend the righteous.

      III. That this God perfectly knows every man's true character: His eyes behold, his eye-lids try, the children of men; he not only sees them, but he sees through them, not only knows all they say and do, but knows what they think, what they design, and how they really stand affected, whatever they pretend. We may know what men seem to be, but he knows what they are, as the refiner knows what the value of the gold is when he has tried it. God is said to try with his eyes, and his eye-lids, because he knows men, not as earthly princes know men, by report and representation, but by his own strict inspection, which cannot err nor be imposed upon. This may comfort us when we are deceived in men, even in men that we think we have tried, that God's judgment of men, we are sure, is according to truth.

      IV. That, if he afflict good people, it is for their trial and therefore for their good, Psalms 11:5; Psalms 11:5. The Lord tries all the children of men that he may do them good in their latter end,Deuteronomy 8:16. Let not that therefore shake our foundations nor discourage our hope and trust in God.

      V. That, however persecutors and oppressors may prosper and prevail awhile, they now lie under, and will for ever perish under, the wrath of God. 1. He is a holy God, and therefore hates them, and cannot endure to look upon them: The wicked, and him that loveth violence, his soul hateth; for nothing is more contrary to the rectitude and goodness of his nature. Their prosperity is so far from being an evidence of God's love that their abuse of it does certainly make them the objects of his hatred. He that hates nothing that he has made, yet hates those who have thus ill-made themselves. Dr. Hammond offers another reading of Psalms 11:5: The Lord trieth the righteous and the wicked (distinguishes infallibly between them, which is more than we can do), and he that loveth violence hateth his own soul, that is, persecutors bring certain ruin upon themselves (Proverbs 8:36), as follows here. 2. He is a righteous Judge, and therefore he will punish them, Psalms 11:6; Psalms 11:6. Their punishment will be, (1.) Inevitable: Upon the wicked he shall rain snares. Here is a double metaphor, to denote the unavoidableness of the punishment of wicked men. It shall be rained upon them from heaven (Job 20:23), against which there is no fence and from which there is no escape; see Joshua 10:11; 1 Samuel 2:10. It shall surprise them as a sudden shower sometimes surprises the traveller in a summer's day. It shall be as snares upon them, to hold them fast, and keep them prisoners, till the day of reckoning comes. (2.) Very terrible. It is fire, and brimstone, and a horrible tempest, which plainly alludes to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and very fitly, for that destruction was intended for a figure of the vengeance of eternal fire,Jude 1:7. The fire of God's wrath, fastening upon the brimstone of their own guilt, will burn certainly and furiously, will burn to the lowest hell and the utmost line of eternity. What a horrible tempest are the wicked hurried away in at death! What a lake of fire and brimstone must they make their bed in for ever, in the congregation of the dead and damned! It is this that is here meant; it is this that shall be the portion of their cup, the heritage appointed them by the Almighty and allotted to them, Job 20:29. This is the cup of trembling which shall be put into their hands, which they must drink the dregs of, Psalms 75:8. Every man has the portion of his cup assigned him. Those who choose the Lord for the portion of their cup shall have what they choose, and be for ever happy in their choice (Psalms 16:5); but those who reject his grace shall be made to drink the cup of his fury, Jeremiah 25:15; Isaiah 51:17; Habakkuk 2:16.

      VI. That, though honest good people may be run down and trampled upon, yet God does and will own them, and favour them, and smile upon them, and that is the reason why God will severely reckon with persecutors and oppressors, because those whom they oppress and persecute are dear to him; so that whosoever toucheth them toucheth the apple of his eye,Psalms 11:7; Psalms 11:7. 1. He loves them and the work of his own grace in them. He is himself a righteous God, and therefore loves righteousness wherever he finds it and pleads the cause of the righteous that are injured and oppressed; he delights to execute judgment for them, Psalms 103:6. We must herein be followers of God, must love righteousness as he does, that we may keep ourselves always in his love. He looks graciously upon them: His countenance doth behold the upright; he is not only at peace with them, and puts gladness into their hearts, by letting them know that he is so. He, like a tender father, looks upon them with pleasure, and they, like dutiful children, are pleased and abundantly satisfied with his smiles. They walk in the light of the Lord.

      In singing this psalm we must encourage and engage ourselves to trust in God at all times, must depend upon him to protect our innocence and make us happy, must dread his frowns as worse than death and desire his favour as better than life.