For they have destroyed the things which thou hast made: but what has the just man done?

“Do you see a ready ally, a well-prepared aid, present everywhere, seeing everything, gazing on all things, having as his particular role—even if no one requests it—to exercise providence and care, to pursue wrongdoers, to assist the wronged, to award recompense to the virtuous, to assign punishment to sinners? He is, therefore, ignorant of nothing; his eyes in fact look attentively on the whole world. He is not simply aware of things, however; he also wants to correct them.… If, in fact, he is righteous, he will not simply overlook these happenings. He rebuffs the wicked; he praises the righteous.”

“In the preceding Psalms a thanksgiving was set forth for deliverance from enemies; here he shows the confidence conceived from this. And he speaks in the person of a man desiring the benefits of God, who obtains security. The title, "Unto the end, a Psalm of David": Jerome has, "the victor." This was expounded above. This Psalm can be expounded literally of David; mystically, however, of Christ, or allegorically; morally, indeed, of the just man and of heretics, as the Gloss expounds. First, then, David sets forth his confidence, "In the Lord I put my trust," as one delivered by the just judgment of God, which casts down sinners and exalts the poor: Jeremiah 17: "Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and the Lord shall be his confidence"; Daniel 3: "There is no confusion to them that trust in thee." Second, he sets down the assault made upon his confidence, which was made by words: "How say you," etc. For to David as he fled, certain men counseled that he should go to fortified places and mountains, or that he should hide there, as a sparrow is made to do. How? "Behold the sinners," etc. And this is expounded in two ways. First, that these are the words not of David, but of others: as if to say, therefore flee away, because they have bent the bow. Or that they are the words of David, as if to say: I trust in the Lord, because they have bent the bow, the sinners have prepared their arrows, etc. And he does three things: first he sets down their depraved solicitude; second, their perverse intention, that they may shoot; third, their unjust action, "because the things which thou hast made perfect." Mystically, of Christ, thus: I, Christ, trust in the Lord: how then do you Pharisees say, flee into the mountain, that is, to the observances of the Law given on Mount Sinai — Deuteronomy 33: "The Lord came from Sinai, and rose to us from Seir" — and unless thou do this, behold the sinners have bent the bow, etc., that is, they have prepared themselves to kill thee and thy disciples; and this, because the things which thou hast made perfect they have destroyed, that is, they have slain. Or morally, the faithful man says to the heretics, according to the Gloss, "I trust in the Lord," holding to his faith: how then do you heretics say, come over to us, into the mountain, that is, to Christ, whom the heretics believed themselves to possess? Isaiah 2: "The mountain of the house of the Lord shall be prepared on the top of mountains"; 2 Kings 1: "Ye mountains of Gilboa, let neither dew nor rain come upon you, neither be there fields of firstfruits, for there was cast away the shield of the valiant," that is, of the Jews, or of the great heretics: Jeremiah 51: "Behold, I am the pestilent mountain, who corrupts the whole earth." Or the mountain is the loftiness of understanding which they feign themselves to have. But if I should do this, I should be a flighty sparrow, not one who abides. For behold, the sinners, that is, the heretics, have bent the bow, that is, they have drawn Sacred Scripture to themselves, as those who bend a bow; they have prepared arrows, poisonous utterances, in the quiver, that is, in memory or knowledge: Jeremiah 5: "Their quiver is as an open sepulchre." Jerome has, "their arrows upon the string," that is, the cord: the perverse intention, that they may shoot at the upright of heart, that is, the just, in the dark, that is, deceitfully: Jeremiah 9: "Their tongue is a wounding arrow." Or, "in the dark," that is, in the subtleties of Sacred Scripture. Another reading has, "in the darkened moon." The moon is the Church: Song of Songs 6: "Fair as the moon," on account of her brightness, and on account of her obscuring. The brightness of the moon is from the sun; so the brightness of the Church is from Christ: John 1: "That was the true light which enlighteneth," etc. Likewise, one half of the moon's globe is bright, and the other half dark; so in the Church some are bright, some are dark. Now the moon is obscured, according to the Gloss, sometimes by its revolution, and thus it becomes dark; sometimes by an eclipse, and then it is turned into blood; sometimes by the interposition of a cloud, and then it becomes black. So the Church becomes dark in her newness, when there are not in her preachers and doctors; bloody through the persecution of tyrants; black through clouds, that is, through the seduction of heretics; and then he wishes to shoot. Here their