David composed Psalm 11 when others around him (the "you" in verse 1 is plural) were counseling him to flee from encroaching enemies. The NKJV closes the quote of the counselors at the end of verse 1, but it makes more sense to close the quote at the end of verse 3, as the NIV does. It is not clear whether the threat of enemies secretly shooting with arrows in verse 2 is literal or figurative (see Psalm 64:3-4), though the advice of flight would seem to imply mortal danger.

The advisers see no alternative to a hiding out in the hills because they believe "the foundations are destroyed" (verse 3). The Expositor's Bible Commentary says: "The word 'foundations' (shathoth) occurs only here with this meaning.... The 'foundations' appear to be a metaphor for the order of society (Psalm 75:3 {NIV, 'pillars'}; Psalm 82:5; Ezekiel 30:4): the 'established institutions, the social and civil order of the community'.... This order has been established by the Lord at creation and is being maintained.... [Yet to the advisers it now appears that] God's justice and law are being replaced by human autonomy and its resultant anarchy" (note on Psalm 11:1-3).

David counters that the foundations are not destroyed because the Lord Himself is the true foundation. God may be testing the righteous at this time (verse 5), but He is in charge and sees what is going on (verse 4). David knows that "God is alive and at work in His holy temple [not the one in Jerusalem that was yet to be built but the one in heaven, as made clear by verse 4]; that He is hearing prayer, forgiving sins, welcoming home sinners, waiting for people to flee or to take refuge in Him, and not away in the mountains; that God is ruling His world from on high, noticing and testing every little detail of human life" (George Knight, Psalms, OT Daily Bible Study Series, 1982, comments on Psalm 11:1-7).

God hating the wicked and lovers of violence in verse 5 refers to His ultimate rejection of them (see the Beyond Today Bible Commentary on Psalm 5:5). The phrase "the portion of their cup" (Psalm 11:6) refers to "their lot" (NIV; see Psalm 16:5). The cup for the wicked is one of punishment (see Psalm 75:8; compare Jeremiah 25:15-29). It is shown in Psalm 11:6 to contain fire, brimstone (sulfur) and burning wind—images we later see in John the Baptist's warning of God's "winnowing fan" and "unquenchable fire" (Matthew 3:12) as well as the book of Revelation's prophecy of the future "lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death" (Psalm 21:8). The unrepentant will be completely burned up in this fire, not tormented forever (see our free booklet Heaven & Hell: What Does the Bible Really Teach?).

Yet God faithfully loves the righteous and will in His righteous justice ultimately preserve them. The concluding phrase "His countenance beholds the upright" (Psalm 11:7) could also be rendered in reverse, "Upright men will see his face" (NIV), implying free access to God's throne.