Psalm 11

The shape of this psalm differs from the usual scheme, for which the Old Testament scholar Hermann Gunkel finally assigns as a "confidence Psalm in the form of conversation". Erhard S. Gerstenberger calls the psalm a "disputierendes prayer" within the genus of Lamentations of an individual. has the psalm as a song of prayer. Usually, the Psalm is organized as follows: • Verse 1a: trust in YHWH • Verse 1b-3: Rejecting the advice of well-meaning friends • Verse 4-7: YHWH as fair judge and legal helpers of the persecuted A division into verses is sometimes not done. ==Text==

The following table shows the Hebrew text of the Psalm with vowels, alongside the Koine Greek text in the Septuagint and the English translation from the King James Version. Note that the meaning can slightly differ between these versions, as the Septuagint and the Masoretic Text come from different textual traditions. In the Septuagint, this psalm is numbered Psalm 10. ==Interpretation==

The psalm is strongly individual. calls this the personal testimony of persecution, who have opted for the legal process. Hermann Gunkel agrees calling it the "subjective response of a single poet to an involuntary emergency". sees the psalm as "a product of post-exil scriptural scholarship that seeks to modernise traditional text" "ein Produkt nachexilischer Schriftgelehrsamkeit, die die Texte der Tradition modernisieren will"). The psalm leads off with a question which is put to the writer's soul: 'Why should I flee like a bird to the mountains?' Barnes and many others see the fleeing as negative and running away rather than trusting God. The Psalmist instead resolves to trust God. There is an irony in that David often did flee from Saul to the mountains, but in the long run became King in Jerusalem in 1 Sam chapters 21 through 23. Additionally there is a contrast with Psalm 7: the wicked shoot arrows at the righteous in Psalm 11, but in Psalm 7 God readied his bow and arrows for the wicked. There is also a tension: God is felt to be far away and unresponsive - but He is not and that tension also appears in other Psalms, such as in Psalm 22. ==Uses==

Catholicism According to the Rule of St. Benedict (530AD), Psalm 1 to Psalm 20 were mainly reserved for Office of Prime. This psalm was traditionally performed at the Office of Prime on Wednesday. In the current liturgy, Psalm 11 is, most solemnly recited or sung during vespers on Monday of the first week. Book of Common Prayer In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, this psalm is appointed to be read on the morning of the second day of the month. Music Heinrich Schütz set a metred hymn paraphrasing Psalm 11 in German, "Ich trau auf Gott, was soll's denn sein", SWV 107, included in the Becker Psalter. Joseph Stephenson included a paraphrase in English, "Since I have plac'd my trust in God", in his 1757 collection Church Harmony, Sacred to Devotion. Benjamin Cooke wrote a setting of a metred paraphrase in English of verses 1–3, "On God My Steadfast Hopes Rely", published in 1794. ==Notes==