unjust action is set down, "because the things which thou hast made perfect they have destroyed." Another reading has, "because him whom thou hast made perfect"; but the first is better, and according to Jerome, "because the laws which thou hast made perfect they have destroyed": Isaiah 48: "I know that thou art a transgressor, and I have called thee a transgressor from the womb"; Jeremiah 2: "Of old time thou hast broken the yoke, thou hast burst the bands; thou hast said, I will not serve": as if to say, they will destroy thy law, which thou didst command to be kept. Exodus 33: "The innocent and just thou shalt not condemn"; but these men wish to kill him: Psalm 118: "The wicked have destroyed thy law"; and God made it perfect, because he gave it: Psalm 147: "He hath not done in like manner to every nation"; Matthew 5: "I am not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill." If it be said, "him whom thou hast made perfect they have destroyed," thus it is understood of Christ, whom thou hast made perfect. Here is set down the reason for his confidence. And first the question is posed; second, the solution, at "The Lord is in his holy temple," etc.; third, the reason for the solution, "because the Lord is just, and hath loved justice." He says, therefore: thus do these men act; but the just Lord, seeing this by his authority, what does he do? Jeremiah 33: "This is the name that they shall call him, The Lord our just one." He resolves the question, and sets down what this just one does. And first, his judiciary power, or the condition of a judge; second, the discussion of judgment, "his eyes," etc.; third, the condemnation of the violent, "but him that loveth," etc. If a judge always punishes, he is cruel; if he always spares, he is lax. But God does both; and therefore the tribunal of mercy has its place, and this is the temple: Hebrews 4: "Let us go with confidence to the throne of grace"; and therefore he says, "the Lord is in his holy temple": 1 Corinthians 3: "Know you not that you are the temple of God, and the Holy Spirit dwelleth in you?" He also has a place of justice, whence he punishes, namely heaven; and this is also, "the Lord, his throne is in heaven," wherein his power is set forth: Isaiah, the last chapter: "Heaven is my throne." The faithful are called a temple on account of devotion, heaven on account of wisdom. Likewise heaven is called the abode in which God sits, so as to make it heaven, that is, one knowing hidden things. Likewise the soul is called the temple of God, because in the temple God is adored; likewise in the faithful soul: Matthew 6: "Enter into thy chamber," that is, into the secret places of thy soul, "and having shut the door, pray to thy Father in secret." Likewise there sacrifices are offered; likewise in the faithful soul: Psalm 50: "A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit." Likewise in the temple prayers are poured out to God, so in the soul God works: Isaiah 26: "Thou hast wrought all our works in us, O Lord." Likewise, because God sanctifies it, and descends into it as into a temple: Wisdom 4: "The grace of God is upon his saints, and his regard," etc. His eyes. Here he treats of the discussion of judgment. And first he sets down the perfection of divine knowledge; second, the diligent examination, at "his eyelids examine the sons of men"; third, the equity of judgment, at "the Lord trieth the just and the wicked." By the first, no one can be hidden, for he sees the disposition of the poor man and of the wicked, of the sinner and of the just: Ezekiel 23: "The eyes of the Lord are brighter than the sun, beholding round about all the ways of men, and the depth of the abyss, and looking into the hearts of men"; Proverbs 16: "All the ways of men are open to his eyes; the Lord is a weigher of spirits," that is, of thoughts, or of souls, according to the Gloss; and therefore he says, "his eyes look upon the poor man," unto having mercy: Psalm 30: "Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am afflicted." Likewise Psalm 27: "The Lord is my protector, and in him hath my heart hoped," etc. — also for protecting by testing: Psalm 33: "The eyes of the Lord are upon the just." Likewise Psalm 31: "In this way in which thou shalt walk, I will fix my eyes upon thee." And thus, looking upon them, he examines diligently. "His eyelids examine," etc. By the eyelids discretion is signified, for as the eyelids of the eye direct the sight, so discretion moderates human wisdom: Proverbs 4: "Let thy eyelids go before thy steps." The very discretion of God, therefore, examines, that is, it tries and tests: Wisdom 1: "There shall be an inquiry into the thoughts of the ungodly: and the hearing of his words shall come to God." And how? Because sometimes he punishes, sometimes he spares, sometimes he grants benefits, sometimes he takes them away: Job 6: "The arrows of the Lord," etc. He also closes his eyelids and opens them: Matthew 17: "I have compassion on the multitude," etc.; likewise in the same place, chapter 21: "The kingdom of God shall be taken away from you"; Psalm 146: "Who giveth to beasts their