The View from the Throne Text: Psalm 11:4-7
Introduction: The Counsel of Cowardice
We live in a time of great shaking. The foundations, or what appear to be the foundations, are crumbling. And in such times, the Christian is beset on all sides by two kinds of voices. The first is the voice of the insolent unbeliever, who taunts us with the apparent collapse of everything we hold dear. The second, and often more dangerous, is the voice of the well-meaning but cowardly friend. This is the voice we hear in the first part of this psalm, urging David to flee, to get out, to head for the hills because the wicked are stringing their bows and the foundations are destroyed. "What can the righteous do?" they ask, which is a question saturated with despair.
David's response to this panic-stricken counsel is the bedrock of Christian stability in any age. He does not begin by analyzing the political situation. He does not start by calculating the odds. He begins with God. "In Yahweh I put my trust." This is not a pious platitude; it is a declaration of war against the tyranny of the immediate. It is the refusal to allow the evening news to have the last word. David lifts his eyes from the horizontal threats of men to the vertical reality of God's throne. And what he sees there changes everything.
The portion of the psalm before us today is David's theological reasoning for his stability. It is the "therefore" to his "I will not flee." Why is he not packing his bags? Because he knows who is on the throne of the universe. He knows that the chaos on earth does not extend to the control room of heaven. God is not wringing His hands. He is not surprised. He is seated, He is holy, He is watching, and He is judging. This is the only sane place for a believer to stand when the world around him has apparently gone mad. We must see our circumstances in the light of God's throne, and not see God's throne in the light of our circumstances.
The Text
Yahweh is in His holy temple; Yahweh’s throne is in heaven;
His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.
Yahweh tests the righteous,
But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.
May He rain snares upon the wicked;
Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup.
For Yahweh is righteous, He loves righteousness;
The upright will behold His face.
(Psalm 11:4-7)
The Unblinking Gaze of the King (v. 4)
David begins his rebuttal to the fearful by establishing God's location and occupation.
"Yahweh is in His holy temple; Yahweh’s throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men." (Psalm 11:4)
The first point of stability is that God has a fixed address. He is not a wandering, homeless deity. He is in His holy temple. This is His control room, His palace of perfect holiness. And His throne is not on earth, where it can be overturned by political machinations. His throne is in heaven, established, secure, and absolute. This is the ultimate high ground. From this vantage point, all the frantic activity of men below looks very different.
And what is He doing on this throne? He is not sleeping. He is not distracted. "His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men." This is a picture of intense, focused, and penetrating scrutiny. Think of a man squinting to examine a fine detail. God's eyelids "test" or "try" the sons of men. He is not a passive observer; He is an active examiner. He looks right through the pretense, the bravado, the political spin, and the religious posturing. He sees the heart. No one is getting away with anything. This is a terrifying thought for the wicked, but it is a profound comfort for the righteous. When you are being slandered, when your enemies are plotting in secret, it is a great encouragement to know that the Judge of all the earth sees everything with perfect clarity.
The Great Divine Sorting (v. 5)
This divine gaze is not neutral. It leads to a definitive evaluation and a stark separation.
"Yahweh tests the righteous, But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates." (Psalm 11:5)
God's examination results in a division of all mankind into two, and only two, categories: the righteous and the wicked. Notice what He does with each. He "tests" the righteous. The same word for "test" is used in verse 4. God's gaze on the righteous is a refining fire. It is the pressure that reveals what we are made of, that purges the dross, and that strengthens our faith. He puts His children through trials not to destroy them, but to prove them and improve them. The affliction reveals what is in the heart.
But His disposition toward the wicked is altogether different. The text is blunt, and we must be blunt as well. "The wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates." This is one of those verses that sends modern, sentimental evangelicalism into a tailspin. We have been told so often that God loves everyone unconditionally and hates the sin but loves the sinner. That is a pleasant lie, but it is not what the Bible teaches. God's hatred is not a petty, sinful emotion like ours. It is the holy and righteous revulsion of a perfectly pure being against that which is corrupt, rebellious, and violent. He hates the wicked man, not just his wicked deeds. We must reject the lie that God loves all men equally. He does not. He hates the children of wrath, and it is only by His astonishing grace in Christ that any of us are rescued from that number.
The Portion of the Wicked's Cup (v. 6)
The psalmist, having established God's holy hatred for the wicked, now turns to the subject of their ultimate destiny. This is not a statement of fact, but a prayer, an imprecation.
"May He rain snares upon the wicked; Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup." (Psalm 11:6)
This is poetic justice of the highest order. The wicked lay snares for the righteous (v. 2), so David prays that God would open the heavens and rain down snares upon them. Imagine a hailstorm, but instead of ice, it is raining bear traps. This is a picture of God turning the wicked's own devices back upon their own heads. Their plotting becomes their downfall.
And the judgment is further described as "fire and brimstone and burning wind." This language deliberately evokes the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. It is a picture of total, catastrophic, and inescapable judgment. This will be the "portion of their cup." In the ancient world, the master of the feast would pour a portion of wine into each guest's cup. The cup represented one's allotted destiny. The righteous can say, "Yahweh is the portion of my inheritance and my cup" (Psalm 16:5). But the wicked must drink a different cup, a cup filled to the brim with the fiery wrath of God. This is what they have chosen, what they have earned, and what a holy God is just in giving them.
The Foundation and the Future (v. 7)
The psalm concludes by returning to the bedrock character of God, which is the foundation for all that has been said, and the ultimate hope for the saints.
"For Yahweh is righteous, He loves righteousness; The upright will behold His face." (Psalm 11:7)
Why can we be so confident that things will end this way? "For Yahweh is righteous." His very nature is the guarantee. He is not arbitrary. He is not capricious. He is the standard of righteousness itself. And because He is righteous, "He loves righteousness." He loves it in Himself, and He loves it wherever He finds it in His creatures. He would deny Himself if He did not defend the just and punish the wicked. This is the ultimate foundation that cannot be destroyed.
And this leads to the final, glorious promise. "The upright will behold His face." This is the beatific vision. This is the end for which we were made. In the midst of slander, threats, and apparent chaos, the believer has this ultimate hope. The wicked will face His wrath, but the righteous, those made upright by the blood of Christ, will see His face. To see His face is to have perfect fellowship, unhindered communion, and infinite joy. It is to be welcomed home. This is the ultimate answer to the question, "What can the righteous do?" The righteous can wait, they can trust, and they can look forward to the day when they will see their King face to face.
Conclusion: A Tale of Two Gazes
This psalm sets before us a profound contrast. It is a tale of two gazes. First, there is the gaze of God upon the sons of men. His eyes behold, His eyelids test. Nothing is hidden from Him. He sees the plotting of the wicked and the prayers of the righteous. His gaze is holy, just, and active. It leads to a final and eternal separation.
But second, there is the gaze of the believer. Where are we looking? Are we, like David's friends, staring at the bent bows, the crumbling foundations, and the encroaching darkness? If that is our focus, we will be filled with fear and give way to the counsel of cowardice. Or are we, like David, lifting our eyes to the heavens? Are we gazing by faith at the throne of God? Do we see the King in His holy temple, serene, sovereign, and in complete control?
The battle for faithfulness in troubled times is a battle for your eyesight. What you look at determines what you do. If you look at the chaos, you will flee. If you look at the throne, you will stand. And the promise of the gospel is that this gaze of faith now will one day give way to a gaze of sight. We, who have been made righteous in Christ, who have been clothed in His righteousness and not our own, will one day see Him. We will behold His face. And in the light of that promise, the present darkness seems very light indeed.