The Book of Psalms

Psalm 12

Psalm XII · Vol. II, p. 993

1 David, destitute of human comfort, craveth help of God. 3 He comforteth himself in the assurance of God's judgments on the wicked, 6 and in the faithfulness of his promises.

Margin referencesNotes ↓

To the chief musician ^aupon Sheminith, A psalm of David.

1 HELP,¹ LORD; for ^bthe godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.

a Or, upon the eighth, Ps.6. title. 1 Ch.15.21.

1 Or, save.

b Is.57.1. Mi.7.1,2. Ge.6.12. Ps.14.1-4; 4.2.

2 They^c speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart² do they speak.

c Ps.10.7; 5.9; 36.1-4; 28.3. Je.9.3-6.

2 Heb. an heart and an heart.

3 The^d LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things:³

d 1 Sa.2.3. Job 32.22. Da.8.25; 7.8,25. Pr.6.16-19. Is.xxxvi. xxxvii.; 54.17. Jude 15,16.

3 Heb. great things.

4 Who^e have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own:⁴ who is lord over us?

e Ex.15.2; 5.2. Ps.73.8,9. Je.2.31.

4 Heb. are with us.

5 For^g the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.⁵

g Ex.2.23-25; 3.7,8. Ps.125.3. Is.33.10; 25.4. Lu.18.7,8. Mi.7.9,10.

5 Or, would ensnare him.

6 The^h words of the LORD are pure words; as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

h 2 Sa.22.31. Ps.19.9; 18.30; 119.140. Pr.30.5.

7 Thouⁱ shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them⁶ from this generation for ever.

i Ps.16.1; 121.7,8. Is.27.3. 1 Pe.1.5. Jude 1.

6 Heb. him, that is, every one of them.

8 The^j wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.⁷

j Ho.5.11. Mi.6.16. Pr.29.2,12. Mal.3.15,16.

7 Heb. the vilest of the sons of men are exalted.

Notes

Ver. 1. The speaker here is 'poor and needy,' ver. 5. Now to find who he is, consult, first, Ps. 40. 17, then ver. 6-8, and compare He. 10. 7, 9; and thus finding that 'the poor and needy' is Christ, there will be no difficulty in discovering that this psalm is a prayer of Christ. C.

Ver. 6. Seven being the amount of a perfect week, is the emblem of anything perfected by successive acts or exhibitions; so silver is refined from the alloy of baser metals by successive exposures to the fire; and so is the word of God separated from all the alloy of human misconceptions and errors, till it stands forth unadulterated truth—'the truth as it is in Jesus.' C.

Reflections.—It is fearfully ominous when those distinguished saints, who support nations or churches, are removed by death, while none are raised up to fill their room. Perilous are the times when piety towards God and integrity towards men cease—when all men seek their own, not the things of Jesus Christ—when hypocrites by fair speeches deceive the simple! But pride must have a fall, either before the throne of grace, or into the depths of hell! And though God for a time may seemingly overlook his people, he will never forget, disregard, or cast them off. He best knows when to deliver; and if we have but faith he will never fail. When the saints' night of trouble is at the darkest, and their prayer fervent, their deliverance is near. While God's pure and precious promises stand fast in Christ, no increase, activity, or malice of wicked men shall ever be able utterly to destroy or deceive his people.