Псалом 11

Ps.11-13 were written during persecution from Saul. This is confirmed both by the severity of David’s suffering depicted in the psalm, the duration of the dominance of the wicked over him, and the open and general spread of slander against him by his enemies, as well as David’s bitter cry about the destruction of righteousness on earth and the spread of lies. All this corresponds to the time of persecution from Saul, but not the uprising of Absalom, which was prepared secretly and did not have a lasting advantage over David. The bitter lamentation in these psalms of David about the decline of moral purity among the people presupposes in him the consciousness of his complete righteousness before God, which, as we said, is also a feature of the psalms from the era of Saul’s persecution. David prays to God to help him, since he is surrounded everywhere by deceitful people (2-3). David believes that the Lord will not allow these people to triumph, that He will save those whom they want to destroy (4-6). The promise of God to protect the righteous is as certain and true as refined silver, and it is effective, even if the wicked temporarily gain the upper hand (7-9). Ps.11:2. Save [me], Lord, for the righteous is no more, for there are none faithful among the sons of men. “The righteous is no more” can be understood not only in the sense of indicating that during Saul’s persecution the prevailing and active mood of both the people and the highest dignitaries close to this king was an “unrighteous”, undeserved and hostile attitude towards David, but also as David’s indication of his weakness, his fatigue from continuous persecution. The righteous man has ceased to exist - he lacks the strength (in the Vulgate - Sanctus detecit) to constantly run from enemies and invent ways to escape from them, he has weakened from persecution. Ps.11:3. Everyone tells a lie to his neighbor; flattering lips speak from a feigned heart. As a persecuted king, David could not find sincere sympathy and open help anywhere. The latter would inevitably bring wrath on such a person from the king. David could not rely on anyone for fear of being betrayed; in relations with himself, he saw only pretense and lies. Ps.11:5. those who say: “We will prevail with our tongue, our lips are with us; Who is our master? The Lord will punish those who say: “We will prevail with our tongue... who is our master?” Saul’s hostile attitude towards David was supported by slander against the latter from the court flatterers, for whom the personality of David, who had created himself popularity among the common people, was dangerous due to his possible rise above them, so they lied about David before Saul, brought all sorts of accusations against him, confident in their impunity - who could expose them? ("Who is our master"). Ps.11:6. For the sake of the suffering of the poor and the sighing of the poor, now I will rise, says the Lord, I will place in safety the one whom they want to catch. Ps.11:7. The words of the Lord are pure words, silver purified from the earth in a furnace, refined seven times. Ps.11:8. You, Lord, will preserve them, keep them from this generation forever. But what people cannot do will be accomplished by the Lord, who says that He will “rise to defend” the offended and persecuted righteous. This promise of God is as infallible and valuable as silver, cleansed from the ligature. On this purity and immutability of the Divine promise is based the confidence that the Lord will always, including during real persecution, preserve the righteous. Ps.11:9. The wicked walk everywhere, when the lowliest of the sons of men are exalted. This faith in God supports David amid conditions favorable to the spread of corruption: since people who are morally insignificant have risen and received honor in society (of course, the slanderers close to Saul), the wicked dominate throughout the country (“they walk everywhere”). You might be interested in: