What does Psalm 11:6 mean?

David prays for vengeance on his enemies—not through his own hands, but from God (Romans 12:19–20). The imagery he uses here is dramatic, referring to raining fire and sulfur.

Centuries earlier God had done exactly that in His wrath against Sodom and Gomorrah. The Lord rained fire and sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah because of their inhabitants' wickedness. When Abraham looked at where Sodom and Gomorrah used to be, all he saw was billows of smoke (Genesis 19:28).

In Psalm 18 David alludes to hailstones and coals of fire bringing judgment on his enemy (Psalm 18:12–13). The Lord used these catastrophes to deliver David from Saul. In Psalm 11:6 he indicates that his enemies will have these disasters as "the portion of their cup." The cup of the Lord is often used in connection with His judgment of evildoers. Revelation 14:10 warns that whoever worships the beast and its image "also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger."