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Psalm Twelve
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 12
To the chief Musician upon Sheminith, a Psalm of David.
The
word "sheminith" is used in the title of Psalm 6:1, and signifies
"eighth"; and intends either the eighth note, to which the psalm was
sung, or rather the harp of eight chords, to which it was set, as the Targum
and Jarchi interpret it. Some Jewish writersF25Sepher Lekach
Shechachah apud Caphtor, fol. 64. 1. & Ceseph Misnah in Maimon. Hilch.
Teshuvah, c. 9. understand it of the times of the Messiah; and the Syriac
version entitles the psalm,
"an
accusation of the wicked, and a prophecy concerning the coming of the Messiah:'
and
the Arabic version says, it is concerning the end of the world, which shall be
in the eighth day; and concerning the coming of the Messiah: but Arnobius
interprets it of the Lord's day.
Psalm 12:1 Help,
Lord, for the godly
man ceases! For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
YLT
1To the Overseer, on the
octave. -- A Psalm of David. Save, Jehovah, for the saintly hath failed, For the
stedfast have ceased From the sons of men:
Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth,.... A godly
man, according to the notation of the wordF26חסיד
"passive pro beneficiario, sive alterius beneficiis gratiosis
cumulato", Gejerus. , is one that has received grace and mercy of the
Lord; as pardoning mercy, justifying and adopting grace; and who has principles
of grace, goodness, and holiness, wrought in him; who fears the Lord, and
serves him acceptably, with reverence and godly fear, and sorrows for sin, after
a godly sort; who loves the Lord, and hopes and believes in him; who is
regenerated and sanctified by the Spirit of God, and is a true worshipper of
God, and lives in all holy conversation and godliness; and, particularly, is
"beneficent", "kind", and "merciful"F1"Misericors",
Pagninus, Mariana; beneficus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. unto men: such
may be said to "cease" when there are but few of them; when their
number is greatly reducedF2"Rari quippe boni", &c.
Juvenal. Satyr. 13. v. 36. , either by death, or when such who have seemed, and
have been thought to be so, prove otherwise: in a view of which, the psalmist
prays for help and salvation; "help", or "save"F3הושיעה "serva", Pagninus, Cocceius; "da
salutem", Junius & Tremellius. Lord; meaning himself, being destitute
of the company, counsel, and assistance of good and gracious men; or the cause
and interest of religion, which he feared would sink by the ceasing of godly
men. When all friends and refuge fail, saints betake themselves to God, and
their salvation is of him; and he is their present help in a time of trouble;
and he saves and reserves for himself a number in the worst of times; as he did
in Elijah's time, who thought there was no godly man left but himself; see Romans 11:1;
for the faithful fail from among the children of men; so that there
are none left among them but carnal, unregenerate, ungodly, and unfaithful men.
The "faithful" are such who are upright in heart and conversation;
who trust in the Lord, and believe in the Messiah; who abide by the truths and
ordinances of God; and are faithful in what is committed to their trust,
whether they be gifts of nature, Providence, or grace; and to their fellow
Christians, in advising, reproving, &c. when needful: these may fail in the
exercise of grace, and in the discharge of duty, but not so as to perish eternally.
The words design the paucity of them, and the sad degeneracy of the times to
which they refer: and they may belong either to the times of David, when Saul's
courtiers flattered him, and spoke evil of David; when the men of Keilah
intended to have delivered him up; when the Ziphites discovered him to Saul,
and invited him to come and take him; or when Absalom rose up in rebellion
against him, and so many of the people fell off from him: or else to the times
of Christ; the people of the Jews in his age were a wicked and faithless
generation; and even among his own disciples there was great want of fidelity:
one betrayed him, another denied him, and all forsook him and fled; after his
death, some doubted his being the Redeemer, and one of them could not believe
he was risen from the dead, when he was. And these words may be applied to the
antichristian times, the times of the grand apostasy, and falling away from the
faith, upon the revealing of the man of sin; since which the holy city is
trodden under foot; the witnesses prophesy in sackcloth; and the church is in
the wilderness, and is hid there. Yea, to the second coming of Christ, when
there will be great carnality and security, and little faith found in the
earth. A like complaint with this see in Isaiah 57:1.
Psalm 12:2 2 They speak idly everyone
with his neighbor; With flattering lips and a double heart they
speak.
YLT
2Vanity they speak each with
his neighbour, Lip of flattery! With heart and heart they speak.