food," etc. "He examines the sons of men," because some of them are made better, some worse; or some are made evil by Scripture, some good, because some understand it well and are not wearied, but are exercised by it, while the wicked do the contrary. The equity of judgment is set down, because "he trieth the just and the unjust," since he sends scourges upon the just and the unjust alike, and bestows temporal goods on the good and the wicked: Wisdom 11: "These," namely the good, "thou hast tried as a father admonishing"; "but those," namely the wicked, "as a stern king examining, thou hast condemned." For this reason he says, "the Lord trieth the just and the wicked," that is, he tests through tribulations. Gregory: the punishment inflicted asks whether one placed in tribulation truly loves God. "He trieth the just," that is, the Lord examines him so that he may be rewarded: Wisdom 10: "God rendered the wages of the labors of his saints." But he tries the wicked man or the sinner, so that he may be condemned: Matthew 23: "Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the exterior darkness." Here the condemnation is set down; and concerning this he does two things: first he sets down the fault, second the punishment, at "he shall rain snares upon sinners." He shows that, as far as it is on God's part, the perdition of the wicked is not from him, but from our own part; hence he says, "he that loveth iniquity," that is, sin: John 3: "Whosoever committeth sin, committeth also iniquity, for sin is iniquity." "Hateth his own soul": Wisdom 16: "Man through malice killeth his own soul." But it is asked, how can someone hate himself? It must be said that in a certain way the sinner does hate himself; but absolutely speaking no one hates himself: Ephesians 5: "No man ever hated his own flesh." But that the wicked in a certain way hate themselves, and that even the good in a certain way hate themselves, is made clear in this manner. Our soul has two faces: one turned toward God according to reason, the other turned toward the flesh according to the sensitive nature, which comprehends only corporeal things. And as anything whatsoever loves its own good, so man loves that which he judges to be his own soul. For sinners judge their soul to be that toward which they principally strive, because anything whatsoever is that which is chief in it, just as a king is called the kingdom. Those, therefore, who hold the sensitive nature as chief, love it; but those who hold the intellective nature as chief, love that same one. No one, therefore, hates his soul as regards that which he judges to be chief; the good, therefore, hate themselves as regards the sensitive nature, the wicked as regards the intellective nature. Second, he sets down the punishment. And this we can expound either of the present, or of the future. Of the present, thus, and it preserves the metaphor: he said that the Lord is in heaven, because there is his throne; but from heaven comes rain: therefore their punishment is signified when it is said, "he shall rain upon sinners." And what? "Snares." And if this be expounded here of the present, it must be noted that in sin there are four things. The first is seduction; hence he says: "he shall rain snares upon sinners," as though by a just judgment he permits them to be ensnared and seduced: Isaiah 8: "And many of them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken." The second is concupiscence; and therefore he says, "fire," of concupiscence: Psalm 57: "Fire hath fallen upon them, and they have not seen the sun," namely of carnal concupiscence, etc. The third is the stench of infamy; and therefore he says, "brimstone." Thus the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah fire and brimstone. A fourth can also be added, namely the disquiet of the mind; and therefore he says, "storms of wind": Isaiah 57: "The heart of the wicked is like a raging sea." "The portion of their cup": because a cup is a certain measure, and they have punishments according to their sins: Isaiah 27: "In measure against measure, when it shall be cast away, he will judge it." But if it be expounded of the future, then the movements will there be punished, because they will be bound so that they can neither avoid evils, nor attain goods; therefore he says, "he shall rain snares upon sinners," that is, things binding the senses; and thus they are referred, brimstone to smell, fire to touch: Isaiah 66: "Their fire shall not be quenched"; Apocalypse 20: "Cast into the pool of fire." Likewise the affections, because they do not rest, since "the storms of wind are the portion of their cup," that is, the demons disquieting, troubling, and afflicting them. "Because the Lord is just, and hath loved justice," therefore nothing is to be expected from him but justice: Jeremiah 9: "I am the Lord that exercise mercy, judgment, and justice on the earth"; Psalm 114: "The Lord is just in all his ways." "His countenance," or face, "hath beheld equity," that is, equity has been seen by his knowledge; as if to say: to those to whom he makes himself known, and whom he loves, he shows equity.”

