Click here to read PSALM 11 in poetic form.
Background
Ancient versions of Psalms (based on Massoretic and manuscript evidence) divide them into five sections that correspond to the first five books of the Bible.
(Psalms 1—41) Genesis: Written concerning “the true David,” the Messiah. Just as Genesis shows God’s “good work” in giving man dominion (Genesis 1:27-31) and in promising to send a redeemer (Genesis 3:15), these 41 Psalms show the Messiah overcoming his enemies with God’s help. The final Psalm ends with blessing God and “Amen and Amen.”
(Psalms 42—72) Exodus: Just as Moses brought deliverance to the children of Israel, so the Messiah would bring deliverance and redeem his people. Like Moses, the Messiah would speak for God to His people. Jesus Christ was a prophet, a spokesman for God, “like unto” Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15,18; Acts 3:22; 7:37). The final Psalm ends with blessing God and “Amen and Amen.”
(Psalms 73—89) Leviticus: Jesus Christ was a high priest after the order of Melchizedek (Psalms 110:4; Hebrews 5:6,10; 6:20; 7:1,10,11,15,17,21). Leviticus describes the holy place of the sanctuary, those who assembled there, the congregation of God’s people, and Zion as God’s place to be worshiped. These 17 Psalms each mention those “holy things,” which foreshadow the sanctification that the Messiah would bring to mankind. The final Psalm ends with blessing God and “Amen and Amen.”
(Psalms 90—106) Numbers: Whereas Numbers records the children of Israel wandering in the wilderness with God’s help and support to find rest, these Psalms show God helping the Messiah to bring rest to mankind. God quenched their thirst from a “rock” (Numbers 20:8-11), and some of these Psalms speak of God being their rock and defense. Mankind’s spiritual thirst was quenched in the rock that followed, Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 10:4; Matthew 5:6; John 4:13,14,15; 6:35; 7:37). The final Psalm ends with blessing God and “Amen” and “Hallelujah.”
(Psalms 107—150) Deuteronomy: Moses, as recorded in Deuteronomy, gave God’s people His Word just before they entered the Promised Land. These Psalms all deal with God’s Word being fulfilled in the Messiah. Psalm 119 is an acrostic with each alphabetic section containing 8 verses about the Word. Jesus Christ was the Word made flesh (John 1:14). These 44 conclude the Psalms, ending with praise to God for His work in the Messiah’s victory. Each of the final five Psalms begin and end with “Hallelujah.”
All the Psalms in the “Genesis” book have the title “a Psalm of David,” except for 1, 2, and 33 (Psalm 10 is a joined acrostic with Psalm 9). This title refers to the “son of David,” the Messiah. Psalm 11 shows the Messiah’s trust in the Lord in the face of evil men upon the earth.
Structure
(Verses 1-3) Messiah’s trust in the Lord when attacked by the wicked
(Verse 4) The Lord helps the Messiah
(Verses 5-6) Messiah’s trust in the Lord when attacked by the wicked
(Verse 7) The Lord helps the Messiah (the upright)
Key Scriptures
Verse 7—“For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.” The second half of this verse can be translated “the upright will look upon His face.” Jesus Christ was the upright one who always did the will of the Father (John 8:29).
FOR FURTHER STUDY
All 150 of The Psalms in Poetic Form are available from Amazon in a book, either Large Print or a smaller Bedside Reader. Also available for free with a Kindle Unlimited membership. Enjoy!
The entire blog series is now available in the publication The Psalms: Background & Structure with Key Scriptures Explained.