They speak vanity everyone with his neighbour,.... That
which is false and a lie, either doctrinal or practical; what was not according
to the word of God, and was vain and empty, frothy, filthy, and corrupt; and
which no godly and faithful man would do. And this being done in common, by the
generality of men, one with another, shows the degeneracy of the age, and
supports the complaint before made. They speak even
with flattering
lips; as Cain did to Abel, Joab to Amasa, the Herodians to Christ,
Judas to his Master, false teachers to those that are simple, hypocrites to God
himself, when they draw nigh to him only with their lips, and all formal
professors to the churches of Christ, when they profess themselves to be what
they are not. And this is a further proof of the justness of the above
complaint;
and with a double heart do
they speak: or "with an heart and an heart"F4בלב ולב "in corde &
corde", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Gejerus. ; such are double minded men,
who say one thing, and mean another; their words are not to be depended upon;
there is no faithfulness in them. The ChineseF5Martin. Sinic. Hist.
p. 144. a heart having διχομυθον νοημα,
a double meaning, as Pittacus says, Laert. in Vit. Pittac. l. 1. p. 53. reckon
a man of "two hearts", as they call him, a very wicked man, and none
more remote from honesty.
Psalm 12:3 3 May the Lord cut off all
flattering lips, And the tongue that speaks proud things,
YLT
3Jehovah doth cut off all
lips of flattery, A tongue speaking great things,
The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips,.... This is
either a prophecy or a prayer, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi observe; that God either
would or should cut off such who used flattery with their lips, by inflicting
some judgment in this life, or everlasting punishment hereafter; by taking them
away by death "out of the world", as the Targum paraphrases it; or by
casting them into hell, where all liars and deceitful persons will have their
portion; see Job 32:21;
and the tongue that speaketh
proud things, or "great things"F6גדלות
"magna", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Piscator, Gejerus, Michaelis;
"grandia", Cocceius. , as the little horn, Daniel 7:20; and the beast, or Romish
antichrist, who is designed by both, Revelation 13:5; and which will be
accomplished when Christ shall destroy him with the breath of his mouth, and
the brightness of his coming; and indeed every tongue that riseth up against
God, Christ, and his people, will be condemned; when ungodly sinners will be
convinced of all their hard speeches, Isaiah 54:17, Judges 1:15. Perhaps some regard may be had
to the tongue of Doeg the Edomite; see Psalm 52:3.
Psalm 12:4 4 Who have said, “With our
tongue we will prevail; Our lips are our own; Who is lord over
us?”
YLT
4Who said, `By our tongue we
do mightily: Our lips [are] our own; who [is] lord over us?'
Who have said, with our tongue will we prevail,.... Either
through the eloquence of them, or the outward force and power with which they
are backed. The sense is, as we say, so shall it be; our words are laws, and
shall be obeyed, there is no standing against them; our edicts and decrees
shall everywhere be regarded: or "we will make one to prevail", or
"have the dominion"F7נגביר
"prevalere ac dominare, faciemus, scil. aliquem regem, dominum",
Cocceius. ; meaning antichrist, the man of sin; for all this is true of the
tongues of the antichristian party, and of their laws, edicts, and decrees and
which have obtained everywhere, and by which the wicked one has been
established in his tyrannical power and authority;
our lips are our own, or "with us"F8אתנו "nobiscum", Musculus, Pagninus, Montanus,
Vatablus, Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis; so Junius & Tremellius, Piscator,
Ainsworth. : we will say what we please, and make what laws and decrees we
think fit, and impose them upon men; and so change times and laws without
control, Daniel 7:25;
who is Lord over us? which is the very
language and conduct of antichrist, who opposes and exalts himself above all
that is called God, 2 Thessalonians 2:4; and is indeed the
language of the hearts and lives of all wicked and ungodly men, sons of Belial,
men without any yoke or restraint; who walk, and are resolved to walk, after
the imagination of their own evil hearts; not knowing the Lord, and being
unwilling to obey him, or to be restrained by him; see Exodus 5:2.
Psalm 12:5 5 “For the oppression of the
poor, for the sighing of the needy, Now I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will set him
in the safety for which he yearns.”
YLT
5Because of the spoiling of
the poor, Because of the groaning of the needy, Now do I arise, saith Jehovah,
I set in safety [him who] doth breathe for it.