“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, Psa 103:19. Hence the heavens are said to rule, Dan 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, Psa 11:5. The Lord tries all the children of men that he may do them good in their latter end, Deu 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 this verse: 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 (Pro 8:36), as follows here. 2. He is a righteous Judge, and therefore he will punish them, Psa 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 Jos 10:11; Sa1 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, Jde 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, Psa 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 (Psa 16:5); but those who reject his grace shall be made to drink the cup of his fury, Jer 25:15; Isa 51:17; Hab 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, Psa 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, Psa 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.”

“The Lord is in his holy temple,.... Not in the temple at Jerusalem, which as yet was not built; nor in the temple of Christ's human nature; but rather in the church, where he dwells, which is an holy temple to the Lord; and which is an argument for trust in him, and a reason against the fears of men in the worst of times; see Psa 46:1. Though it may be best to understand it of heaven, the habitation of God's holiness, and which is the true sanctuary; and which the holy places made with hands were only a figure of; since it follows, the Lord's throne is in heaven; yea, the heaven is his throne; here he sits on a throne of grace, and here he has prepared his throne for judgment; and both this and the preceding clause are expressive of his glory and majesty; and are said to command awe and reverence of the Divine Being, and to inject terror into the wicked; and to show that God is above the enemies of his people, and to encourage the saints' trust and confidence in him; and are mentioned as a reason why David put his trust in him; and are, with what follows in Psa 11:5, opposed to the advice and reasonings of some of his friends in the preceding ones; his eyes behold; all men, and all their actions; he sees what the wicked are doing in the dark, what preparations for mischief they are making, and beholds them when they shoot privily at the upright in heart; he can turn the arrow another way, and cause it to miss the mark: his eyes run to and fro throughout the earth, in favour of those whose hearts are perfect and sincere. God's omniscience, which is denied by wicked men, who are therefore hardened in sin, and promise themselves impunity, is used by the saints as an argument to encourage their faith and trust in God, with respect to their preservation and deliverance. The Septuagint and Vulgate Latin, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions, read, "his eyes look unto the poor"; but this is an addition to the text not suitable to the context; his eyelids try the children of men; he tries their reins, he searches into their very hearts, and into the inmost recesses of them, and takes cognizance of their thoughts, intentions, and designs; and confounds and disappoints them, so that they cannot perform their enterprises.”

“Made. In choosing me for king, Hebrew, “the foundations are, or shall be destroyed; and what shall the just do? or, what has the just man done?” The foundations, both of religion and of the kingdom, depend on God’s ordinances, as the Septuagint well explain. (Berthier) — Pagnin has, “the nets;” St. Jerome, “the laws.” In these days of infidelity and rebellion, the just must experience the greatest perplexity. (Haydock) — If faith be lost, who shall be just? (Berthier) — Persecutors, and especially heretics, pull down what others have built. (Worthington)”

“The text is obscure. The SjTriac and Arabic versions agree with the Vulgate. P. " If the founda- tions are destroyed, what can the righteous do ?" Some take it to be a proverbial expression, to signify that a work cannot stand when the foundations are undermined. St. Jerome renders it : leges dissipatoR sunt : " the laws are disregarded." The friends of David endeavor to persuade him that his efforts are unavailing, whilst his enemies disregard all law and social bonds. Society cannot be maintained when the great principles on which it reposes are called in question, and its chief supporters are overthrown.”

“The words of David's counsellors who fear for him are now ended. And David justifies his confidence in God with which he began his song. Jahve sits enthroned above all that takes place on earth that disheartens those of little faith. At an infinite distance above the earth, and also above Jerusalem, now in rebellion, is a קדשׁ היכל קד, Psa 18:7; Psa 29:9, and in this holy temple is Jahve, the Holy One. Above the earth are the heavens, and in heaven is the throne of Jahve, the King of kings. And this temple, this palace in the heavens, is the place whence issues the final decision of all earthly matters, Hab 2:20; Mic 1:2. For His throne above is also the super-terrestrial judgment-seat, Psa 9:8; Psa 103:19. Jahve who sits thereon is the all-seeing and omniscient One. חזה prop. to split, cf. cernere, is used here according to its radical meaning, of a sharp piercing glance. בּחן prop. to try metals by fire, of a fixed and penetrating look that sees into a thing to the foundation of its inmost nature. The mention of the eyelids is intentional. When we observe a thing closely or ponder over it, we draw the eyelids together, in order that our vision may be more concentrated and direct, and become, as it were, one ray piercing through the object. Thus are men open to the all-seeing eyes, the all-searching looks of Jahve: the just and the unjust alike. He tries the righteous, i.e., He knows that in the depth of his soul there is an upright nature that will abide all testing (Psa 17:3; Job 23:10), so that He lovingly protects him, just as the righteous lovingly depends upon Him. And His soul hates (i.e., He hates him with all the energy of His perfectly and essentially holy nature) the evil-doer and him that delights in the violence of the strong towards the weak. And the more intense this hatred, the more fearful will be the judgments in which it bursts forth.”