For the oppression of the poor,.... The servants and
people of God, who, for the most part, are poor in a temporal sense, and are
all of them, and always, so in a spiritual sense, standing continually in need
of fresh supplies of grace; and being often afflicted, as the word signifies,
are mean and despicable in the eyes of the men of this world, and so oppressed
by them, as the poor generally are by the rich; and as the people of Israel
were oppressed by the Egyptians, so are the people of God by antichrist, and by
his tyrannical laws and edicts, and by such haughty and insolent persons as
before described;
for the sighing of the needy; who groan under their
oppressions; being stripped of all good things, their friends, and worldly
substance, they sigh inwardly, and cry unto the Lord, who sees their
oppressions, hears their groans; and though he cannot be moved, as men are, by
anything without himself, yet, according to his abundant mercy and sovereign
will, he appears and exerts himself on the behalf of his people, and for their
relief and assistance;
now will I arise, saith the Lord; to have mercy on the
poor and needy, and to avenge them on their oppressors, and free them from them.
And this the Lord promises to do "now", speedily, immediately; God
arises in the most seasonable time, when his people are in the greatest
straits, and in the utmost distress and herein displays his wisdom, power, and
goodness. This is an answer to the petition of the psalmist in Psalm 12:1;
I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at
him; or "in salvation"F9בישע
"in salute", Pagninus, Montanus, Mariana, Vatablus, Junius, &
Tremeliius, Piscator; so Ainsworth. ; in Christ the Saviour. All God's people
are put into the hands of Christ, and are preserved in him; there they are in
safety, for out of his hands none can pluck them; and being built on him, the
Rock, they are safe, notwithstanding the waves and winds of temptation,
persecution, &c. come with ever so much force upon them. Here it seems to
signify, that God would deliver his poor and needy from their oppressions, and
put them into a comfortable, prosperous, safe, and happy situation, in which
they will be out of the reach of their enemies; as will be the witnesses, when
they shall ascend to heaven, Revelation 11:11; even out of the reach of
him that "puffeth at" them, despises them, and treats them with the
utmost scorn and contempt; see Psalm 10:5. Or that "breathes",
or "let him breathe"F11יפיח לו "spiret vel spirabit sibi", De Dieu.
threatenings and slaughters; as Saul did against the disciples of Christ, Acts 9:1; or that "lays snares for
him"F12"Qui ponit ei laqueum", Munster; "qui
laqueum injicit illis", Heb. "illi", Muis; so Kimchi. , as the
wicked do for the righteous; or that "speaks unto him" in such
haughty and insolent language as before expressed. Some make this clause a
proposition of itself, "he puffeth at him"; meaning either that he
that is secure, safety puffs at his enemy, despises him, as he has been
despised by him; or God, who breathes upon him, and whose breath is as a stream
of brimstone, which kindles in him a fire of divine wrath, which is
unquenchable; or else the sense is, God will "speak to himself", or
"to him"F13"Loquetur sibi vel ei", Vatablus. ;
in which sense the word is used Habakkuk 2:4; that is, good and comfortable
words to the poor; or "he will give him refreshment", or
"rest": which he will determine in himself to speak to him: or
"he shall have breathing", or "let him breathe"F14"Respirationem
dabit illi", Cloppenburgius; so Ainsworth, and some in Michaelis. : he
shall have times of refreshing from the Lord, and rest from adversity, from the
oppositions and persecutions of his enemies.
Psalm 12:6 6 The words of the Lord are
pure words, Like silver tried in a furnace of earth, Purified seven
times.
YLT
6Sayings of Jehovah [are]
pure sayings; Silver tried in a furnace of earth refined sevenfold.
The words of the Lord are pure words,.... This
observation the psalmist makes in reference to what is just now said in Psalm 12:5,, and in opposition to the words
of wicked men in Psalm 12:2; which are deceitful, sinful,
and impure. The Scriptures are the words of God; and they are pure and holy,
free from all human mixtures, and from all fraud and deceit; they are the
Scriptures of truth. The promises are the words of God, and they are firm and
stable, and always to be depended on, and are ever fulfilled, being yea and
amen in Christ Jesus. The Gospel, and the doctrines of it, are the words of
God; that is the sincere milk of the word, pure and incorrupt; as it is in
itself, and as it is dispensed by the faithful ministers of it; and they are
all according to godliness, and tend to encourage and promote purity and
holiness of heart and life; See Proverbs 30:5;
as silver tried in a furnace
of earth; they are as "silver" for worth and value; yea, they
are more valuable than silver or gold, Psalm 19:10. The Bible is a mine of rich
treasure, and to be searched into as for it; the promises in it are exceeding
precious; they are like apples of gold in pictures of silver, and yield more
joy than the finding a great spoil. The doctrines of the Gospel are comparable
to gold and silver and precious stones, and to be bought at any rate, but to be
sold at none: and they are as silver "tried", which is pure, and free
from dross. The words of men, of false teachers, are as dross and reprobate
silver; but the words of the Lord are tried, and are pure, and free from all
the dross of error and falsehood, Psalm 18:30. And they are as silver tried
"in a furnace of earth", which someF15Vid. Jarchi, Kimchi,
& Ben Melech in loc. so some in David de Pomis, Lexic. fol. 11. 1. taking ב in בעליל to be radical, and ל doubled as if it was בעל.
render "by the Lord of the earth"; but the word rather signifies a
furnace, or an refinery, in which metal is melted and purified; and may be
applied to the Lord Jesus Christ in human nature, in whom are all the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge, and who came full fraught with the doctrines of the
Gospel; and in whom they have been "tried", by his sufferings and
death, and are found to be pure, solid, and substantial: or to the ministers of
the Gospel, who have this treasure in earthen vessels, whose works and words
and ministry are tried by many fiery trials, and abide: or to all the people of
God in general, who dwelt in earthly tabernacles; and who, in the midst of
various afflictions, have a comfortable and confirming evidence of the purity
and truth of the words of God, of the promises of his covenant, and the
doctrines of the Gospel;
purified seven times; that is, many times, Proverbs 24:16; and so completely and
perfectly pure, and clear of all dross whatsoever, as silver so many times
tried must needs be: and so the words of God are not only pure, but very pure,
exceeding pure, Psalm 119:140.
Psalm 12:7 7 You shall keep them, O Lord, You shall
preserve them from this generation forever.
YLT
7Thou, O Jehovah, dost
preserve them, Thou keepest us from this generation to the age.
Thou shall keep them, O Lord,.... Not the words before
mentioned, as Aben Ezra explains it, for the affix is masculine and not
feminine; not but God has wonderfully kept and preserved the sacred writings;
and he keeps every word of promise which he has made; and the doctrines of the
Gospel will always continue from one generation to another; but the sense is,
that God will keep the poor and needy, and such as he sets in safety, as Kimchi
rightly observes: they are not their own keepers, but God is the keeper of
them; he keeps them by his power, and in his Son, in whose hands they are, and
who is able to keep them from falling; they are kept by him from a total and
final falling away; from the dominion and damning power of sin, and from being
devoured by Satan, and from the evil of the world: and this the psalmist had
good reason to believe, because of the love of God to them, his covenant with
them, and the promises of safety and salvation he has made unto them;
thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever; or "thou
shalt preserve him"F16תצרנו
"custodies eum", Pagninus, Montanus, Gejerus, Michaelis; so
Ainsworth. ; that is, everyone of the poor and needy, from the wicked
generation of men in which they live, from being corrupted or intimidated by
them; and who are described in the beginning of the psalm. Some take these
words to be a prayer, "keep thou them, O Lord, and preserve them",
&c.F17"Custodi eum", Tigurine version, Vatablus,
"custodito eorum quemque", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. ; and
so the following words may be thought to be a reason or argument enforcing the
request.
Psalm 12:8 8 The wicked prowl on every
side, When vileness is exalted among the sons of men.
YLT
8Around the wicked walk
continually, According as vileness is exalted by sons of men!
The wicked walk on every side,.... Of the poor and
needy, of the righteous ones, to watch them, lay snares for them, and hurt
them; therefore, Lord, keep and preserve them: the wicked are everywhere in
great numbers, the whole world lies in wickedness; and the men of it are like their
father the devil, they go about to do all the mischief they can to the saints;
wherefore they stand in need continually of divine preservation;
when the vilest men are exalted: either to great
dignities and high offices, to be magistrates and rulers; see Proverbs 29:2; or are highly esteemed and
caressed; which shows the sad degeneracy and badness of the times, and the
unsafe and dangerous condition the people of God are in, unless kept by him;
see Malachi 3:15; or else these words may be
considered as expressive of the judgment of God upon wicked men, and so confirm
what the psalmist had said of God's regard to and preservation of his own
people; and the sense be, that the wicked shall walk up and down here and
there, as outcasts and vagabonds, in a most desolate, destitute, and miserable
condition; and as the latter clause may be rendered, "according to their
exaltation shall be the vileness", depression, or humiliation
"of the children of men"F18כרם זלות "secundum superelevationem, vilitas (erit vel
est)", Cocceius. ; they shall be brought as low as they have been made
high; by how much the more highly they have been exalted, by so much the more
deeply they shall be humbled: or else the meaning is, they shall walk about
here and there fretting and vexing, when they shall see such who in their
opinion are the meanest and basest of men, of low degree, and of a mean
extract, exalted to the highest posts of honour and dignity; as David, who was
taken from the sheepfold, and placed on the throne of Israel; so Jarchi, who
observes that the Haggadah explains it of the Israelites, who will be exalted
in time to come.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)